Digitalization with BACtwin – ICONAG Expert Conference Impresses

Around 90 participants gathered at the Gutenberg Digital Hub in Mainz and were enthusiastic about the presentations and the exchange of experiences on the topic “Digitalization of Technical Building Management through the Use of BACtwin.” Among many others, the German Federal Ministry of Construction has already adopted BACtwin.

Going forward, property developers, planners, and facility operators will need to set more specific requirements to plan and manage their buildings more efficiently and sustainably in the context of digitalization, the Building Energy Act (GEG), and Environmental Social Governance (ESG). They had high expectations for valuable insights from the one-day expert conference—and they were not disappointed.

Experts Deliver a Compelling Program

Industry experts presented an engaging program, demonstrating the requirements that BACnet infrastructure must meet to ensure seamless validation and exchange of data and functions across building automation, energy and consumption meters, and other systems and tools using BACtwin. They highlighted the diverse advantages of implementing BACtwin in building planning, commissioning, and operation.

The conference kicked off with a presentation on the fundamentals of BACtwin and its adoption five years after its introduction. The speaker, Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Hardkop, chairman of the AMEV BACtwin working group, explored BACtwin’s journey from its inception to its acceptance, further development, and the current state of system integration.

The following presentation, delivered by Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Christoph Bergfeld, Head of Building Automation Planning at M & P Braunschweig GmbH, was titled: "BACtwin as a Response to the Challenges of System Integration." He discussed the crucial role of functional building automation in ensuring a building’s technical performance. Summarizing the use of BACtwin in 2024, his conclusion was clear: "BACtwin is an opportunity to prevent information loss." This is particularly important given the increasing demands in the field, such as:

• The growing complexity of technical building systems (Smart Buildings, GEG 2024, transition away from fossil fuels)
• The challenges in planning (BIM, system dependencies, commissioning management, monitoring)
• Operational requirements (monitoring, OT security, system dependencies)
• The decreasing number of qualified professionals in the industry

BACtwin as the Key to a Successful Energy Transition in Non-Residential Buildings

Jürgen Langstein, a consultant at Delta Controls Germany and a member of the AMEV BACtwin working group, spoke about BACtwin as a foundation for a successful energy transition in non-residential buildings. He explained the goals and key functions of BACtwin, which include:

• Recording data relevant to energy performance
• Monitoring and detecting energy inefficiencies
• Simplifying data transfer to other systems
• Enabling modern control and regulation strategies

The event provided valuable insights into how BACtwin can significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of building operations, reinforcing its role as a crucial tool for the future of technical building management.

Michael Dietrich (GA Pro Engineering Dietrich & Oertel GBR), Felix Schneider (TÜV Süd), and Christoph Zeis (Energiedienstleistungsgesellschaft – EDG – for the districts of Ingelheim, Bad Kreuznach, and Alzey-Worms) shared their experiences from real-world applications. They highlighted the significant advantages of BACtwin in project planning, such as in the CO₂-neutral Schifferstadt Campus.

The BACtwin User Addressing System (BACtwin BAS) as a template for a standardized addressing system in alignment with VDI 3814 was explained by André Höhne (Bosch Building Automation and member of the AMEV BACtwin working group) and Daniel Rörich (Technical Consultant at ICONAG).

Key takeaway: With AMEV’s BACtwin BAS, a uniform addressing system is now available for the first time, applicable across all building portfolios.

In collaboration with TU Braunschweig and the company Entendix, AI-based strategies were introduced to migrate existing addressing systems—spanning different construction phases and manufacturers—to BACtwin BAS.

ICONAG offers a solution on its website for converting and standardizing existing user addressing systems or plant identification keys in real estate portfolios to the universal BACtwin BAS. A landing page for free test conversions is available here:

BACtwin-Konverter

How BACtwin Can Fulfill the Requirements of §71a of the Building Energy Act

In his presentation, Dipl.-Ing. Christian Wild, Managing Director of ICONAG Leittechnik, explained how BACtwin meets the requirements of §71a of the German Building Energy Act (GEG). He highlighted BACtwin’s capabilities, its role in simplifying the digitalization of technical building management, and the additional advantages it offers.

Key Benefits Summarized:

1. Cost Savings – Significant reduction in effort due to the seamless integration of functional data in building automation systems, enabled by true manufacturer neutrality. This is achieved by closing a 20-year-old regulatory gap regarding standardized data point specifications.

2. Quality Improvement – Minimization of errors in the planning and implementation of building automation systems, 100% verifiability of automation station programming, and a simplified, uniform system interface across all manufacturers and trades.

3. Investment Security – Compliance with the required interface according to §71a GEG, ensuring cross-manufacturer technical monitoring and efficient energy management, while laying the foundation for further digitalization (facility and asset management). Additionally, it guarantees data ownership remains with the building owner or operator.

Challenges in Real Estate Management

Patrick Lützel from TÜV Süd described the current challenges in real estate management, stating:

"All buildings constructed in the last ten years do not function properly."

This results in higher operational costs, increased CO₂ emissions, reduced user comfort, and increased maintenance efforts.

The existing regulatory framework and financial incentives are insufficient. The European Green Deal, which aims for climate neutrality by 2050, cannot be achieved under the current conditions. The mandated renovation rate of 2% per year is not being met—instead, it stands at only around 1%.

Lützel emphasized that current building regulations are inadequate, especially since:

• There is no mandatory CO₂ accounting,

• Circular economy principles are not considered in construction.

By 2050, 85–95% of today’s buildings will still exist, making their sustainable operation essential.

The requirements of GEG 2024 for building automation are as follows: digitalization of the building sector, trades/systems must be designed to be “intelligent” and “communicative”, and energy consumption must be made available and monitored (monitoring).

With BACtwin, the standard interface for technical monitoring in non-residential buildings is enabled.

Nico Frühinsfeld from AL-KO Air Technology highlighted that change management experiences and critical success factors also play a role in the introduction of BACtwin. He explained the general challenges of adopting new technologies, the constructive approach to managing change, and provided behavioral recommendations for both idea initiators and recipients, emphasizing self-reflection and expanding one’s sphere of influence.

Final Discussion and Key Takeaways

The concluding discussion at the end of the conference resulted in the following summary:

Developers and operators of real estate portfolios face major challenges in the field of building automation. Within the context of the Building Energy Act (GEG), Environmental Social Governance (ESG), and digitalization, developers and investors must provide their planners and contractors with clear specifications to ensure that buildings are sustainably planned and managed in compliance with legal requirements.

BACtwin is a key tool in establishing the foundation for seamless digitalization of technical building management and achieving the efficiency improvements and consumption optimization necessary for the energy transition.

The AMEV recommendation "BACtwin", issued by state and municipal administrations, is pioneering in this regard. Several operators of large real estate portfolios have already incorporated BACtwin into their BACnet specifications.

Encouraged by the successful outcome of the conference, ICONAG Managing Director and event organizer Christian Wild announced that the next and third BACtwin Forum is already in planning. The scheduled date is September 23, 2025.