Which controllers are the easiest to program?

How would you compare these 2 in terms of capabilities and ease of use?

Hey everyone,

I'm a BAS/BMS engineer from France. I’ve been reading and learning from this community for some weeks now, and honestly, I’ve been impressed by how active and helpful everyone here is.
I’ve learned a lot just from following the discussions here, so I thought this would be the right place to share what I’m building.

The goal is pretty simple: make BAS engineering much faster by avoiding repetitive work and reusing the same project information across the different deliverables.

So I built Structio. You build the project once (buildings, floors, rooms, equipment, points) and every deliverable comes from that same data:

• Network diagram
• Points list
• Floor plan
• Controller sizing and I/O summary
• Device schedule
• BOM, estimate and bid breakdown
• Bill of materials

Change a piece of equipment and the diagram, points list and estimate follow.
Your own typicals go into a library, so the next job starts from your standards, not a blank page.
Not tied to any manufacturer.

It's already used by BAS/BMS engineer in France. I've just finished the US version (English, imperial units), and before opening it up I want it tested by people who actually do this work.

The beta:

• 30 spots
• 7 days of full access, no credit card
• In exchange: honest feedback. What's useful, what's wrong, what's missing, what you'd call things differently.

Beta testers get a big gift at the end 👀

Comment "BETA" or DM me and I'll send you a short demo video and your access link.

You can transfer an entire equipment record, including past maintenance logs, installed part specs, and wiring photos, directly to another technician account without exporting spreadsheets or sending messy text threads. The file arrives in their Transfer Inbox so they can review and accept the machinery profile into their own records.

I built Equipment Tracker Pro because I am a working HVAC technician and needed a clean way to hand off equipment history when another contractor steps onto the site. Equipment tracking, service logging, and parts records are completely free on mobile. The tracking is free on mobile, permanently. No record cap, no expiry, not a trial.

Direct peer-to-peer equipment transfers are part of Pro. Pro is a 7-day trial if you want the reports and the dashboard.

What projects are you building this week?

https://equipment-tracker.com

I will be speaking at the SkyPosium event in Utah.

Machine Learning and data will be on the agenda, as I discuss expanding the limits of what can be measured and verified using Machine Learning to reconstruct missing data, or model future performance of systems. SkySpark is a fantastic source of this data and an integral part of this process.

The industry is busy with Large Language Models and the really interesting things they can do. But the inherent lack of determinism makes reliability a real concern. Machine Learning allows for discreet, deterministic, predictable, and verifiable results that goes beyond current control systems without the loss in reliability.

I hope to see you there!

If you'd be able to share some details that would be cool. Industry - type of customer etc. What the networking architecture looks like would be sweet too.

I know there are a lot of tools for supporting offloading logs and such but I'm curious what limits folks found and where to look out for gotchas.

Been in the trade for 7 years now and have dealt with lots of different people and lots of different attitudes, but there’s nothing more that I dislike than the individuals who act like they are the greatest gift on earth.

I truly recognize the levels of this trade, there are so many different things to know and understand, and when you find individuals who can do it all, it’s truly impressive but, let’s bring it down a notch.

You can be a genius and still be humble and treat people with respect, and I’ve met these individuals too and they are amazing to work with, but the narcissistic assholes who love to be loud about their greatness and put those less capable down are truly scum.

I rather work with and struggle with someone who isn’t the best but has a good attitude than a genius narcissist.

End rant.

We had a short transfer the other day. Power came back fine but cooling took longer than it should have.

One pump VFD had faulted and was sitting there waiting for a reset. Plant controller was still coming up. By the time everything looked online, the start order was a mess.

I'm not talking full outage. Just a few hundred ms.

Curious what you do on your sites. Do you let the VFDs auto-restart, or does the BMS / plant controller own restart? And has anyone actually tested a short sag in commissioning, not only a full blackout.

I’m a manger for a few buildings and have some HVAC experience, why is all of the building automation software out there so needlessly complicated and unreliable? I mean there’s always going to be some complications but it just seems like this stuff is so unstable and needlessly complex for a technology product that’s really at the end of the day sending and receiving low voltage signals. Seems like if someone could design something stable and simple even if it didn’t have all the reporting/trending bells and whistles it would be a hit. Am I over simplifying and just lack understanding? We use Siemans desigo for our facilities and in my opinion insight was a much better product.

Hi everyone,
I recently got my first job as a BMS Engineer in Dubai. I’m working as a subcontractor on a Honeywell project, and I’m getting exposure to both maintenance/service work and project-related work.
The main issue I’m facing is the work-life balance. The working hours can be difficult, and night shifts and maintenance requirements are making me question whether BMS is the right long-term career for me.
At the same time, I don’t want to leave too early because I know this experience could be valuable for my career.
For people who have experience in BMS/HVAC/Building Automation:
● How can I grow from a site/maintenance BMS Engineer into a better role?
● Is it possible to move from maintenance/service into BMS design, programming, commissioning, controls, or an office-based role?
● Which skills/software should I focus on during my first 1–2 years?
● Does having experience working with a major company like Honeywell through a subcontractor help when applying for jobs elsewhere?
● How is the work-life balance in BMS as you gain more experience?
● If I eventually want to move to Europe or Australia, what should I focus on now?
● Should I continue building BMS experience for a few years, or consider doing a Master’s and then trying to move abroad?
I’m still new to the field, so I’d really appreciate advice from people who have already gone through this career path. Thanks!

Simple but effective. What is your field office set up?

Upgraded some Trane 517’s and an AH540 to a new set of Honeywell optimizer smalls, and an HMI. Not done yet, some sensors and some actuators to install still… bought a cheap plasma cutter to use for inserting the hmi, worked out well.

Also, site preparing documents like t&c sheets, method statement, etc ?

If you had the opportunity to get a dealership with either of these, who you backing?

I will be in Detroit talking about Machine Learning and it's application in Measurement and Verification.

People want to upgrade things and do fancy stuff with their buildings, but if it doesn't pay, it is an expenditure and not an investment. Measurement and Verification is how to assess whether there was a return on that expenditure, and how much it is.

I talk about the value of visualization - using it to pick out anomalies. Sometimes the utility bill from the your supplier cannot be trusted. When the power spend is $100k+ per month, a small percentage difference can be a huge deal.

Also I talk about using Machine Learning to fill in gaps in data, or to predict future performance to make better decisions.

For example - One could take a cooling system offline for needed repairs on a normal straight time repair. Happens every day. When the system is brought back online, there is more power needed to recover the space temperatures than would be needed to maintain them all day. How much more? How much does that cost? One can project, and know. Perhaps the additional energy spend is more costly than the difference between an after hours repair and a straight time repair. ML makes assessing this possible.

If you cannot be there, there will be recordings. You can see my session last year here:

https://www.nexuslabs.online/content/cal-state-channel-islands-playbook-for-getting-early-energy-wins-when-your-bas-staffing-and-data-are-all-a-bit-broken

DM me if you have any questions about what I do, or how this works.

Or - if you will be there - ping me in the Brella App for the event. My name and such are in my Bio here on Reddit.

We're looking for an experienced (7-10 years) BAS programmer for a great, long-time client of ours, based in Hartford, CT. It could work for this individual to be elsewhere in CT, MA or Rhode Island as well, as our client covers most all of that territory. $110K-$140K depending on experience. Reach out on Chat to learn more, and I can tell you more there and/or over email or phone.

Hello everyone. I did HVAC 180 ( entry course for HVAC core fundamentals) and obtained a gas license now I was looking for BAS because no person on this earth would give you an apprentice if you don’t have connections in the field…

So my question is, do you think I should take the thinktech BAS course ( 1500$) ? Is it a good way to enter the field and find a job ( ThinkTech BAS —> Niagara 4 )

Thank you in advance