BACnetP2 is a product developed by PurpleSwift, designed to integrate Apogee systems with BACnet systems. That is, it is a software gateway which allows communication between the Apogee P2 network and the BACnet/IP network.
Launched in August 2020, it is our flagship product. It supersedes our previous gateway, DBACnet. While DBACnet only provided integration of the Apogee P1 network devices (TECs) with the BACnet/IP network, BACnetP2 offers integration with the Apogee P2 network which includes all the P1 devices (TECs) and the P2 devices (panels).
BACnetP2 is designed to allow your customers freedom and flexibility to choose their own BAS vendor without losing their substantial investment in Insight. It is affordable and flexible.
We put in years of work reverse engineering the Apogee P2 protocol, so that you don’t have to and our BACnetP2 software gateway is currently being used across sites in the USA, South Korea, South Africa and Hong Kong.
Why you need BACnetP2
Advances in technology, while improving your user experience, often require changes to devices. Devices need to be upgraded to stay current and in order to meet the growing and changing demands placed on them. Traditionally BAS vendors each provided their own proprietary device communications protocols which, as the client BAS system investment grew, tied the client to that vendor’s system. Any upgrades or BAS system expansion had to be more of the same vendor's equipment.
This isn’t the case with the BACnet protocol which allows for systems to be upgraded as new technology is released, without replacing whole systems. However, there are still a lot of proprietary systems in use, such as Apogee Insight, which can cause problems for a service provider or controls dealer. If you are in the Building Analytics field or if you are a controls dealer, we have a question for you: Do your customers, or potential customers, have buildings with Apogee Insight? If so, then BACnetP2 might be just what you need. Ripping and replacing is not always the answer.
BACnetP2 Will Save You Money and Time
BACnetP2 allows you to integrate an existing Apogee system with any BACnet compatible system. This means that you do not have to rip and replace the whole system, which will save your customers from a big upfront investment. But don’t worry, if you are a controls dealer, you will eventually replace each component as it is needed- but your customer does not have to pay it all upfront. Happy customer and happy you!
There is no engineering time, as the software auto-maps the P2 system. This cuts out any labor costs and time associated with a normal upgrade. This also means there is no apogee down time which means less disruptions. Read more about this here
You will need to maintain their existing Apogee system until it has finally been replaced, which can mean additional business for you, if you charge an additional fee for this. It also means that you need someone in your company with Apogee expertise, which is something to bear in mind.
If you are in the energy monitoring, building analytics or smart building industry, you don’t have to worry about maintaining the Apogee system. This is because, whoever was maintaining the system before you integrated your software with Insight, can continue to do so after integration. This gives you access you would not have had, to customers with Apogee Insight. Instead of using other expensive and often slow system integration methods so that you can provide your service, you can just integrate your system with theirs using the BACnetP2 integration gateway.
Support For Insight is Ending
Your customers might be happy with their Insight system, however, support for Insight is being discontinued as of January 2022. This means that they will have no choice but to either upgrade their system (there are a few options for this) or replace it. One of the options for upgrading Insight is to stick with their current vendor, but this can be expensive. On top of the expense, this upgrade doesn’t allow for the flexibility of integrating with other vendors, and upgrading and scaling their system as new technology develops.
Yes, there are other options when it comes to integration of Apogee systems to BACnet systems. We know we aren’t the only one. For example, vendors might offer to replace outdated Apogee drivers, or controllers, with drivers that communicate with a BACnet compatible BAS front end. However, our option is substantially more affordable, which is why we believe it is the best option for you. And you don’t need to replace anything, you can just add BACnetP2 to the existing system.
How will you use BACnetP2?
HVAC controls and Building Automation Systems
If you are a HVAC controls dealer or BAS dealer and you have customers with existing Apogee Insight in their buildings and you are wondering how exactly BacnetP2 will help you then look no further. We are here to help. It is quite simple, BACnetP2 is a software gateway which allows you to integrate systems on an Apogee P2 network, with BACnet.
This means that you can either replace Insight with your own (or an independent brand’s) BACnet compatible Building Automation System, and use BACnetP2 to communicate with the controls and sensors/actuators on the Apogee P2 network, or you can leave Insight in place and use BACnetP2 to communicate between your BAS and Insight. BACnetP2 allows for very fast read/write access so your BAS can function as intended.
The fact is, according to Siemens, Insight support is being discontinued as of January 2022. This means that using BACnetP2 to replace Insight with a BACnet compatible BAS, instead of integrating with Insight, might be a more forward-thinking option for you and your customers.
Energy Monitoring, Building Analytics and Smart Buildings
If you are in the Energy Monitoring, Building analytics or Smart Building industry and you would like to offer your services to customers with Insight without them having to replace their systems, we can help you out too. BACnetP2 has full read/write capabilities, however you will only need to receive information from Insight, so we can offer you a read only licence at a reduced price. Since you help buildings be more efficient, we think it’s only right that we offer you an efficient licence. Don’t pay for what you don’t need.
BACnetP2 will allow you to integrate the existing Insight Building Automation System with any BACnet compatible software you use for energy management or analytics. This means that you can offer your services to customers with Insight, without them having to replace their whole BAS. You get a customer and they get to save money.
Try it Now
If you are interested, feel free to download the software and try it out. It comes with a 16-day demo licence, which you can extend if you need to.
Configuring BACnetP2
Now for some technical stuff. How exactly do you configure BACnetP2 so that you can get on with actually using it? Luckily, BACnetP2 is easy to configure using BACnet Tools. Believe it or not, it does not require engineering. Everything you need to know about setting it up is covered in the quick start manuals we have written for you and we have a demo video coming soon! There are two quick start manuals, one for ethernet and one for RS485.
Each manual details the steps involved in the configuration of the BACnetP2 gateway, which is done via the BACnet interface. If you have any trouble following the manuals (which we doubt you will), or if something is not working as described, you can always contact us. We are happy to help, and to hear from you.
Evaluating your options
So, you have customers with Insight, and you have recently learnt that support for the latest version of Insight is ending in January 2022. What are your options to upgrade? Obviously, we think that BACnetP2 is a great way to go. But we know you would like to evaluate all of your options.
There are 4 main options which are 1. Apogee BACnet Server, 2. HMI to BACnet gateway (terminal emulation), 3. P1 to BACnet gateway and 4. Apogee P2 to BACnet gateway, which is where BACnetP2 comes in.
Each option has its advantages and disadvantages. If you would like to know more about this, you are in luck. We have written an article explaining (with diagrams) each option with the advantages and disadvantages of each.
If you know of other upgrade paths for Apogee Insight, why not contact us about it? Feel free to share the information with us so we can update our information. Sharing is caring.
Price of the options
With all of the options, and as discussed on our BACnetP2 pricing page, the pricing depends on each site. Specifically, it depends on P2 BLN type (RS485 or Ethernet), number of servers (Ethernet = 1, RS485 = Number of P2 networks (BLNs)), number of panels and number of TECs.
When using an Apogee BACnet Server, there is no real way of knowing how much this will cost (we have tried) until you get the quote. This is because the vendor has tools that can analyse the database and generate the number of point licenses needed, and therefore the price. Meaning it isn’t something you can work out the cost of, until you are given the quote. And when it arrives it might be a bit of a surprise. In any case, what we do know is that it is very expensive.
Going with HMI to BACnet gateway (terminal emulation) would be the cheapest option. However, due to the slow speed at which it functions on anything more than a tiny system, this is unreliable and therefore is not a viable solution for most systems.
Using a P1 to BACnet gateway is reportedly cheaper than using the Apogee BACnet server. However, we have run the numbers and we are happy to say that BACnetP2 is still the most cost effective. Below are examples of sample sites and the comparative prices.
Using an Apogee P2 to BACnet gateway can be, by our calculations, at least twice as cost effective as using a P1 gateway. These calculations were based on using BACnetP2 as the gateway. The lower cost is in part because of the ease at which BACnetP2 is configured. It does not take hours of engineering. As mentioned before, there is no engineering required! You can have a look at just how easy it is if you read through our quick start manuals in our BACnetP2 downloads section, and we have a demo video coming soon.
Would you like to read more about BACnetP2 in action? Take a look at our case studies
Get a quote
Have you realised that BACnetP2 is just what you have been looking for? If you have a particular site in mind that you would like a quote for, don't hesitate to contact us.
Additional hardware needed
Once you have purchased a BACnetP2 licence, there are four different methods that you can use to connect devices when using BACnetP2 to integrate with Apogee P2 systems. You can connect with P2 over Ethernet, or P2 over RS485, and you can either run BACnetP2 on a dedicated Linux device, or you can run it on a virtual machine. For a more detailed description of this, with diagrams and a video, please go to Four Methods of Integration with BACnetP2.
Method 1: P2 over ethernet network with a dedicated Linux device running BACnetP2 Method 2: P2 over ethernet network with a virtual machine running BACnetP2 Method 3: P2 over RS458 network with a virtual machine running BACnetP2 Method 4: P2 over RS485 network with a dedicated Linux device running BACnetP2.
All of the methods, except method 2, require you to have some additional hardware.
Method 1:
P2 over ethernet network with a dedicated Linux device running BACnetP2
With this method, you have a device running BMS software or a BACnet Browser which connects via BACnet over IP to a dedicated Linux device running BACnetP2. This network is then connected to the rest of the system via P2 over ethernet. The additional hardware needed is the Linux device for running BACnetP2.
Method 2:
P2 over ethernet network with a virtual machine running BACnetP2
With this method, you have a device running BMS software or a BACnet Browser, with a virtual machine running BACnetP2. This is connected to the rest of the system via P2 over ethernet. There is no additional hardware needed.
Method 3:
P2 over RS485 with a virtual machine running BACnetP2
With this method, you have a device running BMS software or a BACnet Browser, with a virtual machine running BACnetP2. This is connected to an RS458 converter which is then connected to the rest of the system by P2 over RS458. The additional hardware needed is the RS485 converter.
Method 4:
P2 over RS485 with a dedicated Linux device running BACnetP2
With this method, you have a device running BMS software or a BACnet Browser which connects via BACnet over IP to a dedicated Linux device running BACnetP2. The dedicated Linux device is connected to an RS458 converter which is then connected to the rest of the system by P2 over RS458. The additional hardware needed is the RS485 converter and a dedicated Linux device.
New Features
This section of this article contains new features of BACnetP2 and will be updated as new features are released. If you are interested and looking for more detail you can also have a look at the release notes.
Helpful information
We would like to end off with a little bit of helpful information. Or rather, direction to some helpful information.
BACnet
If you would like more information on BACnet, we highly recommend visiting the official BACnet website. This website offers up to date news and information on BACnet. The content for this website is created and provided by ASHRAE Standing Standard Project Committee 135.
Siemens Information
We know a thing or two about Siemens, and we can help you if you would like an introduction to Siemens terminology. This can help you be a little more comfortable when integrating Apogee P2 systems with your own systems, and save you a bit of Googling.
Apogee
Since BACnetP2 was developed to integrate Apogee P2 systems with BACnet systems, we do know a little about Apogee. We are in no way saying that we are specialists in the Siemens Apogee field. However, we do have some experience and information which you might (hopefully) find helpful. We can help you identify which Apogee controls you or your customers have.
Insight
You can also have a look at how Siemens recommends you upgrade from Insight to Desigo, as well as download the Insight user manual for Insight Revision 3.13.
Don't Miss Out
Stay updated about new BACnetP2 features. Click the button below to email us and we will add you to our mailing list. We will send you updates no more than once a month, with any new developments regarding BACnetP2.
For feedback on this article email Siobhan: marketing(at)purpleswift.com
