Whitepapers

AUGMENTING BACnet WITH LoRaWAN ® WIRELESS IOT www.lora-alliance.org Case Study: Acklio SEAMLESS BACnet COMMUNICATION OVER LoRaWAN The French network technology developer Acklio offers a new approach to implementing a LoRaWAN backhaul in building management systems. The key lies in how data are managed. The great difference between BACnet and LoRaWAN communication protocols is that BACnet uses internet-like data-hungry protocols that can send rich communications but demand considerable bandwidth, while LoRaWAN is optimized for power and range efficiency using very small packets of data. The challenge is how to combine these functionalities. Acklio believes that the solution is a technology called SCHC (Static Context Header Compression), which compresses and if necessary fragments the header content of messages, making it possible to use an IP communication protocol over LoRaWAN. The Internet Engineering Task Force has just published a new set of standards that codifies how SCHC adapts existing IP-based protocols to LPWAN networks, guaranteeing interoperability of multiple technologies including LoRaWAN. "This means we can now roll out energy efficient BACnet/IP over LoRaWAN all the way from the BACnet System to the BACnet Devices", says Alexander Pelov, CEO of Acklio. "We can either retrofit BACnet devices to connect via LoRaWAN to the building automation system, or we can retrofit a BACnet/IP router to connect a subset of BACnet devices to the building automation system via LoRaWAN. Either way, we can connect new sensors and controls inside and outside of buildings, and in remote areas." The benefits are seamless integration with the building automation system, with no impact of the BACnet application environment, while users are freed from 'vendor lock-in' associated with customized network protocols. + CHOOSE BACKHAUL: LEVERAGE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE The backhaul option can be implemented in two ways. The advantage of this approach is that it uses standard BACnet sensors and actuators without any modification other than a compatible modem while adding the ability to connect them wirelessly over long ranges. In one scenario, existing BACnet devices are enabled with the ability to communicate via LoRaWAN using BACnet over IP. Some firmware, called Static Context Header Compression and Fragmentation (SCHC), can be added directly to the BACnet device or a small external bridging device can be placed next to the BACnet sensor/ actuator to perform this function. Alternatively, LoRaWAN bridging via SCHC can be added to a BACnet/IP router rather than to individual BACnet devices. A single BACnet router will manage data from a subset of BACnet sensors and actuators, perhaps in a remote part of the buildings network, and communicate with the buildings management system over LoRaWAN. All elements in the network continue to appear as native BACnet devices, but the infrastructure costs of adding such a subset are greatly reduced.

• Cover