How can I create my BACnet network?

This article explains how to add a BACnet device to the Wattsense Console.

If you would like more information about BACnet, please read our article: General information about BACnet.

Add a BACnet device in the Wattsense Console

In the Console, click on the add equipment button (Configuration Tab)

Then click on Scan a BACnet network

Ethernet connection settings

Select the physical ethernet connector that is connected to your BACnet device . Advanced settings will show you the configuration of the connector :

ETH1, ETH2 = (Ethernet port on the box)

Method : Manual or DHCP (depends on your network configuration)
In the advanced settings, Device Instance = (112381 in our example) is the instance (ID) of the Wattsense box in the BACnet network.

Devices and properties scan

Once you have configured the connector, click on next to run the BACnet scan

Please note that this scan might take a while depending on the number of equipments and properties. This feature is limited to small and medium sized buildings.

If you encounter any problems during the scanning process, you can refer to the following article :

Checklist to debug your BacnetIP Network

Click on next to see the result of your scan.
Found devices are diplayed in a list on the left side of the screen.

Here you will find information about the selected device (instance number / number of properties).. You can also search for specific equipment using the filter list.

Please note the properties list is filtered to display only Average Value, Present Value, Property for writing and Program state. But you can easily access the full listing using the link in the dedicated message box.

Properties selection

Click on the device to view its properties :

As probably many properties will appear in the list, you may need to apply your own filters. There are two ways to perform this feature :
• The search method (enter the name of the property in the search edit)

• The filter method (use the Filters button)

You can filter by name, access (read write), BACnet property, object type, object instance, unit.

Select the properties you want to monitor and click on Save

Click on save change and send the configuration to the box

Now you can see your BACnet device/properties in the console :

Save changes and send the configuration to the box :

Selecting properties via a text file

The BACnet scan can return a large number of properties. In this case, it may be easier to select them from an Excel file. To do this, use the BACnet property import/export function (menu in the top right corner of the equipment/properties page).

Exporting the Excel file

The exported file will be available in your system's standard download folder. It is an EDE format file with an additional selection column. In this Selected column, mark the properties to be added with a x (leave blank for properties to be ignored).

Note: modify only the Selected column; other changes are ignored. Once added to the configuration, BACnet properties can be bulk edited at a later stage.

Importing the Excel file

Once modified and saved, you can reimport the selection file.

Please contact us if you need any additional information: Wattsense Support