The world of Building Management Systems is rife with various abbreviations and acronyms.
The industry itself is most commonly known as the acronym BMS to most people! Whilst many people know what the technology or process around the acronym means they don’t always know what it stands for.
Below is an ongoing list of acronyms that you will find associated within the BMS industry. Feel free to let me know if I have missed any.
| AC | Alternating Current |
| ACU | Air Conditioning Unit |
| AHU | Air Handling Unit |
| AI | Analog Input |
| AO | Analog Output |
| ASHP | Air Source Heat Pump |
| BAC | Building Automation and Control |
| BACNET | Building Automation and Control Network |
| BACS | Building Automation and Control System |
| BEMS | Building Energy Management System. |
| BMS | Building Management System |
| BS | Building Services |
| CAV | Constant air volume |
| CHP | Combined Heat and Power |
| CN | Control Network |
| CO | Carbon Monoxide |
| CO2 | Carbon Dioxide |
| COS | Change of State |
| COV | Change of Value |
| CT | Constant Temperature |
| CV | Controlled Variable |
| DB | Distribution Board |
| DC | Direct Current |
| DDC | Direct Digital Control |
| DHWS | Domestic Hot Water System |
| DI | Digital Input |
| DO | Digital Output |
| DPS | Differential Pressure Switch |
| ELV | Extra Low Voltage |
| EMI | Electromagnetic Interference |
| FAI | Fire Alarm Interface |
| FCU | Fan Coil Unit |
| FM | Facilities Management |
| GSHP | Ground Source Heat Pump |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface |
| HOA | Hand / Off / Auto. |
| HVAC | Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning |
| IO | Input / Output |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| IT | Information Technology |
| LAN | Local Area Network |
| MCP | Mechanical Control Panel |
| MCWS | Mains Cold Water System |
| MSTP | Master Slave Token Passing |
| MV | Motorised Valve |
| NC | Normally Closed |
| NO | Normally Open |
| NTC | Negative Temperature Coefficient |
| OSI | Open Systems Interconnection |
| PICV | Pressure Independent Control Valve |
| PID | Proportional, Integral, Derivative |
| RO | Relay Output |
| RTD | Resistive Temperature Detector |
| SCADA | Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition |
| SELV | Seperated Extra Low Voltage |
| SP | Set Point |
| TCP | Transmission Control Protocol |
| UDP | User Datagram Protocol |
| UI | Universal Input |
| UI | User Interface |
| VAV | Variable Air Volume |
| VDU | Visual Display Unit |
| VFC | Volt Free Contact |
| VRF | Variable Refrigerent Flow |
| VSD | Variable Speed Drive |
| VT | Variable Temperature |
| WAN | Wide Area Network |
Additional Information
For more information about physical points within a BMS check out this post!
Interested in becoming a BMS Engineer?
Check out the following link to the BCIA website for more information.
