What B-AEC Is
A BACnet device profile is a standardized capability level: a checklist of things a device must be able to do before it can wear the label. B-AEC (BACnet Advanced Elevator Controller) is defined in Annex L of ANSI/ASHRAE 135-2024 (clause L.13.1) as the fullest elevator profile: like the B-EC it monitors and commands elevator equipment, and it adds an event log, internal scheduling, runtime object creation, and backup and restore.
The checklist items are BACnet Interoperability Building Blocks (BIBBs). B-AEC is a B-role device. A device documents its claim in its PICS (Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement); to verify a claim, ask for the PICS and check the profile line.
Where It’s Used
B-AEC fits a full-featured elevator gateway managing a group of cars with its own history and configuration.
- Large elevator groups. A controller for a bank of elevators that reports and commands each car and keeps an event history.
- Configurable lift integration. A device where the building system creates and deletes objects and backs up the configuration.
- Scheduled elevator service. A controller that runs local time-of-day service modes alongside monitoring and control.
Required Services
The table below is the exhaustive service set required by the B-AEC BIBBs. Initiates means the device sends the request or notification; Executes means the device receives and acts on it (responding, for confirmed services). BIBB codes encode the same split: a -A BIBB is the initiating side, a -B BIBB the executing side. A - means the profile does not require that direction; a device may still support it.
| Capability area | Service | Required by BIBB | Initiates | Executes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data sharing | ReadProperty | DS-RP-B | - | Yes |
| Data sharing | ReadPropertyMultiple | DS-RPM-B | - | Yes |
| Data sharing | WriteProperty | DS-WP-B | - | Yes |
| Data sharing | WritePropertyMultiple | DS-WPM-B | - | Yes |
| Data sharing | SubscribeCOV | DS-COV-B | - | Yes |
| Data sharing | ConfirmedCOVNotification | DS-COV-B | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | UnconfirmedCOVNotification | DS-COV-B | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | SubscribeCOVPropertyMultiple | DS-COVM-B | - | Yes |
| Data sharing | ConfirmedCOVNotificationMultiple | DS-COVM-B | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | UnconfirmedCOVNotificationMultiple | DS-COVM-B | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | ConfirmedEventNotification | AE-N-I-B | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | UnconfirmedEventNotification | AE-N-I-B | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | AcknowledgeAlarm | AE-ACK-B | - | Yes |
| Alarm and event management | GetEventInformation | AE-INFO-B | - | Yes |
| Alarm and event management | ReadRange (event log access) | AE-EL-I-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | Who-Is | DM-DDB-A, DM-DDB-B | Yes | Yes |
| Device and network management | I-Am | DM-DDB-A, DM-DDB-B | Yes | Yes |
| Device and network management | Who-Has | DM-DOB-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | I-Have | DM-DOB-B | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | DeviceCommunicationControl | DM-DCC-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | TimeSynchronization ¹ | DM-TS-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | UTCTimeSynchronization ¹ | DM-UTC-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | CreateObject | DM-OCD-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | DeleteObject | DM-OCD-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | ReinitializeDevice | DM-RD-B, DM-BR-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | AtomicReadFile (backup) | DM-BR-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | AtomicWriteFile (restore) | DM-BR-B | - | Yes |
Several requirements are hosted objects. The device presents its equipment through Lift and Escalator objects; AE-EL-I-B means it hosts at least one Event Log object (read back with ReadRange); and SCHED-I-B means it hosts Schedule and Calendar objects that write its local objects, which adds no outbound service and so is not a row above.
¹ The profile requires one of the two time-synchronization services, not both. (Protocol_Revision is a readable property of the device’s Device object.)
Related Profiles
| Profile | How it differs from B-AEC |
|---|---|
| B-EC | Elevator Controller: a step down. No event log, internal scheduling, object creation, or backup and restore |
| B-EM | Elevator Monitor: read-only monitoring |
| B-AEWS | Advanced Elevator Workstation: the operator-side profile that displays and commands these devices |
What Chipkin Provides
The CAS BACnet Stack implements the BIBB set the B-AEC profile requires, including the Lift and Escalator object model, the event log, the internal schedule engine, runtime object creation, and backup and restore. Talk to us about building or integrating a B-AEC device on the stack.