Home/Services/Building Automation & Controls
Building Automation & Controls · Open Protocol · Tampa Bay

Open-protocol building automation & controls.

Smart, product-agnostic facility optimization from a licensed Florida Class A HVAC contractor. We install, wire, and configure the HVAC controls that run your mechanical systems — and we specify open protocols and keep you vendor-neutral, so you own your building's controls and data outright, with no proprietary dealer lock-in.

Request a controls systems audit Call (813) 599-5988
You own the building — you should own its controls
Your data Your dashboards Your choice of service contractor No proprietary lock-in
01 / System architecture

From the field device to the web dashboard

A building automation system is a stack: sensors and equipment at the bottom, controllers running the logic, an open communication network in the middle, and a supervisory platform serving dashboards at the top. We self-perform the HVAC controls in that stack and specify the whole thing on open standards — coordinating certified integration where a project calls for it — so data flows end to end and nothing is trapped behind a proprietary gateway.

05

Web dashboards & GUIs

Open, browser-based dashboards, schedules, and trend views — specified vendor-neutral and owned by you.

Open supervisor
04

Supervisory platform

An open platform such as Tridium Niagara normalizes equipment onto one system. We specify it and coordinate the integration with a certified integrator.

Open · Niagara
03

Open communication network

BACnet/IP and MS/TP and Modbus RTU/TCP carry data between equipment — vendor-neutral, discoverable, documented.

BACnet · Modbus
02

DDC controllers

Direct digital controllers run the sequences of operation for your HVAC equipment — we install, wire, and configure them within our Class A scope.

DDC controls
01

Field devices & equipment

Sensors, actuators, VAV controllers, VFDs, chillers, boilers, and cooling towers — wired and interfaced into the system.

Sensors · actuators
Supervisory framework

Tridium Niagara 4

An open, vendor-neutral supervisory platform like Tridium Niagara can unify equipment from many manufacturers onto one browser-based dashboard. We specify open platforms in your controls scope and coordinate the supervisory programming with a certified integrator, then install and service the HVAC side — so your dashboards and your data stay yours, never trapped with a proprietary dealer.

Open dashboardsVendor-neutral specCoordinated integrationYou own the data
Native building network

BACnet — MS/TP & IP

BACnet is the open protocol that lets HVAC equipment share data without a proprietary gateway. We design your mechanical systems and controls scope around BACnet and wire and connect the integral HVAC controls — so chillers, air handlers, and VAV systems live on an open network any qualified contractor can service, not just the original installer.

Chiller / AHU / VAVOpen networkIntegral HVAC controlsNo gateway lock-in
Deep equipment telemetry

Modbus — RTU & TCP

Many drives, pumps, and chillers expose their data over Modbus. We specify and connect Modbus points so equipment telemetry stays accessible to your open platform, and we service the HVAC equipment behind it — keeping machine-level data available rather than trapped inside a closed system.

VFDs & pumpsEquipment dataOpen pointsAccessible telemetry
02 / Core services scope

What we actually do

Our controls work is performed as a Florida Class A Air Conditioning Contractor — controls integral to the mechanical systems we install and service. Four core capabilities:

DDC controls & sequences

We install, wire, and configure the direct digital controls for the HVAC equipment we provide, and set the sequences of operation that hold climate at setpoint, stage equipment efficiently, and respond to occupancy and outdoor conditions — the control logic for your mechanical systems, within our Class A scope.

Low-voltage control wiring

Complete routing of the low-voltage control wiring integral to the HVAC systems we install and service — sensors, thermostats, VAV controllers, and damper actuators — landed and labeled to a documented points list. The nervous system that makes the controls work.

Equipment interfacing

Connecting the HVAC equipment we provide — variable frequency drives, chillers, boilers, and cooling towers — onto an open network so each piece can be monitored and controlled from one platform. Where specialized integration is required, we coordinate it within one accountable mechanical scope.

Legacy system migrations

Upgrading aging pneumatic and closed proprietary HVAC controls to open, DDC, web-connected systems — typically phased system by system to spread cost and avoid downtime. We self-perform the HVAC-controls work and coordinate the supervisory integration, so the building gains trending, alarming, and savings without proprietary lock-in.

03 / Target environments

Built for buildings that can't drift

Env 01
Commercial real estate
Multi-tenant office, retail, and mixed-use portfolios where energy cost and tenant comfort are the business.
Env 02
Industrial cold storage
Temperature-critical warehousing where a controls drift is spoiled product — continuous monitoring and tight control.
Env 03
Cleanrooms
Tight temperature, humidity, and pressure envelopes that demand precise, verifiable control sequences.
Env 04
Mission-critical facilities
Server rooms and data centers where uptime is the product and redundancy must be controlled, not hoped for.

Our controls work aligns directly with the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation — economizer logic, demand-control ventilation, setpoint reset, and scheduling that turn code-required strategies into measurable utility and operational savings. Controls are the cheapest lever on a building's energy bill, and the one most often left untouched.

04 / Ownership & scope

Open by principle. Mechanical by license.

The differentiatorNo lock-in

You keep ownership

At closeout you receive the points list, the documented sequences, network documentation, and the credentials to your own system. Specify open, document fully, hand over access — that is how a building stays serviceable by more than one firm, and how an owner keeps leverage on every future change.

The boundaryClass A scope

Mechanical & thermal only

We deliberately keep our controls scope to HVAC, refrigeration, and thermal energy management — the systems we are licensed to install and service. We do not perform lighting, fire alarm, or security access controls. That focus keeps our work squarely within Florida Class A Air Conditioning Contractor license #CAC1824642, and keeps your project clean with the AHJ.

The honest partCoordinated

Certified work, coordinated

Where a project calls for certified systems integration or specialized supervisory programming, we bring in a certified integrator and coordinate it within one accountable mechanical scope. We claim only the licensed HVAC and controls work we self-perform — and put the rest in qualified hands.

05 / FAQ

Controls questions

What is open-protocol building automation?
Open-protocol building automation uses non-proprietary standards — such as BACnet, Modbus, and open supervisory platforms like Tridium Niagara — so your controls can be serviced, expanded, and reprogrammed by any qualified contractor instead of a single proprietary dealer. You keep ownership of your system, your data, and your dashboards, and avoid being locked to one vendor for the life of the building.
Do you work with open platforms like Tridium Niagara?
We design around open supervisory platforms like Tridium Niagara so your building can be unified on one vendor-neutral dashboard, and we coordinate the certified programming with an integrator while we self-perform the HVAC controls within our Class A scope. We are not a proprietary dealer — the goal is an open system you own, not one locked to us or anyone else.
Can a Florida Class A contractor do building automation controls?
Yes, where the controls are integral to the HVAC and mechanical systems we install and service. Custom DDC programming, low-voltage control wiring for HVAC sensors and actuators, equipment interfacing, and sequences of operation fall within Florida Class A Air Conditioning Contractor license #CAC1824642. We deliberately limit our controls scope to mechanical and thermal systems and do not perform lighting, fire alarm, or security access controls.
Can you migrate a legacy pneumatic or proprietary control system?
Yes. We migrate aging pneumatic and closed proprietary panels to open, DDC, web-connected controls — usually phased system by system to spread cost and avoid downtime — so an older building gains trending, alarming, remote access, and energy savings without a full mechanical replacement.
How does a controls upgrade save money?
Controls are the cheapest lever on a building's energy bill. Optimized scheduling, setpoint reset, economizing, and demand-control ventilation cut waste immediately, and trending and alarming surface problems — a stuck damper, a failed sensor, simultaneous heating and cooling — before they run up months of cost. Payback on a controls retrofit is commonly measured in a few years.
06 / Field notes

Controls reading

The full controls library — 27 notes