Does your building need BACS by 2029?

Frequently asked questions

The essentials on the EPBD Article 13 BACS mandate, deadlines, and costs.

What is BACS and why is it required?

BACS stands for Building Automation and Control Systems — the controls that monitor and manage a building's heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and hot water. Under EPBD Directive 2024/1275 Article 13, EU member states must require BACS in non-residential buildings whose technical building systems exceed defined capacity thresholds. The goal is to cut energy waste: automated monitoring, fault detection, and demand-based control typically reduce HVAC energy use by 10–30% compared with manual or timer-based operation. The requirement is part of the EU's wider push to decarbonise its building stock, which accounts for roughly 40% of energy consumption. For building owners, BACS is shifting from a nice-to-have into a legal obligation with fixed deadlines.

Which buildings need BACS by 2029?

Non-residential buildings with HVAC systems whose effective rated output exceeds 70 kW must have a compliant BACS by 31 December 2029. A higher threshold of 290 kW already applied from 31 December 2024, so the largest buildings should be compliant now. Effective rated output is the combined capacity of heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot-water systems serving the building — for example, a 120 kW heating system plus a 60 kW cooling system gives 180 kW, which is well above the 70 kW line. The mandate covers offices, retail, hotels, hospitals, schools, logistics centres, and industrial buildings with significant HVAC load. Residential buildings are excluded, and mixed-use buildings are assessed on their non-residential portion only.

What counts as a compliant BACS?

A compliant system must reach at least EN ISO 52120-1 (formerly EN 15232) Class C. That standard defines four automation efficiency classes from A (high performance) to D (non-energy-efficient), and Class C is the minimum acceptable level — buildings sitting at Class D or with no automation are the primary upgrade targets. In practice a compliant BACS must continuously monitor energy use, benchmark it against expected performance, detect faults and efficiency drift, give operators actionable information, and enable demand-based control of HVAC. Simple time-clock controls or standalone thermostats do not qualify, because they cannot monitor, report, or adapt. The system has to actively manage performance, not just switch equipment on and off.

How much does a BACS upgrade cost?

Costs vary widely with building size and the state of existing controls, typically ranging from around €20,000 for a smaller building to €150,000 or more for a large or complex site. The biggest variables are whether any usable controls infrastructure already exists, how many systems must be integrated, and the level of metering required. National and EU funding programmes can offset a substantial share — for example BAFA and KfW (BEG) in Germany, the CEE scheme in France, Conto Termico in Italy, and PREE in Spain — often covering 20–65% of eligible costs depending on the programme and building type. A phased approach, adding monitoring first and optimisation later, usually spreads the investment more comfortably than a full BMS replacement in one step.