Sample Point List

A point list is the master schedule of the automation system: every point, its name, its type, its units, and what it serves. Operators use the list to find points. Contractors use it to scope graphics work, trend expansion, and front-end migration. This sample shows the naming convention we deliver and what it looks like applied to the example building, a three-story office with roughly 2,400 points across three air handlers, 46 VAV boxes, two boilers, and one air-cooled chiller.

The naming convention

Every point name is built from the same parts in the same order, so the list sorts by system and equipment and search behaves predictably. A small, consistent set of naming rules makes the list easier to maintain as points are added.

• System prefix first. AHU for air handlers, VAV for terminal units, HWS for the heating plant, CHLR for the chiller. Every point sorts with its system.
• Equipment number second. AHU2 is the second air handler. VAV boxes carry floor and box: VAV-2-14 is floor 2, box 14, so the name places the box in the building without opening a drawing, and the two numbers stay hyphen separated so they read at a glance.
• Component next, where one applies. SF for the supply fan, OAD for the outside air damper, HTG and CLG for the heating and cooling valves, DPR for a terminal unit damper.
• Point function suffix last, from a fixed set. STS is a status, CMD is a command, SPT is a setpoint, POS is a position, ALM is an alarm, and SPD is a speed reference. Measured air temperatures use the standard abbreviations: SAT, RAT, MAT, OAT, and ZNT for zone temperature.
• One abbreviation per concept, everywhere. If supply air temperature is SAT on AHU-1, it is SAT on AHU-2 and AHU-3, never DAT on one unit and SA-T on another.
• The name is for sorting and searching; the description is for people. Every point carries both, and the description says in plain words what the point is and where it lives.

Before and after

The legacy names below are typical of what the 2009 front-end upgrade left behind: difficult to interpret without the original programmer. These are the same points before and after renaming.

Excerpt from the example building

The full deliverable covers all of the roughly 2,400 points in the building, one row per point, grouped by equipment. The excerpt below shows AHU-2 and two of the 46 VAV boxes.

Keep the list current as the system changes. Graphics rebuilds, trend expansion, and front-end migration all need a record of the points and their names. Deliver the naming convention with the list so the next person can follow it when adding points.