Understanding Building Automation Systems and control for beginners
BMS and DDC: A Beginner’s Guide to Building Automation Systems
What you’ll learn
- help convert a process into automation.
- understanding the physical world as inputs and outputs of a controller.
- creating a flow process within the controller.
- connect and program the controller to achieve the specified outcome.
- enmphasis on the refrigeration and airconditioning industry.
Course Content
- Introduction –> 1 lecture • 3min.
- Fundamentals –> 2 lectures • 6min.
- Basic controls concepts –> 6 lectures • 3min.
- Programming –> 2 lectures • 56min.
Requirements
BMS and DDC: A Beginner’s Guide to Building Automation Systems
Course Overview:
This course is designed for anyone curious about how building environments are controlled through automation. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a hands-on technician looking to deepen your understanding, this course provides a solid foundation in Building Management Systems (BMS) and Direct Digital Control (DDC).
What You’ll Learn:
We begin by exploring the fundamentals of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Mechanical Services—the backbone of most commercial building automation systems. This mechanical knowledge sets the stage for understanding how control systems manage real-world processes.
From there, you’ll be introduced to the basics of automation programming and how it can be used to manage and monitor building systems through a graphical user interface.
Who Is This Course For?
- Complete beginners with no prior experience in HVAC or automation
- Apprentices and technicians looking to strengthen their knowledge
- Anyone interested in automation—whether for commercial applications or home automation
The course is structured across three levels:
Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced
We start here with the Beginner course.
Beginner Course Topics:
- A basic understanding of air conditioning and refrigeration processes
(No need to be a refrigeration mechanic—we focus on the principles needed to design logical, sequential control programs) - Why we use Refrigeration and Air Conditioning as a gateway to automation concepts
(These principles are transferable to other automation systems like PLCs used in commercial and industrial electrical applications) - Application of knowledge in Home Automation
- Understanding basic electrical principles
- Introduction to electric and electronic controls
- Exploring physical control hardware and how it connects to the digital world
- Learning how software interacts with hardware through programming
- Reading electrical wiring diagrams and translating them into logical control sequences
- Virtually building and testing circuits to simulate real-world scenarios