The underpinnings of the LonWorks industrial control system from Echelon have been standardised by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

In particular ISO and IEC have granted the communications protocol, twisted pair signalling technology, power line signalling technology, and Internet protocol compatibility standard numbers ISO/IEC 14908-1, -2, -3, and -4 in the realm of building automation, control and building management.

Previously these technologies were standardised in Europe as EN 14908-1, 2, 3, and 4, in China as GB/T 20299.4-2006 and GB/Z 20177.1, 2, 3, 4-2006, and in the United States as ANSI/CEA 709.1, .2, and .3 and ANSI/CEA-852.

Since 1999, the underlying protocol, twisted pair, and power line signalling technology for LonWorks have been known collectively as the ANSI/CEA 709 -family of standards.

Subsequently, ANSI/CEA-852 was ratified to add the use of the IP as a transport medium for the LonWorks platform.

Other ratifications include: IEEE for train controls, EN 14908 for building controls, AAR for electro-pneumatic train braking systems, SEMI for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, BACnet for heating, venting and air-conditioning equipment (transport layer), IFSF for European petrol stations, GB/T for intelligent communities in China, and GB/Z for building automation in China.

More information: www.echelon.com