A monitoring EMS does not control a single setpoint. Buying one therefore makes no building compliant with the BACS decree (French decree 2020-887 on building automation and control systems). For existing buildings from 70 to 290 kW, the deadline is set at 1 January 2030[1][1]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2020-887 of 20 July 2020 on building automation and control systems in non-residential buildings and automatic heat regulation” (BACS decree), codified in Articles R.175-1 et seq. of the Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l'habitation) and amended by Decree No. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023 for the 70 kW thresholdSee in sources ↓[2][2]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2025-1343 of 26 December 2025 amending the application dates of the obligations concerning building automation and control systems in commercial buildings […]”, Article 1, postponing to 1 January 2030 the deadline for existing buildings above 70 kWSee in sources ↓. Yet a real-estate department that confuses a dashboard with compliance commits itself for years.
Your EMS specification must be written to separate each bidder on its histories and its tests, not on its demo. Here are the requirements, the acceptance criterion and the scoring grid that make this possible.
What your EMS specification really buys
An EMS measures and alerts, the BMS acts on the equipment
An EMS, or energy management system, is the system that collects the consumption of each site. It normalizes it by HDD (heating degree days), detects drift, raises alerts and produces the reporting. Platform, EMS or software: three words for the same thing, which practitioners in France also call GTE (gestion technique de l'énergie, technical energy management). It is the tooling of energy management. Yet none of its functions acts on a piece of equipment.
Any energy software specification must start from this limit: an EMS that does not write to the BMS remains a dashboard.
Did you know? In energy, the acronym EMS has three meanings (building, power grid, EV charging stations), and this article deals only with buildings.
EMS, BMS, ISO 50001 and Décret tertiaire: four things that tenders confuse
In a tender file, four things often come up under interchangeable names. Confusing them means buying the wrong tool for the wrong obligation. A typical example: a tender that requires a “BACS-compliant” EMS is asking a monitoring tool for what only the BMS can provide[1][1]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2020-887 of 20 July 2020 on building automation and control systems in non-residential buildings and automatic heat regulation” (BACS decree), codified in Articles R.175-1 et seq. of the Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l'habitation) and amended by Decree No. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023 for the 70 kW thresholdSee in sources ↓. The following table puts each thing back in its place, with what it does not cover.
| Item | What it does | The obligation it contributes to | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring EMSMeasures and alerts | Measures consumption, normalizes it by HDD, detects drift and raises alerts. | Consumption monitoring. | Does not act on any equipment. |
| BMS as defined by the BACS decreeActs on the equipment | Acts on the equipment and holds the setpoints. | BACS decree, which does not impose any NF EN ISO 52120-1 class. | Does not drive the continuous improvement process. |
| ISO 50001 EnMSOrganizes the process | Organizes the process: policy, energy review, significant energy uses, EnPIs, energy baseline, action plan. | Voluntary, certifiable process. | Measures nothing without a tool and metering. |
| Décret tertiaire reportingReports | Reports annual consumption on ADEME's OPERAT platform. | Éco-énergie tertiaire scheme (France's tertiary energy-savings program). | Imposes no tool and detects no drift. |
Read the second row closely: the decree does not impose any class of NF EN ISO 52120-1[1][1]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2020-887 of 20 July 2020 on building automation and control systems in non-residential buildings and automatic heat regulation” (BACS decree), codified in Articles R.175-1 et seq. of the Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l'habitation) and amended by Decree No. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023 for the 70 kW thresholdSee in sources ↓; it sets its own requirements. The EnMS (energy management system) as defined by ISO 50001[3][3]Standards and protocolsISO, “ISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems”, revision of the version published in 2011See in sources ↓ frames the process and its significant energy uses. Annual consumption reporting on the national OPERAT platform[4][4]RegulationLégifrance, “Decree No. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 on obligations to reduce final energy consumption in commercial buildings” (Décret tertiaire), annual reporting on OPERATSee in sources ↓ falls, for its part, under the Décret tertiaire (France's tertiary decree on energy savings in commercial buildings). Your CCTP (cahier des clauses techniques particulières, the French technical specifications document of a tender) therefore targets the first row: a monitoring system, with a write function to the BMS if control is expected.
Before writing a single requirement, check the metering of your sites
An EMS connected to faulty meters draws false curves
On a metering plan that has never been reviewed, faults pile up silently: disconnections, gaps in histories, duplicates, invisible drifts. The sum of the sub-meters ends up no longer matching the main meter, which is nevertheless the reference. The EMS displays these errors with perfect precision.
The curve is clean, the figure is wrong. Before specifying the tool, ask yourself what data an EMS needs and what you can actually provide.
Is your metering ready for an EMS tender?
Six questions are enough to know whether your metering will hold up in a tender. They cover the metering plan, the BMS points, the data collection protocols and the export of histories. Answer based on what you can show today, not on what the O&M contractor claims.
Will your metering hold up in an EMS tender?
- 1 Does the sum of the sub-meters match the main meter over one month?
- 2 Are your histories free of gaps longer than 24 hours?
- 3 Is your metering plan up to date?
- 4 Is the BMS points list documented?
- 5 Do you know the data collection protocol of each meter (BACnet, LonWorks often shortened to LON, pulses)?
- 6 Can you export your histories in an open format?
Each “no” points to a document missing from the file. Prepare it before writing the first requirement: the list below says which ones to attach.
The documents to attach to the tender file
The tender file includes at least these five documents:
- the up-to-date metering plan;
- the exported histories, gaps included;
- the BMS points list;
- the protocols in place for each meter;
- the expected export format.
With these documents, every bidder prices the same reality instead of building its own assumptions.
The EMS requirements to write into the specification
- Raw recorded consumption
- HDD-corrected consumption
- Energy baseline
- 1 Energy baselineFrozen over the period before commissioning, it is the yardstick for all measurement.
- 2 HDD correctionThe raw curve follows winter and summer. Corrected by heating degree days, it isolates the real effect of the actions.
- 3 Drift detectedThe corrected curve rises back above the baseline. The alert is set on this lasting gap, not on the noise of a single day.
Multi-site scope, time step and point licenses
The file sets the number of sites and points, the time step actually logged and the retention period. The point licensing model prices every extension of the platform. Also describe the expected use: drift detection or reporting.
Did you know? The BACS decree requires consumption monitoring at an hourly time step and retention of the data at monthly granularity for five years, under Article R.175-3 of the Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l'habitation)[5][5]RegulationLégifrance, “Construction and Housing Code, Article R.175-3”, hourly monitoring and monthly data retention for five years, version in force since 9 April 2023 (Decree No. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023)See in sources ↓. That is the floor for your time-step requirement.
Score bidders on criteria, then test what they deliver
Which requirements are really negotiable in the scoring grid?
Your scoring grid separates pass/fail requirements from scored ones. A bidder that cannot meet the export, the hourly time step or the acceptance testing is out of the tender, whatever its demo. The grid is organized as follows:
- Pass/fail: tested export, hourly time step, contractual acceptance testing.
- Weighted criteria: integration, total cost, operation.
- A dedicated score for the proposed acceptance test protocol.
- A test on a set of real meter readings.
For a public-sector building owner under a formal tendering procedure, weighting the criteria is the rule set by Article R.2152-12 of the French Public Procurement Code (Code de la commande publique)[6][6]RegulationLégifrance, “Public Procurement Code (Code de la commande publique), Article R.2152-12”, weighting of award criteriaSee in sources ↓. To compare the tools themselves, see how to choose energy management software.
How do you test the EMS at handover?
Once installation is done, every acceptance test is negotiated from a position of weakness. Here, then, are the tests to require before signing the handover acceptance certificate, written into the contract from the tender stage.
Acceptance testing and reversibility
To be appended to the EMS specificationEach box feeds the acceptance test protocol score in your scoring grid: the bidder who refuses it judges itself. Appended to the EMS specification, the checklist gives the evaluation a measurable object.
How do you write a data export requirement?
The clause covers raw and logged readings, delivered in a documented open format, at no extra cost. The export remains executable throughout the contract and at its end: that is reversibility. In practice, the use of your histories after exit depends on this clause alone.
What Foobot brings to a real-estate department preparing an EMS tender
Making meters reliable before going to tender
At Foobot, the meter reliability work in our BMS advisory takes up the “no” answers from your self-assessment one by one. We deal with disconnections, gaps in histories, duplicates, invisible drifts and unexplained peaks. The metering plan of your sites comes out of the assignment up to date.
Testing the readings delivered at handover, then throughout the warranty year
We run operational tests at handover and then throughout the warranty year (GPA, garantie de parfait achèvement, the French one-year defects liability period). Measurement follows the IPMVP protocol, HDD-corrected, against a baseline set before commissioning. You thus accept a tool verified on your own readings.
An EMS specification is judged at handover, not at the demo
The file that really separates the bidders requires tests on your real histories: verified metering, export executed, hourly time step observed, baseline frozen. Everything else is argued in the demo and discovered at the end of the contract.
If the EMS must write to the BMS, the same logic applies to choosing a BMS integrator. To get started with a monitoring tool, our EMS is free. It does neither portfolio ESG reporting nor multi-country. Open it on a first site to judge your own readings.
FAQ - EMS specification
What is an EMS specification?
It is the contractual document that sets the EMS requirements of a tender: scope, time step, data acquisition, measurement, export and acceptance testing. It describes what the platform must prove on your meter readings, beyond its demo.
How do you write a specification?
Start with metering: an up-to-date metering plan, exported histories, documented BMS points. Then write the requirements, followed by how acceptance testing is organized. This order avoids specifying a tool on top of faulty meters.
What are the criteria of a specification?
Separate pass/fail requirements from weighted ones. A logged hourly time step, a tested export and contractual acceptance testing are pass/fail. Total cost and integration are scored afterwards, and cannot make up for a failed pass/fail requirement.
How do you evaluate a specification?
Hold it up against handover: every requirement must be verifiable on site. A scoring grid with no test on a real dataset reduces the evaluation to a comparison of demos.
What documents are needed for an EMS?
The documents that describe your metering as it actually is, faults included: metering plan, histories, points, protocols and the expected export format. Without them, each bidder prices its own assumptions instead of the same reality.
Who owns the data in an EMS?
Whoever the contract names. Without an explicit clause, ownership of the logged readings remains open to dispute. Require ownership by the building owner, export in an open format and reversibility that can be exercised throughout the contract.
Is an EMS specification necessary for a single site?
Yes, in a short version. A single site already commits you to metering, a contract term and point licenses. An energy software specification of a few pages avoids discovering the exit cost too late.
Who writes the specification, the integrator or the building owner?
The building owner, possibly assisted by a BMS advisory firm. A bidder does not write what it will price: the integrator who writes the tender file sets requirements tailored to itself and shuts out its competitors.
Sources and references
6 sources.- [1]Légifrance, “Decree No. 2020-887 of 20 July 2020 on building automation and control systems in non-residential buildings and automatic heat regulation” (BACS decree), codified in Articles R.175-1 et seq. of the Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l'habitation) and amended by Decree No. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023 for the 70 kW threshold20 July 2020↑ 1 2 3
- [2]Légifrance, “Decree No. 2025-1343 of 26 December 2025 amending the application dates of the obligations concerning building automation and control systems in commercial buildings […]”, Article 1, postponing to 1 January 2030 the deadline for existing buildings above 70 kW26 December 2025↑
- [4]Légifrance, “Decree No. 2019-771 of 23 July 2019 on obligations to reduce final energy consumption in commercial buildings” (Décret tertiaire), annual reporting on OPERAT23 July 2019↑
- [5]Légifrance, “Construction and Housing Code, Article R.175-3”, hourly monitoring and monthly data retention for five years, version in force since 9 April 2023 (Decree No. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023)↑
- [6]Légifrance, “Public Procurement Code (Code de la commande publique), Article R.2152-12”, weighting of award criteria↑
- [3]ISO, “ISO 50001:2018 Energy management systems”, revision of the version published in 2011↑