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Building Equipment Modbus Monitoring: A Practical Guide

How to connect common building equipment to your BMS using Link485: what to monitor, wiring patterns, and which gateway to use by scenario.

Equipment Map

Building Equipment Modbus Overview

High-level topology: devices on RS-485 → Link485 gateway → Cloud/BMS.

By Application

Water & Wastewater

STP/WTP sensors, tank levels, pump stations

STP/WTP → Tank Level → Pumps →

Power & Energy

Energy meters, gensets, UPS

Energy Meters → Gensets → UPS →

HVAC

VFDs, chillers, AHUs

VFDs → Chillers →

Case Study: Mixed-Use Complex

Step-by-step retrofit plan

Start with energy meters and critical pumps, then add STP and gensets. Use LoRa for hard-to-reach areas and WiFi where available. Consolidate to dashboards and alerts.

Recommended Products

Long Range

Link485 Zero

LoRa long range; ideal for rooftops and remote rooms.

  • ~400m typical (up to 2km optimal)
  • Zero configuration
  • No monthly fees
Learn More
With WiFi

Link485 Air

Uses existing WiFi; fast floor-by-floor rollouts.

  • Cloud dashboards
  • Alerting
  • APIs
Learn More

Design Your Monitoring Plan

We’ll map your equipment to the right gateways and dashboards.

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