ASHRAE Standard 205 Resource Files

ASHRAE Standard 205: Representation of Performance Data for HVAC&R and Other Facility Equipment

Purpose

To facilitate automated sharing of equipment performance characteristics by defining data models and data serialization formats.

Scope

This standard applies to performance data for any HVAC&R or other facility system, equipment, or component.

About ASHRAE Standard 205

ASHRAE Standard 205 defines common data models and serialization formats for facility equipment performance data needed for engineering applications such as energy simulation. The formats allow automated exchange among data sources (manufacturers), simulation models, and other engineering applications. The formats and procedures specified in the standard are developed by SSPC (Standing Standard Project Committee) 205 under ASHRAE and ANSI consensus processes. SSPC 205 membership includes equipment manufacturers, application software developers, and engineering practitioners.

The initial published version of the standard is designated ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 205-2023. Addenda a, b, and c, published in February, 2024, specify some updates to the standard. The material available on this web site reflects those updates.

Free preview (view only) access to Standard 205-2023 is available via ASHRAE's website. On that page, find the section "Preview ASHRAE Standards and Guidelines" and the link to Standard 205-2023 within that section. Standard 205-2023 may be purchased via TechstreetTM Store.

Standard 205 defines the term representation to mean a Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR) file conforming to a JSON schema defined by a human-readable (text) document called a representation specification. Representation specifications are included in Standard 205 appended as an open-ended set.

Standard 205 structure and application can be visualized as follows:

Visualization of Standard 205 structure and application

This web site hosts supporting material for each representation specification, including:

  • JSON schema files are the software-readable equivalent of the data model portion of each representation specification. The files are a normative portion of Standard 205.

  • Examples files provide illustrative examples of each representation. Several file formats are provided.

  • XLSX templates can be downloaded, populated by hand, and then processed with Toolkit 205 procedures to convert to a standard CBOR representation.

All representations have common structures and elements. An open source project, open205, is underway to provide software components for use by data publishers and application developers.

SSPC 205 is developing representation specifications for additional equipment types. These will be published in future revisions of the standard.