France's BACS decree: who must install a BMS, and by when
France's BACS decree requires a building automation and control system (BACS) in buildings used for tertiary activities whose heating or air-conditioning system, combined or not with ventilation, has a rated useful output above 70 kW. For existing buildings, the deadline was 1 January 2025 at the latest above 290 kW, and is 1 January 2030 at the latest above 70 kW, the obligation also applying when the system is replaced. New buildings are covered according to the date of their building permit application. The obligation falls on the owners of the heating or air-conditioning systems; they are exempt if a study shows the system cannot be installed with a payback period below ten years. These rules are in Article R. 175-2 of the French Construction and Housing Code (Code de la construction et de l'habitation), in the version in force since 28 December 2025 (Légifrance, consulted on 20 October 2026).
The texts, in one paragraph
Decree no. 2020-887 of 20 July 2020 created the obligation for systems above 290 kW. Decree no. 2023-259 of 7 April 2023 extended it to systems above 70 kW and added a periodic inspection, with an order (arrêté) of the same date setting the payback calculation and the inspection frequency. Decree no. 2025-1343 of 26 December 2025 amended Article R. 175-2 and set the 1 January 2030 date for existing systems above 70 kW. At EU level, Article 13(9) of Directive (EU) 2024/1275 of 24 April 2024 on the energy performance of buildings asks Member States to require such systems in non-residential buildings, where technically and economically feasible, above 290 kW by 31 December 2024 and above 70 kW by 31 December 2029.
Who is concerned
- Buildings: those in which commercial or non-commercial tertiary activities are carried out (offices, shops, hotels, schools, hospitals, public buildings and the like). Housing is outside the article.
- Systems: a heating system or an air-conditioning system, combined or not with ventilation, whose rated useful output exceeds 70 kW. For a building supplied by a district heating or cooling network, the output taken into account is that of the substation.
- Who carries the obligation: the owner or owners of the heating or air-conditioning systems, which may differ from the owner of the building or the tenant who operates it.
The timeline, with the 2030 deadline
| Case (Article R. 175-2, II) | Rated useful output | When | Systems to connect to the BACS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1° New buildings, permit filed one year after the publication of Decree no. 2020-887 | Above 290 kW | From construction | All the technical building systems listed in Article R. 175-1, 4° |
| 2° Other buildings | Above 290 kW | By 1 January 2025 at the latest | The heating or air-conditioning systems above 290 kW, and other technical systems where the connection pays back in under ten years, public aid deducted |
| 3° New buildings, permit filed one year after the publication of Decree no. 2023-259 | Above 70 kW | From construction | All the technical building systems listed in Article R. 175-1, 4° |
| 4° Other buildings | Above 70 kW | When the system is replaced, and by 1 January 2030 at the latest | The heating or air-conditioning systems above 70 kW, and other technical systems where the connection pays back in under ten years, public aid deducted |
A system between 70 and 290 kW that is replaced before 2030 brings the obligation forward to the replacement. The ten-year payback exemption below applies in all four cases.
What the system must do
Article R. 175-3, in the version in force since 9 April 2023, lists four functions. The system must:
- continuously monitor, record and analyse energy production and consumption data, by functional zone and at an hourly time step, and adjust the technical systems accordingly; the data are kept at monthly level for five years;
- compare the building's energy efficiency with reference values, detect efficiency losses of the technical systems and inform the operator of possible improvements;
- be interoperable with the building's different technical systems;
- allow manual shutdown and autonomous management of one or more technical systems.
The data produced and archived are accessible to the owner of the system, who makes them available to the building manager on request. The decree does not name an efficiency class; the functions are classified in ISO 52120-1:2021, which defines four classes from D (least efficient) to A. A specification that names its target class and the functions that justify it is easier to price and to accept: see the BMS specification template.
The ten-year payback exemption
The order of 7 April 2023 (Annex 1) sets the calculation. The payback period, rounded up to the next whole year, is the extra cost divided by the yearly energy gain: S / Σ(Genergy × Cenergy).
- Extra cost S: the cost of installing or changing the system, minus the public aid obtained, based on at least two real quotes, the lowest being used.
- Gain G: the average yearly consumption of the two most recent years for each connected system (only the most recent year if energy renovation work was done in the last two years), multiplied by a gain of 15%, or by a gain estimated from an energy audit.
- Cost C: the average price paid for each energy during the year of the calculation.
When the result is strictly above ten years, the lack of profitability is established. A fictitious example: an installation quoted at EUR 120,000 with EUR 20,000 of aid gives S = EUR 100,000; the heating system used 800,000 kWh of gas a year at EUR 0.08 per kWh, so the yearly gain is 800,000 × 15% × 0.08 = EUR 9,600; 100,000 / 9,600 = 10.4, rounded up to 11 years. The owner may rely on the exemption, and keeps the study and the quotes to show it.
Periodic inspection
Article R. 175-5-1 requires an inspection at the owner's initiative; systems already in place when Decree no. 2023-259 was published had to be inspected by 1 January 2025 at the latest. The inspector hands over a report within one month, and the owner keeps it for ten years. Under Article 5 of the order of 7 April 2023, the interval between inspections cannot exceed five years, and is reduced to two years after the installation or replacement of the system or of a technical system connected to it.
How to prepare a project
- List each building's heating, air-conditioning and ventilation systems with their rated useful output, and check the tertiary use.
- Place each system in one of the four cases and note its replacement date, if earlier than 2030.
- Decide per building: install, upgrade an existing system, or document the payback study with two quotes.
- Write the specification around the four functions of Article R. 175-3, a target ISO 52120-1 class, a points list and acceptance tests.
- Include cybersecurity from the start: a connected BMS is an entry point. The BMS cybersecurity requirements checklist lists the clauses.
- Plan the inspections and keep the reports. The BMS points list template shows how to describe what the system must measure and control.
FAQ
Does the BACS decree apply to residential buildings?
No. Article R. 175-2 covers buildings in which tertiary activities, commercial or not, are carried out. For a mixed-use building with systems shared with housing, have the case checked against the text of the article.
Can an owner of a 150 kW system wait until 2030?
Only if the system is not replaced before then. Article R. 175-2, II, 4° applies the obligation when the system is replaced, and by 1 January 2030 at the latest.
Who checks compliance?
The article places the obligation on the system owner, and Article R. 175-5-1 requires periodic inspections with a written report kept for ten years. Keep the inspection reports, the payback study if you rely on the exemption, and the as-built file of the system.