Easy BACnet
How do I export a BACnet points list to CSV, and what is an EDE file?
Updated 18 September 2026
Scan the device, read its points, and export — a CSV with each object's name, type, instance, present value, units and status is what “a points list” usually means, and it opens straight in Excel. Easy BACnet does this from a phone and emails you the CSV. An EDE file (Engineering Data Exchange) is a more formal, column-standardised spreadsheet that integrators use to import points into a building management system — the same information, in a fixed layout. For most “send me your points” requests a clean CSV is exactly what is wanted.
What people mean by “a points list”
When a vendor, integrator or analytics provider asks for your points list, they want a table of what exists on the equipment: for each object, its name, what kind of object it is, its number, and usually a live value and units. Unlike Modbus, BACnet devices can be asked what they contain — so this list can be built by reading the device, not by hunting for a document. See what is a BACnet points list?
Getting it out as a CSV from a phone
- Join the controls network and scan for devices.
- Choose Export — the app reads every point on every device it found: name, present value, units, status, object type and instance.
- Your email app opens with a CSV attached. You choose who it goes to; nothing is uploaded anywhere.
The columns are the ones an integrator actually needs: Device ID, Device Name, Device IP, Object Type, Object Number, Point Name, Present Value, Units, Status. The full walkthrough is in how to use Easy BACnet.
CSV versus EDE — which do they want?
| CSV (from Easy BACnet) | EDE file | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A plain table of the device's objects and values | A standardised BACnet spreadsheet with fixed columns for import |
| Opens in Excel | Yes | Yes (it is a spreadsheet) |
| Best for | “Show me what's on this device”, records, a vendor request, troubleshooting | Bulk-importing points into a BMS or analytics platform to a fixed schema |
| Contains | Names, values, units, status, object IDs | Object name, type, instance, and standard EDE columns (present-value fields, units, COV increment, etc.) |
EDE (Engineering Data Exchange) is a convention from the BACnet world for moving a point list between tools in a predictable column order. If someone specifically asks for “an EDE”, they mean that layout. If they just say “send me the points”, a CSV with clear names and values is what they are after — and it is trivial to reshape a CSV into an EDE template if they later need one.
The value of exporting from the live device is that it is true: it is what the equipment actually reports today, not what a years-old design document claims. A CSV built from a real scan is often the most accurate points list a building has. See a vendor asked for my BACnet information.