The BACS Mandate 2026: what the law requires and how to comply.

The GACS mandate stems from the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and is laid down in the Dutch building regulations (Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving). The rule is simple: if your non-residential building has a heating or air-conditioning installation with more than 290 kW of rated capacity, the building must have a GACS as of January 1, 2026. That includes buildings with an industrial function, such as factory halls and workshops. And the threshold is dropping: under the successor EPBD IV, the category above 70 kW follows from 2030.

A GACS is more than a building management system. The law demands a system that permanently monitors, records, analyzes and can adjust energy consumption; that tests the building's energy efficiency, detects efficiency losses in installations and tells the operator where things can improve; and that communicates interoperably with building systems from different manufacturers.

The bar: class C, with energy management at class B

GACS performance is described in the NEN-EN-ISO 52120 standard. If the system as a whole meets class C and the energy management component meets class B, you comply with the law. Mind the reporting requirement: merely displaying meter readings and temperatures is explicitly insufficient. The law asks for trend reporting, analysis of measured values, determination of energy performance and benchmarking — class B level.

That is exactly where a classic building management system falls short. A BMS regulates, but does not analyze. And according to RVO, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, a BMS combined with a separate, readable EMS probably does not comply either: simple EMSs display consumption, but do not analyze it and rarely communicate with equipment from other manufacturers.

The bonus: no more mandatory inspections

Buildings with a GACS are exempt from the mandatory periodic inspection of heating and air-conditioning systems (the EPBD inspection). One system that permanently monitors and adjusts replaces the paper snapshot — the legislator agrees.

How EGOS meets the requirements

EGOS is built on exactly the functions where the GACS checklist is strictest — the energy management component:

• Permanent monitoring, recording, analysis and adjustment: forecasting, real-time control and logging in one system — not a dashboard that only watches.
• Detecting efficiency losses: deviating consumption and underperforming installations surface automatically, with concrete improvement actions for the operator.
• Class B-level reporting: trends, energy performance and benchmarking per building and across your portfolio — not just meter readings.
• Interoperable and vendor-agnostic: connects through open protocols to your existing BMS, climate installations and meters, regardless of manufacturer.
• The bonus points on the checklist too: coordinating your own generation, storage and consumption, and smart-grid integration with load shifting.

Where to start

Take stock of which buildings sit above the 290 kW threshold and what automation is already in place. After that it is arithmetic: we model per building upfront what it takes to meet the requirements — and what the same control delivers in lower peaks and a smaller energy bill. Compliance as a by-product of a system that pays for itself.