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Trakhees BMS Requirements in Dubai: Circular 18/2025, VRF Integration and Quotation Guide

Intellicon International · October 20266 min read

If you received a Trakhees comment requiring a BMS, do three things: find the checklist item the comment refers to, ask your consultant to confirm in writing whether the project meets that item's applicability wording, and send us the comment with your approved MEP drawings and AC equipment schedule. We then define the points list, integration arrangement and quotation. Trakhees issues the approval or certification; Intellicon provides the engineering and integration.

Received a Trakhees BMS comment?

Send us the comment and available drawings for a scope review and quotation.

Send the comment for a scope review

Trakhees Circular 18/2025 at a Glance

Full titleCircular No. (18) of Year 2025 regarding the Trakhees Green Building Certification System
Issued15 July 2025
Issued byPlanning and Development Department (Trakhees), Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), Dubai
Addressed toAll business units, customers, consultants, contractors and real estate developers
What it adoptsThe Technical Evaluation List for building permits and Green Building certificates: checklist TRK-CED-GB-SF07a, DBC-SUS-Building Checklist
CategoriesCertified, Gold, Platinum
Where BMS comes inThrough checklist items such as H.4.14.2 Central Control and Monitoring. The circular text itself does not mention BMS.

What Circular 18/2025 Actually Says

Circular 18/2025, issued on 15 July 2025, adopts a technical evaluation list for building permits and Green Building certificates, and introduces three categories: Certified, Gold and Platinum. The list is the checklist TRK-CED-GB-SF07a, downloadable from the Trakhees certification service page. The circular does not mention BMS and is not a blanket BMS mandate. A BMS requirement reaches your project through an item in the checklist.

Read the comment for the clause number. It will usually point to the Central Control and Monitoring item, H.4.14.2, but the checklist also asks for smart BTU meters connected to the BMS on chilled-water systems (H.4.14.4) and a smart-building item that cites a BMS (H.11.7).

The Threshold: Two Documents, Slightly Different Wording

The Dubai Building Code clause H.4.14.2 is generally summarised as applying where the cooling load is 1,000 kW or the gross area is 5,000 m² or greater. It covers HVAC control and monitoring, diagnostic reporting, recording of energy and water consumption, and energy optimisation. Confirm the wording against the current edition of the Dubai Building Code for your project.

In the Trakhees checklist (Rev. 01, April 2025), item H.4.14.2 is marked as a mandatory item and its applicability column reads “All Buildings (if the cooling load > 1 MW)”. It does not repeat the 5,000 m² alternative. We do not read that as an exemption for smaller-load buildings, and neither should you. The two documents are worded differently, so ask your consultant to obtain project-specific clarification from Trakhees on which threshold applies to your building.

What Is Confirmed, What Needs Checking, What We Will Not Claim

Confirmed

  • Circular 18/2025 (15 July 2025) adopts the technical evaluation checklist TRK-CED-GB-SF07a and the Certified, Gold and Platinum categories.
  • The checklist has a Central Control and Monitoring item (H.4.14.2) whose evidence is floor plans reflecting the use of a building management system.
  • A VRF or DX system can be connected to a BMS through a manufacturer-supported gateway, within that gateway’s documented point list.

Check for your project

  • Whether your building is caught by the BMS item, and on which threshold.
  • Whether a given gateway supports your exact VRF models and which points it exposes.
  • Whether Trakhees will accept monitoring only, or expects control as well.

Not supportable

  • Any claim that a VRF gateway is compatible before the manufacturer’s documentation says so.
  • Calculated or estimated power figures from a controller presented as physical electrical metering.
  • Any exemption from the BMS item that the checklist or the reviewer has not stated.

Connecting VRF to the BMS With Intesis Gateways

VRF systems have their own controllers and communication ports. A gateway translates that to a protocol the BMS reads: BACnet/IP, BACnet MS/TP or Modbus. We integrate the major VRF brands, including LG, Midea and Carrier, and we work with Intesis gateways from HMS Networks where Intesis documents support for the exact units. Where a manufacturer publishes its own BMS interface, for example Carrier's BACnet/IP interface for its VRF systems, we compare that route too. The brand name does not decide it; the model does.

Intesis publishes an online compatibility tool where you enter an indoor or outdoor unit reference. Its datasheets also state how many indoor units one interface can serve, and the figure differs by product, from a few units to 64. A large VRF estate therefore needs a planned number of interfaces, and the points list follows from the interface, not from the brand. See our page on DX and VRF monitoring integration.

StepWhat we do
1. Identify the unitsBrand, outdoor and indoor unit models and the controller fitted, from the AC equipment schedule.
2. Check documented supportCompare the models against the gateway maker’s compatibility documentation, for example the Intesis tool.
3. Size the interfacesCount indoor units per interface and per refrigerant system against the documented limits.
4. Write the points listList only the points the chosen gateway documents for those models.
5. Agree the BMS sideBACnet or Modbus addressing, network location and who provides access to the AC-side connection point.

Rheem is a good example of why model-specific checking matters. For a Rheem VRF system we would need the outdoor and indoor unit model numbers and written confirmation from the manufacturer, its distributor or the gateway maker of a supported gateway and point list for those models. Until we have that, we do not promise points.

Operating information is not energy metering. Run status, mode, set-point and fault information describe how the system is behaving. Some controllers also show a calculated power or energy figure; that is an estimate, not a meter reading. Where the checklist or the reviewer asks for energy or water consumption records, that needs physical meters, which is a separate item in the scope.

What We Need for a Quotation

  1. A copy of the Trakhees comment.
  2. Project location and basic building details.
  3. Approved MEP drawings and the AC equipment schedule, whatever is available.
  4. MEP contractor, consultant or AC supplier contact, and site access.

That is all. After reviewing the documents and the equipment, Intellicon develops the points list, the integration arrangement and the quotation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Trakhees Circular 18/2025?

Trakhees Circular No. (18) of 2025, issued on 15 July 2025 by the Planning and Development Department (Trakhees) of the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, announces the adoption of the Technical Evaluation List for building permits and Green Building certificates, and introduces the Certified, Gold and Platinum categories. The list is the checklist TRK-CED-GB-SF07a. The circular itself does not mention BMS; BMS requirements come from items in the checklist.

Does Trakhees require BMS for every building?

No. Circular 18/2025 adopts the technical evaluation checklist and the Certified, Gold and Platinum categories; it does not itself say that every building needs a BMS. The checklist lists BMS-related items with their own applicability wording, for example a cooling load above 1 MW for the central control and monitoring item. Whether your project is caught is a project-specific question for your consultant and Trakhees.

Is monitoring alone sufficient?

Do not assume so. The item is titled Central Control and Monitoring, and the Dubai Building Code clause describes control as well as monitoring. The checklist evidence is floor plans showing the use of a building management system. Ask the reviewer in writing what they will accept before you price a monitoring-only scope.

Which VRF brands and gateways does Intellicon work with?

We integrate the major VRF brands, including LG, Midea and Carrier, and choose the gateway per brand and per model. Where Intesis (HMS Networks) documents support for the exact units we use an Intesis gateway; where a manufacturer publishes its own BMS interface, such as Carrier’s BACnet/IP interface for its VRF systems, that can be the better route. Every selection is checked against the documented compatibility for the exact models before we quote.

Can Rheem VRF connect to BMS?

Possibly, but it depends on the exact outdoor and indoor unit models, the controller fitted and a gateway that the manufacturer documents as supported for them. We do not promise points or name a gateway until that documentation exists for your models.

Are separate energy meters needed?

The checklist asks separately for electric sub-meters on major MEP systems (where the cooling load exceeds 1 MW) and for smart BTU meters on chilled-water systems. A VRF gateway reports operating information; it is not an electrical meter. If a meter is required, it is a physical meter with its own connection to the BMS.

What documents are needed for a quotation?

A copy of the Trakhees comment, the project location and basic building details, the approved MEP drawings and AC equipment schedule you have, and a contact at the MEP contractor, consultant or AC supplier with site access.

Official Sources

Circular and checklist read on 9 October 2026. The Dubai Building Code file could not be opened on that date, so its clause wording above is a summary to be confirmed against the current edition. Intesis and Carrier pages read on 9 October 2026; gateway support is confirmed per model, not per brand. Check the Trakhees service page for the latest checklist revision.

Building management systems →DX and VRF monitoring integration →Green building compliance with BMS →

Received a Trakhees BMS comment?

Send us the comment and available drawings for a scope review and quotation.

Send the comment for a scope review

Want to know what is reachable in your building? Request a BMS site survey