--- title: What is an API and why is it useful in buildings? description: API stands for Application Programming Interface. Here we explain what an API is and what use is it to a building. image: https://blog.swegon.com/hubfs/AdobeStock_235881500_LifestyleImage_600x350.jpeg --- [![](https://www.swegon.com/Static/img/logo.svg?v=3)](https://www.swegon.com/) Menu - [Solutions & services](https://www.swegon.com/solutions-and-services/) - [Products](https://www.swegon.com/products/) - [References & Insights](https://www.swegon.com/references-and-insights/) - [Support & software](https://www.swegon.com/support/) - [Sustainability](https://www.swegon.com/sustainability/) - [Why Swegon?](https://www.swegon.com/why-swegon/) - [Product Search](https://www.swegon.com/product-search-result/) - [Document Search](https://www.swegon.com/support/find-documents/) - [Career](https://www.swegon.com/career/) - Global - [Contact](https://www.swegon.com/contact/) ## Choose a market [Or visit our global site](https://www.swegon.com) - [Belgium - French](https://www.swegon.com/fr-be/) - [Belgium - Dutch](https://www.swegon.com/nl-be/) - 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[Philip Wikström](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/philip-wikstrom) 9/11/24, 8:00 AM **The acronym API is something that many in our industry have probably heard of. It stands for Application Programming Interface. But what exactly is an API, and how is it used in a building? Our expert, Philip Wikström, Product Manager Digital Services, answers these questions in this blog post.**   In today’s buildings, there are usually a number of systems installed that continuously collect a wide range of valuable data about how the property is used. This may include, for example, details about which rooms in a hotel that have been used during the last twenty-four hours, which can help optimise cleaning. It may also include information about how the building is used, which can support energy savings. Allt this data is valuable, provided it can be extracted from systems and used correctly. However, at present, it is quite common for the data to remain enclosed within the systems. Investments are often made in separate measurement systems to collect data regarding occupancy, temperature, air quality, etc., despite the fact that this data is already available in the property’s indoor climate system. In the construction industry, it has for long been common to use communication protocols such as Modbus, BACnet and KNX. These are used to connect the building’s different systems to a master system. However, these communication protocols are not always the most efficient way to manage large amounts of data, particularly so when the data is to be used by applications other than a traditional master system. In a connected society, even buildings are connected, and the term “smart building” has become the norm rather than the exception. As these buildings are equipped with intelligent applications, programmers are becoming involved who are not necessarily familiar with traditional communication protocols. They expect to be able to extract data from the building’s many systems in a straightforward way. **APIs make it easy to use data from different systems** An API is a type of protocol that enables applications and programs to communicate with each other. It can be thought of as a standardised interface that allows one system to request information from another system and receive a response without needing to know how that system is built internally. By selecting systems with open, standardised APIs, such as a REST API, it can be ensured that they are prepared to deliver data from the building in a way that is well known to most programmers. Open, standardised APIs are easy to understand and straightforward to build applications for, and they make it simple to use data from a property’s different systems within the same application. By selecting indoor climate systems with APIs as an alternative or supplement to the traditional communication protocols, the building is prepared to deliver data to all the smart applications that support its operation. All data from the property’s indoor climate system is available to provide additional value to the property. Examples of how building data can be used for workspace management, energy optimisation and sustainability reporting are covered in our related blog post: [There is more to your indoor climate system than climate control](https://blog.swegon.com/en/there-is-more-to-your-indoor-climate-system-than-climate-control?hsLang=en). Topics: - [Optimisation Systems](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/optimisation-systems) - [Services & Connectivity](https://blog.swegon.com/en/tag/services-connectivity) - - - [![Philip Wikström](https://blog.swegon.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Philip_Andersson_pressbild_small_webb.jpg?width=200&name=Philip_Andersson_pressbild_small_webb.jpg)](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/philip-wikstrom) [Philip Wikström](https://blog.swegon.com/en/author/philip-wikstrom) Philip Wikström is Product Manager for Digital Services at Swegon. His work focuses on transforming product data into real value by connecting physical HVAC products/solutions with digital services. These support a better understanding of buildings and enable a more responsive operation, the foundation for smarter and more sustainable buildings. 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