system

Query logical system groupings: chilled water loops, hot water loops, air systems.

What systems are

In Brick, a System groups equipment that works together for a common purpose. A chilled water system includes the chiller, chilled water pumps, and the cooling coils they serve. A hot water system includes the boiler, hot water pumps, and heating coils.

Systems answer questions that feeds chains can’t easily express: “show me everything in the chilled water loop,” including pumps that don’t directly feed the chiller but are part of the same distribution system.

Query signature

system(
  siteId: String!,
  name: String,
  nameMatch: NameMatch,
  is: String,
  hasProperty: String,
  propertyValue: String
): [System!]!

Also available as a nested field on Building and Equipment (without siteId, since those are already scoped).

All root queries require siteId. See multi-tenant scoping. Examples below omit siteId for brevity.

Arguments

Argument	Type	Description
siteId	String!	Required. Scopes the query to a specific site
name	String	Filter by system name. Case-insensitive substring by default
nameMatch	NameMatch	CONTAINS (default) or EXACT
is	String	Brick class (e.g., Chilled_Water_System)
hasProperty	String	Only systems with this property defined
propertyValue	String	Exact match on property value (requires hasProperty)

Return fields

Field	Type	Description
uri	String!	Full entity URI
id	ID!	System identifier
name	String!	System name
type	String!	Brick class (e.g., Chilled_Water_System)
ifcId	String	IFC model element ID. Links to the BIM model
equipment	[Equipment!]!	Equipment in this system. Accepts name, nameMatch, is, recursive filters
points	[Point!]!	Points associated with the system. Accepts name, nameMatch, is, recursive filters
properties	[EntityProperty!]!	Static metadata as structured objects (name, value, unit)

Common system types

Brick class	What it groups
HVAC_System	All HVAC equipment in a building
Chilled_Water_System	Chillers, CHW pumps, cooling coils, cooling towers
Hot_Water_System	Boilers, HW pumps, heating coils
Condenser_Water_System	Cooling towers, CW pumps, chiller condensers
Air_System	AHUs, VAVs, and the ductwork connecting them
Lighting_System	Luminaires, lighting controllers, occupancy sensors
Electrical_System	Meters, switchgear, transformers, UPS

Examples

Find systems by name

{
  system(name: "Hot Water") {
    name
    type
    equipment { name type }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "system": [
      {
        "name": "Hot Water System",
        "type": "Hot_Water_System",
        "equipment": [
          { "name": "TE01-XX-HIU-001", "type": "Heat_Exchanger" },
          { "name": "TE01-XX-HWP-001", "type": "Hot_Water_Pump" },
          { "name": "TE01-XX-HWP-002", "type": "Hot_Water_Pump" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

List all systems in a building

{
  building(id: "B001") {
    systems {
      name
      type
    }
  }
}

System with its supply temperature sensors

{
  system(name: "Hot Water") {
    name
    type
    points(is: "Supply_Air_Temperature_Sensor") {
      name
      type
      unit
    }
  }
}

Query a specific system type

{
  system(is: "Chilled_Water_System") {
    name
    equipment {
      name
      type
      points(is: "Temperature_Sensor") {
        name
        type
        unit
      }
    }
  }
}

This returns every piece of equipment in the chilled water loop with its temperature sensors: chillers, pumps, cooling towers, all in one query.

Filter equipment within a system

Use name, nameMatch, and is on the nested equipment field:

{
  system(name: "Hot Water") {
    name
    equipment(is: "Pump") {
      name
      type
    }
  }
}

Returns only pumps within the hot water system.

Recursive: all points across system equipment

{
  system(name: "Hot Water") {
    name
    points(recursive: true, is: "Temperature_Sensor") {
      name
      type
      unit
    }
  }
}

recursive: true on system points collects points from all equipment in the system, not just points directly on the system entity.

Filter systems by property

{
  system(hasProperty: "designCapacity") {
    name
    type
    properties { name value unit }
  }
}

Which systems does this equipment belong to?

{
  equipment(id: "TE01-XX-AHU-001") {
    name
    systems {
      name
      type
    }
  }
}

Equipment.systems returns all systems the equipment belongs to without filter arguments. It does not support name, nameMatch, or is parameters.

Systems vs feeds chains

Use case	Use systems	Use feeds/traversal
”Everything in the chilled water loop”	system(is: "Chilled_Water_System")	Harder, since pumps may not be in the feeds chain
”What feeds this zone?”	Use upstream	More precise. Follows the specific path
”All equipment in the HVAC plant”	system(is: "HVAC_System")	Would need multiple traversals from different roots
”Impact of chiller failure”	Use downstream	Better. Shows the specific propagation path

Systems group by purpose. Feeds chains follow medium flow. Use both.