Coronavirus: making the most of the lockdown

By Simon Buddle, Future Ready Homes. The sun is out and filling the air with that early spring warmth. The green shoots of new life are emerging across the country. The long grey of winter is receding and thankfully, so are the waters that have flooded and devastated so many lives and homes across the […]

ISE 2020 Show Report: KNX marches on

By Simon Buddle, Future Ready Homes. Exhibitor stands have been dismantled, Wi-Fi networks switched off, VIP lounges emptied, flight cases packed and carried out of the RAI conference centre. This is the final curtain for Amsterdam. ISE has finally outgrown it. The entire city has been creaking under the weight of ISE for a long […]

Sponsor’s Article: the productivity paradox and the promise of automated configuration

By Chris Irwin, J2 Innovations. Nearly every building’s HVAC controls are different; even retail chains, whose formula for new shops typically requires the same fit-out equipment and services, typically find that the local building’s shape, size, and condition makes each implementation different. This reality has meant that building automation systems manufacturers have had to ensure […]

Sponsor’s Whitepaper: Energy Harvesting Switch radio protocols

By Simon Ziegler, ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Due to the rising connectivity of mobile devices, industrial applications, smart home applications and vehicles, the importance of wireless technology for data communication is increasing continuously. As a result, wireless technology grew by 32% in 2018 compared to the previous year, and now accounts for 6% of the total […]

Sponsor Article: why open frameworks matter

By Chris Irwin, J2 Innovations. When a technology is new, it is usually very expensive and proprietary because it is difficult to achieve and complex to deliver. This was certainly true of computers; which were hugely expensive compared to now and each manufacturer offered systems that were unique to them, because they designed all the […]

The New KNX TP1-256 Topology: more devices and fewer line repeaters

By Mark Warburton, Ivory Egg. The KNX Association has recently announced the completion of a long-running project to update the system topology in order to make KNX even easier and simpler to use. Until now, the smallest part of the topology is a line segment with 64 devices. To expand the line, line repeaters can […]

Product Article: Upgrading Existing Buildings with Wired and Wireless KNX Devices

By Thomas Weinzierl, Weinzierl Engineering GmbH. Using KNX to upgrade existing buildings may seem like a contradiction to some installers because often, it is not an option to open walls to lay bus lines. However, a detailed analysis of the existing inventory and installation can provide interesting solutions. Important installation points can, in many cases, […]