November 2024 was KNX Global Sustainability month with inspiring stories, tips and content from around the world demonstrating the sustainability of KNX technology and its underpinning of interoperability and worldwide standardisation.
The KNX Association, is responsible for certifying product compatibility and for the ongoing development of the ETS software that unifies products, systems and peripherals. With over 500 certified manufacturers the technology represents industrial collaboration on a scale rarely seen.
KNX technology is sustainable by design, backwards compatible, and endlessly customisable even after installation. Wired, RF, IoT and in-built cyber security – it is the robust intelligent approach to bespoke smart building controls… and its diverse application is truly sustainable in terms of energy efficiency, resource management and ethical construction methods.
Off-site for greater sustainability
Here in the UK many of our members have been involved in a variety of approaches to improving sustainability in the UK construction industry. From hospitality to private residences, large commercial projects and businesses, sustainable solutions can be found in every nook and cranny.
Mark Hardie of Function Control in Edinburgh commented on their approach to projects that are typically spread across Scotland including some remote locations:
“Personally, I would always build KNX offsite, because of the vast array of products, and their configurations.” He continued “ …building panels offsite certainly has an impact on sustainability, particularly if the project is far from our office, building it in house, in a clean environment, allows us to program and test all devices before delivery.” in remote locations where a round trip can take a full working day it is not practical to build on site and KNX is ideally suited to this approach. Recently, we built panels for a project that is 3.5 hours away .. if we had done that onsite, we would have been faced with a 7+ hour round trip obviously meaning more time on the road and more unnecessary vehicle emissions.“
Test rigs used for fault finding and continuity, ensures seamless operation when installed onsite.
Panel building and testing in-house can have a positive effect on sustainability, carbon footprint and installation costs.
Time, cost and resources
Mark’s latter point about the cost in resources when contractors stay away from home, is a very pertinent one. Many site workers find themselves staying in guest houses and hotels to be close to sites and avoid long journeys on a daily basis.
The more work that is done to reduce installation time on site, the more cost efficient and ecologically responsible the sites of the future will become. The hospitality industry has long been under the spotlight to reduce consumption of energy and resources and huge efforts have been made. Purposefully designed flexible and adaptable controls systems that won’t need to be replaced every few years, will make a big impact in this sector.
This is already happening all over the world in hotels that have intelligent systems often across multiple sites that link the technology for everything they need, into one simple fully interoperable, easily adaptable interface. From lighting, HVAC, entertainment, shading, room management and staff efficiencies, KNX based systems are helping this sector meet their energy goals.
Hospitality sector reaching energy goals
It is no surprise that KNX is making a huge impact on sustainability in this sector. Vidar Thomassen, Director at Zennio UK explains – “Zennio KNX based hospitality solutions are currently installed in more than 90,000 hotel rooms worldwide plus bars, restaurants, and other common areas. We are very proud to say that these systems are one of the key reasons hotels are achieving their energy and sustainability ratings” See: Enhancing Hotels Sustainability with KNX for more detail.
Function Control and Zennio are just two of our UK members who are are making huge contributions to sustainability projects – in many different sectors with innovative solutions to old world problems.
Many other KNX UK members are making huge contributions to sustainability projects
– in many different sectors with innovative futureproof solutions:
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KNX National Groups from around the world, were involved in the global Sustainability Month initiative
including the UK’s webinar: “Are energy efficient systems sustainable?” You can see a replay of this and view other content from the month’s activities here:
