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KNX READY FOR NEXTGENERATION ENERGYSAVING RF CONTROL

The new release of the KNX commissioning software, offering easier configuration and including the new KNX RF Multi protocol, is poised to make entry into the KNX world easier and more attractive. For experienced KNX integrators, the new features offer more possibilities and speed up ROI on upskilling.

November 2021 saw the unveiling of ETS6, with events around the world. In the UK, enthusiasts gathered in London as guests of the KNX UK Association for a demonstration of the intuitive graphical interface, new project management tools, improved cyber security and easier integration of next-generation RF devices.

ETS (Engineering Tool Software) is a manufacturer-independent software tool for designing and configuring KNX home and commercial building control systems. ETS combines all the functionality needed for planning, configuring, commissioning and controlling smart buildings in a single tool and supports the integration of more than 8,000 intelligent home and building products from over 500 manufacturers.

Clearly, says KNX, the key to making a building ‘intelligent’ is to equip it with networked sensors and actuators. The KNX approach to this is to adopt bus technology linking all sensors and actuators in the building with a data cable. With intelligence distributed to device level, each KNX system component can then communicate with every other one. For example: a light switch can ‘talk’ to a dimmer and tell it what lighting scene to set; a motion sensor can tell the actuator for the corridor lighting that someone is leaving the darkened home cinema and signal it it to provide safe lighting; air quality and occupancy sensors can optimise HVAC settings; etc.

KNX argues this has to be a better solution than conventional star topology where every socket outlet circuit, ceiling or wall outlet, and light switch is linked by its own cable to a central distribution board in which the logical relationships are created by contactors, switch relays, and a programmable logic controller (PLC). That’s a lot of wire, a lot of installation time and a lot of hassle when adding to or extending the system.

Perhaps, though, the main attraction of KNX is still that it is the de facto standard global, open system. It gives talented integrators the creative freedom to design unique solutions, with their choice of best-of-breed devices for each job sourced from different manufacturers. Need to write new software to provide completely new functionality? No problem with the KNX SDK. Finding it hard to part company with DALI? No problem with a wide choice of KNX gateways.

The market now looks forward to seeing more new products programmed to take advantage of the new functionality.

ETS6 – what’s new for integrators?

The new browser-like interface (with an adaptive dashboard) clusters and sorts projects and a flexible drag-and-drop tab and window handling are intuitive and easy to work with.

The enhanced project archive with extended collaboration features enables teams work on the same project. With cloud licensing people can work offline and download changes on site later.

An optimised ‘Link with’ dialogue creates, remembers, and links Group Addresses together easily. It’s also quicker to link Group Objects with Group Addresses. Breadcrumb navigation makes navigation between files easier for even the most complex projects.

ETS6 Security builds on and improves the functionalities offered by ETS5 Professional already used by best-practice integrators (KNX Data Secure and KNX IP Secure). The KNX Security Proxy coupler extension enables retrofitting of existing installations to add secure devices without having to remove all the existing plain KNX devices.

The KNX IoT System connects KNX to the ‘non-KNX world’ and enables semantic project information and tagging which, in ETS6, covers locations, functions, function points, channels, group objects, and more.

Segment Couplers, extensions of media couplers, connect line segments together easily, regardless of media, including RF.

Next generation RF Multi Devices are supported by the evolution of KNX RF and KNX Ready. KNX RF Multi is a robust wireless protocol, with mandatory security support, that supports frequency agility by using five different frequencies, repeaters (re-transmitters), fast and slow modes, ‘listen before talking’, and fast acknowledgement from up to 64 devices (retyring if unsuccessful). It sets the stage for easy configuration of a new generation of RF devices that will use less energy. Naturally ETS6 fulfils a core KNX promise of backwards compatibility, so installers can open and work with an ETS project created with all previous versions of ETS.