2020 KNX Award Publicity Winner: Smart Living in the E-Haus

The Smart Living in the E-Haus is a 100 square meter walk-in model of a home featuring intelligently networked building technology using KNX. It is organised by the German Association of Electrical and Information Technology Trades (ZVEH) with support from around 60 partners from the electrical industry. The Smart Living E-Haus has been present for many years at trade shows such as Light + Building, IFA, IHM and regional trade fairs, and has also been featured in numerous TV, print and electronic media. It is the winner of the 2020 KNX Awards category for Publicity.

The brief

The Smart Living in the E-Haus consists of 8 networked walk-in modules that represent different living or functional areas of the home. The aim is to allow visitors at a range of trade fairs to experience the latest trends in home automation first hand, based on tried and tested technology. The latest edition should feature innovative integration with, for example, communicative kitchen appliances, assisted living and electrical storage.

The E-Haus is designed to be as transparent as possible with glass shelves offering visitors a direct insight into the functioning of the systems and products used. Visitors are also encouraged to experience the technology 'live', so user interfaces must be robust, reliable and easy-to-operate.

Solution

KNX forms the backbone of the installation, and is connected using twisted pair (TP), RF and IP. The simple and reliable expandability of the KNX system to integrate new technologies, functions and products made it the ideal choice. Future security also plays an important role here. In conjunction with a multifunctional integration tool, that is, Eisbaer, all other systems and components were integrated into the overall functionality as required.

The focus of the latest edition of the E-Haus is on energy management, sector coupling and charging management including updated electric vehicle (EV) data connection. From photovoltaics to electricity storage, intelligent ventilation to fuel cells, even communicative kitchen appliances and active assisted living are clearly networked.

Multiroom audio is also featured, as well as door communication and video surveillance. A 'cloudless' voice assistant can be used to control building services functions or scenes with simple voice commands. Manual operation can be carried out using local buttons or a simple user interface using TV or mobile device.

Other features include intelligent mirrors with touch control and Internet access, LED lighting that adjusts according to your biorythms, and communication via a virtual keyboard that can be displayed on various surfaces.

There is also assisted living technology to allow people to stay in their own homes for longer, for example pressure-sensitive flooring that can sense a fall, motorised kitchen storage that can be moved through gesture, facial recognition for door entry, and security systems that are integrated with audio, lighting and emergency services.

Benefits of using KNX

This project requires not only a reliable system, but also one that can be easily interfacedwith other systems used in the project, such as DALI, DMX, EnOcean, M-bus, Philips, Modbus and other proprietary technology. KNX was therefore the obvious choice.

Key technologies used

ABB SchweizBasalteElsner ElektronikSiemens SchweizWago KontakttechnikAlbrecht Jung Berker Busch - Jaeger Elektro EnertexGePro Gesellschaft für ProzeßtechnikGira ise Individuelle Software und ElektronikMDT technologies Schneider Electric c/o MertenProKNX SASSteinel tci ThebenTheben HTSWeinzierl EngineeringZF FriedrichshafenAlexander Maier

Project: E-Haus

A project by: ZVEH

Contact: ZVEH