The e-magazine for KNX home & building control

Country Profile: KNX New Zealand

Colin PriceBy Colin Price, Ivory Egg.

KNX New Zealand was formed in 2014 by ABB, Siemens and a handful of enlightened KNX engineers. Its aim is to promote KNX as an open protocol to the New Zealand building trade. There are a few projects that have been completed with KNX over the last few years in both commercial and residential sectors, but KNX is still in its infancy here.

KNX NZ

The advantage of KNX, with so much choice in products, and the solidity of knowing KNX will be present well into the future, should be a message that is simple to understand. The benefits are clear, so now it is about getting engineers to work outside of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to look at something new.

We take every opportunity to promote KNX in New Zealand.
We take every opportunity to promote KNX in New Zealand.

Opportunities for KNX in New Zealand

Whilst there has been a market for lighting control in New Zealand for some years, recently, through regulation, and economic good-sense, environmental control has become more in demand. This provides a great opportunity for KNX, as it is unique in being able to deliver solutions across one open platform.

Furthermore, because New Zealand and Australia have very close commercial and legislative ties, as KNX begins its ascent in Australia, New Zealand will inevitably follow. In many respects, Australia will be the test bed for KNX in the region, where there are a few dominant locally-designed systems.

The new NZD18 million Rotorua Police Station incorporates KNX technology.
The new NZD18 million Rotorua Police Station incorporates KNX technology.

Indeed we expect to see a rapid growth in KNX usage as local engineers and practitioners are suddenly made aware of the significant advantages of a non-proprietary system. The ease of configuration of a multi-disciplined project including for example, lights, HVAC, energy metering and shading, with the unified backbone of KNX, will open the eyes of many integrators who have been stuck for such a solution.

One of our main priorities is to work closely with the national electrical organisation, ECANZ (Electrical Contractors Association of New Zealand). Its training arm, ETCO, will open a KNX training centre and be pushing for the standardisation of KNX in New Zealand.

KNX and ECANZ are working together in New Zealand to promote the move towards compatible platforms across the electrical industry.
KNX and ECANZ are working together in New Zealand to promote the move towards compatible platforms across the electrical industry.

Membership

We have 8 members so far, with the growth in membership coming from new KNX Partners as they are trained, and from manufacturers as the potential of New Zealand becomes apparent. We also aim to sign up more Associate Members such as CEDIA, EMANZ, etc, and do more cross-association activities and trade shows.

Those who join enjoy a number of benefits, such as promotion on the website, technical support, networking opportunities, lead generation from trade shows, and gatherings of individuals with the same business interests. Partners also have the chance to have their projects nominated for the annual KNX Awards and be recognised worldwide – an opportunity that is unique to KNX and its Partners.

On the website, prospective members can see who is currently involved in terms of manufacturers, suppliers, engineers etc, and they can also see whom to contact for training.

Since KNX is currently only represented well in certain regions of New Zealand, there are opportunities for integrators, engineers and installers to be the first KNX Certified Partner in their respective regions. We are a friendly bunch, so do come and join us!

Colin Price is the Director and Founder of distributor Ivory Egg and a founder member of KNX New Zealand.

www.knxnz.org

Share on facebook
Share
Share on twitter
Tweet
Share on linkedin
Share

SPONSORS

Interra Technology iX4 - 4" KNX Touch Panels


Interra Technology iX4 - 4
Small, Slim But Extremely Smart Interra iX4, a compact 4’’ KNX Touch Panel designed for smart home and commercial automation ...

The new PEAKnx Control 12


The new PEAKnx Control 12
The 11.6-inch smart home panel by PEAKnx represents a significant advancement as the successor to the Controlmini. Among ...

New AVE 10" KNX Touch Screen


New AVE 10
The TS-SMART10 is the new flagship product in AVE's KNX range. This innovative 10" color touch screen ...

LUXA 103 KNX presence detectors


LUXA 103 KNX presence detectors
Theben is expanding its LUXA 103 presence detector series for indoor and outdoor lighting and HVAC control with a KNX ...