By Yasmin Hashmi
As Yasmin Hashmi and Stella Plumbridge mark their final show report, join us in celebrating the highlights of KNX at Light + Building 2026 and the vibrant future of the KNX world.
Light + Building is a major event in the KNX calendar. This international meeting point for industry, the skilled trades, planners and architects happens every two years at the Frankfurt Messe. Despite the restrictions affecting international air travel, this year’s event from 8-13 March attracted a total of 144,767 visitors from 143 countries, led by Germany, China, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, France, Austria, Belgium, the UK, Spain, and Greece.
Whilst KNX was represented at a number of stands around the Messe, including KNX Professionals, KNX National Group Germany, the ZVEH eHaus and the ZVEH Forum, this article will focus on the main KNX Association stand in Hall 12.0.
Simplicity, Innovation and Community
Emphasising ‘Simplicity, Innovation and Community, the KNX stand was the hub of all things KNX at the show. It comprised over 30 exhibitor panels including manufacturer Members, a test lab and a training centre, plus a meeting area, presentation area, the lively and welcoming front desk and games area, and an interview studio.
New website preview
KNX Association Marketing & Sales Manager, Casto Cañavate, previewed the new website which is due to be launched this month. The redesign is based around the principles of simplicity, innovation and the power of community.
It uses one platform to unify all web communications with KNX, including KNXtoday, and features an AI agent, a new database of KNX devices organised by category, and a new way to search for certified KNX installers.
A new KNX Digital Twin tool will also be available. This is aimed at residential or light commercial applications and allows users to visualise and test KNX project designs and functions without having to buy products.
ETS 6.4.0
KNX Association has always had security as a top focus, and System Architect, Steven de Bruyne, explained how the association is advising users and members on compliance with the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). After the introduction of KNX Secure and the Security Proxy, alongside the security support inherent in KNX IoT, KNX Association has now worked out a standard method for firmware upgrades over the bus, supported in ETS. Further, to offer a safe alternative to opening Internet Port 3671, which made installations vulnerable to hacking, KNX Association has developed the ‘Cloud Connect’ solution, which offers safe access to KNX installations over the Internet, and which is also now supported in ETS. In addition, KNX Association will set up guidelines for KNX manufacturers and KNX installers, to evaluate the security risks in the context of the CRA and take the proper safety measures.
As for new ETS apps, KNX Association Tools Leader, Vassilios Lourdas and ETS Product Management, Michael Critchfield, got some very positive feedback from a main highlight of ETS 6.4.0, namely the new Bulk Linker app.
Suited to larger installations or projects with repetitive structures, the Bulk Linker app which came about through feedback via the ETS Professional feature request page, offers drag and drop multilinking functionality that allows users to create and manage links far more efficiently than with standard ETS workflows. It simplifies and accelerates the linking of Group Objects in KNX projects and provides better control over Group Address structures. The Bulk Linker also provides an interface for managing KNX Serial Numbers, allowing users to export and import device serial numbers for project documentation and device replacement scenarios.
Artificial Intelligence
KNX Association Tools Engineer, Roberto Davico, exemplified the connection between simplicity and innovation, through the exciting new KAI (KNX AI) Builder. This is an AI interpreter with which the systems integrator can chat or ask to look at their plan view and get a suggestion as to what automation can be done in the room(s).
The user can send their plan to ETS and it will create a building structure, showing the room, the functions and the group addresses. It can be customised according to the system integrator’s preferences, for example including voice control, and it can also suggest designs based on best case studies. In a nutshell, KAI analyses a plan view, gives a description and then expresses it in ETS.
KNX exhibitors
There were many stands around the Messe that were promoting KNX, including some very large ones including ABB, Siemens, Schneider, Jung and Gira, plus the KNX stand itself hosted 30 exhibitors, each of which had a display panel.
We can’t cover every KNX exhibitor here, but a nice selection of interviews can be found at the KNX at Light + Building 2026 Youtube channel. The products on show were wide-ranging, covering every imaginable application, from cables to sensors of all kinds, multi-protocol servers, access control systems, beautiful wall panels, and KNX IoT solutions. Indeed Bruno Johnson from Cascoda noted that the company’s recently-certified IoT Environment Sensor has already detected a gas leak and too much CO2 in a trial hair salon, and is now being rolled out to over 26 salons.
Community
Apart from the Cahoot game which ran for the duration of the show, the main social highlight was the KNX party, where people had the chance to catch up, network, win prizes, acknowledge special achievements of the KNX community and sing along to a song about KNX, specially composed for the occasion.
Final thoughts
Stella Plumbridge and I have been running KNXtoday for the past 13 years, and L+B 2026 was our last official engagement. It is thanks to Heinz Lux and Casto Cañavate’s support and encouragement that we created the magazine in the first place, and I have to say that it has been a joy. The whole KNX Association team has been a real pleasure to work with, and whenever there was a request for information, an article, an introduction or whatever, the answer has always been ‘yes’.
As engineers, we could see that KNX was the logical way forward in home and building automation, and we have delighted in watching it earn the worldwide recognition and status it so richly deserves. But none of this would have been possible without the amazing dedication and enthusiasm of the KNX community, and we hope that KNXtoday has played a part.
So, a big ‘thank you’ to our readers for your support and positive feedback, and to all of our amazing contributors, particularly the former and current Presidents Franz Kammerl and Jean-Christophe Krieger, Jesus Arias, Michael Critchfield, Joost Demarest, Sara Fan, Mark Warburton, Paul Foulkes, and our long-standing columnist, Simon Buddle. Thanks also to Thibaut Hox, who has been our right-hand man in Brussels, and a special thank you to Casto and Heinz.
As we hand over to a new generation, I would also like to thank the force of nature that is Katja Schuster for setting up Women in KNX, for organising an interview with a woman in KNX every day at the KNX booth, and for organising a special tour of the show for Women in KNX.
I would also like to thank our writer Katie Rose for her continuing coverage of this exciting new group that has super allies in Marco Koyne of KNX Professionals and Heinz Lux. I know it really means a lot to the women who are trying to change hearts and minds and set an example for future generations. To all of the KNX Community, you can be proud of having such a positive impact on the world, and we are happy to leave you in good hands!
All the best
Yasmin & Stella
Yasmin Hashmi is the former Editor, and Stella Plumbridge is the former Publisher of KNXtoday magazine.
