Case study: Porto Mykonos – a hotel operating at half power in Greece
By Nick Gliatis, GDS Digital Systems. Comprising 90 rooms, Porto Mykonos is a luxury hotel located at the famous and bustling port of Mykonos Town on the Greek island of Mykonos. This is where all the action happens, both by day and by night. The hotel was to undergo major renovations, including expansion, so a […]
Interview: Sue Milne gives a fresh take on the home automation industry in the UK
Sue Milne started her career in advertising sales within the luxury marine market. She progressed into general management, and led sales and account management teams based in the UK and throughout Europe. Having worked for a large American corporation, she knew that she wanted to be in a smaller business where she could make an […]
KNX and Domestic Alarm Systems: how effective is your fire strategy?
By Simon Buddle, Future Ready Homes. Fire is without doubt one of the most devastating incidents that can befall us. The ferocity and magnitude of house fires can leave a home a decimated pile of ash. People who escape stand and watch as thousands of gallons of water are poured onto their home. By the […]
KNX Secure: the way to protect your installations
By Thomas Weinzierl, Weinzierl Engineering GmbH. Communication and data processing are hardly conceivable today without considering security aspects. In the future, insecure communication systems are unlikely to be accepted. The way has already been shown by the Internet, with the well-known http protocol from 1991 having been largely replaced by the encrypted https variant. Incidentally, […]
Opinion: manufacturers – don’t underestimate the value that distributors add!
By Julian Barkes, Bemco. The electrical industry has wrestled for a long time with the issue of trying to shorten the supply chain. The relationship between client, specifier, manufacturer, wholesaler and contractor used to be understood by everybody, but with facilities managers buying from Amazon, and margin-chasing contractors bullying manufacturers, the supply chain is getting […]
Heating: Future Technologies and KNX
By Simon Buddle, Future Ready Homes. Whether as individuals, or on a corporate level, we all need to take climate change seriously. For my part, it’s time to change the company van, so naturally I’ve been toying with the idea of getting an electric car. There are a few available now, but they seem to […]
Country Profile: KNX in Portugal
By Rui Carneiro, KNX Portugal. In Portugal, control systems have long been associated with two types of market: the luxury residential, where KNX has come to dominate; and the HVAC system management market. The latter has been based essentially on BACnet and Modbus systems, which were maintenance management systems but with major limitations in the […]
Lighting: Pros and Cons of using DALI with KNX for Homes
By Colin Price, Ivory Egg. DALI is well known as a commercial lighting control protocol that works perfectly with KNX. The question is why and how can DALI be used for residential lighting control? Addressable DALI lighting is organised in lines, or ‘universes’, of up to 64 addressable DALI ballasts. These are connected to luminaries […]
Business Opportunities: Transitioning between Residential and Commercial Projects
By Mark Warburton, Ivory Egg. When it comes to the built environment, it’s a big old world out there. Every town or city has myriad different buildings designed for countless different uses. Some buildings are even completely repurposed to fulfil a current market need – office buildings being converted to flats is a great example […]
Case Study: KNX Promotes Recovery and Energy Saving in the Defence National Rehabilitation Centre, Loughborough, UK
By Ben Patterson and Paul Murphy, Intecho. The Defence National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) is a newly-constructed GBP300 million world-class medical facility that is located centrally on the Stanford Hall Estate, close to Loughborough, UK. Operated by the Ministry of Defence, the facility provides cutting-edge treatments to injured members of the armed forces for complex injuries, […]