Latin America. Energy management plays an increasingly important role in building smart homes. Cost savings and climate protection through efficient and sustainable generation, storage and use of energy are the main factors taken into consideration.
Recently they have become a reality thanks to KNX. In addition, due to the increasing diffusion of electric cars, which are charged in the home garage and consume a lot of energy, efficient energy management in smart homes is increasingly necessary, in order to avoid "bottlenecks" in the electricity supply through intelligent load management.
KNX-based HEMS devices conquer the market
For years, there has been a wide catalog of HEMS devices on the market. Recently, due to the growing interest in this field, new KNX solutions and devices are being launched, such as "Eisbär", "EibPC", etc. These new types of solutions and products lead the way in this area and demonstrate that KNX-based comprehensive home energy management systems (HEMS) have been designed for smart buildings and offer great potential for energy savings.
Any KNX-based HEMS controls the interaction of all energy producers and consumers in a smart home. By connecting all smart devices and technological systems in the building with KNX, it is possible to dynamically control the energy consumption of all installations and household appliances. In this way, the own electricity produced, for example, by means of a photovoltaic system, can be intelligently directed where it is needed.
The excess energy is temporarily stored automatically and can be used later. This significantly reduces the cost of purchasing electricity from an external energy supplier. Many KNX-compatible HEMS offer users a complete visualization of all relevant data and therefore an always up-to-date picture of the energy balance of smart housing, as well as the possibility to make their own adjustments in energy management.
KNX-based energy management has demonstrated energy savings of up to 60% in real projects
The most recently built smart homes in this field are already benefiting from new, better and more efficient ideas for managing energy with KNX. Among other projects, it is worth mentioning an urbanization in Gammelsdorf (Germany) where it was necessary to compensate for the low power of the local energy supplier's network using a photovoltaic system and a combined power and heat generator. Using "EibPC" as KNX-based HEMS, the two power generators are controlled based on the actual heat and electricity requirements of the building. In addition, there is a gas boiler that is adjusted according to the season to generate heat and energy or is used exclusively to generate heat on low load days. The combined power and heat generator also functions as a backup power source in case of a power failure, in which case all high-load energy consumers in the building are automatically disconnected.
Thanks to KNX-based energy management, it is possible to save up to 60% of energy, as shown by ZVEH's E-House. With the E-House, the partnership is demonstrating the high level of connection, automation and energy efficiency that is already possible today in smart homes thanks to KNX. Photovoltaic energy, electricity storage, intelligent ventilation, fuel cells, communicative appliances, active assisted living... a wide variety of devices and functionalities were connected via KNX using "Eisbär" as HEMS.
Thanks to KNX, smart homes and buildings become sustainable to live smart
"Smart buildings based on the KNX standard and the many products and solutions in the KNX universe not only offer greater comfort and quality of life, but also contribute significantly to climate protection thanks to KNX's energy management capabilities. As a global key player in the field of smart building technologies, sustainability has been an important issue for KNX for years, as we are aware of the importance of the construction sector in the fight against climate change. We are pleased to be able to contribute to a more sustainable world and therefore to a smarter life, thanks to knX's technological progress," explains Franz Kammerl, President of the KNX Association.
