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30 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
S PR I NG 20 1 6
WHAT COMES KN-EXT?
I
n the early 1990s, three automation
industry associations– Batibus, EIB
and EHS – were each competing
for their place in the European
standardisation of home and building
control. Individually, this competition
restricted the growth of each system
until, in 1999, they were amalgamated
into one.
The result was KNX – the world’s
first open, royalty-free and platform-
independent international Standard for
home and building control.
Based largely on the EIB specification,
KNX adopted the configuration
mechanisms and communications media
aspects of EHS and Batibus to develop a
new international Standard to improve
on interoperability between different
countries’ requirements.
In 2012, the KNX National Group
Australia was established as the local
representative of the International
KNX Association to foster the
technology locally.
The proposal to introduce the KNX
Standard in Australia has been met with
some opposition. One body that has
voiced concerns is the Lighting Council
Australia. Below,
Electrical Connection
lays out both sides of the argument in
the interests of creating an unbiased
commentary on the issue.
INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE
Lighting Council Australia
-
The KNX
protocol is not the primary protocol
for control and automation of lighting
equipment in Australia. Lighting Council
Australia estimates that KNX compliant
products occupy only a small percentage
of the building and home automation
market in Australia. We question the
need to publish an Australian Standard
when the majority of the market will be
non-compliant with that Standard.
Lighting Council further suggests
that the limited numbers of suppliers of
KNX products in Australia would likely
mean there is decreased competition
in the Australian market if the current
majority of the Australian automation
market is denied access to projects due
to the specification of the KNX protocol
as an Australian Standard.
KNX
-
The group of draft Standards
known as AS/NZS 14543.3 Parts 1-6 has
not been proposed to be a mandated
standard. The purpose of the Standard
is to define the protocol and mediums
used in the communication between
applications such as lighting, blinds
and shutters, heating and ventilation,
security, AV, etc. in order to provide a
total control system. It is not the intent
of these Standards to define a control
system within an application such
as lighting.
This can be demonstrated in the case
of DALI lighting controls, where on many
successful projects worldwide a DALI
control system is used for the lighting
system but the DALI system integrates
into a total building control system along
with other disciplines such as heating,
ventilation and air conditioning, using
the ISO/IEC 14543-3 Standards.
Many building services engineers have
indicated their frustration of being tied
to application-specific systems where
a total building control system requires
different systems (often proprietary) for
lighting, heating, ventilation, blinds and
shutter control.
The KNX protocol, as defined by IEC
14543-3 and the proposed AS/NZS
Standard, provides a means for these
services and other applications to
BY NOW, ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTORS ALL AROUND THE
COUNTRY ARE LIKELY TO HAVE
HEARD OF KNX. WHAT YOU MAY
NOT KNOW IS THAT INDUSTRY IS
CURRENTLY DEBATING WHETHER
TO FORMALLY ADOPT KNX AS THE
STANDARD IN AUSTRALIA.
STANDARDS