EnOcean, the wireless protocol par excellence for smart buildings

Wireless is everywhere today. There are wireless products in every field, in every sector, for every use…

And for good reason! The various wireless technologies are now extremely reliable and stable. They have reached such a level of maturity that using them has become an obvious and natural choice in countless use cases.

Home automation, building automation, smart buildings and smart spaces are no exception. In these fields too, wireless is gradually taking over, for many reasons.

When it comes to smart buildings, if there is one wireless technology that has taken the lead over the others, it is EnOcean, and that is no coincidence.

What are the advantages of EnOcean for smart buildings?

There are many reasons for this. Here are a few compelling arguments:

Wireless: It is obvious, but it is still the very first factor. A wireless temperature, humidity, opening or motion sensor… is extremely simple, quick and cost-effective to install. Wireless is not exclusive to EnOcean technology, of course, but the advantages of wireless are also those of EnOcean products.

Battery-free: Where EnOcean starts to stand out from other wireless technologies is that, in the vast majority of cases, an EnOcean sensor is a battery-free sensor, such as NodOn's invisible opening sensor, to name just one example. That means no maintenance, no worries, no nasty surprises. Once installed, it works forever. And in a smart building project where you can easily have hundreds of sensors, that is no small matter.

NodOn invisible opening sensor

Redundancy: With EnOcean, sensors and actuators can be integrated into several solutions, making it possible to have a redundant control system. If control solution A stops working for whatever reason, everything can be controlled instantly from solution B, solution C… Here again, in smart buildings and commercial buildings, this is not a luxury but rather a must.

Less wiring: Indeed, since there are wireless, battery-free EnOcean switches that can be paired directly with the EnOcean actuators controlling lighting, heating and roller shutters… there is no longer any need to run cables to the wall switches. A considerable saving on wiring. Particularly attractive for off-site and modular construction, but also for office buildings, since these switches can be installed anywhere in a matter of seconds, even on glass surfaces!

Lower installation, maintenance and wiring costs: Naturally: a wireless, battery-free EnOcean sensor or switch can be installed in just a few seconds, with no wiring and no maintenance afterwards…

An eco-friendly technology: Again, no wires and no batteries means an inherently lower environmental impact.

What solutions are there for integrating the EnOcean protocol into smart buildings?

All this is very well, but what solutions are available to integrate EnOcean into a building management system (BMS)? In fact, there are many; here are a few of them:

JEEDOM – Yes, Jeedom is not just a consumer home automation solution: it is also a key component in many commercial building projects, as it is an excellent gateway between EnOcean on the one hand and MQTT, BACnet and Modbus on the other, three protocols particularly well suited to integration into building management systems.

HPE Aruba Networking – Aruba access points can handle EnOcean communications. As soon as a building has several access points to ensure good Wi-Fi coverage, many EnOcean sensors and actuators can easily be deployed throughout the building using a software solution such as EnOcean's IoT Connector or MobiusFlow from IAconnects Technology Ltd.

BSC Computer – A German company specialising in the deployment of EnOcean-based IoT infrastructures, particularly in commercial and industrial buildings, which also supports NodOn's entire EnOcean product range.

FIRVENA s.r.o. – This Czech IoT company offers EnOcean-BACnet and EnOcean-Modbus gateways that make it much easier to integrate NodOn's entire EnOcean product range into building management systems.

Finally, other experts in IoT and building management offer tailor-made solutions for integrating NodOn's EnOcean products into commercial and smart building environments, either directly or via Aruba access points, including Andal Building Technologies, 07 Globalan Telecomunicaciones and Wizzie Analytics.

To find out more, read our EnOcean vs Zigbee comparison.

If you have smart building projects, do not hesitate to turn to NodOn, not only for its wide range of EnOcean products, but also for guidance, support and advice. Aurélien Blaise is at your disposal.