With the energy crisis, smart home issues have come to the fore more than before. Even those who smiled at home automation systems yesterday as expensive, superfluous gadgets are now showing serious interest.
Homeowners and tenants alike are now demanding not only environmentally friendly but also, and especially, energy-efficient solutions. Due to increasingly stringent efficiency targets, holistic solutions are gaining prominence. The aim is to optimize the utilization of individual systems and equipment components through greater networking. At the heart of this remains the classic smart home promise: to achieve maximum comfort and security with minimal disruption and visibility.
But to achieve this in everyday living, simply integrating smart tools is no longer enough. A comprehensive view of living is needed to enable us to live as energy-efficiently and with as little environmental impact as possible. The potential is still significant, explains Mirco De Conto, Team Leader Sales for German-speaking Switzerland at eSMART Technologies. More than 40,000 new apartments are built in Switzerland every year: "We see a clear trend that many new buildings in cities and their surrounding areas are being equipped with smart home systems, and in recent years, existing buildings have also been increasingly included." Rural regions, where people are moving to, are also following suit, De Conto explains. Given the current crisis, the question arises: what smart home developments are on the horizon, where further differentiation and optimization potential exists within the industry, and what innovations can we expect in the near future?.
The end of the island solution
Self-consumption optimization, efficient heating, and energy-saving lighting are key current topics, says Philippe Burkhalter, Deputy Head of Technology at ISP Electro Solutions in Ostermundigen. The electricians, who work throughout the canton of Bern, address not only installations but also building automation and photovoltaic solutions. Burkhalter is clear that only systems that cover all aspects of residential living are recommended today. "Standalone solutions might be interesting for lighting, for example, but they don't meet our requirements for a comprehensive system."
Interest in this is currently growing in the residential sector as well; "automation systems are now standard in every new building, just like a nice kitchen countertop." Burkhalter expects manufacturers to be very open to this. Their systems should already allow "the integration of requirements that are not yet known at a later date." He has no doubt that smart home manufacturers will also place a special focus on the further development of their products in terms of energy consumption and energy management.
Focus on energy savings
Interestingly, Rolf Fischbacher, Head of Development at the TEM Group, a specialist in heating, air conditioning, and building automation headquartered in Chur, also notes a growing awareness of intelligent, demand-driven energy management: "Energy should not be wasted unnecessarily," he says, referring to passive energy use thanks to intelligent blind control, rooms that are only lit and heated when needed and occupied, and room climate control via CO2 sensors. Systems for energy monitoring have been added in recent months. The question of "where and how much energy is needed" is no longer abstract, Fischbacher adds. He further emphasizes the rise of holistic smart home solutions. "Small, isolated solutions will not have a future. Good energy management requires communication with various devices. This is only possible with comprehensive home automation control," such as that offered by myTEM, Fischbacher explains.
For him, it's clear that home and building automation can play a crucial role in saving energy. Fischbacher refers to the European standard for the energy efficiency of buildings (EN 15232), which aims for energy-efficient functions and designs in smart homes. This standard includes the evaluation of thermal and electrical energy sources such as heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, domestic hot water, movable sun protection devices, and technical home and building management systems, in order to minimize energy consumption in each case. For example, by comparing the current and target specifications in new construction projects based on this standard, it's possible to estimate the potential reduction in energy demand through the introduction and expansion of building automation. And, the TEM chief developer emphasizes, this "is, in turn, important for making sound investment cost decisions.".
"That's good for the environment and your wallet."
De Conto of eSMART Technologies also cites the energy crisis as a trigger for increased innovation pressure in the real estate sector, which smart home systems can address. However, he adds, "The challenge lies more in the fact that the real estate industry remains very hesitant in this regard and the focus is still strongly on location and return on investment. – The energy crisis offers an opportunity to do things differently.".
Specifically, he points to the in-house energy meter, which has allowed eSMART to monitor energy consumption in real time from the very beginning – that is, for over 10 years now. "Combined with the eSMART Holiday Mode, which automates heating control simply and easily," he says, "heating energy can be saved with minimal effort." "It has been proven that residents using these and other eSMART features save approximately 12 to 15 percent on energy compared to conventionally built properties without a smart home system. That's good for the environment and your wallet," the sales representative explains.
De Conto, like his colleagues from other companies, further emphasizes that networking and interoperability between different trades are now at the top of the to-do list for smart home providers. He illustrates his point by citing eSMART's all-in-one solution as the model for success. Additional integrators, whom De Conto refers to as "so-called specialists," are not required, thus reducing dependencies on various stakeholders and guaranteeing seamless interaction between technologies.
However, this also involves complex issues such as e-mobility and charging station integration, extending even to the billing of self-consumption. The eSMART representative warns that "in addition to reliable, future-oriented technology, the timely implementation of these projects should be just as important as offering an easy-to-use system on existing infrastructure at a reasonable price." "Keep it simple and smart" is the motto, meaning that "innovations can be easily and simply integrated into existing buildings, not only in new constructions but also in existing ones," De Conto continues. He is referring to powerline technology, on which the eSmart Home system is based.
Individualization extending into load management
Regarding the importance of energy consumption, Loxone CEO Rüdiger Keinberger briefly outlines that currently more than 40 percent of the world's energy is used for operating buildings. In the private sector, 71 percent of this energy is used for heating, with the remaining 29 percent divided roughly equally between hot water and other electrical systems such as lighting. According to Keinberger (see interview), intelligent building control systems can achieve savings of 40 percent or more in this area.
While energy management has been a central focus for Loxone for years, ensuring that "all trades within a Loxone-implemented intelligent building automation system work hand in hand," Keinberger says they have now reached a new level with various innovations. The Miniserver, the brain of the Loxone system, has been further optimized for energy savings without compromising comfort in both commercial and residential buildings. This is part of an ongoing energy initiative, launched with a free update to the Loxone software, including the configurator (Config) and the app, featuring new modules and corresponding visualizations.
Central to the current software release is seamless and comprehensive energy management. This includes the recording and optimal control of energy flows for different meter readings. In addition, an energy flow monitor displays the data from the various metering components in Loxone Config and allows categorization down to the individual consumer. A new feature is that the energy flow monitor not only displays electrical consumers but also provides information on water, heat, and gas consumption. Keinberger further explains that the customization of the in-house energy manager has been enhanced; individually adjustable charging modes are now possible for wallboxes. An update to the load management system also enables load tracking at 15-minute intervals, which is crucial for commercial buildings.
Now we must wait and see if and how such innovations prove themselves in everyday life and in potential times of crisis. Because even the smart home of tomorrow promises maximum energy efficiency, comfort, and security with minimal intervention, thus achieving optimal energy savings without compromising on living comforts.
What tasks does building automation perform?
The interoperability of building systems allows, for example, cross-trade processes to be combined into scenes. Building automation increases comfort and security, improves energy efficiency, and helps save costs (Smart Building).
Standardized fieldbus systems serve as communication networks. The most common protocols are wired, such as BACnet, KNX, LON, or DALI. Hybrid and wireless bus systems have also become established, offering easy retrofitting. However, unlike wired systems, they often lack interfaces to the building management system (BMS) and are therefore more suitable for use in residential buildings (smart homes). The latest developments in building automation include the integration of cloud- and IoT (Internet of Things)-enabled solutions via Ethernet.
