by Rebecca Walker — September 7, 2009—Just over one year ago, a prominent group of building controls manufacturers formed the EnOcean Alliance to promote interoperable wireless sensor networks based on the EnOcean wireless standard.
Today, 113 companies, including Leviton, Masco, Distech Controls, Philips Ledalite and Osram Sylvania, have engineered products that simplify BAS (Building Automation System) installations using wireless and energy harvesting sensors, switches and controls.
Its widespread adoption within the building lighting controls segment was manifested this year at the industry’s most prominent show, Lightfair. Eighty percent of the companies demonstrating wireless lighting controls at Lightfair were based on the EnOcean Standard, according to EnOcean.
Today, more than 100,000 buildings worldwide are automated using EnOcean-based controls—more than any other wireless standard, says the alliance. EnOcean’s emergence as the wireless lighting leader is attributed to fact that the wires operate without wires and without batteries.
This frees integrators from the confines and invasiveness that has stalled widespread BAS integration. In addition to overcoming installation barriers, maintenance issues are averted. The controls regenerate power for radio communications using ambient sources of energy such as light, temperature and motion.
EnOcean, is the inventor of energy harvesting wireless sensor networks, and manufactures self-powered radio modules and energy harvesters.
