KNX UK Association member Building Evolution has provided AJH Design & Build, an Isle of Man based developer of high end residential properties, with a KNX intelligent building solution for a £2 million contemporary residence. The specification demanded a versatile, intelligent home automation system with the ability to control lighting, heating, automated blinds/curtains, entrance gates, garage doors, heated towel rails and the secondary circulation of the hot water system.

AJH Design & Build specified KNX technology for the property having been highly impressed with its capabilities compared with other control systems.  The adaptability of the system and the ability to add extra functionality or upgrades of KNX products at a later date were important.   There are over 100 different manufacturers supplying equipment to the KNX standard and a vast choice switch designs, controls panels and other products to choose from to suit the high specification interior design of the property.

“With KNX as a standard rather than a single supplier system, there will always be products and support available”, says Allan Hall, Managing Director of AJH Design & Build.

Simple installation was important and KNX devices are linked on a simple, single twisted pair standard green bus cable.  All elements work together on the single network, vastly reducing wiring requirements.   KNX is very robust as it distributes the intelligence across all the components rather than having a master control panel. This means that the failure of any device only affects that particular service, whilst the rest of the system continues to operate.

The initial KNX installation at Stroanville Lodge includes the control of all the property’s lighting, including individual room and whole house lighting scenes.  Movement sensors provide automatic light control on the property’s landings after dark to ensure dimmed, eye-friendly lighting levels for occupants.  Underfloor heating, domestic hot water and electric towel rails in all en-suite bathrooms are timed controlled from a touch panel in the kitchen.  KNX technology also monitors the mains water pump and controls the mains water holding tank dump valves.  This includes a control strategy for monitoring pump run times and automated dumping of tank water.

From a security standpoint, the KNX control and monitoring of the opening and closing of gates to the property, both locally and from the remote touch panel, provide the owner with a high level of security.

A touch panel in the kitchen allows the control and monitoring of the whole KNX

installation from a convenient central location and central “off” functions are also conveniently located next to beds and by the property’s front door.  Remote access to control and monitor the home from the internet is also provided.  KNX cable has been installed to allow the addition of KNX blind controls as a possible upgrade option for the creation of a fully integrated intelligent home.

The completed project meets all the original design goals. Building Evolution‘s encyclopaedic knowledge of KNX equipment and programming abilities were also praised by Allan Hall:  “They are totally committed to meeting deadlines and providing the very best in customer service. KNX is good value for money and not the most expensive system we considered.  It is robust and capable so we are very pleased with the ease of operation and system integration; a complex system is of no use if the end user cannot easily operate it!  We will definitely use KNX as our home automation system of choice for any future projects.”

For more information contact KNX UK, PO Box 4082, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 9EQ, Email: admin@knxuk.org Website: www.knxuk.org