EnOcean Alliance announces open-specification for wireless sensors

The first global, open-specification for energy-harvesting wireless sensors was announced by the EnOcean Alliance at Greenbuild 2009.

Source: EnOcean Alliance

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San Ramon, Calif.-based EnOcean Alliance is publishing the first global, open-specification for energy harvesting wireless sensors, which ensures interoperability between products of different manufacturers. Devised by members of the EnOcean Alliance, the specification is public and accessible to all. The specification contains 50 equipment profiles supporting the development of a variety of solutions for building automation, such as switches, remote controls, sensors, sensor combinations, and data of every kind.

The members of the EnOcean Alliance are currently offering some 350 different pieces of equipment based on EnOcean technology. All these solutions already work by firmly defined profiles, making them interoperable. At present, the published specification contains some 50 EnOcean Equipment Profiles (EEPs) describing different switching functions, remote controls, sensors, and combinations of sensors for temperature, brightness, motion, and humidity. In addition to those for sensors, EEPs are also defined for actuators, such as switching actuators and dimmers. Further EEPs are due to be added to the specification, for example for SMART ACK, Smart Grid and Demand Response.

EnOcean equipment profiles define the functionality of EnOcean-enabled equipment independently of their manufacturer. To ensure the interoperability of all EnOcean-enabled products, every manufacturer must make a binding declaration before introducing a product that their solution meets the EnOcean Alliance specification.

The new document is the first official specification to compile and publish the EEPs paving the way for a worldwide spread of EnOcean technology plus the development and manufacture of new types of equipment.

For further reading on the announcement and an interview with the EnOcean Alliance CEO Graham Martin, visit Control Engineering's website .