The KNX Awards celebrate excellence in smart home and building automation, recognising projects that exemplify innovation, sustainability, and intelligent control. Held as part of the biennial Light + Building event, the KNX Awards have long been a prestigious platform for showcasing the best applications of KNX technology worldwide.
The 2024 edition promises to highlight groundbreaking solutions across multiple categories, including residential, commercial, public projects, and special applications. These awards focus on projects that demonstrate not only the technical prowess of KNX systems but also their real-world impact on enhancing energy efficiency, user comfort, and building performance.
Entries are judged based on several criteria: innovation in design, complexity of integration, use of multi-system solutions, and the overall value delivered to end-users. The event provides a unique opportunity for integrators, manufacturers, and electricians to gain global recognition for their efforts in advancing the future of smart buildings.
As KNX continues to push the boundaries of intelligent automation, the 2024 awards will undoubtedly inspire new possibilities and set new benchmarks for excellence in the industry. Winners will join an elite group of innovators driving the future of automation, showcasing the potential of KNX to transform modern living and working environments.
Nominations from New Zealand:
Te Mātāwai 139 Greys Avenue by Smart Building Technologies
Commercial project in Auckland CBD, New Zealand, nominated for the Sustainability Award
The 139 Greys Ave project is a redevelopment of the central Auckland site for Kāinga Ora (Housing New Zealand). This development is extremely important to the client as it will be the first large scale, single site housing redevelopment in New Zealand. This innovative complex will provide 276 apartments, shared cooking and eating areas, recreation and learning space, gardens, and medical facilities for people with complex needs. The design narrative for the building is based on a taniwha named Horotiu, who wraps around the building, protecting the occupants whilst returning their mana to them. Once completed, this complex will support and provide permanent accommodation for those that haven’t had a welcoming home to go to in the past. It will also give them access to 24/7 onsite wraparound support services.
InterContinental Hotel Auckland by Direct Control
Commercial project in Auckland, New Zealand, nominated for Smart building Award: Africa, America, Australia
The client sought to implement a state-of-the-art hotel room automation system. The primary objectives were to enhance guest comfort while maximising building energy efficiency. Key operations included automated control of lighting, blinds, and the Fan Coil Unit (FCU) based on room occupancy status. Additionally, the system was designed to seamlessly integrate with various third-party systems for comprehensive communication and operational efficiency. We deployed a cutting-edge KNX room automation system, featuring intelligent occupancy sensors, switch panels, and switchboard controllers. This system provided precise control over DALI lights, the Fan Coil Unit (FCU), and blinds, ensuring optimal guest comfort and energy efficiency. Integration with third-party systems, including access control, the HVAC building management system, room booking system, and housekeeping system, was seamlessly achieved to enable real-time communication and synchronisation of operations.
Nominations that stood out to us:
NOMIA An AI is trained by KNX data by GDS Digital Systems LTD
Commercial project in MYKONOS, Greece, nominated for Innovation Award
From smart to intelligent there is a giant leap. “Machine learning”. For this application an AI model is under continuous training targeting energy management and comfort. Room occupation is based on algorithms and machine learning not only on a presence detector. The hotel “knows” that there are guests in the rooms even if they are sleeping or resting at the balcony by combining the information from the corridor cameras, the room presence detector, the Wifi connections and the KNX traffic. The energy model predicts the energy demand and utilizes the renewable sources at the highest possible degree. Result of the efficient management is 20 suites with heated pools each, Restaurant, Bar, Kitchen, laundry, GYM, SPA, lighting and full A/C to operating with a 3X80A / 230-400V power source. To feed the AI model, KNX open API REST used and the naming of group addresses defined under certain rules. Once a day the model is deployed into the real working environment.
Residential project in Vilnius, Lithuania by UAB “Entegra LT”
Residential project in Vilnius, Lithuania, nominated for Innovation Award
A family home where the owners have invested in the latest technology for comfortable and convenient living. All building systems, such as indoor and outdoor lighting, blinds, microclimate control, irrigation, sound, alarm, access control, cameras, televisions, power distribution and monitoring, are integrated into a common KNX home control system. The aim of this project was to create a minimalist and simple control system, making maximum use of the technologies installed and ensuring their interoperability and autonomous operation. Most of the functions work automatically and the occupants do not have to take care of the maintenance and administration of all systems. The level of automation is extremely high, allowing most functions to operate completely autonomously. This increases occupant comfort and reduces operating costs. The entire system is documented in detail, so that there will be no problem to service the system in the future or to extend it with new functions.
Winners that stood out to us:
iCASA smart home – Complete Open-Source by Bruhin Engineering GmbH
Commercial project in Nuolen, Switzerland, WINNER of Publicity Award
By cleverly linking the world-renowned open-source building automation software “Home Assistant” with the KNX system, we have implemented a project that is fully based on open standards. The multitude of integrations with other systems makes Home Assistant an outstanding choice, and with Matter, its future viability is assured. Most of the programming is done by our specially developed web application “iCASA Assistant” (https://icasa-assistant.ch/). This application creates the KNX group addresses according to the “KNX Swiss guidelines” and also generates the corresponding entities, automations and dashboards for the “Home Assistant”. This creates a complete solution with minimal effort. The “Home Assistant” also easily integrates various other devices such as Fronius, WLED, tablets, mobiles, smartwatches and many more.
Flanders House by Domotechnology & High End Electro
Residential project in Flanders, Belgium, WINNER of Smart Home Award
This by Saota designed villa is completely controlled via KNX From the light all the way to the Integrating of the geothermic heat pump to insure optimal energy efficiency for the heating/cooling of the villa, the indoor swimming pool and the large koi pond. Some special KNX features are the 6 EV charging stations that optimize the use of the own solar and stored battery power. With a RGB-strip integrated in the floor underneath the car showing the EV charging status. Ventilation system with adiabatic humidification for the ideal indoor climate. Including underground parking ventilation based on VOC sensors. A hidden swimming pool will appear when a scene is selected, by lowering the floor in the water to a definable depth. Multiple large electric controlled sliding windows are used. These will disappear completely in the wall or floor to make the garden an extension of the living spaces. A camera with AI will open the front gate only when the owner’s car is detected.
Technology, innovation and sustainability by MT DISTRIBUZIONE
Commercial project in Verona, Italy, WINNER of Sustainability Award
The primary objective of our project is the construction of the new MT Distribuzione headquarters, paying particular attention to the environmental impact and sustainability of the building in accordance with current regulations. To achieve this goal, we have adopted various assessment methods (e.g. Itaca), among the most renowned tools for classifying the level of sustainability of buildings. These systems, based on precise evaluation criteria, analyze and certify the performance of buildings not only from an energy point of view, but also in relation to their impacts on the environment, on the health and well-being of the occupants. The structure is certified anti-seismic, guarantees the recycling of air, CO2 and volatile organic compounds (tvoc).
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