10 Reasons Why Electricians Should Learn KNX

Despite KNX having been around for over 30 years, it is still surprising that some electricians haven’t heard of KNX. But that is changing, and fast. In this article, we share why electricians in New Zealand should learn KNX and the benefits it brings to their business. 

What is KNX? 

If you’re an electrician who isn’t familiar with KNX then here are the facts.  

• KNX has been around since 1990 and in its simplest form it is a field bus that uses an open protocol (language) to enable seamless communication between devices and systems for the purpose of building and home automation. 
• KNX being an ‘open’ protocol is at the heart of its success as this interoperability means that any KNX-compatible product can talk to any other KNX-compatible product, regardless of the manufacturer or brand. There are currently over 8,000 products from more than 500+ manufacturers worldwide. 
• KNX can control all of the essential and non-essential aspects of a home or building, including heating and cooling, lighting, security and access control, AV, media and entertainment, all from the touch of a button. 
• KNX is the ONLY worldwide standard for home and building controls, meaning KNX works in the same way and to the same specification wherever you are in the world. It's robust and reliable. 

“Should” electricians be installing KNX? 

Historically, so-called Systems Integrators or Custom Installers/Integrators have had the run of the field with KNX. A KNX installation requires system design skills, as well as the installation and programming of the devices, so it does require specific training and knowledge for a successful project.  

However, that does not and should not exclude electricians from working with KNX or mean that KNX should only be installed by a specific segment of the workforce.  

Ivory Egg offers a range of KNX training, including the option to become a certified KNX partner, and more and more electricians are choosing to get trained and become certified. 

As Simon Buddle points out in this KNXToday article, “The more people that successfully install KNX, the wider the word spreads, the bigger the pie gets, the more we have to eat. I’d like to take a moment to qualify that sentence and stress that it is critical that the installation is a success. Bad systems reflect badly on the whole industry, not just the installer.” 

Our view is that training is crucial for ANYONE wanting to work with KNX, electrician or otherwise. So yes, electricians who want to upskill and invest in training should definitely be installing KNX. 

What is the business case for electricians who are interested in working with KNX? 

More often than not the KNX benefits we hear about are geared toward the end-user or the environment, and this is understandable as those benefits are plentiful. But as an electrician, you’re running a business, so what can KNX do for you? 

More reasons why electricians should learn KNX: 

1. Be more profitable. You’re not locked into buying specific or proprietary brands that have limited discount or are fiercely priced by competitors. 
2. Open your business up to more (diverse) projects where you can handle more of the controls installation and not have to sign it over to other contractors. 
3. Run less cable than a 230V installation, which saves you time and is more environmentally friendly. 
4. Benefit from recurring revenue for system maintenance contracts and repeat business from system upgrades. 
5. Differentiate your business in a busy market. Gives customers more of a reason to choose you. 
6. More product choice and better product availability than proprietary automation solutions. 
7. KNX is more robust and reliable than a set of connected smart devices, meaning reduced service calls. No more issues when products or software becomes obsolete. 
8. Optimum security built-in by design to put clients' minds at ease. KNX products do not store and process personal data unlike consumer smart home devices. 
9. Move to getting paid per project and get off that wheel of back to back jobs paid by the hour. 
10. Flexibility. You have creative freedom to create completely bespoke smart home system designs tailored to your customers, or to devise your own repeatable framework that you can tweak as needed. 

On their own, each of these are really solid reasons for electricians to want to work with KNX, but added together the case is compelling. 

Getting started with KNX as an electrician 

If you’ve read about all these benefits and are keen to take the next step, then we can help. Having been active in the KNX industry for over 18 years, we’ve taken all our knowledge and experience and put it into our online, on-demand KNX training platform.  

We touched on it earlier, but getting the right training is key to being successful with KNX. You can’t skip it and try to figure it out for yourself. We’ve seen it happen too many times and it always ends badly. We want you to set yourself up for success. 

Our training courses are designed to take you from a keen beginner who is interested in KNX, to being confident and ready to book your KNX Basic Certification training. 

Our courses cover: 

KNX Sales – Learn how to talk to end clients about KNX and confidently sell a KNX system 

KNX System Design & Specification – Learn how to design a KNX system and how to specify the right products 

KNX System Design & Specification: HVAC – Understand how KNX control of HVAC systems works, how to design the controls and specify the right products. 

All our courses are self-paced and 100% online so you can go at your own pace, you don’t have to rush. Equally, if you want to get moving then you can start immediately.  You can purchase vouchers for these training courses here:

KNX Sales

KNX Design & Specification

KNX Design & Specification HVAC

Get in touch with us if you want to discuss which training is right for you by emailing sales@ivoryegg.co.nz or calling us on 0800 333 553.