Connectivity Ecosystem for residential, midsize building and hotel markets
16 April 2018
Schneider Electric, Danfoss and Somfy have partnered to create a Connectivity Ecosystem that aims to accelerate the adoption of connectivity in residential, mid-size building and hotel markets.
Committed to openness and interoperability, the three companies combine 300 years of innovation and expertise with the largest global network of trusted installers in the industry.
The partnership brings connectivity for smart homes and smart buildings to maturity by delivering efficient solutions that are easy to integrate and that work simply together.
The connectivity solutions are supported by qualified installers, making them simple and easy for customers to deploy.
The global market for connectivity is growing fast, with an estimated 8.4 Billion* connected devices in 2020.
In 2016, fewer than 17 percent of US homes had any kind of smart home system, and less than 4 percent in Europe**. Most of these are single-application devices.
The challenge is that connectivity is still widely perceived as lacking in simplicity, reliability, interoperability and after-sales support. Installation quality is also an issue, particularly when the installation process is left in the hands of the end users or unqualified installers.
Schneider Electric, Danfoss, and Somfy believe it is time for major industrial players to come together to accelerate on connectivity and deliver efficient solutions that work simply together. Through the partnership, the three global leaders bring their own field of expertise in lighting, heating and shutter control that are supported by the expertise and proximity of professional network of installers.
Bringing together the best application expertise
“Controlling lighting, heating and shutters together in one system is a real expertise that we can now jointly offer by combining more than 300 years of industry leadership - all backed by our extensive professional installer networks. In recent decades, we have also developed a high level of compatibility with other application leaders within HVAC equipment, access control, door entry systems and audio-video. We believe the time has come to further consolidate interaction among other players and to build seamless and simple integration of our applications,” said Lars Tveen, President Danfoss Heating Segment.
A large network of trained professional installers
“Over many years we have developed a massive network of over 300,000 installers from around the globe. Thanks to close, daily interaction, we have built up mutual trust and understanding with our installers. For them, our brands signify reliability, ease-of-use and effective technical support. In addition, our channel partner programmes – Schneider Electric EcoXperts, Somfy Experts and Danfoss installers – are the perfect platforms for us to continue to build and develop connectivity expertise within our channels,” said Somfy CEO Jean-Guillaume Despature.
Commitment to openness and interoperability
“We have already built established connectivity platforms based on our core applications and have experienced significant success with Schneider Electric’s Wiser, KNX, C-Bus, Danfoss’ Link and Somfy’s TaHoma. We believe in openness and interoperability. Connectivity protocols and platforms are still very diverse. We have built the technology know-how that incorporates all the major communication protocols and is compatible with all emerging user interfaces and voice controllers. And we are fully committed to long-term compatibility with our legacy platforms,” said Philippe Delorme, Schneider Electric Executive Vice President for Buildings & IT Business.
Under the partnership, Schneider Electric, Danfoss, and Somfy will align their connectivity and technology strategies to develop an open ecosystem, making their products seamlessly interoperable at controller level, or at cloud level through APIs (Application Programming Interface).
Meeting customer expectations with real use cases delivering tangible benefits
Connectivity only makes sense if it meets targeted customer expectations within specific sectors of the market. To this end, the three companies have engaged with customers and partners across multiple markets, to review and create customised solutions aimed at developing use cases with simple and seamless integration of their different applications. These use cases bring real added value for installers and system integrators, as well as key benefits to end users including energy-efficiency, comfort and health, security and user-friendliness.
The three companies are committed to train their installer network to ‘champion’ connectivity in their daily activities, helping customers and end-users to deploy solutions that meet their needs and requirements.
The ecosystem’s first three use cases demonstrated at Light+Building 2018 trade fair in Germany are targeting:
• Hotel with fully integrated guest room management
• High-end residential segment with best-in-breed controls, combined in a seamless integrated system
• New housing, or comprehensive home renovation or upgrade, using a new smart-home-ready electrical panel
Hotel with fully integrated guest room management
The benefits for hotel operations are seamless integration of systems, providing a consistent and excellent guest experience, while optimising energy use without impacting customer comfort and health. The solution also allows hotel facility managers to control everything through a single integrated system.
For systems integrators, commissioning the Schneider Electric guest room solution together with Somfy and Danfoss solutions is easy. They have full compatibility with “out of the box” solutions that are tested, validated and documented.
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