Q5 interview - Graham Martin, EnOcean Alliance

Graham Martin is chairman of the EnOcean Alliance, which promotes self-powered wireless monitoring and control systems for sustainable buildings.

ZigBee exists. Why does anyone need another low-power wireless building control technology?

What is low-power? Our definition is that low-power equals the capability to operate a sensor without a battery. I maintain that EnOcean is the only real low-power standard as it requires less then 10 per cent of the energy per bit net transmitted than any other standard.

Are EnOcean's wireless links related to ZigBee in any way?

No. EnOcean technology uses the licence free band of 868 MHz in Europe, whereas ZigBee uses primarily 2.4GHz.

Will you need more than just one technology provider (EnOcean) in your Alliance to get its technology approved as a standard?

One aim of the Alliance is to formally standardise and ensure the interoperability of the products, which will allow multiple suppliers into the various parts of the eco-system including technology providers. The standardisation is being driven by the 70 companies already offering over 300 different interoperable products.

The Alliance trumpets its 'green' credentials, but conventional light switches consume zero power. How many milliwatts per node will the mains side of your system consume in idle, and when active - including mains power supply?

In the Torre Espacio skyscraper in Madrid, 4,200 light and shutter switches were installed saving over 20 miles of cable, 1.5 tons of copper and 3 tons of PVC. There is an expected total saving in lighting energy of around 30 per cent resulting in Megawatt-hours saved. The 50mW that the mains side of each gateway consumes is peanuts in comparison.

Are you expecting there to be a domestic retrofit market for EnOcean-enabled products?

Yes. This is already happening across Central Europe. In the UK, MK Electric is in the process of launching its EnOcean-enabled product line. The flexibility of being able to place the switches virtually anywhere without pulling cables is extremely attractive. As volumes rise and costs decrease even further this will become a significant market.

See also: Q5 - Interviews with electronics industry leaders.
Read all the Electronics Weekly Q5 interviews. From ARM's chairman, Sir Robin Saxby, to touchscreen technology firm Zytronic's MD, Mark Cambridge, the business leaders share their particular insights on the UK electronics industry.