Nordic Semiconductor delivers industry-wide support for KNX IoT protocol following membership of KNX Association

Nordic Semiconductor has thrown its support behind the new KNX IoT protocol with membership of the KNX Association. The support offers developers of commercial building and smart home automation products a ready-to-use solution for evaluating KNX IoT technology and building prototypes.

The KNX Association comprises over 500 manufacturers and more than 100,000 system integrators, who together with other stakeholders, work to ensure the interoperability and compatibility of more than 8,000 KNX devices. The organization is responsible for the promotion of the KNX standardized communication protocol for buildings and smart homes, and is the developer of the new KNX IoT specification.

IoT interoperability and coexistence

The KNX IoT specification and the associated open source software stack are designed to enable an easy integration of classic, twisted-pair-based KNX installations with wireless KNX devices. It has been developed specifically with small, low power embedded devices in mind, and is based on Thread, the IPv6-based, low power and low latency mesh networking protocol designed to reliably deliver interoperability and coexistence across the IoT. The development of the KNX IoT specification guarantees developers interoperability between Thread-powered devices and existing KNX wired or wireless infrastructure.

By joining the KNX Association, Nordic Semiconductor continues to deliver on its commitment to support all foundation technologies of the IoT and help developers deliver products that are reliable, efficient, secure, and easy-to-use. Already established as the world’s leading Bluetooth® LE semiconductor company, Nordic is at the forefront of Thread technology having been actively involved in its development since the inception of the OpenThread project in 2016.

Industry leadership

As the first semiconductor company to provide production support for the OpenThread stack, Nordic has established itself as a key player in this space, and is also leading the development of Apple’s HomeKit over Thread, and Matter over Thread solutions.

The company’s newly announced nRF54H20 fourth generation multiprotocol SoC, and its nRF5340, nRF52840 and nRF52833 multiprotocol SoCs all support Thread, and will therefore enable KNX IoT functionality in building automation systems and provide seamless integration with other building and smart home devices and platforms. This in turn will provide greater flexibility and interoperability for end users.

KNX IoT complements other protocols for the smart building sector which are natively supported by Nordic’s nRF Connect SDK, including Matter for smart homes and Bluetooth mesh for professional lighting applications. This enables device manufacturers to support all major building automation protocols using the same Nordic SoC without the need for hardware changes. This in turn will bring wireless connectivity to a wider range of building automation devices.

“We are delighted to join the KNX Association and look forward to playing an active role in the promotion of the KNX IoT standard into the future,” says Finn Boetius, Product Marketing Engineer with Nordic Semiconductor. “With our market-leading low power wireless technology and expertise in Thread, we are well-positioned to help drive the IoT revolution forward, including the new KNX IoT standard.

“The addition of support for KNX IoT alongside Matter and Bluetooth mesh, reinforces Nordic’s position as the de facto hardware choice for building automation and the smart home.”

“I would like to welcome our newest member, Nordic Semiconductor, a Norwegian semiconductor company and provider of wireless communication technology for the Internet of Things, to the KNX community,” says KNX Association CEO & Spokesperson, Heinz Lux. “Thanks to Nordic’s contribution, KNX IoT gains a key player in the industry, which reinforces the position of KNX as the leading IP and IoT technology for home and building automation.”

A working KNX IoT demonstration project that can be used for evaluation and development is available on Nordic’s GitHub here. 

• About KNX Association
• About KNX IoT
• About Nordic Semiconductor