European Installation Bus

European Installation Bus

  

 Introduction

EIB is a communication protocol that allows all sensors and actuators from different manufacturers to interact with each other and allow them all to appear together in one human interface (one display software).

EIB (European Installation Bus) is one of the best-kept secrets in the UK's electrical installation market, but a growing army of integrators, installers, smart home enthusiasts, and users are finding it impossible to ignore.

Originally thought of as a solution reserved for commercial installations, EIB has come of age in the residential market with the release of switches that look stylish in the British living room. A really integrated house looks consistent from the front door to the master bedroom - with door entry, light switches, audio controls, thermostats, all looking the same within an EIB environment. The result is a highly-aspiration product that has great value for the installer and occupier alike. 

The vast majority of new EIB parts are now focused on the residential market, and because of the huge number of manufacturers, there are new product innovations being released every week. No other system has the combined engineering and marketing resource of 140 companies to launch new products at the rate that EIB does.

While other control systems can be excellent at doing one thing well, they are often made to perform other functions as afterthoughts, with bolt-on packages and modules.

They are also limited to doing this in the finishes, styles and colors that are a particular manufacturer's idea of what the world should look like. EIB is different; it delivers flexibility of aesthetic design in an open standard that handles, amongst others, lighting, heating, blind and audio control as a part of its native language.

What EIB does, it does very well, simply and reliably. Once installed, EIB installations are rarely revisited except for program changes and additions which are all opportunities for the integrator to 'stay in touch' with the project. Also, EIB opens up both residential and commercial opportunities for the broad-minded integrator, so ensuring a wide market place.

From a product point of view, the huge plethora of parts and manufacturers of EIB is growing quickly. The integrator is not limited to a single manufacturer's idea of how to make a project look and work, and this flexibility means being able to provide a solution for almost any budget or specification, both aesthetically and technically.

 Historical Background

The EIB was founded in the late eighties by a number of major European manufacturers such as Siemens, Gira, Jung, Merten, and ABB. The EIB Association now policies and defines the strategy of EIB for the future. Historically known as Instabus, EIB quickly became well-established in Europe. Being scalable, it is suited to installations from flats to airports, and at last count, is believed to be installed as a base level building control system in more than 40% of all new-build commercial space in Germany. To complete the delivery of a truly European Standard control system, EIB will become known as 'Konnex' as it combines the common protocols of BatiBus and EHS (European Home system). As a result, in 2003, it became a European standard as part of the EN 50090 series.

With a large and growing number of companies manufacturing EIB equipment - around 140 at the last count - the future of EIB as a dominant technology is assured. This level of cross-company investment in a building control protocol is unprecedented, and means EIB is here to stay. In the UK, the use of EIB is about to explode as its advantage over other incumbent systems becomes evident.