Housing association Woonborg has built new residences in two locations in the Netherlands: 36 in Nieuw-Roden, part of the Drenthe municipality, and 32 in Haren, an area in the City of Groningen. When it came to energy efficiency, the association took into account not only the mandatory NZEB (nearly zero-energy building) standard, but also the ZOM (zero-on-the-meter) standard, which imposes stricter requirements. To help tenants reduce their energy consumption, the residences are equipped with LUXORliving, an energy-saving, KNX-based smart home system from Theben. In addition, the IRIS monitoring system from PureDomotica provides valuable insights into energy generation and consumption. The impact is clear: residents of the completed homes have an increased awareness of their energy consumption and have shown themselves to be more likely to stick within the energy limits.

Tenants of energy-neutral buildings are often hit with an expensive bill for their electricity consumption at the end of the year for various reasons – perhaps because they have installed a jacuzzi, or because they have been keeping the heating on at a steady 24 degrees with the windows open. The result is that they exceed the amount of energy allocated to them and the PV yield is not enough to cover their needs. Woonborg wanted to prevent exactly that and relies on ZOM homes, of which a total of 117 have been built over the last five years, with a concept based on heat pumps, ventilation systems, solar collectors and good insulation. In the process, the association also embarked on the hunt for an additional system designed to encourage lower, more conscious energy consumption by tenants.

Display provides information about generation and consumption

In addition to their social rent charge, tenants of ZOM residences pay Woonborg an energy efficiency fee (or EPV, short for Energieprestatievergoeding in Dutch). This allows the association to recoup part of the investment in sustainable energy measures. To qualify for the EPV scheme, landlords need to guarantee that ZOM residences are energy-efficient.
Woonborg commissioned PureDomotica to monitor energy consumption and yield. Marco Weg, Project Development Manager at PureDomotica, explains: “For the EPV scheme, you need to measure the heat pump, ventilation system and hot water consumption levels, plus the net generation of the PV panels. This makes it possible to deduce whether the building is actually energy-neutral. We collect the data from energy meters in the homes and send it to the cloud.” An in-home display shows residents how much they have generated and consumed that day, how much energy they have left and how this compares to other days, months or years.

Instrument for monitoring energy consumption

“Saving energy starts with insight and awareness”, says Woonborg project manager Jan van Goor. “The problem with ZOM in the past was that residents had no idea how much they were consuming, but they had a contract for a certain amount of energy. Then they would get a nasty surprise at the end of the year when they found out that they had to pay more. Now, however, they have a tool for monitoring and managing their packages, so they’ll always be aware of whether there might be more to pay at the end of the year.” But Woonborg was keen to go further. In its latest new-build project, it has opted for an additional system combining the LUXORliving smart home system with other KNX components from Theben. As van Goor says: “The goal is to save even more energy using the automatic changeover feature, but the system can also do much more than that”.

Home automation makes sustainable homes even more sustainable

Marco Weg explains how automation has this effect: “We use high-quality sensors and actuators from Theben to control systems automatically – you can use them to switch lights on and off and make blinds go up and down. The system is based on a Theben KNX weather station that controls six homes simultaneously. If a smoke detector is activated, the ventilation switches off automatically, the blinds go up and the light in the escape route comes on. So you’re not just reducing your energy consumption – you’re also making your home more comfortable and safe”. The new building project, which PureDomotica, Theben and Woonborg are executing together, is registered as a pilot project that forms part of a European research project aiming to increase sustainability through simple home automation. According to Weg: “The data we collect will show that home automation makes sustainable homes even more sustainable”.

Quality pays off

Weg knows from experience that choosing quality components pays off – which is exactly why he keeps coming back to Theben. “The quality of the components determines the quality of the measurements and the building technology. And that in turn makes or breaks the level of satisfaction that tenants and customers feel. Theben stands for quality, but also for partnership. By working together, we are learning from each other and continuously improving the concept. LUXORliving enables us to achieve maximum energy savings and comfort in social housing while keeping the bells and whistles to a minimum. It’s a breeze for older people to use too. The KNX components allow us to use whichever applications we like and create more advanced connections. We are delighted with the support and input we’ve received from Theben.” Woonborg feels the same way – so much so that the concept and collaboration are set to continue in future new-build projects.

From click switch to tactile sensor

For Jan van Goor, what’s “under the bonnet” is not that important: instead, what really matters is that the technology works reliably and delivers results. “We haven’t had any complaints about the systems at all so far. The technology is working, but the residents are not aware of it. They no longer use old-fashioned click switches and are instead using modern tactile sensors. The monitoring facility has raised awareness of energy usage: there are hardly any instances of consumption exceeding generation and everyone is happy to pay the EPV.” PureDomotica keeps an eye out for any obvious excess consumption and acts as a service desk for Woonborg in the event that any issues with the systems do arise. “Monitoring the installations means that we can quickly find out what is going wrong, who needs to be involved and which components the installers need to bring with them. This also avoids unnecessary journeys by Woonborg vehicles. 50% of issues can now be resolved quickly and effectively with data analysis and a single phone call. We are also in a better position to plan maintenance, which reduces repair costs”, van Goor points out. The bottom line is that these systems save the housing association a lot of money, which it can then invest back in the automation concept.

One step ahead

PureDomotica has now been commissioned to build another 82 residences on the basis of the same concept. According to Marco Weg: “We are already one step ahead. In this project, we will also be controlling the temperature in each zone using the temperature sensors in the iON buttons from Theben. Another new feature is that we can now read errors and deviations in the heat pump system directly. This means even better management of emergencies, maintenance and administrative aspects”.

Theben products used:

• Tactile sensor: iON 102 KNX, iON 104 KNX
• Presence detector: thePrema S360 KNX
• Weather sensor: LUXORliving M100
• Weather control centre: LUXORliving M130
• System control centre: LUXORliving IP1
• Binary input: TA 4 S KNX
• Blinds actuator, 4/8-way: JM 4 T KNX, JM 8 T KNX
• Switch actuator: RM 16 S KNX
• Heating actuator: HM 6 T KNX
• Power supply: PS 160 mA T KNX

Installation partner

PureDomotica

Housing association

Woonborg

The farm on the outskirts of Enschede has a long history. It was built in 1830 as an extension to Erve het Loetinck. Erve het Loetinck comprised a main courtyard and two houses for the farmhands. The second farmhands’ house burned down a long time ago and the main house was demolished during the last century. The remaining farmhouse is the only visible proof of this once hugely important farmstead. The new owners have restored it to its former glory, and the old farmhands’ house is now the main residence. Two new buildings in style of the old farmstead have been built where the other buildings used to be. One is a guest house, while the other is used for storage.

For the owners, it was important to preserve the style and atmosphere of the past. The huge roof was restored – the kink in the roofline was retained and marks out the transition between where the pigs were kept and the cattle were reared. A number of old elements have also been incorporated into the new construction. The wood from the old barn has been given a new lease of life in the kitchen units. Original bricks have been used to create a new interior wall and a sandstone slab from the former stable now stands in front of the front door. Other building materials also often had a former life – creating a more or less circular renovation.

Wanted: a simple smart home system

The owners have converted the building with a respect for the past. At the same time, they also enjoy modern comforts. But not too many! It was these specifications that led Stijn Nijhuis from Vennegoor to suggest LUXORliving from Theben. The simple KNX smart home system offers everything you could want to create comfortable home living but without any unnecessary bells and whistles. LUXORliving switches the lights on and off – when it detects movement, via a smartphone app, automatically when it starts to get dark or simply when you press the wall switches. The blinds go up or down automatically depending on the sunlight. Naturally, the system also ensures a pleasant temperature is maintained in every room at all times. The occupants can use the system to open the electric gate remotely. And at night, the lighting along the driveway switches on automatically.

The safety and security system is also connected to LUXORliving, so all the lights switch on if there is an intruder and the ventilation switches off automatically in the event of a fire. “We opted for LUXORliving because of its quality, simplicity and accessibility. It is a system that is well placed between professional KNX systems and more amateur products available in DIY stores. The system works flawlessly and offers exactly what we imagined it would – simplicity, comfort and peace of mind,” says the owner. The system consists of switch, dimming and blinds actuators, room controllers with integrated temperature sensors, push button interfaces for manual control, a weather station and a system control centre which is used for programming and for connection to the LUXORplay smartphone app. The separate control cabinet for the system is located in the utility room. This is where all the signals and commands are received and converted into actions: lights on, blinds down, temperature up.

Easy to program – without ETS

Stijn Nijhuis: “We were familiar with Theben products from past projects but had never worked with LUXORliving before. This project was a good opportunity to install the system for the first time. The owners wanted a smart home but no overly complex intelligence features. The big advantage for me was that I was able to program the system myself because it’s all very simple. I’ve had some experience with much more complex KNX systems – in those cases, we took care of the wiring but then had to bring in a system integrator to program and test the system, meaning that we were outsourcing the most interesting part of the job. That wasn’t necessary with LUXORliving. Using the manual and videos from Theben, we were able to take care of everything.”

Close cooperation with Theben

The installer really enjoyed working with Theben. “I received lots of information in advance. In the end, 90% of the system was already ready to use when a representative came over to inspect it. He then helped me with the final steps. Theben is always on hand if you ever have any questions. I’ll certainly use this system more often in future, whenever the opportunity arises.”

LUXORliving products used:

• LUXORliving IP1 system control centre
• LUXORliving P640 power supply
• LUXORliving M140 weather station
• LUXORliving T2 2-way push button interface
• LUXORliving T4 4-way push button interface
• LUXORliving iON8 room controller
• LUXORliving S8 8-way switch actuator
• LUXORliving D2 2-channel dimming actuator
• LUXORliving D4 4-channel dimming actuator
• LUXORliving B6 6-way binary input

Electrical installation:

Vennegoor Installatie B.V., Weerselo, the Netherlands