Radio Technology

We create interoperable wireless sensor solutions for building automation, the smart home and IoT applications

We want you to not only rely on a single system when it comes to realizing your self-powered wireless sensor solutions. Interoperability is the keyword here. That’s why we are driving forward the standardization of energy harvesting for all wireless standards – to make the unique possibilities of this technology available for a great variety of applications. We bring our know-how into standardization working groups of the EnOcean Alliance, Bluetooth SIG and the Connectivity Standards Alliance, to further optimize these three wireless standards for particularly low-energy and, thus, sustainable applications.

Supported radio standards

The EnOcean radio standard is internationally standardized as ISO/IEC 14543-3-10 and so can be used everywhere like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It is specially optimized for wireless solutions with particularly low energy consumption, which is covered by energy harvesting. The minimum telegram length sent is only about one millisecond at a data rate of 125kbit/s. The telegrams are repeated several times within 40 milliseconds. Since they are sent at random intervals, collisions of end telegrams can be avoided and numerous switches and sensors can be operated in parallel without any problems. Each EnOcean radio module has a 32-bit identification number that ensures high transmission reliability. The radio range is up to 300 metres in open space and about 30 metres in buildings.

The standard uses the 868 MHz frequency band in Europe, 902 MHz in North America and 928 MHz in Japan. These radio waves can easily penetrate walls and offer a robust transmission power. At the same time, the high-frequency radiation is 100 times lower than in classic wired solutions.

As promoter of this standard, the EnOcean Alliance offers an interoperable ecosystem of more than 1,500 devices from 400 members based on the open EnOcean wireless standard. Interoperable EnOcean wireless technology enables the quick and simple, “peel and stick” installation of state-of-the-art sensors, switches and other devices that are powered by energy harvesting.

Please note: the sale of products using EnOcean Alliance technology or the use of the EnOcean Alliance brand or logo might require membership in the EnOcean Alliance. For further details please contact help@enocean-alliance.org.

Benefits of the EnOcean Wireless Standard (ISO/IEC 14543.3.1x)

High reliability

Use of regulated frequency ranges with highest air time availability (approved for pulsed signals only)
868 MHz for the European Union according to CE/RED regulations and the UK according to UK/CA regulation
902 MHz for USA according to FCC specification and for Canada according IC specification
928 MHz for Japan accoring to ARIB specification
Multiple telegram transmission with checksum
Short telegrams (approx. 1ms) for little collision probability enabling a large number of EnOcean sensors operatin in a system
Long range: up to 30 meters in buildings and 300 meters in free field
Repeater available for range extension
One-way and bidirectional communication
Enhanced data security with rolling code and 128 AES encryption
No interference with DECT, WLAN, PMR systems, etc.
System design verified in industrial environment

Ultra-low power

High data transmission rate of 125 kbit/s
Small data overhead
ASK and FSK modulation

Interoperability

Based on international standards
Unified application profiles (EnOcean Equipment Profiles, EEP)
Unique transmission ID

The internationally supported Bluetooth® radio standard uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band and is primarily used for audio communication between smartphones, tablets and additional devices such as loudspeakers, headphones and hands-free kits. In the energy-optimised version, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), was developed with the transmission of small data packets between sensors and smartphones in mind.

BLE is perfectly suited for controlling intelligent lighting. Due to its unique combination of low-power communication with area-wide support by smartphones, it is an interesting alternative to other communication protocols such as Zigbee and Wi-Fi and can be combined with other technologies to create even more intelligent lighting solutions.

The minimum transmitted telegram length is less than 100 milliseconds at a data rate of up to 2 Mbit/s, the data packets vary between 10 bytes and 255 bytes. The radio range is up to 50 metres in open space, indoors it is typically between 10 and 15 metres.

The Bluetooth wireless standard is supported by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), a global organisation with more than 36,000 member companies. They aim for a collective development of Bluetooth technology and the creation of common technical standards.

Zigbee is a versatile, energy-efficient home networking wireless protocol designed for smart buildings, smart home solutions, embedded devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). It is designed to transmit small amounts of data with minimal energy consumption, and is used by several major manufacturers. Like the EnOcean and BLE radio protocols, Zigbee is well suited for building customised home automation systems and sensor networks.

Indoors the radio range lies between 10 and 20 metres, depending on the power and the structural environment. Like Bluetooth, Zigbee mainly uses the 2.4 GHz frequency band in Europe.

Data transmission is at 250 kbit/s, with data packets of 127 bytes. An important criterion is that the latency times for a single transmission path are extremely short. In some cases, these are not even noticeable with time-critical devices such as switches. Another advantage is that Zigbee is mesh compatible. As a result, end-to-end communication can take place via a large number of intermediate steps, which in turn increases the overall latency.