smartbuildingmag.com
29
’22
Written on Modified on
Elsner Elektronik News
The Windancer KNX weather station provides the most important weather and outdoor data for a building automated with KNX. And not only that: the Windancer KNX-GPS model also controls the sun protection on up to 8 façades at the same time.
Perfect for the private Smart Home, but also for an apartment building, a company headquarters or an office building. A façade is a group of shades such as blinds, awnings or roller shutters with the same automatic settings. In a smart home, for example, this could be the four sides of the building, plus a separate setting for the recessed area on the terrace.
Solar protection …
The sun sensor is the core of the shading system. There are two Windancer models: Windancer KNX has three sun sensors and reports the brightness from the east, south and west. Windancer KNX-GPS reports the highest of the three measured values. The device calculates the current position of the sun from time and position. The data for this is provided by an integrated GPS receiver. One advantage of this method is that the weather station can control the shades precisely according to the height and direction of the sun. The slats are therefore only closed so far that no direct sun shines in. It is even possible to define how far the sun is allowed to shine into the room, i.e. where the shadow edge should run along the floor.
… and protection of sunshades
The other sensor values of the Windancer help to protect the building and especially the sunshade hangings from unfavourable weather. Sensitive awnings are retracted in case of rain or snow. The heated sensor ignores dew and fog and reacts quickly when the precipitation stops. The “Rain Yes/No” information can also be used for window control in the KNX system.
In frosty weather, shades remain retracted so that they do not freeze in the rails. Many a blind or roof awning has torn because the motor pulled on the cable and fabric and the rail was iced up. The frost alarm reliably prevents this. The outdoor temperature also becomes interesting when it gets too hot. Then the sunshade is moved to the set heat protection position. This keeps radiant heat out, even if other conditions of the sun control automation are not fulfilled. The temperature value of the Windancer KNX can of course also be used for other controls in the KNX system, for example for heating or air conditioning.
In the event of a wind alarm, blinds and awnings are retracted and blocked for manual operation. This prevents storm damage. The wind speed is commonly used for ventilation control via KNX, too.
Timers
For roller shutters and blinds, time switches are an important part of the automation. With Windancer KNX-GPS, this is realised in two steps. First, sequences for daily events are defined in the weekly time switch. In the internal logic module, the sequence can then be combined with events so that important alarms from wind or rain are also taken into account in time functions.
With the calendar timer, events are defined that change with the seasons. In doing so, the time switching is only carried out in a defined date range.
You can find more information about the Windancer KNX weather station here: https://www.elsner-elektronik.de/en/cup-anemomenter-wind-measurement
