The companies Häfele, Nimbus, JUNG and STEINEL have something in common: they use the Bluetooth® SIG Mesh radio standard for their products. This creates opportunities for cooperation, which are now coming together in an initiative. The aim of the consortium: compatibility across brand boundaries and more visibility for the powerful, cross-manufacturer radio technology.
Bluetooth is not just Bluetooth. Some building technology providers have developed their own, manufacturer-specific solutions for lights, sensors & Co. based on the Bluetooth radio protocol. But meanwhile, there is also an official technology that has been developed and adopted by the standardization body, the Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group).
Bluetooth® SIG Mesh incorporates the many years of experience gained from many other developments. The radio standard extends Bluetooth by the mesh principle: The products build up a radio network among themselves, in which radio cells interlock like the mesh of a lattice and pass on information – suited perfectly for use in and around buildings.
Powered by Bluetooth® SIG Mesh: Systems by Häfele, Nimubs, JUNG and STEINEL
Solutions such as JUNG HOME, Häfele Connect Mesh or Connected Lighting from STEINEL show how well the technology works. Applications range from furniture lights and smart home systems in the home and garden to the automation of lighting in warehouses and parking garages. Advantage over proprietary, manufacturer-owned Bluetooth wireless solutions: The standardized mesh products can be networked across their system boundaries. A wireless socket from vendor A or a lamp from vendor B can technically receive the control signals of a sensor from brand C, amplify them, and transmit them throughout the building.
Manufacturers are now making greater use of this option and have founded the German Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bluetooth Mesh (Bluetooth Mesh working group). As an association of interests, it will look after cross-brand solutions for the networked building and also communicate them. This is because many specialist companies, planning offices and end consumers are hardly aware of the advantages of the standard so far. There is no central point of contact for those seeking information.
Representatives of the companies met to establish the working group at the eltefa trade fair in Stuttgart.
Pictured from left to right: M. Schulte (JUNG), L. Schlüter (Steinel). T. Schäfers (Steinel), H-H. Gerhard (JUNG), J. Kitz (JUNG), M. Nöther (Häfele).
Simple integration of devices and more investment security for builders
The goal of the joint initiative is to create a functioning ecosystem in which the partners’ devices can be combined in a meaningful way. Products should be able to be integrated via any app of the participating companies. The necessary reliability and compatibility will be ensured by a central body that certifies devices and issues a logo as a distinctive mark. A website is also planned as an information platform.
In the end, everyone benefits from the collaboration: building participants through more choice and greater investment security – because they install a complete and future-proof ecosystem, not proprietary radio technology from individual manufacturers. Suppliers through a growing market with development cooperations that reduce their costs. The consortium therefore invites all manufacturers who also use Bluetooth SIG Mesh to join the initiative. Talks with other potential partners are already underway.
Statements
Jürgen Kitz, Managing Director Sales and Marketing JUNG:
In developing JUNG HOME, we focused on a globally functional system and opted for the Bluetooth SIG Mesh standard. Because only based on existing installations can we succeed in advancing the digitalization of residential properties simply and, above all, quickly. In this way, we are able to offer the trade a solution for the essential challenges of our time, and remain open to other manufacturers.
Simon Frech, Director Product Division Lighting Häfele/Nimbus:
A very important building block for our connectivity solution is Häfele Connect for private lighting projects, hotel and store.
Thomas Möller, Managing Director STEINEL:
For me, this is a great initiative, with benefits especially for our customers. Finally, there is a language in which everyone can converse. And this language has the great advantage that all users automatically have it on their smartphone. Technologically, there is nothing better for us because – unlike other wireless systems and protocols – the intelligence lies in the network and not in any control hardware. Bluetooth SIG Mesh is long proven, powerful, open, technically secure and future-proof.
The founding members of Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bluetooth Mesh
About Häfele: The Häfele Group from Nagold, Baden-Württemberg, is a family-owned company operating worldwide and a specialist in intelligent hardware technology, lighting and electronic locking systems. With its “Loox 5” LED system, Häfele has an extensive range of products for furniture and accent lighting. “Häfele Connect Mesh” – which is based on the Bluetooth SIG Mesh radio protocol – serves as a widely used standard for networking lighting and electronic components.
About Nimbus: The Nimbus Group from Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, specializes in LED lighting and room acoustics. The Nimbus brand stands for an extensive range of series luminaires for the contract and private sectors. As part of the Häfele Group, the company also uses the “Häfele Connect Mesh” technology.
About JUNG: Albrecht Jung GmbH & Co. KG in Schalksmühle, North Rhine-Westphalia, is a premium supplier of building technology. The company’s products cover all areas of modern electrical installation – from lighting to blinds, air conditioning, energy, security and multimedia to door communication. In 2022, the company introduced “JUNG HOME”, the first smart home solution based entirely on Bluetooth SIG Mesh.
About STEINEL: The Steinel Group from Herzebrock-Clarholz, North Rhine-Westphalia, is a long-standing innovator in building sensors and in lighting control through sensor technology. With presence and motion detectors, multi-sensors and sensor lights, the company holds a leading position worldwide. Steinel manufactures all its products as well as products for OEM customers at its own European sites. The “Connected Lighting” product range relies very successfully on the Bluetooth SIG Mesh wireless standard in professional and residential applications.
