Page 3 - Structure and Scope of KNX Association

KNX TUTOR SEMINAR

1 Some history

In 1997 three major European bus associations were active, i.e.:
BCI (Batibus Club International): this French non-profit association promoted the
Batibus medium that had been originally developed by Schneider Electric. Most of its
members were active in the French market
EHSA (European Home Systems Association): this Dutch non-profit association
promoted the EHS technology, originally resulting from a European project for the
automatic configuration of bus compatible white (washing machine, cooker, …) and
brown goods (video, hifi, …)
EIBA (EIB Association): this Belgian co-operative society promoted the EIB
technology, originally developed by a consortium of manufacturers (Merten, Insta,
Siemens …) in 1987. Most of the participating manufacturers were active in German
speaking countries. The association consisted of shareholders (“members”) and users
of the technology (“licensees”). EIBA also developed and marketed a common
configuration tool called EIB Tool Software (ETS).

In 1997, in the framework of the “convergence process”, the above-mentioned
associations decided to bundle their forces to extend the market especially in the
residential sector, extend the application areas for bus systems and jointly reach the
following additional goals:

regrouping of all activities of the legacy associations into a new association called
“KNX Association” with the following features:
 a commercial cooperative society with registered office in Belgium
 sources of income:
 Shares (1 for smaller companies, 10 for larger companies): The weight of
the votes at the General Assembly depends on the shares of the member.
 Annual member fee (the amount depends on the number of employees)
 Sale of KNX-technology to non-shareholders (Licensees)
 Registration- and certification fees
 Sale of software packages
 Membership as a shareholder or licensee is indispensable to be admitted to the
certification procedure, to have (in the case where products are configured by
ETS) access to the necessary tools and receive the necessary development
support.
 Non-members only have the possibility to purchase the KNX specifications
(without update service).
 the structure of working and expert groups is laid down as follows:

 The General Assembly determines the annual budget, as prepared by an
Executive Board.
 The work on the standard is in the hands of the Technical Board and
promotional activities are worked out by the Marketing Board (and their
relevant subgroups).

Home and Building Management Systems KNX Association
Structure and Scope of KNX Association Structure and Scope_E0911a.doc 3/9