New-build hotels are where KNX pays off best: the bus is specified from the drawings, every room is identical, and integration with GRMS and PMS is designed in rather than retrofitted. This walkthrough distils a typical new-build deployment and the lessons worth repeating.
Project shape
A mid-size new-build with standardised room types. KNX TP serves each room for switches, sensors, curtain and thermostat; DALI loops handle dimmed lighting. A floor gateway bridges KNX to the IP network and the GRMS.
Device mix per room
- KNX touch switch panels (bedside, entry, bathroom).
- PIR and door contact for occupancy and status.
- DALI dimmers for ambient and task lighting.
- KNX thermostat or BLE Mesh stat for HVAC.
- Card-power and DND/MUR wired to the RCU.
Integration and outcomes
The GRMS received live room status and energy events; the PMS triggered welcome and setback scenes. Standardised room types meant one proven configuration cloned across the floor, cutting commissioning time and support calls.
Lessons that transferred
Standardise room types early, prove one room of each type before scaling, and keep the integration path (BACnet/Modbus/API) decided at design time, not during commissioning.
- Why KNX for new build rather than wireless?
- Because the bus is in the walls from day one, giving the deepest integration and lowest lifetime risk for a long-life asset.
- How long to commission a standard room type?
- After the first room of a type is proven, subsequent identical rooms commission quickly from the cloned configuration.
- What is the biggest lesson?
- Decide the PMS/GRMS integration path at design time. Retrofitting integration is far more expensive than designing it in.