We have interviewed the author of the best selling ebook about KNX programming, Manfred Meier. In part one of the interview, he tell us all about the benefits for your company and career when you start using ETS and KNX.
Before you start, if you have never come across KNX before, I recommend giving our article - introducing the system - a read.
Manfred Meier is an independent electrical engineer and certified KNX partner. He gained his first EIB/KNX experience in 1995 and quickly became a sought-after specialist. In 2004 he published his accumulated expert knowledge in the ETS3 Tutorial.
Manfred is the author of The Ultimate Guide to KNX Programming, an eBook from Voltimum which is being published in English for the first time later this month.
Ahead of the eBook launch, we interviewed Manfred to ask how our users can increase their turnover or set up their own business with KNX. You can read Part One of the interview below. Part Two will be published on Thursday (12th April).
Why should electricians learn KNX?
KNX is the number one smart technology for building control and will probably always remain so. I have often looked to the left and right, tested and tried to see if there is something better, and I have always come to the conclusion that KNX is the best. Once you understand how easy KNX is, you will ask yourself why you didn't start it earlier. There is an infinite number of possibilities to use KNX. Even in the completely normal everyday life of an electrician. Unfortunately, a lot of them haven’t learned to use it yet. This is mostly because a lot of them don’t fully know about the potential gain.
How can electrical companies increase their sales potential through KNX?
First of all, I recommend every electrician to invest in the ETS software. Anyone who is still inexperienced with the software or KNX can easily learn it with our Ultimate Guide to KNX programming. Next to learning the basics, it is important to get used to proper project planning, commissioning and documentation. Because of how easy we made it to learn about KNX, I receive many questions from employees at electrical companies who wish to purchase the ETS privately. This in order to make further progress in their career. The companies have to watch out that they are not "overtaken" by their own employees.
On the other hand, many other companies have already trained their employees in KNX in an exemplary manner and invested in training courses and were then shocked, because the expensively trained employees moved on and set up their own company as a competitor.
I consider this to be ethically unfair, but unfortunately, it happens. Therefore, I always recommend a prior contractual agreement if employees are to be supported by the company in special additional training. Such a superb additional training opens up completely different perspectives for the future.
Here are some success stories in the field of EIB/KNX:
My own profit has grown rapidly after learning EIB/KNX. I have installed KNX in many single-family houses, where the smart installation requested by the owner was allowed to cost more than the shell construction. These are completely different orders than a standard construction. KNX gives every electrical installer the opportunity to become an independent contractor and become a sought-after KNX system integrator. The best thing is, it’s not only me who made a better living. There’s two more stories of professionals who increased their revenue with the support of the EIB-tutorial, which is the predecessor of this eBook (EIB is the predecessor of KNX and 100% compatible, note by the editors).
One example is the successful KNX system integrator Florian Bachleitner from Bavaria, close to Munich. During his apprenticeship, he has already gained some insight into EIB. As a journeyman, he then bought the "EIB-Tutorial" for ETS3 privately, preparing himself thoroughly for the subsequent certification and successfully completing it. Then, as a precautionary measure, he still attained the technical college too, for his future. As a result of his certification, the company he worked for was now able to accept projects that required EIB certification. Since 2012 Florian Bachleitner has been working independently as a very successful system integrator. Info: www.knx-tegernsee.de
The second example is the highly successful system integrator Helmut Lintschinger from Weßling, also close to Munich. He successfully completed his training as an electrician in 1993. In 1998 he decided to do a KNX training in Austria. In 1999 he worked for Süddeutscher Verlag in Munich, where he was given the opportunity to expand his knowledge of EIB/KNX. In 2000, he founded the company "EIB-TECH", initially part-time, in order to build up a customer base. Since 2004 he has been working full-time as a freelance KNX system integrator. His specialisation in the field of sophisticated 2D and 3D visualisations in his own design, fully relying on the Gira home server, made him well known in the KNX scene and even won him the coveted KNX Award in the "Energy Efficiency" category in 2010. Meanwhile he is happy about 343 successfully realized smart home projects. His wife Pamela Lintschinger, who is actively involved in his projects, prepared herself for the successful KNX certification in 2004 with the "EIB-tutorial". Info: www.luxus-in-3d.de
For more information on The Ultimate Guide to KNX Programming, click here.
Do you have any questions about KNX? Submit them here.