Truly transformational home automation

An ambitious project using ABB i-bus KNX technology includes a suite of automated features that give residents control and independence.

DPN Casa Capace is an enterprise developed under property investment company DPN, providing architecturally designed homes for those requiring specialist accommodation.

Needing suitable accommodation for the 28,000 differently abled Australians under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), the federal government invited members of the commercial property sector to develop specialist disability accommodation (SDA) designs to improve dwellings, which have historically felt more like hospitals than homes.

The homes required a high level of automation, which had to be secure, robust and intuitive. DPN Casa Capace turned to building technologies distributor Ivory Egg for a suitable solution.

Ivory Egg recommended the ABB i-bus KNX solution to control electrical doors, lighting, blinds, TVs, HVAC and to adjust bench heights in the homes. It implements preconfigured scenes, such as raising the blinds and switching on the lights in the morning, or turning on the TV and dimming the lights.

ABB i-bus KNX is open-protocol and also the only protocol that’s compliant with both Standard Australia’s Technical Specification for Building Automation (SA/SNZ TS ISO/IEC14543.1.1:2018) and the International Standards for Building Automation (ISO/IEC145).

The first two dwellings opened in Sydney’s Oran Park in February this year and Casa Capace now has a futureproof design and system that can accommodate ongoing development of technologies and products. It is designed to enhance the longevity of the homes, with the open protocol ensuring owners are not locked into any one technology.