Success Story Loxone Campus, Austria
- Success Story
- Loxone as Belimo MP-Bus Partner
- The Loxone Campus
Success Story
A showcase project for learning and experiencing.
As a specialist for intelligent building automation solutions, Loxone has been supporting specialist planners, architects and building owners in the implementation of their building projects since 2009. With the help of its more than 25,000 partners worldwide, Loxone has already implemented over 250,000 projects. Founded in 2009 in Kollerschlag, Austria, the company's mission is to use automation to create more energy-efficient, comfortable, and safe buildings. Built in 2023 in the same place the company itself was founded, the purpose of the Loxone Campus is to make it possible to experience the building automation of tomorrow, today. The 15-hectare complex includes a hotel with a wellness center, an auditorium, a restaurant, multiple office spaces, and warehouses. It shows visitors what working and living may look like in the future. The entire heating, cooling, and ventilation of the Loxone Campus was also designed to be automated and demand-controlled, which is why numerous communicative HVAC components from Belimo were used. Your advantages: Effortless integration into the building management system, energy-efficient operation, and maximum comfort in the building. The Belimo Tree and Air interfaces enable seamless integration of the devices.
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Reference – Loxone Campus, Austria
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Loxone Website
Intelligent energy efficiency and comfort.
"Our key requirements were to supply the extensive building stock of the Loxone Campus from a single technical center, to meet the individual requirements of the variously used areas and at the same time to ensure that all areas were designed to be as flexible as possible for the future," says Jochen Sexlinger, Chief Technical Planner for the building project. To ensure optimum indoor air quality, most of the campus is CO2, humidity, and temperature-controlled. At the same time, the building complex is intended to be operated as energy-efficiently as possible. All Belimo components are connected to the Loxone building automation system via MP-Bus for this purpose. Loxone has developed the Belimo Tree and Air interfaces for seamless integration of Belimo products. Each interface enables the effortless connection of MP-Bus-compatible Belimo devices.
With the help of the Belimo Energy Valves and the 6-way characterized control valves, we can supply each consumer with the right energy as required and know exactly how much energy is flowing where.
Chief Technical Planner, Sexlinger Consulting Engineering GmbH
Only as much energy as is needed.
The entire hydronic system in the main distribution system is designed to be electronically pressure-independent with Belimo Energy Valves. The Energy Valve provides all the important information that Loxone needs for energy monitoring and management. "We use the Belimo Energy Valve™ because it combines many functions in a single device – from metering to control to delta T management," says Jochen Sexlinger. "The Energy Valves allow us to monitor energy reliably. We can check the system at any time and optimize its operation." All hydronic balancing was done digitally, down to the smallest zone. This reduced the commissioning effort to a minimum.
The 80 hotel rooms in the Loxone Campus are equipped with ceiling induction units for heating and cooling, for which electronic pressure-independent 6-way valves (EPIV) from Belimo are used. Flow sensors from Belimo and sensors from Loxone measure the heating and cooling energy required in hotel rooms, saving energy when the rooms are unoccupied or when hotel guests are away. The ceiling induction units are installed in a two-pipe instead of a four-pipe version. Heat/cool changeover and control are implemented by a single 6-way valve. These solutions required fewer components, thus saving on both product and installation costs.
The underfloor heating and cooling ensures a comfortable temperature in the office spaces at the Loxone Campus. The associated energy manifolds are equipped with pressure-independent characterized control valves (PIQCV) from Belimo. The heat pump is operated using bad-point control: "We need a different amount of water for heating than for cooling, and, thanks to the manifold, we need to draw only so much energy as is actually required at any given time," says Jochen Sexlinger.
Multiple ventilation systems in the Loxone Campus ensure that all areas have comfortable temperatures, air humidity levels, and CO2 concentrations. All ventilation systems are also equipped with ventilation damper actuators from Belimo. The ventilation of the Loxone campus is designed to use only as much outdoor air as is actually required, and to work with the recirculation air in the building, as part of overall energy efficiency requirements. Due to the reduced effort required for air conditioning, an optimal room climate can be ensured with low energy consumption, even when the outdoor air is dry in winter.
Efficient in every area.
The connection of all components to the building automation system of the Loxone Campus proved to be advantageous not only once the buildings had been put into operation, but also enabled extreme efficiency during the initial commissioning of the systems: "Whereas previously each room had to be set individually, here it was sufficient to program one of the hotel rooms and roll out the settings to all the others, thanks to the digital interfaces," recalls Jochen Sexlinger. "Thanks to intelligent building automation, such as we have here at the Loxone Campus, systems no longer need to be designed for full load, but can be operated in such a way that only the energy required is consumed. This would not have been possible with analog systems," he concludes.
By controlling and evaluating the Belimo Energy Valves, we benefit from maximum energy efficiency at the Loxone Campus
CEO Loxone Group
Loxone as Belimo MP-Bus Partner
Smart buildings require intelligent automation solutions that seamlessly integrate field devices. For this reason, Belimo has been working together with manufacturers of building automation solutions for many decades and supporting customers in the efficient implementation of their projects, including Loxone.
The cooperation with Loxone in the area of bus integration initially started with Modbus: Belimo created a Modbus library for the Belimo field devices. Loxone customers can use the corresponding templates as is or adapt them to specific projects. Later on, Loxone decided to implement the MP-Bus system, which supports the widest range of Belimo devices, allowing comprehensive flexibility in every project.
With Belimo Tree & Air, Loxone has created a gateway for both Loxone Tree and Loxone Air. Belimo supported Loxone throughout the entire implementation. The MP integration solution has also been implemented in the Loxone Campus and can therefore be put through its paces and optimized on an ongoing basis.
Directed to all higher-level systems
The MP-Bus® from Belimo was specially developed as a master/slave system for HVAC actuators. It allows up to eight different final control elements to be grouped together and connected to any higher-level system. 16 devices can be connected if only actuators of the latest design (e.g., ..-MPL) are used. Gateways and DDC controllers with an integrated MP interface serve as MP clients. There are no restrictions with respect to network topology. E.g., star, ring, line or mixed shapes are permissible.
Easy wiring
The MP-Bus® uses a single installation cable, combining supply and communication in just three wires. It is very resistant to external interferences and requires no bus terminals.
Designed for HVAC solutions
Loxone expert Johannes Bartnitzke and Andreas Marty, Head of Product Management EMEA at Belimo, will tell you all about the Belimo MP-Bus technology and its simple and rapid integration into Loxone home and building automation.
We have chosen to support Belimo's own MP-Bus as this allows us to support the widest range of Belimo devices and ensures maximum flexibility in every project. The native integration of Belimo into the Loxone Config makes it easier than ever to integrate Belimo devices into a building automation system. As a result, we offer not only the cheapest, but also the best solution.
CPO, Loxone
The Loxone Campus
The Loxone Campus combines numerous fields of application in a single building complex. Intelligent building automation can be experienced first-hand in various scenarios.
Offices
The offices on the Loxone Campus cover 3,000 m2 and provide space for a total of 300 employees. Open-plan spaces with fixed workstations are complemented by bookable meeting rooms, soundproof phone booths, a lounge area, and terraces for relaxation.
Pressure-independent characterized control valves from Belimo enable comfortable and energy-efficient heating and cooling of the offices using underfloor heating and cooling.
Hotel
The design hotel on the Loxone Campus has 80 rooms and two suites. In addition, a 500 m2 wellness area was built, which features an outdoor pool, two saunas, a gym, and sunbathing areas.
Heating and cooling of the rooms takes place as required with ceiling induction devices. For these electronically pressure-independent 6-way control valves from Belimo were used, which ensure energy-efficient and reliable operation. The required energy is supplied as required, depending on occupancy and air quality.
Restaurant
The in-house restaurant is used all day by external guests, seminar participants, and Loxone employees and can seat up to 600 people. If required, the restaurant can be connected to the adjoining auditorium by opening doors.
The air is fed into the restaurant and extracted in the kitchen. Pressure sensors from Belimo ensure that odors from the kitchen cannot overflow into the dining area or auditorium.
Auditorium
The auditorium of the Loxone Campus can be used for larger events, offering space for up to 600 people. The spacious hall can be used for concerts, events or lectures. In addition to featuring activities, it can also be used as part of the general catering facilities.
The auditorium is supplied by its own ventilation system, which feeds air underneath the grandstand. When the auditorium is connected to the restaurant, pressure sensors from Belimo enable optimum interaction between the ventilation systems in the two rooms.
Experience Zone
The Experience Zone in the Loxone Campus offers an interactive experience for visitors. The in-house cinema offers digital experience tours and enables a glimpse into the world of intelligent buildings. Visitors can learn more about the history of the company in the form of a miniature world. Other exhibits and interactive elements shall also be on offer, including a gaming room.