Having launched its first battery-free, wireless switch in 2001, EnOcean are celebrating 20 years of energy harvesting technology.
The PTM (Push Button Transceiver) module was first introduced 20 years ago and has since established itself as the international industry standard and is at the heart of every self-powered radio-based switch.
The company’ wireless switches gain their energy from the press of a button, and since their debut at electrical engineering trade fairs in Germany in 2001, the switches have taken on a pioneering role across the world. Using piezo-based energy converters, a module concept was developed that can be integrated into global switch designs. The first fully functional modules based on a piezo element have now established themselves over time as the worldwide PTM radio module standard with an electrodynamic energy converter.
Thanks to EnOcean’s pioneering work over the last 20 years, several million wireless switches have been installed globally, delivering a wireless telegram at the press of a switch without requiring cables or batteries.
“I’m proud that EnOcean absolutely lives up to is status as pioneer and innovator of energy harvesting,” said Andreas Schneider, CEO of EnOcean. “Over 20 years our spirit of innovation has proved its worth and remains undimmed today. We see that through our activities the market is growing, and energy harvesting is takin on an increasingly important role. With the PTM module we have set a standard that is second to none.”
Offering a flexible module led to the worldwide acceptance of battery-less switches, and keeping the switch insert separate and placing the rockers on top provides maximum flexibility for switch design and applications. Advanced features such as NFC interface allows installers to perform on-demand installation directly on site, quickly and securely.
The product technology is not the only thing that has developed over the last 20 years; starting off with manual production, the modules are now manufactured on fully automated production lines. Dedicated to continuous improvements of the products, the company incorporates feedback from its customers and users into innovative products such as solar-powered IoT wireless sensor modules in the identical original PTM form factor.
EnOcean’s switch modules support the radio standard of the same name managed by the EnOcean Alliance (ISO / IEC 14543-3-10 / 11) in the frequencies 868 MHZ, 902 MHz, and 928 MHz. They also support Bluetooth and Zigbee in the frequency of 2.4 GHz. The EnOcean wireless standard is ideal for smart homes, building automation, and IoT applications due to its high reliability and a radio range of up to 30 metres.