EnOcean Frequency Bands: Worldwide Frequencies

This page covers EnOcean frequency bands used in various countries worldwide, including Europe, China, USA, Canada, Asia, and Japan.

Introduction

EnOcean is the originator of energy harvesting wireless technology, known by its own name. The technical specifications of its protocol stack are defined in ISO/IEC 14543-3-1X and known as the EnOcean standard.

The EnOcean Radio Protocol defines specifications for the physical layer, data link layer, and network layer. It’s primarily used for building automation and smart home applications, such as HVAC monitoring and control, lighting control, and shutter control.

It is also used in M2M (Machine-to-Machine) and IoT (Internet of Things) applications. There are more than 1500 EnOcean products in the home and automation sector deployed worldwide from different manufacturers. EnOcean technology doesn’t require batteries for operation. The energy is derived from its surroundings.

The three main sources of energy used by EnOcean technology are light, motion, and changes in temperature.

As it is wireless technology, it does not require wires. It uses a very tiny amount of energy for short telegram transmission for a longer range, which reduces chances of collision. Sub-1 GHz frequency bands are used in EnOcean technology over 2.4 GHz due to the following benefits. For specific IoT applications, 2.4 GHz EnOcean devices are still used.

• The sub-1 GHz radio frequency waves cover twice the range of 2.4 GHz radio signals.
• It offers double the penetration through walls and furniture compared to 2.4 GHz.
• 2.4 GHz systems require about four times more nodes to cover the same area as a sub-1 GHz system. This increases the overall cost of the system.
• Sub-1 GHz EnOcean frequency bands minimize electric smog.

EnOcean Frequency Bands

The EnOcean technology at sub-1 GHz frequency is highly suitable for integrated building control due to robust transmission through walls, minimum interference during telegram transmissions, and communication up to 30 meters (indoors) to 300 meters (outdoors).

The 2.4 GHz frequency band is more suitable for single-room-based solutions where higher penetration through walls isn’t needed.

The following table mentions EnOcean frequency bands used across the world.