29. Oct 2025

Seasonal energy efficiency: Automating your KNX smart home for winter and summer

Seasonal energy efficiency: Automating your KNX smart home for winter and summer
Seasonal energy efficiency: Automating your KNX smart home for winter and summer

Still managing your indoor temperature manually? Then it’s no surprise your energy bills fluctuate with the seasons — year after year. Luckily, a smart home can now adapt and regulate indoor climate to your comfort without increasing your energy usage or bills. With the right automations for heating, cooling, shading, ventilation, and energy management, both you and your bank account can feel more comfortable — in both winter and summer.

The seasonal energy usage challenge of homeowners

Seasonal energy efficiency
Seasonal energy efficiency

Most homes run the same way year-round, unknowingly wasting energy and compromising comfort. The thermostat sits at one or two standard temperatures. Blinds stay either completely open or fully closed. Ventilation runs on fixed schedules. 

Meanwhile, energy prices fluctuate with time-of-use tariffs and solar panels produce at different rates throughout the year.

A KNX smart home has the potential to change this. It responds to outdoor conditions, tracks the sun, learns your routines as well as the energy tariffs, and coordinates all systems to work together. 

The result? Better comfort in every season and energy bills that reflect intelligent consumption, instead of energy waste.

More opportunities to save energy at home

Winter: Smart heating and optimally profiting from the sun

1. Room-by-room controls and smart sensors

Winter energy efficiency starts with zoned heating. Instead of heating your entire home to the same temperature, KNX lets you control each room independently. Bedrooms can be cooler than the rest of the house. Your home office starts warming up just before you start work.

Integrating presence detectors into your KNX system enhances zoned heating even further. When you leave a room, the sensor detects no occupancy, and consequently automatically reduces the temperature. Open a window for fresh air? Your smart system detects it and pauses heating in that room to prevent waste, resuming once you close it.

Learn more about HVAC controls
Everything you need to know about smart sensors
Seasonal energy efficiency
Seasonal energy efficiency

2. Weather-aware heating curves

A KNX weather station transforms how your heating operates. By monitoring outdoor temperature, wind and solar radiation, your system can adjust heating curves in real-time. 

On sunny winter days, it reduces boiler output, knowing the sun will help. During cold snaps, it responds faster to maintain comfort.

This weather compensation works particularly well with floor heating and modern heat pumps, where small adjustments yield significant savings.

3. Ventilating your home without heat loss

Fresh air is essential for the health of every home and its inhabitants. Sadly, we still too often think of fresh air as cold air. A smart system is able to coordinate heat recovery ventilation based on actual air quality.  By adding CO2 sensors in living spaces the ventilation is only triggered when needed, while bathroom humidity sensors activate air extraction after showers. 

By maintaining 40-50% relative humidity, you'll feel comfortable at slightly lower temperatures. Another energy win!

Summer mode: Proactive cooling, natural ventilation

Shading as the first defence against heat waves

Seasonal energy efficiency
Seasonal energy efficiency

In summer, external shading is your most powerful tool. Smart systems move awnings, shutters and external blinds based on the sun’s position and its intensity. Before your rooms start to heat up, shading is already in place.

Each façade of your home operates independently. 

East-facing blinds deploy in the morning, south-facing at midday, west-facing in the afternoon. When clouds pass over, blinds can partially retract to maintain natural light. Add wind and rain sensors to the mix to ensure equipment safety during storms.

Live efficiently all year long

Ready to prepare your home for every season? Connect with a certified KNX professional who can assess your property and design a seasonal automation strategy tailored to your needs. Whether you're building new or upgrading existing systems, KNX provides the flexibility, reliability and openness to create a truly intelligent home.

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