Specification Assistance
Clear requirements
Describe how each area and connected building service is expected to operate.
Coordinated systems
Align automation requirements with lighting, HVAC, shading, access and energy specifications.
Suitable technology
Identify appropriate Loxone products and compatible third-party interfaces.
Defined responsibilities
Clarify the supply, installation, configuration and testing required from each contributor.
Better tender comparison
Give project teams a clearer basis for assessing quotations and proposed alternatives.
Specification Assistance
What does an automation specification include?
Depending on the project, it can include the system scope, room functions, equipment requirements, control interfaces, installation responsibilities, commissioning procedures and required documentation.
When should the specification be prepared?
The specification should ideally develop alongside the architectural, electrical and mechanical designs. This allows automation requirements to be coordinated before products are ordered and construction begins.
Can DY-Techniek review an existing specification?
Yes. DY-Techniek can review relevant documents to identify unclear requirements, missing interfaces, potential incompatibilities and areas requiring further coordination.
Can you specify Loxone and third-party equipment?
DY-Techniek can specify suitable Loxone components and define the required functionality or interfaces for compatible third-party equipment. Final compatibility depends on the selected products and the capabilities implemented by their manufacturers.
Does the specification include drawings?
The service can include or contribute to relevant layouts, schematics, schedules and marked-up drawings where agreed. The exact deliverables depend on the project scope and design stage.
Can the specification be used for tendering?
Yes. Clear automation requirements can give contractors and suppliers a more consistent basis for preparing proposals. Tender responses should still be reviewed to confirm inclusions, exclusions and technical compliance.
Who remains responsible for regulatory compliance?
Each appointed designer, supplier and contractor remains responsible for the regulations, calculations, certifications and standards applicable to their work. DY-Techniek defines the requirements associated with the agreed Loxone automation scope and its interfaces.
Specify the experience, not only the equipment
A smart-building specification should explain more than which products need to be installed.
The project team must understand how rooms should respond, which systems must communicate and what users should be able to control. Without this functional information, equipment may be supplied without delivering the intended experience.
DY-Techniek helps translate the project brief into clear automation requirements that can guide design, procurement, installation and commissioning.
From project ambitions to defined requirements
Make intelligent-building objectives measurable.
Terms such as smart, automated and energy efficient can mean different things to different project participants.
A useful specification replaces broad ambitions with defined functions. It describes what information the system receives, how it should respond and which controls must remain available to occupants or building managers.
- Define the intended functions for each room or area.
- Identify the sensors and controls required.
- Describe how compatible building services should interact.
- Establish appropriate user access and permissions.
- Set expectations for installation, commissioning and handover.
Explain how the completed building should behave.
Functional descriptions
Functional descriptions provide the connection between the client’s expectations and the technical design.
They can describe how lighting responds to occupancy, how climate settings change between operating modes or how an authorised arrival affects access and selected building functions.
These descriptions provide a shared reference for consultants, installers and commissioning teams.
Inputs
Identify the sensors, schedules, controls and system information used to make decisions.
Automated responses
Describe the actions expected when defined conditions occur.
Manual controls
Clarify which functions occupants and authorised users can adjust.
Operating modes
Define appropriate occupied, unoccupied, daytime, night-time or special-use behaviour.
Exceptions and overrides
Explain how the system should respond when normal routines need to change.
Define the right functions in the right places.
Room and area requirements
Different areas rarely require identical automation.
An office, apartment, plant room and communal entrance each serves a different purpose. The specification should reflect those differences while maintaining consistent control principles across the project.
Room-based requirements also help connect the functional design with equipment schedules and drawings.
Room functions
Describe the lighting, climate, shading and other controls required in each area.
Sensor requirements
Identify appropriate presence, temperature, brightness or environmental measurements.
User interaction
Define the wall controls, scenes and authorised app functions available.
Area relationships
Clarify how individual spaces interact with shared systems and building-wide modes.
Equipment selection
Match products to the required outcome.
Products should be selected because they support the intended function, not simply because they can be connected.
DY-Techniek assesses the automation requirements and identifies appropriate Loxone components. Relevant third-party equipment can be reviewed to confirm its control method, available feedback and interface requirements.
Final selections should also consider the architectural design, environmental conditions and responsibilities of the relevant specialist consultants.
Controllers
Select suitable local intelligence and expansion capacity for the project.
Sensors and controls
Match device capabilities with the required measurements and interactions.
Actuation equipment
Define appropriate outputs for connected lighting, shading, valves and other supported functions.
Communication interfaces
Identify the technologies required to exchange information with compatible equipment.
Supporting infrastructure
Consider power supplies, enclosures, networks, protection and necessary panel capacity.
Specify more than switching and dimming.
Lighting-control requirements
An effective lighting-control specification considers how illumination supports the activities and character of each space.
It should define appropriate groups, scenes, dimming behaviour, occupancy response and available daylight control. The selected luminaires and drivers must then provide the capabilities required by that strategy.
Lighting groups
Organise fittings around room use, architecture and required control.
Scenes
Define useful lighting combinations for recurring activities.
Dimming
Establish where adjustable light levels are required.
Occupancy response
Describe how lighting should behave when people enter or leave selected spaces.
Lighting interfaces
Confirm how compatible drivers and control equipment communicate with Loxone.
Coordinate controls with the mechanical design.
Climate-control requirements
Automation cannot compensate for unsuitable or incorrectly sized climate equipment.
The mechanical design must establish how heating, cooling and ventilation will meet the building’s requirements. The automation specification then defines how compatible equipment should be monitored and controlled.
This may include zoning, temperature measurement, schedules, occupancy modes and ventilation response.
Zone structure
Align control zones with room layouts and mechanical equipment.
Temperature targets
Define how appropriate settings can change around occupancy and schedules.
Air-quality response
Describe how compatible ventilation should use available CO₂ or humidity information.
Open-window behaviour
Establish the response where suitable contacts and controllable equipment are installed.
Mechanical interface
Confirm the information and commands available through the proposed equipment.
Close the gaps between contractors.
Building automation often sits between several trade packages.
Without clear boundaries, essential equipment or services can be omitted because each party assumes someone else is responsible. A coordinated specification should identify what is included in the automation package and what must be provided elsewhere.
Equipment supply
Define who supplies each controller, interface, sensor and supporting component.
Cabling
Assign responsibility for containment, cable installation, termination and testing.
Mounting and connection
Clarify who installs field devices and completes electrical connections.
Programming
Identify responsibility for Loxone configuration and third-party control settings.
Handover
Define the documentation, training and system access required at completion.
Define how successful delivery will be demonstrated.
Commissioning requirements
Commissioning should be planned before installation reaches completion.
The specification can establish which devices, interfaces and coordinated functions need to be tested. It can also define the documentation and participation required from relevant contractors.
This provides a clearer route from installation to an operational building.
Device testing
Confirm the correct operation of connected sensors, controls and outputs.
Interface testing
Verify supported communication with compatible third-party systems.
Functional testing
Demonstrate complete automated routines against the agreed descriptions.
Defect resolution
Record incomplete or incorrect functions requiring further work.
Handover records
Provide appropriate configuration, testing and operating information.
Compatibility
Specifications built around real interfaces.
A development may combine products from multiple manufacturers.
Loxone can communicate with compatible systems through supported technologies such as BACnet, Modbus, DALI, EEBUS and appropriate digital, analogue or network connections.
The available information and control depend on the selected product and its implemented interface. DY-Techniek reviews technical documentation and coordinates with relevant suppliers to define realistic integration requirements.
Architects & Planners
Project Collaboration
Technical Planning
Smart Building Design Support
Give every smart-building requirement a clear direction.
Automation specifications that support confident delivery.
Translate your project’s intelligent-building ambitions into defined functions, suitable equipment and coordinated responsibilities. Give consultants, suppliers and contractors a shared reference from design and tendering through commissioning and handover.