European installation bus (EIB)
With the European Installation Bus (EIB), the European Union has defined a standard for building automation and building management. The standard is for residential and functional buildings and is intended to replace and integrate the existing manufacturers' own bus systems.
The EIB bus is a bus system that connects all sensors and actuators in buildings and via which the control signals for these components are operated. Specifically, the sensors are motion detectors, temperature sensors, smoke detectors, wind speed meters, light meters, etc., and the actuators are primarily motors and switches.
The EIB concept uses a separate category 5 UTP cable and a special protocol for the sensor signals and control signals. The control voltage for the sensors and actuators runs over the UTP cable. If the building conditions do not allow a separate cabling, alternatives are Powerline, as well as a radio or infrared connection.
The structure of the EIB cabling can be in bus topology, star topology, line top ology or tree top ology. The individual lines are connected to each other via line couplers, which are located in the distribution boxes. Sensors and actuators are equally connected to a line, which are supplied with data telegrams via the IP protocol, i.e. the datagrams known from data communication. The telegrams contain a user data information of 8 bits. In total, such a constellation can consist of 15 areas and 15 lines with 256 stations each. Accordingly, the stations use the dotted decimal notation for addressing: area.line.station, example: 12.4.122. area 12, line 4, station 122.
The data rate is 9.6 kbit/s for transmission via UTP cable. The opening to the outside is via the IP protocol, so that building and facility management can also be carried out from remote locations via fixed and mobile networks. All diagnostic procedures and error messages can then be controlled decentrally from a central control station. This central control station receives all fault messages, warnings and alarms and can respond to them accordingly.