'Versatile in operating options'

That BECKER Antriebe has just celebrated its hundredth anniversary indicates experience. Of course not a hundred years of experience in drives and controls for roller shutters and awnings, because they have not been around that long. Roller shutters and awnings do, but electric drives and remote controls do not yet. Nevertheless, BECKER Antriebe can of course call itself "experienced. 

For example, for eighteen years BECKER Antriebe has been using Centronic technology with a transmission frequency of 868.3 MHz for the wireless operation of shutters and blinds. "Our remote control products from the Centronic range are widely acclaimed for their reliability and ease of installation," they believe at BECKER. 

With Centronic Plus, BECKER markets the latest generation of motors and controllers for the remote operation of shutters and blinds. This uses mesh technology, which means that each device within the network is connected to every other device. If a connection is blocked, another one can always be found. According to BECKER, this offers security, even in larger projects with status reporting. The Centronic Plus tube motors integrated into a mesh network are equipped as standard with functions such as obstacle detection, lift protection, fabric correction and the ability to set intermediate positions. 

With the new smarthome home control unit CC41 CentralControl, BECKER further expands the operating and control options it offers. The home control unit makes it possible to operate shutters or blinds with the BECKER app on smartphone, tablet or computer from home or elsewhere. Necessary parameters can easily be entered via the app. 

At BECKER, they always try to think about the future. The result of that approach is that previous projects (from 2004) equipped with Centronic motors can also be controlled with the BECKER CentralControl app. 

With homee, a modular, manufacturer-independent smart home control center, all smart home devices in the home (light, heating, blinds and so on) can be controlled. This includes devices from the Centronic Plus series. Useful for those who already use homee and also want to use it to control the automation of shutters and blinds, but also for those who want to start with smart home. 

Those using Apple HomeKit can integrate the OPUS Gateway from JÄGER DIREKT into it and program and control BECKER drives via this connection. BECKER has its wirelessly controlled EnOcean drives for this purpose. They have the transmitter directly in the drive. In combination with switches without batteries and sensors that draw their energy directly from the environment, BECKER says the EnOcean series is the ideal solution for automating roller shutters, for example, via Apple HomeKit. 

A building's blinds are often controlled centrally, in part to optimally regulate the indoor climate. This is important to prevent overheating and keep (cooling) energy consumption low. Building automation often involves the use of the KNX building management system. According to BECKER, their SMI motors are then an excellent choice because they are assembly-friendly, can be controlled in a variety of ways and provide accurate status reporting, giving users assurance that applications are functioning correctly. 

BECKER has an SMI actuator for SMI drives in its product range. This is used in conjunction with roller shutters and awnings. A major advantage of this SMI actuator is that the sixteen drives that can be controlled with it at most are connected in parallel and controlled via a five-wire connecting cable. This obviously significantly reduces the amount of cabling required and, according to BECKER, offers a number of further important advantages. 

The SMI drives are available in various types, namely the P (35 mm), R (45 mm) and L (58 mm) tube motors from 5 to 120 Nm. An external KNX module is then not required because the KNX technology is already integrated into the tube motor. BECKER's SMI tube motors can be easily adjusted by the sun protection specialist. Integration into the system is accomplished by the KNX integrator. 

Not everyone wants to install a smart home system immediately when renovating or constructing a new building. BECKER recommends that end users who - for whatever reason - do not yet opt for smart home right away when installing new drives for roller shutters or awnings should at least make preparations for a future implementation of smart home. 

All series of drives from BECKER that bear the "FIT FOR SMART HOME" logo offer that option. As a result, it is already possible - without higher costs - to include BECKER products in roller shutters or blinds that can easily be integrated into a smart home system at a subsequent stage. Indeed, experience shows that people embrace smart home as soon as they have the first products in their homes. BECKER therefore recommends choosing FIT FOR SMART HOME with BECKER's drives, as roller shutters and blinds can then be incorporated into the smart home system immediately.