Planning Resources

EnOcean for Designers

Wireless instead of wired doesn’t automatically mean batteries—or uncertainty. If you know where the energy comes from and how the building structure affects the signal, you can plan a floor layout before purchasing your first device.

Range and Antenna PlanningViewing the Signal Path
868.3 MHzCenter frequency in Europe
12 mPlanning radius per receiver
450 m²Approximate coverage
1%Permitted transmission time per hour

Where the Energy Comes From

Energy Harvesting

An EnOcean telegram takes about one millisecond. This brevity is the whole trick: The energy from a single button press, a few minutes of indoor light on a small solar cell, or a temperature difference is enough to send a message. A sensor that transmits continuously would need many times that amount of energy.

However, not all devices can operate entirely without a battery. A CO₂ sensor must power a measuring cell, a radon sensor must power an ionization chamber, and a windowless room provides no light for a solar cell. That’s why several devices in our product line run on batteries or an AC adapter; you can find out which ones in the power supply table on the Technical Information page.

For planning purposes, the key takeaway is this: Where a wire is needed, it should be included in the electrical plan. Where a battery is located, its replacement should be included in the maintenance plan, along with the cell type.

The cable runs to the receiver, not to the sensor. An EnoDisc® is connected via Power over Ethernet. There is generally no cable running to the sensors themselves, and that is precisely what makes retrofitting existing systems affordable.

How Far the Signal Travels

Estimate the range

We’re planning for a radius of about 12 meters per receiver, which corresponds to roughly 450 square meters. This figure is intentionally conservative and is explicitly a planning estimate, not a measured value. The actual range a telegram can achieve depends on the building materials along its path.

Lightweight building materials such as drywall, wood, and glass provide little attenuation. Brick and sand-lime brick cause noticeable attenuation. Reinforced concrete, elevator shafts, firewalls, and metal facades cause significant to complete attenuation. The angle also plays a role: a wall penetrated at an angle appears thicker than it actually is.

This results in the following calculation for a single floor: usable floor area divided by 450 square meters, rounded up, plus one additional unit for each structurally separate area. Stairwells, utility rooms, and underground parking garages are considered separately and are not included in the calculation.

How do I plan the sensor system for a stairwell? Separately from the floor. A stairwell is a separate area with solid walls, often with fire doors in between; its area is not included in the floor’s calculations. Anyone who wants to take measurements there—such as radon levels in the basement or motion detection for lighting—should plan for a separate receiver per section and verify the distance on-site rather than calculating it. The same applies to utility rooms and underground parking garages.

In practice, fewer receivers are often sufficient. However, determining this requires on-site measurements, which aren’t available until the building is completed. Those issuing the bid calculate conservatively and specify that the number may be adjusted downward after commissioning.

And what about the gateways? We install one per floor. Theoretically, one gateway can support up to 32 receivers—and thus multiple floors—but having one per floor allows for a self-contained design, individual commissioning, and local maintenance—and it leaves room for future upgrades. So eight floors means eight gateways, not just one.

LightweightDrywall, wood, glassLow sound attenuation. Multiple rooms in a row are realistic; the planning radius here is somewhat too conservative.
MediumBrick, sand-lime brickNoticeable attenuation per wall. One wall is usually manageable. For the second, the device and its positioning determine whether the signal can still be received. A third wall is unrealistic—a separate receiver is needed beyond it.
DifficultReinforced concrete, shafts, metalSignificant to complete signal attenuation. In this case, don’t try to calculate a solution—just use a separate receiver on the other side of the wall.

Coexistence in the 868 MHz Band

Why It Doesn't Collide

The 868.0 to 868.6 MHz range is a frequency band for short-range devices and is shared by many applications. To ensure this works smoothly, the European radio standard limits transmission time: In this subband, a device may transmit for no more than one percent of an hour.

How many telegrams can the radio band handle? Let’s run the numbers for a fully equipped floor: 500 sensors that transmit on average every four minutes result in 7,500 telegrams per hour; with three transmissions per telegram, that comes to 22,500. At about one millisecond per telegram, that amounts to roughly 22 seconds per hour—just over half a percent. The planning constraint is therefore not the transmission time, but rather the question of how often two telegrams overlap.

With a telegram duration of about one millisecond, this limit is far off. EnOcean uses this margin differently: Each telegram is transmitted three times, with random time offsets. Two sensors that transmit at the exact same moment will no longer overlap on the second or third attempt.

Multiple receivers may receive the same telegram. This is not an error, but built-in redundancy: If an EnoDisc® fails, the measured value will still be transmitted, provided the coverage areas overlap. The sensor does not need to be calibrated for this; it simply reports to the next available receiver.

Can anyone intercept the radio messages? Any receiver within radio range can read an unencrypted radio message—it receives a measurement value and a device ID, but no access to the system and no personal data. If you want to rule this out, use sensors with EnOcean Security: the VL-700 BASE decrypts them itself (AES-128, rolling code, CMAC), for up to 500 sensors per gateway, and on all new devices from now on. Whether a particular sensor can transmit encrypted depends on the device; specify “EnOcean Security according to the EnOcean Alliance specification” for each item. Our own sensors with Secure are in preparation.

Every position requires a device profile. Without an EEP, it is impossible to verify whether a device being offered even transmits the required values. The profiles are listed on each product page and can be filtered in the sensor overview.

What this means for your request for proposals

8 points
  • Specify the radio standard: EnOcean per ISO/IEC 14543-3-10, center frequency 868.3 MHz.
  • Do not require encryption across the board; instead, inquire about the status for each item—the transition is underway.
  • Specify the device profile (EEP) for each item; otherwise, interoperability cannot be verified.
  • Specify the number of receivers as a planning figure and allow for adjustments after commissioning.
  • List separate areas separately: stairwell, utility room, underground parking garage.
  • Specify the power source for each device: solar cell, battery, or mains power.
  • For battery operation, specify the cell type and replacement interval.
  • Clarify the receiver connections: Power over Ethernet, one data point per receiver.
Order No. 12320EnoDisc®Ceiling-mounted receiver, Power over Ethernet, telegrams starting at port 8424.View →Order No. 11895VL-700 BASEUp to 32 receivers and 500 sensors per gateway, two separate networks.View →by EEP and power supplyFilter all sensors18 sensors with device profile, measured variable, and power supply, as Excel or CSV.View →
Status and Sources

Information current as of September 16, 2026. Regulatory information has been compiled to the best of our knowledge and does not constitute legal advice. The wording of the currently applicable version is always authoritative.

  • ISO/IEC 14543-3-10, Radio Protocol, 2020 edition.
  • ETSI EN 300 220 regarding the use of the 868.0 to 868.6 MHz band (transmission time limit of 1 percent per hour).
  • Planning radius of 12 m and 450 m²: DEUTA Controls’ own empirical value, intentionally estimated conservatively.

Would you like us to run the numbers for your building?

Send us the floor plan, dimensions, and target system. You’ll receive a recommendation for the number of units, a list of part numbers, and a quote.

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