TÜV Rheinland Is the Only Independent Technical Service Provider To Partner With KNX Association to Focus on Smart Grid

Boxborough, Mass. — February 25, 2013 — TÜV Rheinland has signed an agreement with KNX Association to offer product testing according to the KNX standard in Asia, Europe and North America. TÜV Rheinland is currently the only independent technical service provider working with KNX and focusing on Smart Grid.

As a selected testing facility for several industry alliances, TÜV Rheinland will perform testing of devices seeking certification to the KNX standard. The industry groups will further accept TÜV Rheinland's test results for their own certification programs.

"TÜV Rheinland offers a wide variety of testing services in several laboratories around the world for products that operate in the Smart Grid ecosystem," said Prof. Ralf Wilde, Executive Vice President, Products, at TÜV Rheinland. "As a consistent participant in international working groups and technical committees, we are constantly updating our service portfolio as new standards are released. For our customers, we ensure that their products are in compliance with the relevant standards as well as interoperability of the products for later on by obtaining specific certification marks from the industry alliances such as KNX."

As KNX Association's partner, TÜV Rheinland will promote the recognition of and support the internationalization of the KNX technology within its global network. TÜV Rheinland is also hosting the first KNX Forum Japan in its premises in Yokohama, Japan, on February, 26, 2013. The KNX Forum is open to the industry representatives and all other interested parties. It provides the audience with the latest news on technological developments, industry standards and international legislation about Home Energy Management Systems.

"We are delighted at the alliance between KNX and TÜV Rheinland," said Stephan Bauer, President of KNX Association. "This is an important step towards internationalization of KNX and the development of internationally coherent energy management devices. The internationalization of the KNX system has been a prime goal set by the KNX Executive Board back in 2009. The application for membership of more than 100 new members in 33 countries in the past two years clearly underpins the expansion of the KNX system into other parts of the world, including Latin America, South Africa and Middle East but, first and foremost, in Asia. The availability of independent product test laboratories is one of the key points of the internationalization process."

About KNX Association

KNX Association is the creator and owner of the KNX technology – the worldwide STANDARD for all applications in home and building control, ranging from lighting and shutter control to various security systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, monitoring, alarming, water control, energy management, smart metering as well as household appliances, audio/video, and more.

KNX is the worldwide standard for home and building control with a single, manufacturer-independent design and commissioning tool (ETS), with a complete set of supported communication media (TP, PL, RF and IP) as well as a complete set of supported configuration modes (system and easy mode). KNX is approved as a European (CENELEC EN 50090 and CEN EN 13321-1) and an international standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3). This standard is based upon more than 22 years of experience in the market, including its predecessors EIB, EHS and BatiBUS. More than 300 member companies worldwide from different application domains have almost 7000 KNX certified product groups in their catalogues. KNX Association has partnership agreements with more than 30,000 installer companies in more than 120 countries. For more information, go to www.knx.org.

About TÜV Rheinland

Founded in 1872, TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in independent testing, inspection, and certification services, ensuring quality and safety for people, the environment and technology in nearly all aspects of life. The company maintains a presence in 500 locations spanning 65 countries, employs 17,000 people and has an annual revenue of $2 billion (€1.5 billion). TÜV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects and helps to shape processes for a wide variety of companies through its worldwide network of approved labs, testing facilities and education centers. Since 2006, the company has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. For more information, visit www.tuv.com/us.