Radio and Mesh Network
Air devices transmit in the licence-free band around 868 MHz (EU), in other regions at 915 or 916 MHz. The protocol is proprietary. Every mains-powered Air device works as a repeater and forwards signals, so a mesh spans the entire project.
The number of hops to the Air Base Extension is limited to a maximum of five. If the signal is not sufficient, an additional Air Base Extension or a Tree-to-Air Bridge near the weakly supplied device helps.
Air Base Extension and Battery Operation
The entry point for Air is the Air Base Extension, which connects to the Miniserver Gen 1, Gen 2 or the Miniserver Go. Several Air Base Extensions can be combined to cover large or complex buildings comprehensively.
Many Air devices run on battery. Because of the low-power radio, Loxone specifies a battery life of up to two years for many devices. Battery devices do not act as repeaters because they spend most of the time in power-saving mode.
When Air, When Tree
Air is the choice for retrofitting, existing buildings and individual points without cabling. Tree, by contrast, is the wired variant with higher robustness and no radio dependency. In practice the two are often mixed: Tree in new builds and in the distribution board, Air for later additions.
Viewed neutrally, Air fills the role that the wireless variant KNX RF plays for KNX: wireless connection where a bus cable would be too costly, but within the closed Loxone system.
Key Facts
- Radio in the 868 MHz band (EU), proprietary protocol
- Self-forming mesh, mains-powered devices act as repeaters
- Maximum 5 hops to the Air Base Extension
- Air Base Extension required (Miniserver Gen 1, Gen 2, Go)
- Battery devices with up to 2 years of life