Headquartered in Limoges, France, Legrand is an expert in electrical and digital building infrastructure, providing high-value products and solutions for spaces where people live, work, and gather, thereby enhancing quality of life. Legrand operates globally, committed to building electrical and digital infrastructure, advancing the digitalization of technology, and contributing to reducing carbon footprints.
From the first light switch in 1919 to the first Zigbee device in 2007, Legrand has successfully adapted to the significant market changes of the past century, continuing a century-long innovation journey through the development of IoT products to seize future opportunities.
Today, Legrand’s comprehensive IoT products can provide simple, innovative, and sustainable solutions for global customers across commercial, industrial, and residential markets—including residential and non-residential, data centers, industrial spaces, and infrastructure.
Legrand is dedicated to bringing IoT products into homes and buildings, creating a smarter and more environmentally friendly interconnected world. To achieve this goal, Legrand has chosen Zigbee for its reliable and robust mesh network, which also offers low cost and low power consumption advantages.
Wireless Connectivity – Zigbee and Green Power Combined
As early as 2007, Legrand integrated Zigbee technology into its product solutions and launched its Zigbee product line in 2009. Subsequently, in 2012, Legrand became a board member of the CSA (formerly Zigbee Alliance), jointly promoting the development and promotion of interoperable Zigbee standards. In addition to joining the board, Legrand has been a key driver in integrating several previous Zigbee standards for different vertical industries into a comprehensive interoperable Zigbee 3.0 standard.
Under its ELIOT program, Legrand now has over 90 certified Zigbee products and more than 20 certified Green Power products deployed in over 60 countries/regions worldwide. To expand its global influence, Legrand acquired Netatmo, a French tech company specializing in IoT solutions, in 2018 and launched the “With Netatmo” product line. Currently, there are over one million active devices deployed globally through the ELIOT program, with North America included in 2021 and an expected expansion to 100 countries/regions by 2023.
Sustainability has always been at the core of Legrand’s IoT products. For decades, Legrand has been researching and investing in passive solutions, ultimately deciding to use the Green Power technology from the CSA Alliance as its ultra-low power solution due to its durability, reliability, and compatibility with existing networks.
Legrand has embedded Zigbee’s Green Power Proxy and Sink functionalities in its ELIOT program product line to achieve sustainability goals. Legrand’s Green Power certified products operate without batteries and can be deployed wirelessly on a large scale.
Green Power functionality has been integrated into various smart home products from Legrand, including switches and power sockets. These products offer over 20 different functions (switching, dimming, blind control, ventilation, etc.) and can seamlessly and aesthetically blend into users’ smart spaces.
Advantages of Green Power
Green Power is a feature of Zigbee solutions that allows energy harvesting technology to be directly applied within Zigbee networks. Green Power is a global wireless standard suitable for large facilities where replacing device batteries is either too costly or operationally inconvenient. Green Power technology brings numerous benefits to builders, installers, users, and consumers:
Energy Harvesting Capability: The ability to harvest thermal, kinetic, or solar energy on-site allows sensors and triggering devices in automation systems to be deployed economically and conveniently anywhere needed without relying on wired batteries.
Low Power / Low Energy: The energy consumption of ultra-low power chips is several orders of magnitude lower than that of wireless connected devices in sleep mode or fully connected; moreover, the mesh network can further save energy by reducing the packet length, interaction frequency, connection resets, and online time of devices that are offline for extended periods.
Cost Reduction: Green Power is an optimized technology that significantly extends battery life and reduces maintenance costs while minimizing the need for battery replacements or rewiring buildings.
Support for Passive Solutions: Applicable in situations where the installation position of devices cannot or is difficult to replace batteries.
Reliable and Robust Network: Zigbee networks containing Green Power devices have self-organizing and self-healing capabilities, quickly adapting to changes in network topology and effectively avoiding single points of failure.
Standardized Interoperability: Using a standardized application layer to control Green Power sensors that support data compression and limited transmission, facilitating the creation of more interoperable solutions.
Legrand’s Latest Green Power Products
Legrand’s latest wireless passive wall switches utilize Green Power technology to reduce costs for customers and minimize environmental impact, caring for our planet and contributing to the IoT market. This new product is thin, sturdy, and has a wider transmission range, suitable for many smart spaces:
– For office areas, wireless and passive control allows for multiple installation options (on walls, tables, glass partitions), and the system is maintenance-free.
– In smart homes, these controls can also be made into two-way or three-way switches without new wiring, conveniently installed in chosen locations without compromising aesthetics due to trailing wires.
Legrand will continue to expand its range of interconnected products and launch more new Green Power products suitable for smart spaces. As the interconnected world becomes increasingly important in our daily lives, consider Legrand’s latest Green Power products to expand your smart spaces sustainably and practically.
Illustration of energy harvesting technology embedded in wireless passive switches
ELIOT, Legrand’s Interconnected Device Program
ELIOT is Legrand’s interconnected device program launched in 2015, aimed at accelerating the deployment of its IoT products. Through this program, millions of Legrand users, including individuals and professionals, experience interconnected living every day, with voice-controlled light switches becoming routine and remote control of emergency lighting in buildings becoming standard. With the support of ELIOT, innovative interconnected solutions are generated daily. Meanwhile, with dynamic interoperability between devices, new services and functionalities continue to emerge. ELIOT is now deployed worldwide, continuously enhancing the experience of Legrand users.