From 8 to 13 March 2026, Frankfurt once again became the international meeting point for the lighting and building technology industry. With around 1,900 exhibitors from 49 countries and more than 140,000 visitors, Light + Building once again confirmed its position as the world’s leading trade fair and a key driver of innovation in the sector.
For us, the event was a great success: numerous visits from customers, system integrators, partners and media representatives from Germany and abroad, engaging discussions and strong interest in our new products made the six days of the exhibition a real highlight.
Focus on connectivity, sustainability and user-centric design
This year’s Light + Building revolved around three key themes: Sustainable Transformation, Smart Connectivity and Living Light. These themes were reflected throughout the exhibition and clearly show where the industry is heading.
Buildings are increasingly evolving into active energy systems that intelligently connect generation, storage and consumption. At the same time, the integration of different building systems continues to advance, enabling more holistic and flexible solutions.
Lighting is also becoming an integral part of connected systems, adapting dynamically to usage and environment. Control is increasingly handled via central interfaces that bring all building functions together – such as our KNX touch panels developed and manufactured in Darmstadt, combined with our YOUVI visualisation.
At the same time, expectations regarding usability are rising: users demand intuitive, clearly structured interfaces that make complex technology easy to operate.
These developments were evident throughout the exhibition and strongly reflect what we see in our own projects and customer discussions.
Highlights from our stand
A key focus of our presence at the fair was our latest product innovations, which we presented live for the first time. These included our touch panels Control 8, Control 12, Control 16 and Control 19, combined with the latest version 5.1 of YOUVI. Our touch panels are all-in-one solutions, integrating server, IP router, visualisation and app into a single device.
Together, they form the central interface for controlling a KNX-based smart building – from lighting and shading to energy management and security.
We also introduced our further developed Home Automation Server. Designed for DIN rail installation in the control cabinet, it provides the technical foundation for visualisation and automation within the KNX system. Users can freely choose how they want to control their building – whether via touch panel, smartphone, tablet or Windows PC. The updated touch panels and the Home Automation Server will be launched later this year.
In the field of energy management, we also showcased our PEAKnx KNX Modbus Gateway TCP secure. It integrates Modbus TCP devices such as PV inverters or EV charging stations into KNX projects and can be configured directly via ETS. In combination with YOUVI, energy flows can be clearly visualised and automated using the logic module.
Another topic that attracted strong interest was our replacement sets. Thanks to specially developed adapters, they enable existing installations to be modernised easily without requiring major structural changes.
Our custom glass designs also drew a great deal of attention. Among other things, we presented a specially printed glass design for a café, as well as a design created by Luxembourg-based artist Sumo.
A particular highlight were panels with individually printed glass frames: when the appropriate screensaver is activated, the panel appears like a piece of artwork on the wall. Visitors were also impressed by how easily the glass fronts can be swapped thanks to magnetic mounting, allowing flexible adaptation to different environments.
Many visitors took the opportunity to test our products directly on site and experience their usability and performance first-hand. The focus was clearly on hands-on experience – not just seeing, but interacting.
Our solutions were also showcased beyond our own stand in Hall 11.1. For example, our Controlmicro was used in the E-House, demonstrating how our panels can be integrated into real-life applications.
Strong partnerships and real-life applications
Close collaboration with our partners was once again a key element of our trade fair presence. By integrating their solutions directly into our systems, we were able to demonstrate realistic, practical applications.
Partners at our stand included Airzone, ekey, Fronius, Mobotix, Revox, Siedle and Yeelight.
Together, we created a fully connected system – from access control and door communication to video surveillance, audio, climate control, energy management and lighting. This seamless interaction between different systems is what defines modern building automation.
Our partners also showcased our touch panels at their own stands: Airzone presented our Controlmicro with its Aidoo KNX gateway, FHS also used the Controlmicro, and ekey demonstrated the Controlpro in combination with its fingerprint solution. At Siedle, visitors could test the Control 12 together with a door station, while Futurasmus and Gesellschaft für Informationstechnik mbH presented Control 16 and Control 12 respectively.
In addition, we demonstrated various third-party visualisations on our panels, including solutions from Futurasmus (Evolution BMS), Gira (QuadClient and X1), JUNG (Smart Visu Server) and IT GmbH (Elvis). This allowed visitors to experience first-hand how open our system is and how flexibly our hardware can be combined with different visualisation platforms.
Prize competition with strong participation
Our prize competition also received an excellent response. We would like to thank our partners for their support:
Airzone, ekey, FHS, Futurasmus, Gesellschaft für Informationstechnik GmbH and Siedle.
We were delighted by the high level of participation and the positive feedback. The winner of our Control 8 touch panel will be announced following the draw on 20 March 2026. We are particularly looking forward to following the installation and sharing the resulting success story – as these real-life projects best demonstrate how our solutions perform in everyday use and the value they deliver.
Personal exchange remains key
Beyond all technical aspects, one thing remains especially important to us: personal interaction.
The conversations at our stand – whether with long-standing partners, new contacts or interested visitors – are invaluable. Many topics are best discussed face to face, ideas often emerge spontaneously, and new approaches develop through dialogue.
This is precisely why the trade fair remains so important to us.
Looking ahead
Light + Building 2026 once again highlighted how dynamic the industry is. Topics such as energy efficiency, connectivity, intuitive operation and KNX modernisation are increasingly converging and will continue to do so in the future.
For us, the event was not only an opportunity to showcase our solutions, but also to gain new inspiration and further strengthen our partnerships.
We would like to thank all visitors, partners and interested parties for the many valuable conversations and the great interest. We are already looking forward to the next Light + Building in 2028.
