On the occasion of the launch of the Amy io range, interview with Cécile Truffy, Outdoor and Windows Marketing Manager at Somfy

Batinfo: Can you briefly introduce the Somfy group to us?

Cecile Truffy: Our group is currently present in 59 countries, we are world leaders in automation, openings and closings of the home and buildings. We are also pioneers in the field of the connected home because we launched in 2010 the first TaHoma home automation box.

The Somfy group in figures is:

• 128 subsidiaries
• 6.395 salaried employees, 41% of whom are in France and 59% internationally
• 8 production sites and 18 R&D centers
• 1.447 M€ turnover in 2023

In 2021, we committed to a resolute approach to Sustainable Development, with the objective of reducing our CO50 emissions by 2%*.

* 50% in absolute value for scope 1&2, and 50% in intensity for scope 3

At the same time, we launched an eco-design approach called ACT FOR GREEN in 2015. It aims to reduce the environmental impact of our products as much as possible, throughout their life cycle: to date, more than 70% of our products sold are labeled Act For Green, our objective is to reach 100% in 2030.

Batinfo: Can you explain to us what Amy io is?

Cecile Truffy: As I said earlier, Somfy has been committed to the eco-design side of products for over 10 years and for the past 3 years we have been focusing on the energy efficiency side of our solutions. The aim is for our solutions to have both a low environmental impact and to provide real energy efficiency in the building. To achieve this, we have developed several solutions. For example, last year we launched the RS100 Solar io solar motor for roller shutters, which has a sun sensor integrated into the solar panel, which measures the brightness and sunlight shutter by shutter, thus enabling personalised management and therefore optimised thermal comfort room by room.

Today we are completing our ecosystem with Amy io, a range of control points in which we have integrated an indoor temperature sensor. This sensor is used to detect the rise in temperature in the home to automatically close the shutter or sun protection before it gets too hot.

These control points can be connected to TaHoma, possibly associated with other sensors to optimize energy performance and create scenarios in TaHoma to best manage the home's solar protection.

Once connected, users can define the closing conditions more precisely: closing percentage, modification of the set temperature at which they wish to close and association with other sensors.

The flagship product of the range, Amy Sun Protect io has an embedded intelligence that chooses the right moment to lower the roller shutters before it gets too hot. Connected to Tahoma, it allows for more global management of the home.

Amy Sun Protect io was awarded a Gold Innovation Award at the R+T trade fair in the “Building Automation” category.

The Amy io range has been available from professional manufacturers and installers since the end of June.

Batinfo: How do programmable scenarios work?

Cecile Truffy: TaHoma allows you to define time slots or even periods of the year when you want to apply a certain scenario. For example, a winter scenario can be used to make the most of the sunshine during the day by leaving the roller shutters open when the sun is shining and closing them automatically at nightfall.

TaHoma also offers a preconfigured “Thermal Comfort” scenario, which allows users to optimize their energy performance with ease. They can also benefit from daily tips to consume less energy, and for example receive energy alerts and advice, to inform if a window has been left open or lights have been on for too long.

All these updates or services are free for all our users.

Batinfo: Are Somfy home automation solutions suitable for RE2020?

Cecile Truffy: RE2020 was a key pillar in the development of Amy. This standard requires the ability to control several criteria, in particular via two meteorological indicators: indoor temperature and outdoor sunshine. The combination of TaHoma, Amy for indoor temperature and Sunis for outdoor sunshine is our response to this request from RE2020.