newBaC - The Digital Infrastructure of Buildings: newBaC is a building infrastructure platform for lighting, sensing and house interaction. Instead of connecting switches, lights and sensors through complex wiring and proprietary gateways, newBaC creates a permanent Thread-based infrastructure that is commissioned, maintained and expanded through simple web-based tools. Designed for lighting planners, electricians and building owners.

Why newBaC? Traditional smart-home systems treat automation as an add-on. newBaC treats automation as part of the building itself. Benefits: 24 V DC infrastructure throughout the building. Open Matter-over-Thread solution. Open ecosystem integration. No app required. No LAN, WLAN or even cloud dependency. Browser-based commissioning. Simplified tenant handover. Future-ready for shading, HVAC and energy management.

A Switch is More than a Switch: Every newBaC device contributes to the building network.
A single wall-mounted device can simultaneously provide: User interaction. Lighting control. Ambient light sensing. Temperature monitoring. Presence estimation. Thread network (IPv6) routing. Gateway redundancy. The result is a distributed and resilient building infrastructure. A Switch is even a Development Environment for Integrators: All newBaC devices are based on a ESP32-C6FH8 SoC with two Microprozessors. The LP processor can be used with ESPHome by integrators / ODMs in designing their modules with I/O ports (in the wall, behind the switch). newBaC can later care for Matter 1.6 support of such HVAC-, Energy-solutions or Appliences.

Designed for Lighting Planners: newBaC focuses on new buildings. Devices can be pre-configured according to the architect's or lighting planner's design. When the electrician starts the installation:
Labels already match the plan. Switches already know their associated. Rooms are already defined. The system is operational immediately. No traditional commissioning process is required.

No App Required: newBaC deliberately avoids app-dependent installation workflows.
Every gateway and infrastructure device provides: Temporary WiFi hotspot. Integrated Web server for browser-based commissioning and tools. A mobile phone becomes a secure transport medium for configuration data. No software needs to be installed.

Open by Design: newBaC infrastructure devices operate as standard Matter-over-Thread devices. They can be integrated into: Apple Home, Home Assistant, other Matter ecosystems, while remaining part of the permanent building infrastructure. No vendor lock-in.

Tenant Change: Residents can bring and connect their preferred ecosystem. Their specific integrations can be removed while preserving the original building configuration, when they leave. The building remains unchanged. The ecosystem may change with the next tenant.

Vision: Smart home should not belong to the tenant. It should belong to the building. newBaC transforms lighting and automation from a collection of products into a permanent digital infrastructure that remains stable for decades.

newBaC System Architecture stands for stable and deterministic infrastructure with easyest integration of tenant's smart-Home extensions.

Function: Unified control of lighting, shading and room interaction.

System role: Shared infrastructure layer connecting Thread devices and external ecosystems.

Setup: Local commissioning via temporary WiFi hotspot. The gateway controls integration and system behavior, while all devices operate within a stable and persistent network.

Why Thread matters: Thread provides a shared mesh network across the entire building.
• Infrastructure-based, not tenant-dependent
• Self-healing and highly reliable
• Seamless integration of new devices

WiFi and Zigbee remain tenant's separate networks, integrated only through their respective gateways.

Wall-integrated infrastructure device combining control interface, sensing and optional gateway functionality in one unit.

Function: User interface for lighting and shading control. Powered via 24V DC. This switch design like a doorbell allows to name the related lights or blinds and can be distributed via building markets for homeworkers.
Floor-aware presence detection: Conventional motion sensors may detect activity across multiple levels in open stairwells. By evaluating RSSI relationships only between infrastructure devices assigned to the same floor, newBaC helps reduce cross-floor activations and enables more precise lighting and corridor automation.
Optional system role: Thread boarder router with optional gateway capabilities and local logic.
Setup in the gateway role: Temporary WiFi hotspot for commissioning, debugging and tenant handover.
Summary: The device enables a distributed infrastructure approach, where control, sensing and network intelligence are directly integrated into the wall installation.

Slim infrastructure lightning device with low power per LED.

Function: High quality lightning device with twelve LEDs with CRI >90. Two white light LED strings, each with six 3000K resp. 4000K LEDs are selectable and dimmable via Matter over Thread.
Powered via 24V DC. For mass usage in new buildings, all components can be labeled and pre-configured according the plan of the architect or the lightning planner.

60 degrees lenses bring 500lux illumination on the working table: The lightning device has 12 lenses to focus the light for high illumination on working surfaces. For an illumination of 500lux @1m distance, the lightning device needs to emit a light current of 580lm. The same illumination of 500lux @1.73m distance is possible with 3 times 580lm. This is the reason, why the Hexagon has six LEDs compared to the 2 LEDs of the minimalistic hanging light - for both, warm and cold light.

Power controlled and optimised for luminous efficacy: The lightning device contains a precise power meter and can be setup for the maximum power. One LED delivers one sixt of the power and has the luminous efficacy related to one sixt of the total light power. During further PWM dimming, the luminous efficacy remains constant.

Quality controlled: The lightning device is designed for ceiling surface mounting and contains a precise temperature meter which is used to control the maximum LED temperature below 65 degrees. This leads to a lifetime of 100'000 hours.

Setup: The lights are easily setup using newBaC Hexagon's hotspot with a mobile (see demo step 3). For mass usage in new buildings, the lights come normally fully set up via the electrican or the integrator.

Prepared for Voice control: If the device is used with an extension to Apple Home, Siri can address directly the color of the frame or the light name indicated on the switch.

One full Hexagon light element can be combined with multiple extending Hexagon elements. Extending light elements use the same circuit as hanging lights, as shown in the reference design.
All light elements are interconnected and mounted to the ceeiling via a PCB. This PCB is powered with 24V DC via a light box. The PCB should be screwed to the outer plastics donut of the lamp box (within a diameter of 60mm to 79mm) to avoid that the screws reach the beton. The following pictures show the ceiling-PCB and the expected illuminance for a 3-Hexagon-Array. Use the right mouse-key to see the details in new tabs.

The number of needed Hexagon elements has a lot to do with Physics: One rule related to physics of light must be respected: For constant brightness on your working table (in lux), the power of your light source must be proportional to the square of the distance between your light source and the table. The power can be increased in discrete steps as well with adding more Hexagon light elements: double the number of Hexagon light elements for an increase of the distance by a factor of 1.41. For an increase of a factor 1.73 / 2 / 2.24 / 2.64, you need 3 / 4 / 5 / 7 times more elements.

The HEXAGON lights allow to optimise the luminous efficacy in two ways: First, they allow to setup a reduced maximum (undimmed) total LED power. Second, increasing the number of Hexagon elements reduces the power per element. Both ways increase the luminous effcacy as seen in newBaC's tables for the light specification.
Extending elements might be connected to the full Hexagon light element alternatively via a specific USB-C cable adapter to further spread the light source.

newBaC installations are less expensive: Simple surface mounting under an inexpensive lamp socket without individual drivers inside. The 24V power connection is coming uninterrupted from the DIN-Rail and is going directly to the next lamp socket. No deviations to wall switches. Just a pair of T-sockets must be pressed onto the GND and 24V wires and be put on the two terminals of the ceiling light. No cutting, no isolating of wires. Even homeworkers could do this easily.

Ceiling- or wall-integrated infrastructure device to control up to 4 lights from a light manufacturer.
ODM light partners don't need deep expertise in Thread, Matter or system integration.

Function of the light-controller: Delivers four ports with 24V DC power plus Matter controlled PWM signals for dimming plus control signals to select one of up to four LED-strings.

Quality controlled: The light controller regulates the temperature of the ODM partner's lights to reach a long lifetime with a maximum LED temperature.

Setup: A controller is easily setup using the newBaC light-controller's hotspot with a mobile (and added as a light according demo step 3). For mass usage in new buildings, the lights and the switches come normally fully set up via the electrican or the integrator.

Prepared for Voice control: If the device is used with a newBaC gateway extension to Apple Home, Siri can address directly the color of the frame or the printed name on the switch. Of course, a new light controller could be added as a Matter over Thread light directly to Apple home, if it shound not become an infrastructure device.

Beside our hanging Hexagon, we offer a minimalistic ODM version. Third party light manufacturers can use the module as their USB-C bulb component.

Hanging lights with 60 degrees lenses lead to very efficient working light: Our light module with 60 degres PMMA lenses is hanging 1m above the table surface and delivers 500lux bright light around 1m2 area from 3.7W power. In a high quality of CRI>90.
We suggest two such 60 degrees bulbs for a 2m*1m table and 3 bulbs for a round table with 1.5m diameter. This can be perfectly implemented with a single light controller above / near the table.

Quality and safety controlled: The light controller measures and regulates the temperature of the hanging light modules to reach a long lifetime with a maximally allowed LED temperature. See the integrated U1 chip in our reference design. Light designers can use thermically more critical design material, like textiles, paper or wood. They must programm the maximally allowed temperature inside the module using a light controller.

Setup: The USB-C bulbs belong to their controller and must not be setup by the user. If the device is used with an extension to Apple Home, Siri can address the light alternatively directly via the color of the ring of the controller.

Universal Interface supports bulb- and light-designers to integrate the newBaC light controller.

Focus to the core competences: ODM partners can focus entirely on their core competencies: product design and market access. No deep expertise in Thread, Matter or system integration is required.

Function of the USB-C connection: Delivers newBaC controller's 24V DC from a DIN-Rail power supply plus a Matter controlled PWM signal for dimming. Additionally, a 1-wire control bus lets select one of up to four LED-strings, measure the temperature and access the memory of the 1-wire chip.

Quality controlled: The light controller regulates the temperature of the ODM partner's lights by dimming to a specified LED temperature limit. This way, the specified lifetime is warranted and not just a marketing value.
The microprocessor didn't have to dimm 4W bulbs with a maximum allowed temperature of 65 degrees, which was 40 degrees above the ambient temperature. Thus the ALU-PCB containing all LEDs and the complete circuit for an MR16 bulb size has a temperature coefficient of less than 10 degrees per Watt.

Memory usage: The memory stores device-ID, name, white color temperature values, maximum temperature, dimming ratio for a specified illuminance plus more important EPREL data.

Infrastructure-based system combining Thread networking, controlled Matter integration and a permanent gateway layer.

Role:
Permanent infrastructure anchor providing Thread border routing, Matter bridging and application-layer control.
Responsibilities:
• Thread Border Router (always active)
• Matter Fabric participant (single integration point)
• Application Layer Gateway (ALG)
• Storage of installation configuration
• Commissioning via temporary WiFi hotspot
Key principle:
The gateway is the only interface between external ecosystems and the internal Thread network.

External Matter systems (Apple Home, Home Assistant) connect exclusively through the gateway.
Data path:
Tenant System → Gateway → Thread Mesh → Devices
The Thread mesh infrastructure remains independent of tenant-specific configurations.

Normal mode:
Thread active, gateway active, WiFi disabled
Commissioning mode:
Activated via long button press; temporary WiFi hotspot for setup and debugging
Reset mode:
Tenant-specific Matter configuration removed and original installation state restored

Factory configuration:
Defines installation-specific mapping and system structure
Runtime configuration:
Stores tenant-specific Matter Fabric and session data
Reset behavior:
Runtime configuration is cleared
Factory configuration is preserved and restored

newBaC devices can be paired via QR-codes as standard Matter over Thread devices. Additionally they support commissioning before installation in new buildings plus faster pairing without Bluetooth during installation, if the gateway is already choosen, pre-commissioned and installed. This is provided via a temporary WiFi hotspot available at any newBaC device. See demo step 2.

Activation: Long press (UP + DOWN) or the SETUP switch activates a temporary WiFi hotspot.
Access: Direct local connection via mobile or laptop (like in a hotel, e.g. to http://192.168.26.1).
Behavior: Thread network remains active, Gateway remains operational, WiFi used for local interaction.

System monitoring: Gateway status, Thread connectivity and Matter integration.
Network inspection: Discovery and state of all Thread devices.
Device mapping: Switch, controller and light relationships.
Manual control: Testing of lighting and control functions.
Commissioning: Matter pairing, device integration and reassignment. See demo step 3.
OTA via the Hotspot: Firmware update for infrastructure devices via the hotspot and the Mobile.
Failover Gateway: Backup the gatewy configuration and provision a failover gateway via the Mobile.
Tenant management: Fabric removal and WiFi QR code regeneration. See demo step 5.
Configuration: Restore factory setup and verify installation mapping.

A standardized infrastructure approach that reduces complexity, lowers operational costs and increases long-term property value.

The newBaC system transforms smart home functionality from a tenant-specific feature into a permanent building infrastructure.
The installation remains stable and unchanged, while tenants integrate their own systems independently.

Reduced installation complexity:
No need for complex commissioning or tenant-specific configurations.
Lower operational risk:
Infrastructure remains stable regardless of tenant changes.
Scalability:
Standardized solution across multiple units and projects.
Future-proof architecture:
Based on open standards (Thread and Matter).

Move-in:
Tenant connects via WiFi QR code and integrates personal ecosystem (Apple Home, Home Assistant, etc.).
Usage:
Full control via personal system, without modifying the infrastructure.
Move-out:
Tenant is removed, system resets automatically to initial state.

Architects and lighting designers define the system once, independent of tenant-specific requirements.
The installation becomes part of the building concept, not an add-on layer.

Smart home is no longer a feature – it becomes infrastructure.
The building gains a permanent digital layer that remains stable across tenant cycles.

newBaC provides the Matter/Thread PCBs with Switch / Light / Controller / I/O-Ports Options.

Urs Zogg
Weiernstrasse 20b
8355 Aadorf
Website: newBaC.com
Email: urs.zogg@newBaC.com
Tel: +4179newBaC2
WhatsApp: +4179newBaC2