Lighting and electrical planning in new construction

Ah, okay, but that doesn't change anything, because for basic KNX and later upgrades you have to have all the cables installed from the start. Likewise, things like window contacts aren't that easy to retrofit nicely, so you should install (and use) them right away. I think budgeting around 50 K for KNX "good" (including network) for a house of that size is about right. From that, you might be able to deduct maybe 5, at most 10 K for the advanced features, but not more.

Why does that not change anything? I would save on the standard electrical installation, wouldn't I?

It also depends on what you imagine. "Necessary" can be interpreted in very different ways.

Everything that you generally want to have and cannot be retrofitted later (almost) cost-neutrally is sensible. But if I look at the fact that our window contacts alone cost about 5 K, those are not exactly small amounts.

And it doesn't change anything because you have to decide NOW whether you want KNX or not. If yes, you will probably have to invest 50+ percent of the total costs NOW in order not to pay double or triple later on. Exactly how much the amount will be, of course, depends on your definition of "necessary."

Take a look here in the forum. has reported quite detailed about his KNX equipment here:

Why doesn't that change anything? I would save the standard electrical installation, wouldn't I?

He certainly meant that even with a KNX base installation that is to be expanded later, a central wiring is needed. You may need a few fewer actuators if you want to switch and monitor less, but nothing can be retrofitted without wiring. Unless you increasingly rely on decentralized actuators, but that won't be particularly cheap either. Edit: I was too late

What you need right from the start are the following things:

- Star wiring in 5x1.5 and bus wiring preferably at every corner, every socket combination, and every conceivable place where something is to be measured/reported/switched etc., so also in the attic, in the heating circuits (HKV's), and also outside/carport/shed/pool/garden in general/paths.
- Door/window contacts, these simply cannot be dismissed; they are needed for alarm systems and various logic functions and actions, e.g. presence/absence detection.
- Stationary tablets/control panels at least prepared in case you eventually install the visualization somewhere and possibly have an [TKS].
- Light and lighting concept inside/outside. This then also determines the number of necessary cables and possibly additional systems for lighting.
- Multimedia sockets/wiring (projector, multi-channel sound, multiroom, etc.)
- LAN/WLAN
- possibly SAT wiring
- even if it can be retrofitted, still do it right away: weather station
- possibly leakage detection and sensors on the water pipes for later logics/scenes

That is basically it... the rest can be retrofitted more or less easily or many functions are already on board if you have a [PM] or a touch sensor installed somewhere.

Switch and socket orgies are eliminated, and thus a bit of cost neutrality can be achieved here.

If you even have the option to upgrade to 30K, I see no problems at all. It does not always have to be [Basalte] or [GIRA] devices. [Zennio] or [Lingg&Janke] will do as well.

Take a look here in the forum. has reported in quite detail about his KNX equipment here:

Thanks for the tip! That already helps a lot! But 60k is of course a completely different magnitude

What you need right from the start are the following things:

- Star wiring in 5x1.5 and bus wiring preferably at every corner, every outlet combination, and every conceivable spot where something is to be measured/reported/switched, etc., so also in the attic, in the HKVs, and also outside/carport/shed/pool/garden in general/paths.
- Door/window contacts — you simply can't argue these away; they are needed for alarm systems and various logic functions and actions, e.g., presence/absence detection.
- Stationary tablets/control panels at least prepared, in case you build the visualization somewhere eventually and possibly have a TKS.
- Interior/exterior lighting concept. This then determines the number of necessary cables and possibly additional lighting systems.
- Multimedia outlets/wiring (projector, multi-channel sound, multiroom, etc.)
- LAN/WLAN
- Possibly SAT wiring
- Even if retrofittable, still do it right away: weather station
- Possibly leakage detection and sensors on the water pipes for future logic/scenes

That would basically be it... the rest can be more or less easily retrofitted or many functions are already included if you install a PM or a touch sensor somewhere.

Switch and outlet orgies are avoided, so a bit of cost neutrality can be achieved here.

If you even have the possibility to increase to 30K, I see no problems at all. It also doesn’t always have to be Basalte or GIRA devices. Zennio or Lingg&Janke work too.

Thank you very much! That is certainly a good framework. But do you really consider the 30K to be realistic?

What are HKVs and TKS?