Preparation of smart home in new construction

: Just name your goals. Then the experts here can also give concrete tips. What exactly do you want to control, view, switch, regulate, network, program from where...?

now I didn't want to hijack any of the existing threads to ask my question and now here is the thread .. well, whatever...

now I didn’t want to hijack any of the existing threads to ask my question and now here is the thread .. well, whatever...

I actually didn’t intend to, it unfortunately got out of hand. Sorry about that! I’ll start a separate thread about it tomorrow.

I myself think KNX is great and am currently planning a smart home. But really properly. Half measures don't work well together.

I am following here and KNX seems like overkill just for weather-dependent shading and two or three lights. How do you actually define a "real" smart home that makes KNX worthwhile? What are the functions or example applications?

I’m following along here and KNX seems like overkill just for weather-dependent shading and two or three lights.

Yes, that would probably be overkill. Both could also be solved conventionally.

How do you actually define a "real" smart home?

Very hard to say... every author has a different definition. Recently, I had a professional KNX consultation and the consultant was strongly against viewing automation as an essential part of a smart home. Others see automation processes as the main component of "smart."

For me personally, a healthy balance between control and intervention options on one hand and automation and comfort on the other is important. My house should take a lot off my hands but not take away the power.

From my perspective, KNX in the private sector is mainly a gimmick and luxury. You have to enjoy dealing with it and be willing to educate yourself. At least that’s how I see it. I plan to do the wiring, switch cabinet, and parameterization mostly myself, and then KNX is not even that expensive so that you have to artificially justify it.

What are the functions, for example typical applications?

I see the advantage mainly in complex scenes and the cross-trade, logical interplay of components.

A “leaving the house” scene turns off certain lights and devices you have defined, arms the alarm, maybe reminds you in the calendar of garbage collection or open window sashes. The smart light switches with small LEDs indicate all kinds of states that you can subtly detect on the side.

A “good night” scene ensures that the bedroom motion detector no longer turns on the light, the under-bed sensor makes sure that when you get up in the middle of the night, there is only very dim light so the partner is not disturbed, and the light in the bathroom also only comes on dimly. Opening windows trigger the alarm, the ventilation system switches to especially quiet mode, certain standby devices are switched off.

Many users also like music and media control, scenes with light effects and music background. Everyone has to set their own priorities.

I also find it great that you can later assign every button and every LED for all kinds of uses and only have to change the parameterization. Of course, that also requires a playful spirit and a certain awakening of new needs. But I guess the more you use it, the more ideas you get.

But I admit all around, it is indeed a gimmick and luxury in a private household.

The positive thing about KNX is that it runs without a central unit and that it runs very stably. Wired, every actuator and sensor with its own intelligence. Certainly, many things can also be done with Wi-Fi and smartphones, but not with the same reliability and consistency.

How do you then actually define a "real" smart home for which KNX is worth it?

Based on intuition, it’s about cross-trade automation.

For example, in my circle of acquaintances, during the construction phase, I only implemented the shading trade in KNX. It was cheaper and can do more than the conventional option offered by the electrician.