Smart home control, provider / experiences?

But you are exactly the typical example of someone who hasn’t really understood KNX.

Of course, such a comment was coming...

We’re drifting a bit off topic now, just so you know. I’m not questioning KNX, you don’t know my plans or where I’m incorporating logic and sensors. It’s just that I prefer a combination with another system. Everyone is convinced of their own idea and has plenty of good reasons to use it.

I have understood KNX, the hallway example was just that, an example; with, for instance, presence and motion sensors (temperature, CO2, humidity, light, sound, etc.) a lot is possible, I’m aware of that too. But of course it also depends on the spatial conditions, and it’s a bit tricky in our hallway, for example, due to the construction without it looking crappy. But that’s another topic.

But what do you do, for example, with the switches at the bed in the bedroom?

Hmm we don't have any switches by the bed...

BER of course it also depends on the spatial environment and for us it will be a bit difficult in the hallway, for example, due to the layout without it looking crappy.

Hmm I don't see any problems at all with you having one ceiling detector per floor and then you don't need any switches in all the hallways... and that looks good too... because you rarely see those things then... you just don't constantly look at the ceiling...

If I may ask a quick question... Where did you get your basic information from? What pages/FAQs can you recommend? And did you first set up a basic installation or wire everything correctly with the bus system right away?

And have you first laid a basic installation

This usually contradicts "a proper" installation

But yes, you can do it step by step if necessary... however, you must lay all the cables beforehand and consider all the places from where you want to switch something and what should be switched... well, and also the sensors...

For example, you can already provide ceiling boxes with bus cables for presence detectors... but only install them later... or a weather station... initially just 230V and bus cable somewhere on the roof is enough... and later you can simply connect a weather station...

But many things just don't work afterwards... such as lights/blinds etc. initially conventional and later via the bus system... that doesn't work due to the completely different topology...

All the information is freely available "out there" or also in printed works... just search for example for "KNX for beginners"... you'll find quite a lot... about Loxone there is the manufacturer's website and many others...

Hmm we have no switches at the bed...

I find it convenient to be able to switch the light(s) there, for reading and then just sleeping. The same goes for switches at the couch. It adds up quite a bit and when I calculated it with MDT, it comes to almost €50 per switch with €15 switches.

Hmm I don’t see any problems at all with one ceiling detector per floor and then you don’t need any switches in all the hallways... and it then also looks good... because you hardly see those things anymore... you simply don’t keep looking at the ceiling...

Ceiling detectors are difficult because of the wooden beam ceiling. Between the beams, the angle is too narrow and I don’t want anything on the beams. So the only options left are wall mounting or inside a switch box. I’m still searching for that, do you have any installed that you can recommend?

If I may ask an intermediate question... Where did you get your basic information from? What pages/FAQs can you recommend?

So, for Loxone the website is very good and already explains the setup clearly. Based on that, I built a test board with various components. Pretty early on, I replaced the normal push buttons with KNX buttons and then started dealing with the ETS directly. Otherwise, I read a lot in forums and blogs.

And did you first lay a basic installation or did you immediately wire everything properly with a bus system?

We have just started with the wiring in the house. If you do it, you should consider everything from the start, switching later is practically impossible because you have to connect a lot to the centrally located actuators, e.g. lights, sockets, blinds, etc.

Well, my wife also wondered at first how that was supposed to work without a switch... then I built it like this and now no one misses it... we also have an outlet by the sofa but a switch never found its way there and I have also considered whether to gradually eliminate a few of the existing ones due to lack of necessity