FreakErn
2016-04-01 07:02:56
- #1
Hi,
so far I still haven't made any progress in my decision-making.
My main focus is on the blind or roller shutter control.
20 windows are electrically controlled.
Option 1: KNX
Option 2: Loxone
Option 3: Manufacturer system (e.g. Rademacher, Somfy, ...)
All blinds / roller shutters should be controlled by a switch in the respective room and individually on each of the two floors.
Has anyone gained experience?
Hello Acd85,
we have now been in our house for two weeks and I am enthusiastic about Loxone. It is really simple and you have many options. We have underfloor heating, roller shutters, lights, and 2-3 switchable sockets per room in our house, and I can also combine all of this in the programming if I want to.
I am a person who learns better when it has been explained to me, so I watched the Loxone videos. I don't know if I am allowed to post videos from YouTube here, so just search on YouTube for "Loxone Online Seminar - Baustein Intelligente Raumregelung" (it's 43 minutes long, don’t be scared).
In there they set and parameterize the room temperature in connection with the sun position and the roller shutter (the component for this is called "Automatikjallousie").
Since we just moved in and often still have holidays for some reasons, we currently don’t have automatic control of the roller shutters, but that will come in the next 2-3 weeks.
The video also explains how the sun position and the achieved target temperature in a room are used to lower the roller shutters so that the sun does not unnecessarily heat the room. The clear disadvantage of all this is that you need a subscription for the weather service which costs €60 per year. I am still looking for a free alternative interface to use, but if €60 doesn’t discourage you, there is really a lot of information there. Storm warning, light intensity, wind speed, temperature, rain info, etc. etc.
I currently pull the other weather data from Openweathermap into the programming and also have the current weather data in the app. The Loxone server can do that alone as well (as long as it’s not via https), without external help.
My Loxone server also shows info about my photovoltaic system in the app.
In my house, I have 13 windows, nine underfloor heating circuits, about 20 lamps, about 15 sockets, Openweathermap and photovoltaic stuff that will interact even more in the coming weeks. There is also the loxforum where competent guys give very helpful answers if you have problems or are looking for a solution approach.
I am sure you can do all that with KNX as well. But I can’t judge that because €1000 for software is an absolute deal breaker for me, no matter what hack solutions you could do to avoid paying that €1k. I only build once and don’t want hack solutions! I hope I am not stepping on anyone’s toes with that statement.
I hope I don’t sound too much like a salesperson. I am a software developer and have nothing else to do with Loxone.
Best regards
/EDIT
I programmed room-wise control of the roller shutters or lights on multiple clicks or long clicks on various switches. At the front door, I will program a switch so that it puts all roller shutters to automatic (which I will then set depending on the weather, etc.), turns off all lights, maybe also the sockets. If I double-tap a switch in the hallway, all the lights in the hallway go off.
Although at the moment I like to do things via the app as well, because that is also a lot of fun.