Smart home system recommendation for beginners

Hello community,

I will start with the shell construction of my semi-detached house in about two months. I want to make my house a bit smarter in terms of control and monitoring. Whether the system is wired or wireless is not really important to me at the moment.
Since there are so many systems, I don’t even know what would be right for me.
I have, for example, heard of Wibutler, which theoretically makes a good impression.
Here in the forum, KNX is recommended.
I hope you can help me and guide me in the right direction.
What I want:
Light control, dimming or use of motion detectors in the hallways, storage room, stairs.
Time- and brightness-controlled operation of the selected lamps.
For example.
Light control via the brightness sensor: if it is too dark in the room and movement is detected, the light turns on, otherwise manual activation is also possible. Also outside on the property.
From 10 pm to 7 am generally dimmed light in selected rooms
Light control via smartphone
Heating control (underfloor heating heat pump) if possible
Shutter control via smartphone
Garage door control via smartphone
Camera surveillance via smartphone or web server
Opening of the entrance door to the property via smartphone
Switching sockets via smartphone

That’s roughly it.
There are max. 20 lamps inside and about 5 outside.
20 switchable sockets
Max. 10 brightness sensors and max. 10 motion detectors inside (hallways, stairs, storage room)
3 brightness sensors and about 5 motion detectors outside
About 10 windows with electric shutters
3-5 cameras

Is such a control system reasonable?
What system can you recommend to me?
With a wired system, I don’t know if the conduits are thick enough.
What costs would roughly be incurred?

I am very grateful for the help.

Wibutler is a gateway that connects Z-Wave, Zigbee, and EnOcean, thus opening up a world full of various radio-based devices with all their advantages and disadvantages. However, the information from the system's users would deter me. Because when you read something like this:

[*]c4ptn85 writes:

- I can only advise against it at the moment!
What is described so nicely and portrayed well in the media is unfortunately just hot air.

- The concept, as everyone says, is good. The implementation is catastrophic.

- Except for time rules and If/Then links, Wibutler unfortunately can do nothing. As someone once said... it’s an expensive timer.

[*]schulzlars writes:

- It is a pity when such a good idea like Wibutler is driven into the ground

[*]tektura writes:

@wibutlerideas

I have now made an effort to read the answer carefully. But even between the lines, I see no substance.

RIP wibutler

Your strategy will fail, actually it has already failed,


IMHO it is just another stillbirth.


I would invest my money elsewhere, but it is up to you which system you choose.

However, since you are also planning video surveillance, for example, there is no way around CAT.

From your explanations, one can read that you are still very much at the beginning of your considerations, yet the house will soon be built. So actually it is almost too late... but first read into the topics that already exist.

Thank you very much for the quick response. I am aware that it is already late. Now I don’t know where to start reading into it. Is there no common brand for the systems like Samsung or Huawei for smartphones? A wired solution will probably not be an option since the empty conduits are not dimensioned for it. Is there anything comparable to wibutler that you would recommend?

With brands in a system that you will probably want to use for several decades, it is actually the wrong approach. Because any brand can disappear from the market tomorrow. And then it is like with Samsung, Apple or Huawei—only what the developers come up with is implemented. But that might not be suitable for you at all. Therefore, you actually have to look out for open systems so that you don’t end up in a few years as the one who got screwed with a bunch of useless electronics without support.

Since you exclude wired systems, I would advise you to look towards Z-Wave. It is an open radio protocol and you can connect any device with the Z-Wave logo with others and let them essentially talk to each other. Without having to commit to a single manufacturer.

However, the system requires a central server that then takes on higher tasks than the simple switching. But there is plenty of choice here as well.

Where does your name come from?

The whole thing briefly from an IT person’s perspective: Don’t commit to a proprietary system. And especially not one that only works if the manufacturer doesn’t shut down their server.

With knx you are pretty safe, however I find it invaluable if everything is installed by an electrician. My recommendation: Lay everything in the 230V range in a star topology wherever sensors, switches and actuators might ever be installed. Otherwise, use a lot of Cat cabling, since any protocol can run over it if needed.

However, this means 1-2 extra electrical cabinets, but you can install any system. And swap it in the future if necessary. Or combine different smart systems for different purposes and connect them via a bridge.

There is another system that connects different "worlds," called Homee from Codeatelier in Bavaria. Several municipal utilities rely on it and market it under their own logo, the idea is good, it might be worth taking a look.