Which control system? Control heating/ventilation/air conditioning with an app

Therefore my recommendation is KNX and EVERYTHING star-shaped to the distributor.

I can agree with such "compromises": star-shaped cablings are the backbone of the basic idea to be able to specifically address all points individually already at the network level. Regarding the topic "systems," my decision aid would be that the builder should evaluate which faction he belongs to: The opensourcer prefers the effort of freshly coded lines, is independent and open, and has an overview himself. Those who belong to the convenience / Windows faction, i.e., accept a black box in terms of components / contents in exchange for a ready-to-use product, will be happier with "finished" systems. These may also be based on bus structures, which can be set up more easily in star-conceived networks than vice versa. A consortium system—where a handful of manufacturers have hatched a common standard—is a practical compromise; I would only avoid the "house standards" of a single manufacturer. KNX may be similar to VHS: at some point, there was an S-VHS, but the followers of Betamax and Video 2000 still thought "their" systems were better, even if the others were more widespread.

Now in the long term, everything will be found again in IP. It started with telephony. Who still has analog today?

TV/video is the same, streaming is the order of the day. And home automation has already started as well.

Hi,

so, although I am a proud engineer and a big playful person, I now reveal myself as a technophobe:

Heating: Viessmann Vitodens 300-W
Ventilation: Zehnder Q450
Air conditioning: Dakin Emura (Living room + Child 1 + Child 2)
Door communication: Open, desired: Video + ideally fingerprint
Home cinema (in the living area): Motorized screen + retractable curtain

I want to be able to control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning via an app. Each manufacturer offers a separate app that would enable this, which would be fine for me.

What do you hope to achieve by operating the heating and ventilation via app? We have installed the same systems; they can do that with onboard solutions (KNX is possible too, but that requires an expensive interface), but I have never put it into operation and I will not do it anymore. Why bother? The systems are only handled once a year for maintenance. Okay, the heating is switched from winter to summer mode and vice versa at some point. Otherwise, no control is needed. Meaning, with reasonably adjusted heating/ventilation, you simply don’t have to do anything anymore.

(I cannot say much about air conditioning due to lack of experience.)

For that reason, I would not risk connecting a heating system to the network, Viessmann and Co are not exactly known as IT specialists, their apps have already been hacked and some script kiddies have then shut down people's heating systems.

The situation is even worse with door communication. This is a security-relevant system that should not be connected to any network, at least if the door opener is supposed to work over it as well. If someone wants to break into my front door, they should also have to physically come to my door.

Lighting control and similar is a really nice to have and I also think that in 10-15 years hardly any house will be built without it. KNX really seems to offer enormous advantages here. But: if you are not willing and able to work your way into the programming yourself, it will be a very expensive hobby. Even though I would have liked to do that; but honestly, I do not have 2-4 weeks to spare. And some people here write about investing 400 hours or more. If you have no job, no wife, and no children, that might be doable. In real life, however, probably not.

The playful child in me is always sad that we didn’t install KNX, but the rational person in me couldn’t name a use case here in the house where we have any (comfort) disadvantage with conventional electricity.

Just my 50 cents....

Best regards,

Andreas

I find that a solid attitude, I see it similarly: heating and ventilation must run stably. App control: just wanted to say, I don't see any sense in knx anyway - if at all, the manufacturers' apps are sufficient.

Light control would indeed be a topic.

Nowadays there are systems that you can adjust yourself: Busch free@Home as a closed but simple knx and as an open and somewhat more complicated one: Gira x1.

I will get advice from knowledgeable electricians on how I can easily control the lighting.

Simply control lighting, there is quite a lot...DMX, DALI, Hue andandand...

I think that's a solid mindset, I see it similarly: heating and ventilation need to run stably. App control: just wanted to say, I don't see any sense in KNX either way - if at all, the manufacturers' apps are sufficient.

I do see it similarly, but it has less to do with KNX directly, more with integration into home automation. KNX is one of many possibilities for automation - even if some see it differently [emoji6]

Nevertheless, I integrate or foresee integration, less to actively control heating/controlled residential ventilation, more to be comfortably informed about faults / filter changes. That's primarily what it's about: comfort

Also, I find it quite pleasant to be able to record and analyze the parameters / behavior of my building technology. That's probably the engineer in personal union with the playful kid coming through [emoji6]

Lighting control would definitely be a topic.

Right now, I'm not quite sure whether you'd need an automation bus like KNX for that. DALI or DMX (also bus systems) initially do not need KNX or similar as far as I know.

Nowadays, there are systems you can calibrate yourself: Busch free@Home as a closed but simple KNX and as an open and somewhat more complex option: Gira x1.

The question is whether free@Home is that much cheaper? Why bind yourself to one manufacturer (and let them dictate prices) when you can get a full KNX system (for example) at a similar or slightly higher price? Makes little sense to ME, but might be an option worth checking.

The Gira X1 is a logic/visualization server and IP gateway in DIN rail technology for the KNX bus. A cheaper (not quite as powerful) alternative to the Gira Homeserver. Or simply put: the X1 is KNX [emoji6]

I will get advice from knowledgeable electricians on how I can simply control lighting.

From my experience, the biggest hurdle on the way to a bus system is finding a competent planner/electrician who does not want to rip you off but shows you a solution fitting your needs.