ᐅ New Semi-Detached House – Is Investing an Extra $10,000 Worthwhile for a Smart Home?
Created on: 17 Jan 2021 17:11
G
Giggz123
Hello everyone,
we are currently planning the construction of our half of a semi-detached house. Initially, I was considering a KNX solution for home automation, but the reality as homebuilders is catching up with us, and the budget is getting tighter. Due to the plot, we are tied to a construction company that handles all trades (including electrical) with their own staff. The contract is expected to be signed soon.
The construction company seems to have limited expertise regarding smart home systems, so I’m now considering how to best proceed.
At the moment, the plan is for conventional electrical work (about 8,000 EUR), plus additional services for almost 4,000 EUR net to install a LAN connection in every room and reach a total of 100 power outlets and 20 lighting points (there may still be some missing).
We still have about 10,000 EUR left, so the entire (smart) electrical installation can cost around 22,000 EUR. We have also planned 13 roller shutters / blinds, which — for now — will have conventional electrical control.
Requirements - Must Have:
Nice to Have:
Options:
1. Conventional wiring plus standalone radio solutions (this is what we currently have in the rental apartment: Somfy roller shutters, HUE lights, etc.), integrated into a common visualization platform (such as ioBroker and others)
2. Proprietary system, currently the favorite is probably Free@Home with central actuators, allowing a possible later switch to KNX if needed. Alternatively, Homematic Wired might be an option.
3a. KNX with the must-haves and preparation (cabling) for nice-to-haves / as much as possible
3b. KNX with must-haves, nice-to-haves via radio solutions / gateways, integrated into a common visualization (ioBroker and others)
I’ve read a lot about this but somehow keep going in circles...
Do you have any advice on how to best approach this now? Should I create a room schedule and request various offers for options 2 and 3? Should I look for a qualified system integrator / smart home expert who can offer both options 2 and 3? Or is this basically unrealistic with the given budget, and I should focus on option 1?
Although construction doesn’t start until summer, if I want to try to contract the electrical trade elsewhere, I only have about 4 weeks left.
I am not completely ruling out KNX and could also imagine doing some work myself. Has anyone used a solution where they hired a planner, had the control cabinet assembled and shipped, then had the construction company’s electrician install all the wiring, and finally configured everything themselves?
Many thanks in advance!
we are currently planning the construction of our half of a semi-detached house. Initially, I was considering a KNX solution for home automation, but the reality as homebuilders is catching up with us, and the budget is getting tighter. Due to the plot, we are tied to a construction company that handles all trades (including electrical) with their own staff. The contract is expected to be signed soon.
The construction company seems to have limited expertise regarding smart home systems, so I’m now considering how to best proceed.
At the moment, the plan is for conventional electrical work (about 8,000 EUR), plus additional services for almost 4,000 EUR net to install a LAN connection in every room and reach a total of 100 power outlets and 20 lighting points (there may still be some missing).
We still have about 10,000 EUR left, so the entire (smart) electrical installation can cost around 22,000 EUR. We have also planned 13 roller shutters / blinds, which — for now — will have conventional electrical control.
Requirements - Must Have:
- Lighting:
- Central control of lights (preferably all, if necessary by floor, room, or selected areas); partial dimming
- Shading:
- Central control of roller shutters / blinds with automated shading
- Power:
- Make approximately 10+ power outlets switchable
Nice to Have:
- Avoid residual current devices (RCDs) if justifiable via smart home (I do not intend to actively control heating)
- Connection to controlled residential ventilation system
- Integration of voice control
- Window contacts
- Visualization
- Presence detectors
- Sonos integration
- Intercom system integration (Doorbird, Busch Jäger Welcome)
- Alarm system functionality (via presence detectors / sensors, possibly also a proprietary system, e.g. Busch Secure@Home)
Options:
1. Conventional wiring plus standalone radio solutions (this is what we currently have in the rental apartment: Somfy roller shutters, HUE lights, etc.), integrated into a common visualization platform (such as ioBroker and others)
2. Proprietary system, currently the favorite is probably Free@Home with central actuators, allowing a possible later switch to KNX if needed. Alternatively, Homematic Wired might be an option.
3a. KNX with the must-haves and preparation (cabling) for nice-to-haves / as much as possible
3b. KNX with must-haves, nice-to-haves via radio solutions / gateways, integrated into a common visualization (ioBroker and others)
I’ve read a lot about this but somehow keep going in circles...
Do you have any advice on how to best approach this now? Should I create a room schedule and request various offers for options 2 and 3? Should I look for a qualified system integrator / smart home expert who can offer both options 2 and 3? Or is this basically unrealistic with the given budget, and I should focus on option 1?
Although construction doesn’t start until summer, if I want to try to contract the electrical trade elsewhere, I only have about 4 weeks left.
I am not completely ruling out KNX and could also imagine doing some work myself. Has anyone used a solution where they hired a planner, had the control cabinet assembled and shipped, then had the construction company’s electrician install all the wiring, and finally configured everything themselves?
Many thanks in advance!
untergasse43 schrieb:
A brief note on room controllers: I don’t think much of room controllers. They are completely unnecessary if you already have some form of visualization. The actuator handles the regulation anyway, they take up wall space, and the programming effort is noticeably higher. Considering that underfloor heating settings rarely change and it doesn’t really matter whether you can read the temperature in every room at all times. On top of that, the Jung room controllers KRM TS D are really awkward to use. We found the ones from Jung quite comfortable compared to Busch-Jaeger. My favorite was MDT, but our electrician advised against it (I can’t quite recall the reasons). Gira was also an option, but several home builders and general contractors warned me against it, citing frequent complaints, which I find hard to believe.
The great thing about KNX is that I can replace all the switches if I don’t like them anymore down the line.
As always, it’s purely a matter of personal preference.
AllThumbs schrieb:
Hmm, I actually find it quite convenient to have just one "control unit" rather than stacking several switches or similar devices.
Otherwise, I agree with you. A display is not absolutely necessary, but it does provide a lot of flexibility. Without a display, I would probably have the rocker switches laser-cut. However, that requires very precise planning and is also somewhat more expensive. We didn’t want the ones with the display everywhere either; I think we have about 10 of those in the bedrooms, bathrooms, and open areas, while the rest are laser-cut switches.
Laser cutting doesn’t cost a fortune...
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AllThumbs9 Apr 2021 20:30RE-1407 schrieb:
We didn’t want the ones with displays everywhere either; I think we might have about 10 in the bedrooms, bathrooms, and open spaces. The rest are laser-engraved switches.
Laser engraving doesn’t cost a fortune… I looked into that for a while with Gira. I don’t remember the price exactly, but overall it seemed quite expensive for the entire switch. It’s not decided for us yet though. In general, I’m planning fewer switches at first and will run the bus wiring to a few extra spots just to be safe.
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AllThumbs9 Apr 2021 20:33RE-1407 schrieb:
Here is the rough calculation, and I am aware that there might be some saving potential in certain areas, but that was not the primary focus when expanding the KNX system.
The subitems also include things like ceiling cut-outs/ceiling boxes/programming, etc.
Meter panel 5,200 (Hager products)
KNX actuators 4,200 (Jung)
KNX sensors 10,300 (Jung)
Control devices 6,500 (including DALI dimmers)
Cables and wiring 8,000
Equipotential bonding 300
Network technology 1,000
Door communication 2,600 (Gira)
Camera surveillance 2,500 (AXIS)
Intruder alarm system 2,500 (INDEXA)
minus 10K for subtracting the trade from the construction specification
plus VAT = approx. 39,000 Maybe I’m missing something, but could you clarify the difference between KNX actuators and control devices here? Are not all of them decentralized actuators?
AllThumbs schrieb:
Maybe I’m missing something, but could you please explain again the difference between KNX actuators and installation devices? Not all of them are decentralized actuators, right? Installation devices include, for example, all indoor and outdoor power outlets, all spotlights, step lights, and general lighting (attic, garage).
The actuators list includes only Jung products (gateway, smart visualization, shutter and heating actuators, etc.).
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AllThumbs9 Apr 2021 20:52RE-1407 schrieb:
The installation devices include, for example, all indoor/outdoor sockets, all spotlights, step lights, and general lighting (attic, garage).
For the actuators, all listed products are from Jung (gateway, smart visualization, blind and heating actuators, etc.).Ah, thanks. I somehow associated that with the modular DIN rail devices in the distribution board.