Hello,
I am looking for a comprehensive smart home platform that can integrate devices from different manufacturers.
So far, I have come across the following options:
Home Assistant
OpenHAB
ioBroker
Which of these platforms is the best or most widely used?
It is important to me that it runs stably and allows for creating good automations.
Additionally, there should be a smartphone app available that can be used on the go to control the smart home or at least check the status of devices remotely.
Are all of these programs open source and available for free?
Which of these platforms would you recommend, or should we perhaps consider WiButler or Homee, which also support various wireless standards?
I am looking for a comprehensive smart home platform that can integrate devices from different manufacturers.
So far, I have come across the following options:
Home Assistant
OpenHAB
ioBroker
Which of these platforms is the best or most widely used?
It is important to me that it runs stably and allows for creating good automations.
Additionally, there should be a smartphone app available that can be used on the go to control the smart home or at least check the status of devices remotely.
Are all of these programs open source and available for free?
Which of these platforms would you recommend, or should we perhaps consider WiButler or Homee, which also support various wireless standards?
TaiiTvv schrieb:
Should the underfloor heating even be integrated into KNX at all? Of course. It doesn’t make sense to leave things out if they can be integrated relatively easily. For whatever future purposes you might have.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
In our standard setup, we get an ERR for every room (which I believe is even mandatory for KFW55 standard) For roughly the past 20 years, ERRs have been mandatory in almost all new builds. However, that doesn’t change the fact that ERRs are an easy solution for the heating contractor to hide mistakes and build quickly. They only play a limited role in the energy savings they are supposed to promote or even enable.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
I probably don’t yet know the real potential of KNX Right now, you’re at about the level of a Golf II. In this comparison, KNX would be more like a Tesla Model 3.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
How can you set it so the lights always turn on automatically as desired? That always depends on the situation and is often different and individual (I can’t imagine any logic that could cover that) By installing enough appropriate sensors and actuators and paying attention to the habits of the occupants. You have to let go of the idea that automation can cover 100% of all situations. We are nowhere near that yet. But covering 90% and doing so with 100% accuracy is achievable.
netuser schrieb:
I still don’t set fixed times, Fixed times are outdated and, in most modern homes, simply don’t make sense. Whether it’s shading, lighting, or similar systems, everything involves flexible thresholds and events.
Mycraft schrieb:
Fixed times are mostly outdated and inappropriate for a modern house in almost all situations. When it comes to shading, lighting, and so on, everything is based on flexible limits and events. You’re right, but that wasn’t exactly what I meant.
Flexible limits and events are still "fixed" to certain conditions here, which I equated with "fixed times." And although these are naturally flexible in a smart home, the automation certainly cannot take into account the personal preferences of the occupants, which can be just as flexible or randomly changing depending on the day, season, age, or mood.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t deny the possible benefits and fascination of a truly "smart" home.
But I’m a good example that not everyone needs or wants this kind of "smart control" or restriction... 🙂
netuser schrieb:
I am a good example myself that not everyone needs or wants the "smart control" by far... 🙂The trick is not to let your house control you.Mycraft schrieb:
The trick is not to let the house dictate to you.No matter how smart a house might be, I believe it’s smarter to be smarter! 😀
No algorithm or automation can match that or recognize when I, for example, actually need light or deliberately do not want it...
But let’s leave it at that, I’m not saying I’m against it 🙂
I just don’t need it and am pretty sure that, in some cases, I would even feel disturbed and “dictated to.”
I spoke with our electrician about smart home systems.
He is not interested in KNX at all.
He would recommend Free@Home or a wireless smart home system.
However, the electrician does not want to install Free@Home centrally.
He says that would require running cables for shutters and lights in a star pattern back to the distribution board, which would become very, very expensive.
High material costs for the cables, plus a large distribution board and all the actuators.
His recommendation is to do a conventional electrical installation and run the bus cable at the same time, then use the Free@Home flush-mounted actuators.
According to him, this is the cheapest version of Free@Home.
A cheaper option he mentioned is to simply lay the bus cable everywhere, so you can upgrade the bus smart home with Free@Home yourself later.
My question is: Is this Free@Home version worth it at all?
Is it possible to retrofit KNX later with this approach?
Or are actuators in the distribution board absolutely required for a KNX installation?
I am also considering whether Free@Home in this version (using flush-mounted actuators instead of REG actuators) would be worth it, or if it would make more sense to simply add a wireless smart home later.
He is not interested in KNX at all.
He would recommend Free@Home or a wireless smart home system.
However, the electrician does not want to install Free@Home centrally.
He says that would require running cables for shutters and lights in a star pattern back to the distribution board, which would become very, very expensive.
High material costs for the cables, plus a large distribution board and all the actuators.
His recommendation is to do a conventional electrical installation and run the bus cable at the same time, then use the Free@Home flush-mounted actuators.
According to him, this is the cheapest version of Free@Home.
A cheaper option he mentioned is to simply lay the bus cable everywhere, so you can upgrade the bus smart home with Free@Home yourself later.
My question is: Is this Free@Home version worth it at all?
Is it possible to retrofit KNX later with this approach?
Or are actuators in the distribution board absolutely required for a KNX installation?
I am also considering whether Free@Home in this version (using flush-mounted actuators instead of REG actuators) would be worth it, or if it would make more sense to simply add a wireless smart home later.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
The electrician doesn't want to install Free@Home centrally. Makes sense, since it's essentially KNX. In other words, a decentralized system.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
High material cost for the cables, the large distribution panel, and all the actuators. Cables cost almost nothing in the overall project. But yes, the distribution panel and the actuators are certainly not cheap, and of course, the labor needs to be paid as well.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
His recommendation would be to do conventional electrical installation and also lay the bus cable to work with the flush-mounted actuators from Free@Home.
According to the electrician, this is the cheapest option for Free@Home by far. That is actually the most expensive option and also somewhat limited, because you still rely on the outdated conventional wiring. Flush-mounted actuators are inherently more expensive per channel when you break it down, compared to, for example, an 8-channel actuator in the distribution panel.
TaiiTvv schrieb:
Is it possible to retrofit KNX with this option?
Or are the actuators in the distribution panel absolutely necessary for the KNX installation? Yes, you can, because Free@Home is essentially KNX; it’s just a simplified version. The wiring is the same. But if you want to do it that way, just skip the Free@Home actuators altogether—why pay multiple times over?