Hello everyone,
I am finally planning to build our own house with my family. I don’t want to do without a smart system and have already done some research.
Loxone is basically off the table for me because it mainly relies on its proprietary system and products.
Of course, I have repeatedly come back to KNX (as here in the forum as well). However, I am not entirely happy with it because I don’t want to have to call a programmer every time I want to make a change; I also don’t really want to buy the ETS license. Additionally, I want to integrate and network fingerprint scanners, Sonos, and a heat pump, but I haven’t fully figured out how to do this with KNX.
The house basically has two floors with an open-plan kitchen/living area, entrance hall, utility room, bathrooms, children’s rooms, bedroom, garden, and so on.
The following systems should be connected:
- Lighting (some dimmable)
- External blinds / weather station
- Underfloor heating
- Heat pump
- Music system (Sonos)
- Fingerprint access
- Video intercom
- Some switched power outlets
- Photovoltaic system
Since I am technically fairly knowledgeable, I want to be able to manage, adjust, and optimize my system myself in the end.
Does anyone have good input here? Or already experience with Loxone, KNX, or others?
Thanks and best regards,
Stefan
I am finally planning to build our own house with my family. I don’t want to do without a smart system and have already done some research.
Loxone is basically off the table for me because it mainly relies on its proprietary system and products.
Of course, I have repeatedly come back to KNX (as here in the forum as well). However, I am not entirely happy with it because I don’t want to have to call a programmer every time I want to make a change; I also don’t really want to buy the ETS license. Additionally, I want to integrate and network fingerprint scanners, Sonos, and a heat pump, but I haven’t fully figured out how to do this with KNX.
The house basically has two floors with an open-plan kitchen/living area, entrance hall, utility room, bathrooms, children’s rooms, bedroom, garden, and so on.
The following systems should be connected:
- Lighting (some dimmable)
- External blinds / weather station
- Underfloor heating
- Heat pump
- Music system (Sonos)
- Fingerprint access
- Video intercom
- Some switched power outlets
- Photovoltaic system
Since I am technically fairly knowledgeable, I want to be able to manage, adjust, and optimize my system myself in the end.
Does anyone have good input here? Or already experience with Loxone, KNX, or others?
Thanks and best regards,
Stefan
We are currently planning a new build, and our electrician recommended the KNX smart home system LUXORliving from Theben, as it only adds about 5,000 euros (depending on the configuration level) to the cost in our case. With this solution, we save the need for individual thermostat controls in each room as well as, for example, Somfy radio motors for the external blinds or similar products from other providers.
The following functions are intended to be used with it:
- Control of 18 external blinds including a weather station with sensors for wind, rain, and brightness
- Control of underfloor heating in 10 rooms
- Control of 10 power outlets that can be switched on and off
- Lighting control including dimming capabilities and motion detectors (e.g., guest toilet, utility room)
- Reduction of the large number of switches for blinds and lighting to a minimum
1.) Does anyone have experience using the LUXORliving system from Theben?
2.) Is this system suitable for our intended use?
3.) Which alternative smart switches or motion detectors from other manufacturers can be used with it?
4.) Can the installed LEDs be freely chosen, for example, Philips HUE?
The following functions are intended to be used with it:
- Control of 18 external blinds including a weather station with sensors for wind, rain, and brightness
- Control of underfloor heating in 10 rooms
- Control of 10 power outlets that can be switched on and off
- Lighting control including dimming capabilities and motion detectors (e.g., guest toilet, utility room)
- Reduction of the large number of switches for blinds and lighting to a minimum
1.) Does anyone have experience using the LUXORliving system from Theben?
2.) Is this system suitable for our intended use?
3.) Which alternative smart switches or motion detectors from other manufacturers can be used with it?
4.) Can the installed LEDs be freely chosen, for example, Philips HUE?
1. KNX is in Easy mode, designed for end users without extensive technical knowledge and generally limited to one manufacturer. So it works.
2. Yes, however, underfloor heating in a modern building usually does not need to be controlled manually. It operates automatically if well constructed and configured.
3. Simply put: none. It is a somewhat limited version of KNX focused on user-friendliness. However, you can freely combine and add standard push-buttons, regardless of the manufacturer.
4. You can use anything that can be controlled via DALI or does not have its own proprietary “smart electronics.” So Hue cannot be used.
2. Yes, however, underfloor heating in a modern building usually does not need to be controlled manually. It operates automatically if well constructed and configured.
3. Simply put: none. It is a somewhat limited version of KNX focused on user-friendliness. However, you can freely combine and add standard push-buttons, regardless of the manufacturer.
4. You can use anything that can be controlled via DALI or does not have its own proprietary “smart electronics.” So Hue cannot be used.
Mycraft schrieb:
2. Yes, however, in a modern building, you don’t need to control the underfloor heating manually. It works automatically (if well designed and set up). When purchasing LUXORliving, I would also completely do without thermostat controls since you set everything once via the app. In a classic system with 10 rooms, the question is how many thermostat controls are actually needed. Some rooms can be combined as you don’t need a different temperature for every room.
Mycraft schrieb:
3. Simply put: none. It is a somewhat limited KNX in terms of user-friendliness. However, you can freely combine and add standard push buttons, regardless of the manufacturer. Does anyone have experience with suitable multifunction switches, for example from Jung, meaning light on/off, dimming, and blinds up/down? Thanks!
Andik81 schrieb:
For a traditional system with 10 rooms, the question is how many thermostat switches are needed 1-2 max.
When it comes to the switches, the connection to the BUS is what matters, not the switches themselves. If you are dealing with conventional switches, they should be as “dumb” as possible, without any built-in electronics. In other words, simple push buttons rather than switches. Depending on how these are connected to the BUS, they can be made as smart as the software and hardware of Luxorliving allow.