ᐅ Best Smart Home Upgrade for New Construction

Created on: 20 Jul 2021 13:17
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Pacc666
Hello

Are there good retrofit smart home systems available?

We bought a semi-detached house as a new build from a developer.

The electrician declined to work with KNX and said he is not familiar with it and won’t do it.

My question is: Are there good retrofit options for smart home systems that don’t require opening up the walls (that is not an option)?

Which systems would you recommend?

Functions:

Light control
Window sensors (preferably invisible)
Shutter control
Music control
Video doorbell

It should definitely be possible to create scenes and rules.

I’m also open to other suggestions for useful functions I may not have thought of yet.
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Pacc666
30 Jul 2021 12:18
@untergasse43 Okay, you probably have KNX installed in your home, right?

When Connected Home over IP eventually arrives, will it be a completely new standard, or will the existing ones (EnOcean, Z-Wave, and Zigbee) be fully compatible with the new standard?
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micric3
30 Jul 2021 12:52
Pacc666 schrieb:

@untergasse43 ok, you probably have KNX installed at your home, right?

When Connected Home over IP eventually arrives, will it be a completely separate standard, or will the existing ones (Enocean, Z-Wave, and Zigbee) be fully compatible with the new standard?

Quote:
At least, CHIP plans to continue supporting all radio technologies of the founding members. Specifically mentioned are IEEE 802.15.4 with 6LoWPAN as used by NEST, IEEE 802.15.4 in various Zigbee configurations, BLE versions 4.1, 4.2, and 5.0, as well as Wi-Fi up to Wi-Fi 6.

So it’s not something to bet on that a “new” standard will be defined quickly here.

Your best option is to go with an open source project of your choice (Home Assistant, Homee, FHME, etc.) and the corresponding gateways for the protocols you plan to use.
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Pacc666
2 Aug 2021 09:58
I am still looking for a suitable smart home system and came across the Comexio system.

They claim to offer a professional smart home solution at affordable prices.

Has anyone had experience with the Comexio smart home?
Mycraft2 Aug 2021 10:08
It is again a PLC with manufacturer lock-in. If this fails, you end up with a dumb home. If the manufacturer goes bankrupt... and so on. The wiring is also more extensive compared to, for example, KNX.
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Pacc666
2 Aug 2021 10:39
Okay, thanks.

So, it can be concluded that for a wired smart home system, only KNX should be considered (Busch free@home or similar systems are not suitable either, as they are limited to a single manufacturer).

Otherwise, one has to or should switch to wireless solutions?
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hanse987
2 Aug 2021 12:55
The great advantage of KNX is that, unlike almost all other wired systems, you are not tied to just one manufacturer.