Hi everyone,
Our shell construction is almost complete, and it’s about time to start taking care of some things I’ve neglected so far.
Doorbell / Intercom system
Our general contractor’s standard includes only a very basic system, the same one we have in our current house, but it’s really not worth much.
So, we want to upgrade, but what should we choose?
It’s important for us to have an aesthetically pleasing stainless steel front panel, which unfortunately puts us right into the expensive category.
The system must be able to control a motorized lock on the door.
Since we already have a Fritzbox and several tablets in the house, it would make sense to get a system that can connect to the Fritzbox and, instead of one or two indoor stations, simply mount tablets on the wall. The tablets are already used for controlling the blinds (Somfy), heating, and the controlled ventilation system.
Whether to go for an IP-based system with a camera or a simpler analog (a/b) system will probably depend on the price. A system with a camera would be very useful, as you can simply check who’s at the door before deciding whether to answer.
A nice bonus feature would be a keypad to open the door by entering a numeric code.
I have already searched:
Gira has very stylish products but they are extremely expensive and do not work with Fritzbox; you have to use their indoor stations.
Wantec (which I found mentioned in a thread here) has systems compatible with Fritzbox but no keypad feature yet. Also quite expensive.
Somfy currently offers a video intercom but it does not integrate with the new Somfy home control system, and the successor will only be available at the end of the year.
I have also read about Auerswald, but haven’t found much information yet.
Does anyone have any tips for me? I’m a bit clueless right now...
Oh yes, the budget would be a maximum of 1000 €, but it must be really high-end with all the bells and whistles. Without camera and keypad, I would set the limit around 300 €.
Thanks and best regards,
Andreas
Our shell construction is almost complete, and it’s about time to start taking care of some things I’ve neglected so far.
Doorbell / Intercom system
Our general contractor’s standard includes only a very basic system, the same one we have in our current house, but it’s really not worth much.
So, we want to upgrade, but what should we choose?
It’s important for us to have an aesthetically pleasing stainless steel front panel, which unfortunately puts us right into the expensive category.
The system must be able to control a motorized lock on the door.
Since we already have a Fritzbox and several tablets in the house, it would make sense to get a system that can connect to the Fritzbox and, instead of one or two indoor stations, simply mount tablets on the wall. The tablets are already used for controlling the blinds (Somfy), heating, and the controlled ventilation system.
Whether to go for an IP-based system with a camera or a simpler analog (a/b) system will probably depend on the price. A system with a camera would be very useful, as you can simply check who’s at the door before deciding whether to answer.
A nice bonus feature would be a keypad to open the door by entering a numeric code.
I have already searched:
Gira has very stylish products but they are extremely expensive and do not work with Fritzbox; you have to use their indoor stations.
Wantec (which I found mentioned in a thread here) has systems compatible with Fritzbox but no keypad feature yet. Also quite expensive.
Somfy currently offers a video intercom but it does not integrate with the new Somfy home control system, and the successor will only be available at the end of the year.
I have also read about Auerswald, but haven’t found much information yet.
Does anyone have any tips for me? I’m a bit clueless right now...
Oh yes, the budget would be a maximum of 1000 €, but it must be really high-end with all the bells and whistles. Without camera and keypad, I would set the limit around 300 €.
Thanks and best regards,
Andreas
I am currently waiting for my Wantec Monolith C with Ekey. It costs around €1,350 including the housing. Without Ekey, it might just fit within €1,000...
Yes, that's right, Wantec 4001, €899 + flush-mount housing (+ around €60).
I think they look very stylish.
If you want something affordable, then Wantec with analog/binary instead of VoIP and without a camera will get you down to around €300. And it looks a thousand times better than the Auerswald. Also cheaper than Gira.
Yes, that's right, Wantec 4001, €899 + flush-mount housing (+ around €60).
I think they look very stylish.
If you want something affordable, then Wantec with analog/binary instead of VoIP and without a camera will get you down to around €300. And it looks a thousand times better than the Auerswald. Also cheaper than Gira.
One of the electricians I have spoken to so far mentioned the "Doorbird."
Stainless steel, video, flush-mounted for 550 EUR. It also seems to offer extensions towards alarm systems.
However, I cannot say how effective it is or whether it is compatible with Fritzbox, as we are not yet at the stage where this is an urgent issue.
Best regards!
Stainless steel, video, flush-mounted for 550 EUR. It also seems to offer extensions towards alarm systems.
However, I cannot say how effective it is or whether it is compatible with Fritzbox, as we are not yet at the stage where this is an urgent issue.
Best regards!
Thank you, I wasn’t familiar with Door Bird before.
What I’m still not entirely clear about with the Fritzbox solutions is: do I also need a separate app on my phone or tablet to open the door through the Fritzbox? Wantec offers an app on their website as well, but at a rather exorbitant price. But do I even need it if everything runs through the Fritzbox?
With Door Bird, it seems to me that the app doesn’t operate locally within the network but through their server. In other words, if your internet connection goes down, your intercom system stops working. That’s basically a complete no-go.
Or am I misunderstanding something?
Best regards,
Andreas
What I’m still not entirely clear about with the Fritzbox solutions is: do I also need a separate app on my phone or tablet to open the door through the Fritzbox? Wantec offers an app on their website as well, but at a rather exorbitant price. But do I even need it if everything runs through the Fritzbox?
With Door Bird, it seems to me that the app doesn’t operate locally within the network but through their server. In other words, if your internet connection goes down, your intercom system stops working. That’s basically a complete no-go.
Or am I misunderstanding something?
Best regards,
Andreas
andimann schrieb:
Do I even need them if everything runs through the Fritzbox? No.
Only if you want to communicate or open the door via tablet or smartphone.
Apparently, the apps from elcom and divus (free of charge) also work.
andimann schrieb:
With the Door Bird, it really seems like the app doesn’t run on the local network but through their server. In other words, if your internet connection goes down, your intercom stops working. That’s basically a complete no-go.
Or am I mistaken?
Best regards,
Andreas Yeah, unfortunately that’s the case. Everyone has to decide if they can live with that.
From the Doorbird support page:
'Cloud Service
Our products are cloud-based solutions (similar to NEST, Dropbox, Dropcam, etc.). For reasons of reliability and security, our products do not use port forwarding/NAT or DynDNS to allow remote access over the internet. Instead, our products establish an encrypted VPN tunnel connection to our cloud server (located in a high-security data center in Germany). Our products use the same encryption technologies as financial institutions use for online banking (SSL). Remote access via our cloud server is free of charge. It is technically not possible to operate our products independently without internet or without our cloud server, since otherwise functionalities such as push notifications (which require special server security certificates from Apple and Google), remote access, regular free software updates, etc. would not be possible. The entire solution has been reviewed by the national data protection authority. If you want to operate without a cloud server, standalone IP systems, for example from Siedle or Gira, may be an option, though naturally these cannot offer the same range of functions. As a provider of intelligent and convenient smart home solutions, we do not offer products that operate without connection to our cloud server.'
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