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
Loxone has decided to remove the KNX interface previously included in the Miniserver and instead installed a Tree connection that supports up to 50 devices.
For those switching to the Miniserver v2 who still want to use KNX, Loxone recommends upgrading to the KNX extension, which is currently priced at 584.41 € (approximately €), making it relatively expensive. Additionally, it only supports "up to 500 KNX group addresses," which is quite limited, since many more complex KNX components can individually require dozens of group addresses.
Overall, Loxone is simply too expensive.
Simple example:
4-channel dimmer Loxone: 471.78 € (channel price ~ 117.95 €)
4-channel dimmer KNX: 258.59 € (channel price ~ 64.65 €)
14x actuator Loxone: 355.81 € (channel price ~ 25.42 €)
20x actuator KNX: 348.15 € (channel price ~ 17.41 €)
For those switching to the Miniserver v2 who still want to use KNX, Loxone recommends upgrading to the KNX extension, which is currently priced at 584.41 € (approximately €), making it relatively expensive. Additionally, it only supports "up to 500 KNX group addresses," which is quite limited, since many more complex KNX components can individually require dozens of group addresses.
Overall, Loxone is simply too expensive.
Simple example:
4-channel dimmer Loxone: 471.78 € (channel price ~ 117.95 €)
4-channel dimmer KNX: 258.59 € (channel price ~ 64.65 €)
14x actuator Loxone: 355.81 € (channel price ~ 25.42 €)
20x actuator KNX: 348.15 € (channel price ~ 17.41 €)
So what?
It is still possible, and Tree makes more sense than integrating a KNX interface for just a few users, which was never truly certified anyway.
For KNX, I need switches and temperature sensors—am I actually cheaper than using a Tree Touch? For lights, I need actuators plus the lamp—am I really saving money compared to RGBW spots?
If I install Loxone, I basically don’t need KNX.
But I don’t really know of any smart home system that includes KNX, except maybe Comexio.
As mentioned, KNX makes sense for offices or commercial buildings. For private homes, why?
But everyone has to plan for themselves.
It is still possible, and Tree makes more sense than integrating a KNX interface for just a few users, which was never truly certified anyway.
For KNX, I need switches and temperature sensors—am I actually cheaper than using a Tree Touch? For lights, I need actuators plus the lamp—am I really saving money compared to RGBW spots?
If I install Loxone, I basically don’t need KNX.
But I don’t really know of any smart home system that includes KNX, except maybe Comexio.
As mentioned, KNX makes sense for offices or commercial buildings. For private homes, why?
But everyone has to plan for themselves.