ᐅ Prepare new construction for future wireless smart home integration

Hello,

I spoke with the electrician for our new build, and he wants to install KNX. Because of that, I want to prepare my house for a wireless smart home system.

At the moment, our budget is tight due to the new build, and we want to focus more on having a nice bathroom.

Since the new smart home standard Matter will be introduced this year, which I believe will become the leading solution for retrofit installations, I want to prepare our new build for a later Matter retrofit.

I know that these retrofit wireless solutions are not the optimum (KNX remains the absolute top), but unfortunately, you don’t always have the budget for the best system.

I think Matter will establish itself, but if it doesn’t, I want to be able to install another system later, for example Homematic IP, Zigbee, Z-Wave, or EnOcean.

What should I tell the electrician to ensure that one of these retrofit smart home systems can be installed later, preferably Matter with Thread?

What does the electrician need to do differently compared to conventional electrical work or installations?

Or does the electrician not need to do anything differently, and I can just replace light switches, heating controls, etc., later and simply attach window sensors to the windows?

Sorry, I have very little knowledge about electrical work.

However, I know someone who can later replace the light switches and such (although he has zero knowledge about smart homes and would just connect everything according to instructions).

Pwnage619 schrieb:

Hello,

I spoke with our electrician about our new build and he wants to install KNX, so I want to prepare my house for a wireless smart home system.

Bold statement... That could easily become a meme. 😀

Pwnage619 schrieb:

At the moment, money is tight because of the new build and we want to prioritize a nice bathroom.

I would rather skip the expensive vanity for a few thousand and buy it later. You can also save a lot of money on the shower—unless you absolutely need a rain shower head directly from the ceiling. With a standard connection or even concealed installation, you can simply get a no-name brand for about €100 (around $110) and be done. But everyone has different needs, and that’s perfectly fine.

Pwnage619 schrieb:

Since the new smart home standard Matter is coming out this year, which I think will become dominant in retrofit solutions, I want to prepare our new build for a later Matter upgrade.

I know those retrofit wireless solutions aren’t optimal (KNX is, of course, the ultimate standard), but unfortunately, you don’t always have the budget for the top of the line.

I think Matter will establish itself, but if not, I want to be able to install another system later, like Homematic IP, Zigbee, Z-Wave, EnOcean.

What do I need to tell the electrician to do in order to later install one of these retrofit smart home systems, preferably Matter with Thread?

Retrofit solutions—like the name says—are for retrofitting later. So it hardly matters what he does now. You can always integrate it somehow.

Pwnage619 schrieb:

Does the electrician need to do anything differently compared to conventional electrical work?

No. Personally, I would have paid an extra 100–200€ (around $110–$220) to install electronic mounting boxes behind the switches instead of the deep junction boxes.

Pwnage619 schrieb:

Or does the electrician not have to do anything differently, and I can just swap out a light switch, heating controller, and so on later, and attach window sensors to the windows and that’s it?

Yep. But don’t forget to change the batteries once a year. 😀

Pwnage619 schrieb:

Sorry, I have almost no knowledge of electrical work.

But I know someone who can swap out light switches and so on later (he has zero knowledge about smart home systems, he would just follow instructions).

I’ll be honest with you. Either you do it now or you’ll never do it. Personally, I like these little gadgets, but it’s definitely not a must-have. I imagine you just want to control a lamp with your phone or have the blinds close and the TV lighting turn on. Then just get Philips Hue later and you’re good. Easy to integrate and done... I doubt you would ever use even a fraction of KNX’s potential, so it’s probably a waste of money.

Matter is simply a wireless standard. It has just as little to do with smart homes as LTE or 5G have to do with a smartphone’s functionalities.

No one can tell you exactly what your electrician needs to “prepare.” It’s the same thing they have to do for all other wireless systems today = basically nothing. Whether a Shelly device is labeled “Matter certified” or similar markings are found on Zigbee-compatible devices doesn’t really matter.

Matter is like 5G—a wireless standard that all devices will understand. It doesn’t relate to the devices themselves. I just had to repeat that.

@danixf Thank you for your detailed reply.

I found a mistake in the first sentence: my electrician does NOT want to install KNX. And I really don’t know if I would fully utilize KNX anyway, plus KNX is quite expensive and requires a lot of effort for programming—lots of hassle and so on 😀

So can he install the standard electrical wiring, and I replace the switches later on?

What is important to me:
Roller shutter controls with window sensors
Heating with window sensors
Lighting
a few power outlets
and a video doorbell

Why the battery replacement? If there is power at the light switch or roller shutter switch, then they shouldn’t need batteries, but for window sensors, of course, the batteries need to be replaced.

What are electrical boxes?

One question about the bathroom: is there a reasonably priced bathroom online shop that also offers affordable installation of fixtures like the washbasin, mirrored cabinet, and vanity cabinet?

If you want a smart home system in a new build, then switch to an electrician who installs KNX rather than making compromises from the start. Whoever pays, calls the shots.

@Martial.white it’s not that simple because we bought the house from a developer and we are tied to their electrician

I don’t think I need KNX either, and the retrofit solution would probably be enough for me