ᐅ Preparing a Smart Home for Future Expansion (No Wireless/Cloud)

Well, I’m giving up on constantly securing the wires.

Numrollen schrieb:

Are there no common standard implementations?

Yes, definitely. It is common practice to create a room schedule that captures the individual requirements. Where and what kind of lighting, how it should be controlled and with which functions? Where and how many blinds with which (central) controls? Where and how many outlets with which functions and connected devices? What visualization needs exist and where? From which locations should manual control be possible? Which automations are desired, and what data is needed from where? Once these requirements are clearly defined, the next step is planning how to implement them as simply, cost-effectively, and future-proof as possible. For example, “lighting” ranges from simple 230V on/off to internally or externally dimmable fixtures, “smart” lights or LED strips, up to complex DALI systems integrated via a gateway. Only when all of this is clear can you start thinking about where cables need to be installed and where the other ends should terminate.

This is not a task for a weekend, even if you are already experienced.

Numrollen schrieb:

Are there any example wiring diagrams or reports based on experience?

Of course, there are some basic principles:
- All shutters/blinds are wired directly to the distribution board
- All light fixtures are wired to the distribution board
- Everywhere a sensor, switch, or flush-mounted device is planned, a green cable is installed—this is laid in an open ring from outlet to outlet
- Switchable or metered outlets require at least a dedicated phase in the distribution board or a separate cable

However, these guidelines only help to a limited extent. If you are already considering these details, then you are more than 90% done. But if you are just starting out, your available time won’t be sufficient to handle this yet.

It all sounds as if every house installation is reinventing the wheel because it’s so incredibly complex.

No, it’s not, but reading three pages is not enough either – even for a standard installation.

My ideas:
Bathroom/toilet lighting and music
Centralized roller shutter control (weather, time of day, heat/cold protection)
A sun (weather) sensor somewhere facing south, coming out of the wall?
Remote control of front door and garage door
Automated heating/cooling depending on weather
(Smoke detectors were not recommended to me, costs are high)
We have one shutter, to raise in strong wind.
Reduce some buttons in living/dining room or assign different functions (scenes?)
Outdoor area and living room lighting control with dimming/time schedules. If outdoor light is on = no driving access for the terrace roller shutter. If terrace roller shutter is down = lights off.

- Each roller shutter wired with a 5-conductor cable to the distribution board connected to a roller shutter actuator
- If door and window contacts are used then
a) connected via a local push-button interface (with a green conductor) or
b) via a binary input in the distribution board
- Weather stations are mostly connected via green conductors (but using line couplers should at least be considered)
- Motion detectors with green conductor
- Lighting I see as a sensitive topic:
a) DALI gateway controlling each light via 5-conductor cable (in my opinion only practical for dimming and I feel DALI is declining in relevance)
b) KNX with flush-mounted actuators in the ceiling (then 3 conductors + green conductor) – again mainly for dimming and color control
c) KNX with distribution board actuators (relays or dimmers) and corresponding cabling – great for on/off switching, but from an electrical engineering perspective not ideal for dimming
d) Gateway for Matter, Hue, etc., possibly switched via distribution board actuator (relay) using 3-conductor cable
- For music, I would probably use Wi-Fi depending on requirements; probably not sufficient for audiophiles – there are plenty of options available online
- Timers for fixed times are usually integrated in IP interfaces/routers (+ you can easily access them externally via Raspberry Pi or server) or via a ‘KNX small server’
- I don’t think the Gira smoke detector solution is bad but also not perfect (one with a KNX interface – green conductor – and connecting all others among themselves)
- Temperature sensors are often integrated in push-buttons (e.g., MDT GT2, etc.)
- Heating should hopefully not need regulation with underfloor heating and heat pump due to self-regulating effects; if needed, heating actuators exist (I would integrate these with green conductor directly at the heating manifold)
- ‘Outdoor area and living room lighting control...’ is only programmed in the logic engine (whether ‘KNX small server’ or external server)

AND AGAIN, this is partial knowledge I have gathered out of interest (so I do not guarantee accuracy, efficiency, etc. – and I welcome input from professionals with real expertise 😉 ) and it is much too brief to implement correctly in house construction.

The problem here is also that this has little to do with a typical standard installation. A standard installation simply doesn’t route everything back to the distribution board. Hybrid solutions usually don’t combine the best of both worlds but instead bring the problems from both.

Numrollen schrieb:

I just want to get recommendations from someone. Roller shutter with 2 wires to the light switch, from there 5 conductors (wires) going to the distribution board. Light and music from the ceiling, 4 conductors to the distribution board.
Are there any example wiring diagrams, for example from experience reports?

@Numrollen should slowly realize that with this basic setup or when asking such questions, not even a standard installation without KNX will work without expert help. In this case, I would consider having the existing electrician do a standard installation and at least install deep mounting boxes at the control points. That way, you can still retrofit some wireless or Wi-Fi system later if you want to automate certain things individually. Trying to implement KNX or other bus systems within the available time simply won’t work.

You can always put Home Assistant on top of this, which supports devices like Shelly very well. Just check what integrations are available and then select the devices you want. There are also solutions for door communication.

Yep. You either build traditionally or go fully Smart Home. But that usually means changing the electrician – for example, my electrician clearly said: We don’t do Smart Home. I think that’s fair.

As a middle ground, I actually see only installing deeper boxes and generally running network cables to the right places. It won’t be a proper Smart Home for sure, but you can automate some things, for example via Zigbee.

Numrollen schrieb:

Are there no common implementations?

One of the biggest advantages of KNX is that it allows tailor-made solutions from standard components. If you try to force it into “common” patterns, you end up with the well-known unnecessarily expensive click-and-clack installations using KNX components.

Numrollen schrieb:

For example, slowly dimming the lights based on the time of day—what do you need for that?

On the bus side: power supply, dimming actuator, time source (e.g., from the IP router), logic module (e.g., Raspberry Pi with appropriate software), green cable. If you also want manual control/trigger/stop, you need a touch sensor or push-button interface.
On the house side: electrical wires and light fixtures.

HeimatBauer schrieb:

I like that.

I think that’s a bad idea nowadays. But that’s just my opinion.