ᐅ Smart Home Control Systems: Providers and User Experiences?
Created on: 16 Jun 2015 15:07
T
tekci.mustafa
Hello dear members, I have been thinking about getting this smart home system for a while. I would like to know if any of you have something similar. What devices do you have connected, what do you control, what are your experiences, and which provider do you use? I’m not sure if it’s really necessary, but I’m a person who enjoys these kinds of gadgets. Money is not an issue for now.
The bus cable needs to be routed everywhere, to every outlet box that is installed... otherwise, you'll regret later that there’s no cable at the one perfect spot for something... and at 30 cents per meter (about 10 feet)... why even hesitate?
Theoretically, you could skip the bus cables at the light fixtures... unless you plan to use RGB or RGBW LEDs there at some point, in which case I would also run bus cable to those locations... of course, you could simply run 5x 1.5 mm² cables to the fixture and then control everything via DALI, but that adds another bus system, so whether that’s necessary is up to each person to decide...
Do you mean every switch box and its corresponding light? Because sockets don’t technically have associated lights.
I already explained this in the post: the topology is different. With conventional wiring, you usually have a circuit for 3, 4, or 5 lighting points where the phase is switched at the switch. This necessarily involves junction boxes due to the system design. With KNX, there are no junction boxes because switching happens directly in the distribution board.
The same applies for roller shutters: they have one cable = one circuit and are always powered. The switches then control moving the shutters up or down by switching phase to either up or down. With KNX, however, you need all five conductors from each shutter individually brought to the distribution board (or you use KNX actuators, but that’s a different topic).
On the power side, conventional wiring usually follows a tree structure, whereas KNX uses a star topology. Transforming a tree into a star is quite difficult, which is why I said it’s not really feasible.
Of course, you could use flush-mounted actuator technology everywhere, but that increases the cost by about a factor of ten.
Theoretically, you could skip the bus cables at the light fixtures... unless you plan to use RGB or RGBW LEDs there at some point, in which case I would also run bus cable to those locations... of course, you could simply run 5x 1.5 mm² cables to the fixture and then control everything via DALI, but that adds another bus system, so whether that’s necessary is up to each person to decide...
Simon_SH schrieb:
Run a bus cable in a star topology to every socket and its associated light, plus always a bus cable to places where extras might be installed later.
Do you mean every switch box and its corresponding light? Because sockets don’t technically have associated lights.
Simon_SH schrieb:
Here you say it’s not possible. Why do roller shutters and lights first work conventionally and later via bus? The crucial thing is that the bus is present on site, right?
I already explained this in the post: the topology is different. With conventional wiring, you usually have a circuit for 3, 4, or 5 lighting points where the phase is switched at the switch. This necessarily involves junction boxes due to the system design. With KNX, there are no junction boxes because switching happens directly in the distribution board.
The same applies for roller shutters: they have one cable = one circuit and are always powered. The switches then control moving the shutters up or down by switching phase to either up or down. With KNX, however, you need all five conductors from each shutter individually brought to the distribution board (or you use KNX actuators, but that’s a different topic).
On the power side, conventional wiring usually follows a tree structure, whereas KNX uses a star topology. Transforming a tree into a star is quite difficult, which is why I said it’s not really feasible.
Of course, you could use flush-mounted actuator technology everywhere, but that increases the cost by about a factor of ten.
Eichhoernchen schrieb:
How beginner-friendly do you consider Loxone? I'm not sure if I can manage it. But I don't really trust the RWE system; I think it's actually pretty useless...This claim—that the RWE system is useless—is quite bold. I wonder how someone can make such a statement? Just based on "belief"?
No: Of course, the RWE smart home system cannot compete with a wired KNX solution. That’s not what this system is designed for.
It delivers basic smart home functions. And it does so well and reliably. Up to complete integration of the heating system and (in my case: in the future) the solar system.
Comparing a system that costs a few hundred euros with a wired smart home solution that costs several thousand euros: you can do that. Yes. But you are clearly comparing apples and oranges.
So far, every smart home system has more or less the reputation of encouraging a hobbyist’s enthusiasm.
I think smart home is useful, and everyone can realize their solution according to their needs and budget.
Calling products that have proven to perform as specified "useless" strikes me as polemic and unprofessional. The system is relatively affordable and performs its tasks. It has now become very mature. For people with low demands who want to spend little money on such a system, it is a perfectly suitable choice. You can find out what it can and cannot do. If that’s not enough, you have to choose another system. It’s that simple.
If I hadn’t already had an RWE smart home in my previous rented apartment, I wouldn’t have even considered spending a few thousand euros on more or less pointless toys, running cables, etc. But even that: everyone has their own preference.
In my entire neighborhood, not a single person has any kind of smart home system, and everyone already thinks I’m crazy for having the RWE smart home.
Thorsten
T21150 schrieb:
It fulfills the basic functions of a heat pump. It does that well. And reliably...Well, unfortunately, that’s not the case. The relevant forums are full of frustrated RWE-SH owners... no one except you claims the whole system is rubbish... I just said it’s sufficient to satisfy the playful side.
Mycraft schrieb:
Well, unfortunately, it’s not like that—it doesn’t work. Relevant forums are full of frustrated RWE-SH owners... nobody except you claims the whole system is rubbish... I just said it’s sufficient to satisfy the playful side
Dear MyCraft,
I never said it was rubbish. I only quoted and referred to a previous post.
It may be true that some forums are full of complaints (I have intentionally avoided reading those about My Gekko and similar).
Strangely enough, I seem to be the exception: my system works—and it always has.
And it works well enough to satisfy my playful side while providing some real benefit. Just basic functionality. Nothing more. This is because I actually don’t really need such a system and am glad that basic features are provided for little money.
I am well aware of the differences compared to a high-end professional system. I didn’t just stumble into this myself.
Some need a Boeing 747, others are fine with a motor glider.
Thorsten
Here are some opinions on the matter:
Someone from Wilhelmshaven writes:
I’ve been through this. If you’re lucky, the stuff survives the warranty period.
Gradually, the wireless modules fail, and operation is only possible via the button.
Dimmers sometimes turn off by themselves.
Logic functions are very slow.
The sunshade function causes highly erratic behavior.
Another user:
Problem:
When I came back to a rather cold house after being away for two days, I saw that once again one of the thermostats in the north living room had lost connection. So, I wanted to remove the two units that were no longer in use from the system and replace them with two others from unused rooms. It should have been quite straightforward.
I logged in normally on the RWE control page, but things were already strange—long loading times, and I was logged out due to long inactivity (which normally happens after hours, not after 2 minutes). I logged in again and removed one thermostat, then the trouble started:
- Constantly being logged out because I was "inactive for too long."
- Sometimes, I had to wait a very long time for the control panel to load; sometimes it didn’t load at all, so I had to close the browser.
- Occasionally, I was prompted to send a file to RWE, which didn’t work and resulted in the error message "unexpected error."
etc.
Someone from Wilhelmshaven writes:
I’ve been through this. If you’re lucky, the stuff survives the warranty period.
Gradually, the wireless modules fail, and operation is only possible via the button.
Dimmers sometimes turn off by themselves.
Logic functions are very slow.
The sunshade function causes highly erratic behavior.
Another user:
Problem:
When I came back to a rather cold house after being away for two days, I saw that once again one of the thermostats in the north living room had lost connection. So, I wanted to remove the two units that were no longer in use from the system and replace them with two others from unused rooms. It should have been quite straightforward.
I logged in normally on the RWE control page, but things were already strange—long loading times, and I was logged out due to long inactivity (which normally happens after hours, not after 2 minutes). I logged in again and removed one thermostat, then the trouble started:
- Constantly being logged out because I was "inactive for too long."
- Sometimes, I had to wait a very long time for the control panel to load; sometimes it didn’t load at all, so I had to close the browser.
- Occasionally, I was prompted to send a file to RWE, which didn’t work and resulted in the error message "unexpected error."
etc.
Mycraft schrieb:
Are you referring to every switch box and its corresponding light? Because, in theory, there are no associated lights for the sockets.Yes, both end with "box," I just mixed that up mentally...Mycraft schrieb:
The same applies to roller shutters... each gets one cable = one circuit and is constantly powered... the switches control the raising and lowering by usually switching the live wire to either up or down... With KNX, however, you need all 5 wires from each roller shutter separately routed to the distribution board (or you use KNX actuators, but that’s another topic). On the power side, a conventional setup has a tree structure, while KNX uses a star topology... but it’s difficult to convert a tree to a star, so as I said, it’s not really feasible...If I have the cables routed in a star topology from the distribution board, would that work for roller shutters or lighting? Do KNX pushbuttons work as conventional switches as long as no logic is programmed – or not at all? Why do I need 5 wires from each roller shutter in the distribution board?
Thank you for your answers, they have already been helpful.
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