ᐅ Smart Home KNX Knowledge – Gira X1 with Alexa and Sonos – Request for Feedback

Hello everyone,

I only have very basic KNX knowledge and am gradually trying to learn more as we plan our house.

A quick question for the experts:

Am I correct in understanding that Gira is planning updates this year to make Alexa and Sonos directly compatible with the X1? So, Alexa would work indirectly via the S1, and the Sonos system would connect directly?

Both are already present in our current household, and if they could be integrated in a reasonably straightforward way, I wouldn’t mind at all.

Perhaps a related question… if we plan KNX in our house and don’t want a high-end solution (lighting, blinds, sockets), the X1 should be sufficient for me, right? Or are there significant reasons to justify the much higher price of the homeserver?

Thanks in advance!

No, there are no special reasons for the home server... this is a Ferrari... but some people just need that.

Alexa and Sonos + KNX have been working together for a long time without Gira, and quite easily as well. In other words, the X1 is not necessarily a must-have.

Sorry for the link, I sent it too quickly and it was removed.

@Mycraft Thanks for the reply. I still don't quite understand the X1. From what I've read so far, I think it could be a good solution for us (completely separate from Alexa and Sonos).

Regarding Alexa and Sonos: to integrate Sonos or Alexa, don’t you need additional components (e.g., a gateway) or some DIY work (e.g., Edomi)?

So if I’m already leaning towards the X1, wouldn’t that save me quite a bit of effort?

You need a system that allows the components to communicate with each other. The X1 can be used for this, but there are many other options as well.

For example: Hager IoT Gateway, Babtec App Module, Savant, and so on.

In the KNX world, there is rarely only one single solution.

Thanks for the information... I will continue researching.

I connect everything through smarthomeNG, for example Alexa, AVM, iRobot, Denon, and so on.