Home Automation - decision
I am close to finish the house construction. I went to a KNX basic course and got KNX certification last month. I think going to KNX world was a good decision because:
- it is an open standard (apparently the only one to be European - CELENEC, international - ISO and recently adopted as national standard by China). It means the technology will survive no matter what happens with any manufacturer
- it is based on technology with some experience. Maybe it is 8 or so years old but the principles are there for around 30 years...
- it offers a range of products and applications to satisfy even the most pretending end users
- it is possible to link it with other systems such as EnOcean or DALI
On the dark side, I need to mention that most of it is used inside Germany where the most product range can be found and also sold. As a consequence the English documentation is less developed than German one. Another problem is that even if the devices follow similar principles they embody a vast range of functionality that require profound study of each one. This means the end user will need a specialist to receive advice from or be prepared to pay the similar price in order to discover the best solution alone.
My KNX system will cover a vast area of systems such as:
- heating/cooling management that involves automation of valves, A/C units and solar blinds. A weather station and various in house sensors are to be used as well
- lighting, with dimmers, stairs lights, presence detectors
- security, by using same sensors as security sensors or action devices when the security system is armed
- communication, shortly said, the ability to receive messages from the house and control it remotely (SMS, web, phone extensions)
- door entry system, it is not pure KNX but can be easily integrated. For both pedestrians and auto
- automatic gardening: measure the precipitation level and add necessary water by pumps...
The beauty is that in time more can be done with same or little additional devices.
Some of the manufacturers involved in my system: Gira, Siemens, Zennio, Theben, Agfeo, ABB, Hager
As a matter of last minute solution, check this link for multiroom audio. It is not KNX (yet) but I think it can be easily integrated via Gira HomeServer if the manufacturer will agree to offer an API toolkit: Sonos
After my 1 month vacation I believe I will be able to finish everything in another month. I already cabled and programmed the upper floor in several days. The basic things will be done very quickly. More time will require imagining and developing the smart functions.
House
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 3:45:16 AM (GTB Daylight Time, UTC+03:00) 
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