Loxone - Here we go

THE ALM · 27-02-2019 12:19pm #1

As mentioned in previous threads we have numerous different automation systems running in the house which include - Hive, Hue, Smartthings, Home Assistant, Kasa, Harmony, Google Home, IFTTT - and while all are great I felt it would be much simpler to try and do all locally through one system.

I spend a bit of time on the above making sure they all work and are kept updated for Miss ALM but if the worst came to the worst and I was not there in the morning, then I think it would not be long before a simple switch would be greatly appreciated, Miss ALM certainly doesn't have the interest in running all of the above.

Looking around at what is available I decided to go with Loxone as, I think, I will be able to get all the functionality we have in this one system. Can control all locally, add switches to control different things with the press of a button, and can expand the system with protocols such as 1-wire, DMX, RS485, Modbus etc.

Luckily we are in a Bungalow with reasonable access for wiring etc. so I can run all the cables myself and then get an electrician to check everything and make any connections to the main consumer unit. I can leave the existing cables in place so if we ever move it shouldn't be a big job to take all with us.

I have been playing around with the Loxone config software and getting used to the logic of it with a view to the setup we hope to have and will test all before any final fix.

To start with I have the following picked up on sales, ebay etc which should cover basic lighting and monitoring and then look to expand going forward:-

Loxone miniserver, DMX & 1Wire extensions
Meanwell 24v power supply
DMX 24V 24 channel dimmer controller - will use this for led lighting primarily
DMX 240v 2 channel dimmer - we currently have the dining and kitchen lighting (16x gu10) on one switch so going to use this to separate those out to be independent of each other.
10m 24v led strip
1-wire temperature sensors
Dimmable GU10 bulbs

Lox.jpg

jmBuildExt · 28-02-2019 4:37pm

Fair play! You'll have a lot of wiring to do

...
If i died in the morning my missus would be happy to go back to switches

THE ALM · 28-02-2019 6:01pm

jmBuildExt wrote: »

Fair play! You'll have a lot of wiring to do

...
If i died in the morning my missus would be happy to go back to switches

Thanks, yip a bit of work ahead :eek:

So far so good. Bit of a test setup wired according to how I had the config software programmed in advance of the loxone etc gear arriving and all working as expected, bit of bother recognising the dmx controller, an error on my part.

Multi click switch giving the different scenes with the led lighting and temp sensor reporting ok.

Impressed with the software and where I expect all the time learning will be spent, liking how it is linked to the app.

Need to have a chat with the electrical wholesalers about an enclosure and waiting on a couple of cheap dmx controllers on the slow boat from china.

THE ALM · 01-03-2019 3:43pm

Picked up an enclosure for testing, will have to sort something a bit bigger as this will soon fill up with a few more extensions and cabling, will do for testing. IMG_20190301_132058.jpg

Rigged up a switch and a few led strips which will ultimately be going into the bathroom, switch can be configured to turn these on in any combination and in any colour (switch can be programmed to do anything) , masking tape on the strips is only for identification purposes as I have these cut to size for the bathroom, short video https://photos.app.goo.gl/sSe4B2TS4zRd4PuC8

Have also a temp sensor attached which will be left in the enclosure to see how the temp is when cover put on.

Impressed so far, good piece of kit

wexfordman2 · 02-03-2019 10:00am

THE ALM wrote: »

Picked up an enclosure for testing, will have to sort something a bit bigger as this will soon fill up with a few more extensions and cabling, will do for testing. IMG_20190301_132058.jpg

Rigged up a switch and a few led strips which will ultimately be going into the bathroom, switch can be configured to turn these on in any combination and in any colour (switch can be programmed to do anything) , masking tape on the strips is only for identification purposes as I have these cut to size for the bathroom, short video https://photos.app.goo.gl/sSe4B2TS4zRd4PuC8

Have also a temp sensor attached which will be left in the enclosure to see how the temp is when cover put on.

Impressed so far, good piece of kit

Really interesting, look forward to more info as it progresses. I looked at loxone when putting my system in, but went another direction with velbus, but loxone looks really good .

Any idea of pricing for that hardware, maybe breaking it down to a cost per circuit ?

THE ALM · 02-03-2019 12:11pm

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Really interesting, look forward to more info as it progresses. I looked at loxone when putting my system in, but went another direction with velbus, but loxone looks really good .

Any idea of pricing for that hardware, maybe breaking it down to a cost per circuit ?

Thanks, as I say pleased so far although only small scale at the minute.

I think it looks pricey when looking at the items on there own but if I was to add up all that was spent on all the different systems (hive, hue, smartthings...)that we have then we could have paid for it all and had change left over.

The Miniserver generally retails at about €530. I picked one up on ebay and probably knocked €100 off that, was brand new with seal still intact. That gives you 8 relay outputs and 4 analog outputs, 8 digital and 4 analog inputs. You could probably run an apartment or small house on that alone at about €50 a circuit.

The extension I will probably get most use from is the DMX, approx €285, and this can run 128 channels. The 24v 24 channel controller was approx €60 (would have been cheaper from China) and that is going to run 8xRGB strips and have two 240v 2channel controllers on the way from China, about €30. That is working out at just over €13 per channel. Can add DMX relays to this as well at about €3.50 per channel. If I was to utilise all 128 channels on lighting and relays then the price starts to really come down and you are probably looking at €6-7/channel.

The 1-wire extension is €180 and will run 20 sensors and sensors can be picked up for about €1 so approx €10/ sensor.

If totalling all the above and assuming full price is paid (luckily I didn't) then it is working out at about €18/ per lighting or sensor. If I was to make full use of all dmx and 1-wire channels then this comes down significantly.

The big thing with this will be adding inputs as I think the loxone extensions are a bit pricey for what they are. Better value at half the price with more connections would be the Railduino, which looks like an interesting bit of kit and gives me a good selection of inputs and outputs. There 1-wire sensors look good also, although designed for a particular switch, as they give temp, humidity and lux. I would imagine I could use a modified blanking plate with these.

To me Loxone is a good system and the config software is great (I have a lot to learn with it) but it is pricey if sticking to using it alone, the savings come when adding DMX, 1-wire etc. and buying controllers and sensors elsewhere. I am also saving in that I will be doing most of the work which makes a big difference.

As I move forward with this then the other systems that I have will become redundant and these will be moved on to family and friends or sold to offset some of the cost.

THE ALM · 24-03-2019 3:45pm

Small update.

Have test rig installed in the house with the power supply fed through a rcd on the main distribution board, 5 min job for the electrician as I had the cables in place.

Four led strips positioned in bathroom, waiting on some aluminium profiles to finish off install, and wiring all connected. Main bathroom next door to utility room where control panel is so not a major job thankfully. These are now all controlled through the retractive switch cycling through different scenes depending on the click of the switch. Trying to work out how to also dim the different scenes with the same switch, just haven't figured it out yet.

One of the 1-wire temperature sensors set up and reporting temp back ok. Will extend this out with the other temp sensors around the house and see how these behave.

Doing another bit of testing this morning before work and now have the same switch controlling the hue lights, happy days

. Early days with this and a lot of work to do but at least it is working. It didn't initially, so guessing the miniserver took a bit of time to create link with Hue.

Also have same switch controlling the enigma2 freesat box so a bit of investigating to see what commands I can set up with this, again happy out that it is working and it gives me a lot of functionality.

I should be able to control the Denon AVR but haven't got that far yet. Maybe, like Hue, it needs a bit of time to activate? More testing required.

Dark Sky set up for Weather reporting and this could be linked in with heating control for weather compensation. Currently using Hive so no major rush on this job. When Hive was originally installed the electrician had to add a couple of relays in order to have Hive working and these are connected back to the Hive control panel. My thinking would be that I could bypass the control panel and have the relays controlled directly through the miniserver, will need a bit of advice with this down the line. With the 1-wire sensors and dark sky this should give me good heating control.

Got the 240v dmx dimmers from China so the next job with be splitting the the kitchen and dining room lights. Currently open plan with one switch controlling all 16 gu10's. Plan will be to have this as two separate banks of eight with dimmable bulbs or may replace the 8 on the dining side with one pendant type light over the dining table, discussion to be had with Miss Alm! Would be good to get rid of some drafty gu10's.

TV to old to be controlled through the miniserver but I should be able to connect this to one of the TP-Link HS110 and send HTTP commands to turn this plug on or off. Found a list of the commands possible on-line so these should be able to be incorporated.

So in theory now I could have the switch at the front door and when we come in of an evening we would be able to press this once at set the lighting scene and turn on the tv and av equipment :cool:

Atomic Pineapple · 25-03-2019 11:54am

This sounds really interesting. Do you know if it can be used with a third party video doorbell? I know Loxone has one but it's huge and looks horrendous, if the system can be integrated into another one I would be interested in this sort of setup myself.

THE ALM · 25-03-2019 12:28pm

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

This sounds really interesting. Do you know if it can be used with a third party video doorbell? I know Loxone has one but it's huge and looks horrendous, if the system can be integrated into another one I would be interested in this sort of setup myself.

From reading up Doorbird seems to be the way to go as it is fully supported in Loxone, good blog here regarding it. Maybe something like the D101S which I have bookmarked on Amazon to see if it drops in price.

THE ALM · 07-04-2019 3:55pm

Not much of an update, getting time is the main constraint.

Few more of the temp sensors now connected and reading temps around the house, hot water cyclinder etc.

Can now read commands from an RPi running Libreelec into the miniserver, so now if watching a movie I can now set a lighting scene e.g (could as much be heating, closing blinds) automatically. These can be triggered if the movie is paused, resumed, started or stopped (amongst others) and I will have the lights dim, brighten, turn off or on.

Denon AVR now also connected so this can also be controlled by a switch or by a movie starting and setting the AVR to the right input and sound settings.

Pulling Cat cable has been tight in some conduits so picked up a set of rods to help with this. I could pull the existing cable out but don't want to do this is case we sell up and bring the Loxone with us so have left them as is.

As things are added and set up on the miniserver you can also organise these to appear on the Loxone app so will look to set a cheap tablet and install it in the house for some centralised control.

Have added Loxone to node-red which I have running on another RPi with home-assistant. This gives me the option to use anything I have set up on home-assistant (smartthings, hive, sensors) to control loxone as well so giving me the best of both worlds.

THE ALM · 28-08-2019 11:02am

A bit further on with the Loxone integration.

Had been concentrating on getting the FTTH installed (a bigger job than envisaged with hiring excavators and whatnot) and adding a data cabinet to the attic, jaysus it would swelter you up there, fair play to those doing that as a living! Added a 1-wire temp sensor to the cabinet so can monitor that.

Noticed when changing a battery on the smoke alarm that it was out of date so went looking at alternatives and also to add a second carbon monoxide alarm to the utility as we have a indoor boiler.

When doing a bit of research I looked at the EI Electronics lineup and found these products IMG_20190827_154345.jpg. These can be interlinked so one will set off the other in the event of an emergency and by adding the relay base it will allow me to add an input to loxone. With the input, should the alarm be triggered, it will now activate the lights and send an email should i be away from home and will be able to trigger various events if required. Nice that these are Irish products and the neighbouring electrical wholesaler does them.

I also added a couple of Ikea/Sonos speakers for the bedroom and kitchen. So now have a double retractive switch in the bedroom which controls the lighting and the speakers, Loxone have a Sonos virtual output built in.

THE ALM · 12-10-2019 12:47pm

Another step forward with this.

Had a very basic alarm system in the house which needed a bit of an upgrade so had a look at systems compatible with Loxone.

Looking at the Loxone config they have Texecom built in with control through RS232 and a look at Texecom and various forums it seems a good system with lots of options and communication protocols available.

Picked up a Texecom Premier Elite kit giving the option of wireless and wired and with a cheap FDTI serial adapter I had lying around I now have this connected to Loxone.

This now gives me the option to use the sensors of the alarm panel to trigger various actions in Loxone e.g. using the pir's to bring on lights, send notifications etc and a better alarm than was previously installed.

With the pir's of the alarm at €10-15 this is a cheap way to adding sensors to Loxone.

Toolguy · 21-11-2019 5:32pm

Was looking at the NFC touchpad (put pricey) for setting and unsetting the alarm (locating this inside the front door). I suppose a touchpad could work, but I'd rather a keypad. Interesting that you used the Texecom, and how it worked out for. I only have Cat6 and power to the location, and won't be able to run a 232. Was it hard to pair Loxone with Texecom wirelessly? Thanks.

THE ALM · 21-11-2019 6:25pm

Toolguy wrote: »

Was looking at the NFC touchpad (put pricey) for setting and unsetting the alarm (locating this inside the front door). I suppose a touchpad could work, but I'd rather a keypad. Interesting that you used the Texecom, and how it worked out for. I only have Cat6 and power to the location, and won't be able to run a 232. Was it hard to pair Loxone with Texecom wirelessly? Thanks.

Texecom is working well as a stand alone alarm panel and integrated into Loxone.

Sensors, both wireless and wired, working to trigger various automations in Loxone.

I know Texecom do a smartcom module for the alarm panel but I haven't seen has anybody managed to connect this to Loxone wirelessly, I did look at it.

When you say that you won't be able to run RS232 do you mean at the location? The RS232 extension would go in the cabinet that you are housing Loxone and then a 3 core cable would run to the Texecom alarm panel where you need the additional RS232 interface, this is just a communication protocol between the two. (Maybe you mean the location is where your alarm panel would go and the CAT6 runs back to the Loxone cabinet). I have the loxone and Texecom side by side so not an issue.

You could look at adding a 1-wire iButton reader at the location with a iButton keyfob to arm and disarm. You could use the CAT6 then for both the RS232 and 1-wire as you would only need 6 cores.

Another option would be to use the Loxone Air for the NFC touchpad but you loose some of the functionality with the battery powered touchpad and , as you say, pricey.

You could mount a tablet anywhere and arm and disarm with the loxone app.

I am looking at options also for the arming and disarming in Loxone as I am currently just using my phone app and will most likely mount a tablet centrally to control all functions. Getting cable to a suitable location for iButton or the NFC touchpad is problematic for me without chasing walls.

Toolguy · 22-11-2019 11:39am

Initially my plan was to use the NFC Code Touch to arm and disarm, but I'm not sure about the styling of it, and, it is pricey for what it is.

The reason I wondered about the Texecom, and it's integration, was that I could use their wireless window sensors, rather than Loxone's (I do have HKC door sensors wired back to the Loxone Mini Server). From the wall where I want to locate the panel, I have Cat6 and 2-core signal. I suppose I could use the Cat and the RS232 interface, as you say. The iButton is a good idea, but mightn't be practical with kids, etc. Although, if they lose their fob they've probably lost their key as well. Yeah, I'll have a think on that one.

On the tablet, I do have an iPad mounted on the kitchen wall, using an iWallDock. This has worked out well, and looks the part. The plan is to use it for Loxone heating control, but the alarm could be set off here too.

There are a few things you set me thinking about now, thanks. Have you seen anywhere Loxone being used for gate access, btw? I was going to go with a Hikvision system, but it would be nice to have it all integrated.

THE ALM · 22-11-2019 12:29pm

Toolguy wrote: »

Initially my plan was to use the NFC Code Touch to arm and disarm, but I'm not sure about the styling of it, and, it is pricey for what it is.

The reason I wondered about the Texecom, and it's integration, was that I could use their wireless window sensors, rather than Loxone's (I do have HKC door sensors wired back to the Loxone Mini Server). From the wall where I want to locate the panel, I have Cat6 and 2-core signal. I suppose I could use the Cat and the RS232 interface, as you say. The iButton is a good idea, but mightn't be practical with kids, etc. Although, if they lose their fob they've probably lost their key as well. Yeah, I'll have a think on that one.

On the tablet, I do have an iPad mounted on the kitchen wall, using an iWallDock. This has worked out well, and looks the part. The plan is to use it for Loxone heating control, but the alarm could be set off here too.

There are a few things you set me thinking about now, thanks. Have you seen anywhere Loxone being used for gate access, btw? I was going to go with a Hikvision system, but it would be nice to have it all integrated.

The reason I went with the Texecom was because a) we needed a new alarm system b) it is natively supported with Loxone c) it gives me cheap sensors. Texecom gives lots of options and seems to be constantly developed so seemed like a good option to me.

I haven't seen anywhere of Loxone being used for gate access so not much help to you there although they do have a garage/gate block in the config so obviously doable.

Looking at options a Shelly 2.5 might work for you as this could be controlled by setting up a virtual input and controlled by HTTP commands. I will probably get one or two to mess around with and see how they work.

Glad the iPad is working well, must get round to mounting a tablet for Loxone control and because I also have Reolink cameras viewable in Loxone it would be handy for quick access.

THE ALM · 30-11-2019 11:48am

Have a couple of sonoff mini's and shelly 2.5 & 1pm on the way to play around with and add to Loxone.

My aim will be to replace the hive heating with these to control through Loxone, just two circulating pumps and the boiler to control so two of the above should do it, the one 2.5 may also be enough.

Trying to find specs for the boiler and pump it looks like the boiler is on a 5amp breaker and the pumps draw 0.38amps max.

THE ALM · 13-12-2019 12:53pm

Sonoff_Mini.jpg

Next project over the holiday period, flashed with Tasmota which thankfully was a fairly painless process once the flashing tool had picked them up, took several attempts.

Hopefully just a simple process of adding them to the local network and then controllable through Loxone.

Plan on adding these for heating control. Have Hive which has been running fine, just trying to get everything under the one system.

THE ALM · 14-12-2019 12:10pm

Looks like I could be busy Shelly.jpg with these arriving this morning.

Templates for the Shelly devices exist on the loxwiki so only really a matter of importing these and setting the IP address.

Got the Sonoff on the local network yesterday evening and set up on Loxone. No outputs connected yet but have them set up as I would when connected for the heating and hot water and testing to see if they power on and off as I would expect over the coming days. Can cross check these with the Hive system at present.

Have 1-wire temp sensors in various rooms and on the hot water cyclinder combined with a schedule to drive the boiler and either or both circulating pumps.

THE ALM · 02-01-2020 4:17pm

Happy New Year, hope it is a happy and healthy one for you all.

Completed the heating setup over the festive break and thankfully a fairly straight forward process and has been running away happily for the last 10 days or so.

Using the Shelly 2.5 to drive the two circulating pumps and the Shelly 1PM to drive the boiler. Setup a bit of logic in the Loxone config, Heating_Config.JPG, that has a schedule combined with readings from the 1-wire temp sensors to fire the boiler and/or heating and/or hot water. Also added a simple virtual switch that can boost these for a set time if needed. Where the old heating timer was located I will add a simple 2 way retractive switch that can also be used to boost these.

Can pull the readings from the shelly to see if it is on or off and the power being consumed, pumps running at 45w and the boiler 100w when firing.

guy101 · 09-01-2020 5:29pm

THE ALM wrote: »

Happy New Year, hope it is a happy and healthy one for you all.

Completed the heating setup over the festive break and thankfully a fairly straight forward process and has been running away happily for the last 10 days or so.

Using the Shelly 2.5 to drive the two circulating pumps and the Shelly 1PM to drive the boiler. Setup a bit of logic in the Loxone config, Heating_Config.JPG, that has a schedule combined with readings from the 1-wire temp sensors to fire the boiler and/or heating and/or hot water. Also added a simple virtual switch that can boost these for a set time if needed. Where the old heating timer was located I will add a simple 2 way retractive switch that can also be used to boost these.

Can pull the readings from the shelly to see if it is on or off and the power being consumed, pumps running at 45w and the boiler 100w when firing.

Hey,
I’m looking into systems at the moment. And will most likely be going with the same setup as you.
Hope you don’t mind me asking a few questions?

What DMX controllers are you using?
Are you using retractive switches as inputs?
Have you looked into any KNX hardware? Have my eye on a few KNX touch panels.
Have you considered the Shelly 4 pro?

THE ALM · 09-01-2020 6:27pm

guy101 wrote: »

Hey,
I’m looking into systems at the moment. And will most likely be going with the same setup as you.
Hope you don’t mind me asking a few questions?

What DMX controllers are you using?
Are you using retractive switches as inputs?
Have you looked into any KNX hardware? Have my eye on a few KNX touch panels.
Have you considered the Shelly 4 pro?

Hi guy101,

No problem with the questions, will try and answer as best I can.

In terms of DMX. I have been using the likes of this for led strip lights for the last few months without problems and planning on replacing some kitchen downlights and controlling with these, which have been testing ok. Mention on forums on some people having problems with the likes of these cheaper dmx controllers and to get one or two spare just in case.

Using retractive switches and got a few of these, they are cheap and work although if I was starting from scratch I might look at alternatives, I think there would be ones with a better feel/click motion to them. I see these mentioned a bit and the look good. If you had a good electrical wholesalers nearby it would be worth a visit to get a feel for different ones.

I have looked at knx but that is all so can't really offer much advice on that side of things. If looking to implement a lot of knx then you are looking at purchasing the ETS5 software as you are limited with the demo version, if it is only a few touch panels you might get away with this. As I am retrofitting running several different cables limits me to an extent.

Don't have the Shelly 4Pro, might be a purchase down the line. Happy with the shelly products I have and the 4Pro should be no different. I don't use the cloud service and just run them locally and plan on wiring up a few more now that they have been running fine with the heating.

I have just also added voice control with Alexa, home assistant and node-red which is working well although I try to automate most things with sensors etc. but nice to have the option.

guy101 · 09-01-2020 8:52pm

THE ALM wrote: »

Hi guy101,

No problem with the questions, will try and answer as best I can.

In terms of DMX. I have been using the likes of this for led strip lights for the last few months without problems and planning on replacing some kitchen downlights and controlling with these, which have been testing ok. Mention on forums on some people having problems with the likes of these cheaper dmx controllers and to get one or two spare just in case.

Using retractive switches and got a few of these, they are cheap and work although if I was starting from scratch I might look at alternatives, I think there would be ones with a better feel/click motion to them. I see these mentioned a bit and the look good. If you had a good electrical wholesalers nearby it would be worth a visit to get a feel for different ones.

I have looked at knx but that is all so can't really offer much advice on that side of things. If looking to implement a lot of knx then you are looking at purchasing the ETS5 software as you are limited with the demo version, if it is only a few touch panels you might get away with this. As I am retrofitting running several different cables limits me to an extent.

Don't have the Shelly 4Pro, might be a purchase down the line. Happy with the shelly products I have and the 4Pro should be no different. I don't use the cloud service and just run them locally and plan on wiring up a few more now that they have been running fine with the heating.

I have just also added voice control with Alexa, home assistant and node-red which is working well although I try to automate most things with sensors etc. but nice to have the option.

Thanks a million for this.

I was looking at going with the modular legrand or MK switch route (I’m a bit ocd about everything matching).
Some of the ranges aren’t as pricey as you’d think from wholesalers here. Even cheaper in the UK.

Yeah, from what I’ve read, KNX might be too much of a headache. I’d only be interested in using a few KNX touch panels. The KNX stuff seems to be the best range going in terms of looks and reliability. Perhaps a project for down the road!

Thanks for the link. That’s exactly what I’m after. Just ordered a few to test.
The place will need a full rewire so will be wiring everything back to a central point. And use DMX controllers/ Shelly Pro’s for all lighting. Still undecided if I should bother doing the same with every socket. Or groups of sockets.
At least I’ll be able to chop and change this stuff with everything in one place.

Yeah I definitely want a voice assistant! I’d imagine I’d use this a lot.
Although I’m not a fan of amazon. When I looked into it briefly before I came across on open source project called Mycroft (they had me at the trigger word to be honest!)
But haven’t messed around with it yet.

Thanks again!
Still getting my head around a solid plan so I may be back to you with a few more questions : )
It’s just not very often when researching this stuff you find someone in Ireland with the same setup you’re after!!

wexfordman2 · 09-01-2020 9:31pm

Hi,

On the retroactive/momentary wall switches, have a look at click minigrid

https://www.click4electrics.co.uk/click-mini-grid-plate-modules-c-328_518/

I used these, and they are stunning, look and work like normal.light switches, loads of styles, screwless, and the minigrid actually allows you to mix and match different types of switches (eg, momentary and latched) within the one wall switch.

Didnt buy them from the above link, it's just to show the options, no affiliation.

THE ALM · 10-01-2020 12:53pm

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Hi,

On the retroactive/momentary wall switches, have a look at click minigrid

https://www.click4electrics.co.uk/click-mini-grid-plate-modules-c-328_518/

I used these, and they are stunning, look and work like normal.light switches, loads of styles, screwless, and the minigrid actually allows you to mix and match different types of switches (eg, momentary and latched) within the one wall switch.

Didnt buy them from the above link, it's just to show the options, no affiliation.

they look good, can make a difference having a nice feeling switch.

THE ALM · 10-01-2020 2:04pm

guy101 wrote: »

Thanks a million for this.

I was looking at going with the modular legrand or MK switch route (I’m a bit ocd about everything matching).
Some of the ranges aren’t as pricey as you’d think from wholesalers here. Even cheaper in the UK.

Yeah, from what I’ve read, KNX might be too much of a headache. I’d only be interested in using a few KNX touch panels. The KNX stuff seems to be the best range going in terms of looks and reliability. Perhaps a project for down the road!

Thanks for the link. That’s exactly what I’m after. Just ordered a few to test.
The place will need a full rewire so will be wiring everything back to a central point. And use DMX controllers/ Shelly Pro’s for all lighting. Still undecided if I should bother doing the same with every socket. Or groups of sockets.
At least I’ll be able to chop and change this stuff with everything in one place.

Yeah I definitely want a voice assistant! I’d imagine I’d use this a lot.
Although I’m not a fan of amazon. When I looked into it briefly before I came across on open source project called Mycroft (they had me at the trigger word to be honest!)
But haven’t messed around with it yet.

Thanks again!
Still getting my head around a solid plan so I may be back to you with a few more questions : )
It’s just not very often when researching this stuff you find someone in Ireland with the same setup you’re after!!

As you are doing a full rewire it gives you options and if you can bring it back to a central area all the better, a solid plan is definitely the key. Getting all the various wiring in place at this stage is probably the most vital bit of the job.

Is this your long term house? If not you will also need to consider that, if you moved on, the new occupants will either be a) happy to learn all the automation stuff or b) you can take it all out easily and return everything to simple standard electrical layout. We wouldn't be sure that the house we are in will be long term (too big for us to be honest and we always had the desire to build our own (fools that we are)) so I am trying to run extra cables in the existing conduits which leads to its own problems and limits what is possible although thankfully it is a bungalow which makes it somewhat easier.

If you are only looking at knx for touch panels it may be simpler to allow for a couple of cheap ipads/tablets that you can install at various locations during the rewire. The app works well and allows for a good bit of customisation in the config, works well also if viewing cameras.

Check how many digital inputs you will be needing as the miniserver only allows for 8 and the DI extensions adds another 20 but works out expensive if adding a lot, you could use the 8 alone in controlling a couple of rooms. There are other options so worth checking out at this stage. The likes of the Railduino gives you a lot of options for the money and for inputs the Ether IO72 is used quite a bit.

In terms of voice assistant we are mainly a google house and just have the one echo dot. There are ways to get google working but it is a bit of a workaround and alexa was simple enough to set up on home assistant.

THE ALM · 10-02-2020 4:02pm

Interesting little board to add to the setup.

Pokeys.jpg

This can give you 55 digital inputs or outputs. Can read various analog and digital sensors, I2C and 1-wire so very versatile.

Can be read over Modbus TCP so easy to connect to Loxone.

rob w · 25-02-2020 10:47am

Hi,

Have been lurking on this thread for a while as I am considering what type of home automation, if any, to implement in a new house we hope to be moving to shortly!

I have been doing lots of research on Loxone and was going to go ahead and wire for that and build the system up slowly by buying bits and pieces from their webshop.

However, I contacted Loxone this week only to be told that they are closing their webshop off to the public from the end of this week (28th Feb) – selling only to Loxone Partners and 'VAT registered business' from that date onwards! So I am reconsidering now as I dont want to have to hire a Loxone partner in as I would have gone DIY similar to yourself.

Just wanted to flag that about the webshop incase you need to order some equipment before it closes! I dont know what to do now regarding my own system, looks like I am going back to the drawing board!

THE ALM · 26-02-2020 11:15am

rob w wrote: »

Hi,

Have been lurking on this thread for a while as I am considering what type of home automation, if any, to implement in a new house we hope to be moving to shortly!

I have been doing lots of research on Loxone and was going to go ahead and wire for that and build the system up slowly by buying bits and pieces from their webshop.

However, I contacted Loxone this week only to be told that they are closing their webshop off to the public from the end of this week (28th Feb) – selling only to Loxone Partners and 'VAT registered business' from that date onwards! So I am reconsidering now as I dont want to have to hire a Loxone partner in as I would have gone DIY similar to yourself.

Just wanted to flag that about the webshop incase you need to order some equipment before it closes! I dont know what to do now regarding my own system, looks like I am going back to the drawing board!

Seems to have been heading that way as the US site has been like that for a while, I would imagine the diy market is a small percentage of there business.

Reading on the Google Loxone forum it seems there are Partners that are willing to sell the product direct to consumers although I don't see any listed in Ireland, a couple in the North.

I imagine the biggest issue going forward would be support if a product develops a fault and who you turn to in this instance as there will be a bit of to'ing and fro'ing.

THE ALM · 25-05-2020 11:42am

Hope we are all keeping well out there in these strange times.

Have since added an air extension and some touch air switches IMG_20200525_113107.jpg. These have been handy where I haven't been able to get a cable to easily. They also have a temp and humidity sensors built in so great for the heating side of things giving me extra monitoring options. Currently using them to control various lighting inside and outside and for music control.

I have also repurposed a rpi3 which now runs loxberry so been having a play around with this. Using it to give me more control over Sonos and to feed weather data into Loxone. Loxone charge for the weather service but loxberry can be set up to provide the info. (Apple have bought Darksky so see how long this lasts)

Loxone - Here we go

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