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Smart Home:cable or wireless?
A forward-looking planning can help you to make a decision.
Comfort, energy management, safety – relying on a Smart Home solution, the consumers can transform their property house or rental flat into an intelligent networked home.Choosing a cabled or a wireless solution, or a combination of both.Concretely:Would the customers like to control their home wireless via radio or WLAN or would a version with bus and network cabling be a better choice?Which are the main differences between the systems and which special features should potential users pay attention to?
Before you take any decision about the installation system to use, you should know which Smart Home applications you concretely want to use.At the same time, you should always have an eye on the future:Will the present home automation solutions also meet future requirements?Will it be possible to update the systems in the future?And will this be really necessary?After these preliminary considerations, you can decide which is the optimal technical implementation.
Wiring for new constructions or renovations and wireless solutions for rental flats?YES AND NO!
In both cases you should remember the following:to automate a house or an apartment, the devices must be integrated in a home network.In the wireless Smart Home solution, the sensors installed in the house or in the apartment ensure the wireless information transmission to a central radio server.The device switches, the so called actuators, execute the commands.The instructions can be directly sent to lamps, shutters or other electronic devices via radio server using a tablet or a smartphone.In the cabled version, the commands for the devices are forwarded via bus (Binary Unit System) cables, e.g. through KNX interfaces.The KNX system can be installed in parallel to the electric grid.Cables are laid in walls and ceilings, next to the electric cables.From here the commands are transmitted to lamps, music systems or other appliances.
If you are planning a new construction and want to install Smart Home applications (for lighting or safety) which can be used for many years, a wired solution could be a good idea.This is a future-proof investment, because you will never depend on changing wireless standards.On the other hand, a wireless solution can offer some benefits as regards multimedia applications even in a new construction, because the newest developments can be installed quickly and easily.The same applies when you want to connect only single comfort applications.
The general rule is: if you have to lay new cables for the energy supply of the appliances, you can use the existing infrastructure to make your home smarter, for example in case of renovation.If, at the contrary, you don’t need to open walls, a radio-base Smart Home solution generally requires a little installation effort.
In conclusion:
“Both systems may have their advantages”, answers the CEO of myGEKKO | Ekon GmbH when asked about the implementation of cabled or wireless Smart Home applications.In many cases, the perfect solution can be achieved with a combination of both systems.It depends on the individual needs and requirements of the Smart Home user.
Wiring for new constructions or renovations and wireless solutions for rental flats?YES AND NO!
In both cases you should remember the following:to automate a house or an apartment, the devices must be integrated in a home network.In the wireless Smart Home solution, the sensors installed in the house or in the apartment ensure the wireless information transmission to a central radio server.The device switches, the so called actuators, execute the commands.The instructions can be directly sent to lamps, shutters or other electronic devices via radio server using a tablet or a smartphone.In the cabled version, the commands for the devices are forwarded via bus (Binary Unit System) cables, e.g. through KNX interfaces.The KNX system can be installed in parallel to the electric grid.Cables are laid in walls and ceilings, next to the electric cables.From here the commands are transmitted to lamps, music systems or other appliances.
If you are planning a new construction and want to install Smart Home applications (for lighting or safety) which can be used for many years, a wired solution could be a good idea.This is a future-proof investment, because you will never depend on changing wireless standards.On the other hand, a wireless solution can offer some benefits as regards multimedia applications even in a new construction, because the newest developments can be installed quickly and easily.The same applies when you want to connect only single comfort applications.
The general rule is: if you have to lay new cables for the energy supply of the appliances, you can use the existing infrastructure to make your home smarter, for example in case of renovation.If, at the contrary, you don’t need to open walls, a radio-base Smart Home solution generally requires a little installation effort.
In conclusion:
“Both systems may have their advantages”, answers the CEO of myGEKKO | Ekon GmbH when asked about the implementation of cabled or wireless Smart Home applications.In many cases, the perfect solution can be achieved with a combination of both systems.It depends on the individual needs and requirements of the Smart Home user.