I had a number of requirements for my current building project (more on this in other articles), including the fact that I wanted to make the house "smart". As it was largely a new build, I opted for wired KNX technology. This was completely alien to both my architect and the electrician, so I first looked for an expert replacement to lay the cables. In addition to the KNX cables, the network cabling was also an issue, but that's another story.
I looked around for solutions at Light + Building and the Hager Easy approach seemed to me to be the right one. Why? I was told that an upgrade to "native" KNX was possible and that there was also IOT integration. With this information, the bus was then set up in the house, the actuators, sensors and switches ordered and the switches ordered. The Easy solution (TJA665 configuration server) was then used to identify the elements quite conveniently and wire them together virtually. This went very quickly and was then shown on a Hager display using the Domovea Server (TJA450). HUE components could also be integrated using the IOT Controller (TJA560).
So far, so good. But then came the big disillusionment for me. Unfortunately, it is not quite as flexible as I had thought, as non-Easy elements cannot be integrated without further ado (e.g. air-conditioning units, heating and domestic ventilation). Hager also announced - just after I had finished - a new Domovea series. And with that, any further development of the visualisation server and the IOT controller was then also discontinued.
This quickly led me to the decision to bring forward the move to "native" KNX (after just 6 months) and to look for a generic smart home platform. The KNX migration went relatively well after obtaining the ETS software license; I purchased an online course for this purpose, which I will describe separately. I looked at ioBroker, OpenHAB and Home Assistant as platforms and decided on Home Assistant for various reasons.
My conclusion: the decision for KNX was right for me, I would do it again. The decision for Hager Easy was only partly right, because it was a) too limited for me and b) I did not like the upgrade or change policy (there was probably none). I recommend to plan and implement immediately via ETS, because you can draw from the complete range of KNX providers and expand the system well.
P.S.: In the meantime, my electrician no longer relies on Easy, after he saw that the ETS programming is not sooo wild, if you deal with the matter conscientiously. Of course, it requires more planning in advance, but that's exactly what pays off in the long run.
Thanks for the interesting article. I also have an Easy installation, but only TJA665 and actuators. What else do I need to be able to access the BUS in the Home Assistant?
Hi Alex, to be able to access KNX via Home Assistant, you need a KNX-IP gateway. I used a very simple one from Weinzierl. I also reprogrammed the entire configuration using ETS. You then no longer need the TJA665.