The Best Home Automation System
The Best in Smart Homes
Here’s what we recommend as the best home automation system
There are a lot of options on the market when it comes to smart home products, so it can be a little bit overwhelming! We get it.
With advancements in technology and more devices around your home allowing for integration, it’s never been easier to join the world of smart homes. But the best devices aren’t just a passing trend – they’re future proof. If you want a stable, reliable and all-encompassing smart home, then you need to invest in layers of technology. Without a strong foundation, all of your devices will be controlled separately from many different apps, which is when automation begins to feel more like a burden than a convenience. The best home automation system will bring everything together so that it can all cross-communicate. In a home setting, this could mean that hitting one ‘Relax’ button in an area could dim the lights, shut the curtains, turn the fireplace on in Winter and play your favourite chill music playlist. But for this broader integration, you’re going to want to invest in world-class technologies and work with installers/programmers that have experience in them.
From working in the smart home industry for the last decade, we have now narrowed down our offerings to a select few technologies. We know these technologies to be reliable, stable and high performing. We have installed them in countless homes and have consistent positive feedback from our clients.
So, our answer to the question ‘what is the best home automation system?’ is KNX technology. Followed by C-Bus technology.
Let us explain…
A smart home or venue needs several key inclusions. First, there’s the physical automation-compatible features – the lighting, electric shades, audio-visual equipment, cameras, intercom etc.
Underlying those physical features there needs to be a building management system. This is what is wired around the home. It’s how elements in the building share information with each other. The best building management systems, in our opinion, are KNX and C-Bus. C-Bus is perfect for smaller systems with basic integrations. KNX is for full systems with a large amount of integrations.
Next, based on that BMS, a control system needs to be overlaid. This is the umbrella that all subsystems sit under. The control system is, as the name implies, how you control the building. It’s what you’ll interact with in the building via touchpanels and phones. In our opinion, 2 of the best control systems on the market are Savant Home & Basalte Home.
And finally, a smart building will have switches in each room that allow for quick control. These switches need to be compatible with the BMS and the control system. For C-Bus homes, we recommend the Clipsal Saturn Zen range. For KNX homes, we absolutely love the Ekinex 20Venti and Signum switches, and Basalte’s incredible range of controls.
Our Ultimate Smart Home System
Whilst the perfect smart home system will differ based on the individual and the budget, if you asked us to design our ultimate smart home, there are definitely some favourite products that we would choose. So, let’s outline everything we would include for the best home automation system.
For our ultimate smart home, we’d use KNX building management. This is because KNX allows for extensive integrations all controlled as one. KNX is a communication protocol that is used in automation to ensure that all devices and components of the system speak a common ‘language’. No matter what physical features are installed around the home, KNX means all these functions will work via an uniform system. This makes for seamless control. KNX technology is a reference in building control and many automation solutions currently in use today will have KNX innovation at their core, making it future proof, and incredibly broad, with thousands of integration, control system and switch options.
For our ultimate smart home, the control system and switch options we’d select to use with KNX would be from Basalte. This is because Basalte create some of the best products worldwide, with many incredible touchpanel and switch options available, in various stunning and high-end finishes. As well as a very user-friendly smartphone app to monitor and control the home from anywhere in the world. We would install a Basalte Ellie touchpanel in all of the main rooms of the home. This Ellie panel has a proximity sensor so it will wake upon approach, automatically displaying the overall control page of the room it is located in. However, each of these compact touchpanels can also control the entire home. Amazing. Basalte’s products have unmatched control capabilities in compact and stylish designs. Alongside these Ellie panels, we would also install Basalte Sentido, Fibonacci and Deseo switches. The touchpanel is for in-depth control whereas the switches allow for quick control upon entering or exiting a room. We would select the most suitable switch out of those 3 depending on which area it will be installed in. The Basalte switches are high-end in design, very user-friendly to use and unbelievably intelligent. A single switch can control a lot more than just the standard individual lights. Typically we program our Basalte switches with a ‘Bright’ and ‘Soft’ scene so all lights in the area will adjust to a bright or soft level with one button press. We also program a button on the switch to control all the blinds in the area at once. And we program an ‘Off’ button which turns off the lights, or a press and hold on the Off button shuts down everything in the room – lights, climate, music, etc. The Basalte switches also have built-in thermostats so there is no need to clutter the walls with further thermostats for climate control. Our ultimate smart home would be programmed to automatically take a temperature reading of each room and adjust the climate control accordingly to always keep the home at a comfortable level.
Clean Energy Systems
The best smart homes will be powered using renewable energy. Geothermal HVAC systems are one of the most sustainable ways to heat and cool a home, so our ultimate smart home will use renewable, geothermal energy, and automation would be used to manage this HVAC system so that it always runs in the most efficient way and the home is always at the perfect comfortable temperature. Solar energy is another great option for smart homes and one that we believe every new build should include, so our ultimate smart home would definitely have a great solar array with a battery. This solar system would work alongside the geothermal HVAC to bring the home’s reliance on the grid and fossil fuels to an absolute minimmum. Ryelec are providers of solar energy systems, so we can install the best quality solar panels with micro inverters so all panels operate individually for the best overall results. We would also install a battery to store this solar energy for when solar generation is not possible. And to top things off, we’d add an electric vehicle charger so the energy-conscious homeowner can charge their electric vehicle at home using solar energy. This EV charger is programmed to regulate charging to not overload the circuit, so it will use the peak controller to adjust charging when other things in the home are drawing more power.
Smart Home Entertainment
Our ultimate smart home will of course feature automated entertainment with incredible audio-visual systems. For our best home automation system, this would mean smart TVs in all the media areas with Basalte Miro remotes to control them. The Basalte Miro remote features a user-friendly touchscreen design so it is vastly capable and high-end in design. It not only controls the audio-visual, but also the lights, shades and climate in the room. A universal remote.
Our ultimate smart home would have a next level home cinema, featuring a breath-taking sound system and high definition projector. The sound in the room would be engineered for the best results with room mapping to ensure absolute flawless surround sound.
For the sound system around the home, we would use a combination of Origin Acoustics and Sonance speakers. Inside the home, we’d install an invisible Sonance speaker in all the key areas. These invisible speakers are installed into walls or ceiling during construction and finished over the top by the builder. They are completely invisible but produce world-class sound quality. Home automation is all about refinement, so we wouldn’t want our ceilings to be cluttered by speaker grilles. Invisible speakers allow for incredible sound quality with absolutely zero visual intrusion. We would also use in-wall speakers, soundbars and speakers hidden in cabinetry for an epic home audio system. Outdoors, we would place Origin Acoustics garden speakers. They use burial subwoofers to achieve the ultimate boom without needing unsightly subwoofers placed around the garden. The Origin Acoustics satellite speakers or bollard speakers are discrete and stylish but produce impressive sound quality for such small designs whilst battling the outdoor elements. They are also directional for minimal neighbour disturbances. All of the speakers around the home, indoors and outdoors, can be played and controlled in individual zones, or grouped together to play the same music around the home. The music is easily controlled either from phones, smart remotes or from the wall-mounted touchpanels around the home. The best home automation system needs the best in smart speakers to match.
The Best in Home Security
Of course, the best smart home also needs a reliable security system to keep an eye on all the incredible features. For our ultimate smart home, we would go all-out on security. This would include automated access control with a Basalte or Doorbird intercom which alerts phones and touchpanels when someone is at the door and allows for a two-way conversation before allowing entry to the home. We would also place smart keypad entry devices at the other access points of the home such as side or back gates. We would program the home security with different access codes for different times of day. For example, if a cleaner comes at 11am on a Monday, then their code will only work around that time of the week. The system allows for monitoring of when these codes have been used. The garage doors and electric gates would be integrated into the system so they can also be monitored and controlled from phones or touchpanels.
We would also install a smart alarm system which is integrated with other security features of the home, such as the home lights strobing when an intruder is detected. This alarm detects danger in the form of intruders and also smoke or gas. It can be programmed to automatically alert authorities, or a panic button on the touchpanels can be pressed when necessary.
We would install reliable, high-definition security cameras outside the home to keep an eye on things. The cameras have the ability to zoom, tilt or pan and the footage can be reviewed. The cameras can be viewed on the wall-mounted touchpanels and also on phones.
Furthermore, we would install construction site security cameras to watch over this dream smart home while it is being built. Since there would be no one living on site yet, temporary construction site cameras keep all the expensive gear, materials and tools safe. After work hours, the cameras go into automatic patrol mode, sweeping the site and setting off a strobe and alarm if intruders are detected. The builder is alerted to this and can have a two-way conversation through the camera.
Further Smart Home Features
To top things off in our ultimate smart home, we would integrate all the pool equipment into the system so it can run automatically without the owner having to think about it. This includes the pool maintenance equipment and the cleaning equipment. The temperature of the pool and spa would be automatically controlled to always stay at the ideal level. These levels can be adjusted based on the time of year.
We would also tie in the irrigation system so that it runs automatically based on schedules that can be adjusted. And we’d go one step further by using a weather station which makes sure the irrigation system doesn’t run when it’s already been raining. A weather station is a small device installed on the roof which measures 9 different meteorological parameters and sends that data to the KNX system so that devices can react accordingly – shades, louvers, awnings, HVAC etc. It records wind speed and direction, precipitation, temperature, twilight, relative humidity, and air pressure. Four sensors determine brightness levels based on direction. It calculates the position of the sun at any time and then this can be used to automatically adjust blinds with precision throughout the day. This is particularly useful for climate control and energy efficiency, as the position of the blinds can be used to provide heating or cooling support.
The Best Home Automation System
So that lays out our ideal smart home system. While, of course, every project will be different, we know that KNX technology will always result in an incredible smart home and allow for whatever integration our clients are dreaming of. Using Basalte products ensures the system will be very user-friendly and reliable, and also allows our client to select the colour switches and panels that suit their style and match the rest of the home beautifully.
If you’d like to experience the different technologies for yourself, we have all the Basalte products on display at our Sydney showroom, along with our other favourites – Savant, Ekinex and Clipsal. You can book a free showroom consultation via this page on our website.
Get Started With Your Smart Home Here
