Compare The Best Smart Home Systems
Compare Some of the Best Smart Home Systems
The best smart home systems for YOU comes down to what you hope to integrate in your home. There are some great smart home technologies available these days, with advancements in automation and more devices allowing for integration. As a home or venue owner, you have options when it comes to automation. You can go down the DIY route and just tie a few things in your building into an automation system, using Wi-Fi technology without cabling. This can be great if you just want control over some lights in your home or venue, and perhaps access control, intercom and some audio, but all controlled from separate apps with no cross-communication.
However, the best smart home devices aren’t just a passing trend – they are future proof. Where automation really shines is in the integration of many varying technologies into one all-encompassing and dynamic system, so that the entirety of the building can be controlled from one app. It’s in the way automation allows these technologies to talk to one another. In a commercial setting this could mean the motion sensors in an area activate the system to take a temperature reading and then adjust either the fans, heaters or AC to keep the venue at the perfect comfortable temperature, in the most economic and ecological way. In a home setting, 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.
The Best Smart Home Systems Change For Each Project
A well-thought out and skillfully programmed automation system promises to make everyday life easier and more efficient, and provides peace-of-mind over your home or venue as you can monitor it anywhere in the world. The possibilities are near limitless when it comes to smart buildings, so it’s important to select the right technology for you. We work with a select few automation technologies at Ryelec, tried and tested, that we know we can trust. Whilst there are levels to our favourite automation technologies, some being entry-level and others being more advanced and therefore higher price point, there is no ONE technology that we would prefer to use on all our jobs. Each technology serves a purpose and each project of ours will be best suited to one of them. The best smart home system choice is usually pretty obvious once we learn what the client hopes to integrate into their system and their budget.
Automation Projects with the Clipsal C-Bus SHAC/NAC
A common technology we use is the Clipsal C-Bus SHAC/NAC. C-Bus allows for diverse integration, including lighting, shades/blinds/windows, climate control, security, pool/spa control, irrigation, energy monitoring and some audio-visual + more. C-Bus also allows us to develop completely custom apps for our client’s tablets and phones. Meaning we can personalise them to suit the home or venue and make them as user-friendly as possible, which is extra important in a commercial setting with high staff turnover.
C-Bus For Commercial Automation
The ability to develop user-friendly custom apps is why we typically opt for the C-Bus SHAC/NAC tech for most of our commercial projects, such as for this Clifton Imperial Project and the Rooftop Bar Project explored in the video below. It allows us to design and place floor plans onto the app pages, with lighting indicators and visual depictions that make controlling venues easier than staff could ever dream. This Rooftop Bar has over 20 opening roofs, which transform the bar on a sunny day. Along with 12 electric heaters and many groups of lighting. Before automation, staff used individual remotes PER ROOF AND HEATER to control everything. Imagine a large box of remotes and staff wasting a lot of time trying to figure out what each remote controlled. The C-Bus SHAC allowed us to tie all the lighting, roofs and heaters into one system and develop an incredibly user-friendly app. But don’t take our word for it, watch the short video below and judge for yourself how transformative automation has been for this venue. High-class, high-tech, and luxurious.
C-Bus For Smart Homes
The Clipsal C-Bus SHAC is just as incredible for a smart home system as it is for venues. Ryelec typically opts for the SHAC in homes when our clients are wanting to integrate in the basics like lighting, shades, climate control and perhaps a few extras like security, irrigation or pool control. Using C-Bus in a home keeps costs down whilst still providing awesome custom apps and intelligent control, like in the smart home explored in the video below.
There are a range of Clipsal switches that can be used with C-Bus Technology.
Automation Projects with Dynalite
Dynalite is another automation technology, flexible and scalable, and trusted for decades. Dynalite intuitive smart lighting solutions let you seamlessly manage your lights while easily integrating other third-party smart devices for complete management control. Dynalite offer a wide array of keypads, touchpads and sensors in stylish designs. A simple button press on these switches dims lights, closes shades or adjusts temperature. These buttons can be labeled with custom text or icons. The advanced lighting control that Dynalite provides is the reason we often like to integrate it into our large KNX automation projects.
Automation Projects with KNX Technology
For those that want advanced control, with extensive integrations all controlled from one system, invest in KNX. KNX is a communication protocol that is used in automation to ensure that all devices and components of the system speak a common ‘language’. Whether you want to control lighting, shutters, security systems, energy management, climate control, monitoring systems or expansive AV – using KNX means all these functions will work via an uniform system. This makes for seamless home and building control. KNX technology is a reference in home and 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 and switch options. Our favourite brands to use with KNX include Savant and Basalte. They are amongst some of the best options worldwide, with user-friendly apps and stylish switch/panel options, making for the ultimate in luxury homes.
Savant Touchpanel and Basalte Ellie Touchpanel
KNX Home Project
This KNX home featured in the video below is one of the most incredible homes we’ve seen.
Watch the video to see the high-end switch choices and the advanced control. This is why KNX is one of the best smart home systems available.
To see a further analysis of the comparisons between some of the best smart home systems, C-Bus, KNX & Dynalite, please see the document below!
