How much does a smart home system cost?

  1. How much does a Smart Home system cost?

Having gathered six years of experience in creating smart home systems, SMARTech had conducted an analysis of the value of the equipment and appliances purchased by Polish investors and related to the KNX/EIB system (main system in Europe). As a result, the range of investment on a system was determined. It is related to the house usable space and investor requirements (prices given excluding VAT):

  • EUR 50-75/sq m – basic options (lighting control)
  • EUR 75-100/sq m – typical options (lighting and heating/window blind control)
  • EUR 100-150/sq m – comfortable variant (lighting, heating, window blinds/air conditioning)
  • > EUR 150/sq m – luxury variant (lighting, heating, air conditioning, window blinds + extras)

The given prices cover the cost of the whole system (design, cabling, electric switch cabinets, system devices, outlets, system start-up) without actuators (lamps, radiators, window blinds, etc.). The often cited great price differences between systems in practice reach only up to a few per cent, because each system has to include cabling (which is often more expensive than the equipment itself), electric outlets, etc., so the price different in the system devices themselves does not greatly influence the cost of the whole installation.

The prices given for each system (net prices ecl. VAT) were calculated for a sample house having an area of 200 sq m, and cover the control of 40 light circuits (including 4 dimmed), 16 window blinds and 8 independent heating zones, as well as design, laying of the installation, equipment assembly and system configuration. If a system should not foresee heating control, then the price includes electronic programmable thermostats.

 

Basic systems

 

’Middle-class’ systems

 

Advanced systems

traditional installation

EUR 10 896

 

Dupline

EUR 16 727

 

Lutron

 EUR 21 085

Cardio

EUR 16 312

 

IDRA

EUR 15 988

 

Lonworks

EUR 17 090

Hometronic

EUR 18 078

 

IHC

EUR 14 841

 

Crestron

EUR 20 344

Luxor

EUR 14 533

 

LCN

EUR 16 866

 

KNX/EIB

EUR 17 458

X10

EUR 14 146

 

Xcomfort

EUR 15 611

 

 

 

 

Of course, even a basic system configuration provides comfort that cannot be matched by traditional installations, and thanks to energy savings the cost of the system pays itself back within a few years. It is worth noting that prices of floors, windows, stone cladding or even interior designer services are at a level similar to the basic system configuration price. The KNX/EIB system can thus be perceived as yet another typical component of the home.

 

  1. How can one compare the costs of a traditional installation with those of a smart installation?

The comparison of both types of installations depends on the individual needs of the investor.
If we use a smart home system solely to control the lighting – one can safely state that it will be more expensive than a typical installation is. However, if one includes the control of lighting, window blinds, heating, energy management as well as central and remote control – the smart home system is the simple and cheap way to interconnect them.


Looking to provide you with reliable information about the costs of KNX/EIB systems we present below their comparison with assembly costs at a sample typical house of 200 sq m.
The comfortable configuration was assumed: 40 lighting circuits (inc. 4 with dimming), 16 window blinds and 8 independent heating zones, and professional services.

 

Traditional installationKNX installationDevice or servicenet TOTAL:EUR 10 183EUR 16 618 

 
 
       
  Pcs.PriceValuePcs.PriceValue
 
*  Installation and system design  1250,00  1400,00
*  Electric installation  3000,00  4250,00
*  TV, phone, PC network  750,00  750,00
*  Electric switch cabinet1500,00500,002750,001500,00
*  Outlets (230V, TV, phone, PC)1007,50750,001007,50 
*  Outlet installation1002,50250,001002,50250,00
 Lamp switches3611,25405,003644,001584,00
*  Installation of switches362,5090,00362,5090,00
 Lamp dimmers425,00100,004193,75775,25
 Window blind control units16123,001968,001656,75908,00
*  Installation of window blind control units165,0080,00165,0080,00
 Electronic thermostats8100,00800,00(in KNX consoles)
*  Installation of thermostats85,0040,00(in KNX consoles)
 KNX/EIB control consoles   2169,50339,00
 Consoles with thermostats   8260,002080,00
 Heating actuators825,00200,00874,25594,00
*  Power supply and start-up     1267,75


* You are sure to come across companies not providing you with reliable information on all of the costs. There also exist companies offering i. e. a design and start-up free of charge (or even a system without a design). In such a case it is worth considering whether we are sure that this system will be executed professionally, and with active (and intensive) cooperation with the customer.

 

Comparison of the capabilities of the above listed installations


Lighting control from any given point
Light scenes (atmosphere)
Switching off of the light before retiring to bed or exiting the house
Automatic temperature reductions upon leaving the house and before going to sleep (every 1°C are 6% energy savings)
Window blind control from any place
Closing of blinds after leaving home or after dark (so observation of the family from the outside is impossible).
Option to remodel the installation without having to break down the walls (most people building a house do not know how they will want to comfortably control the light).
Option of integration with the alarm system (i. e. to blink lamps in the house and garden in case of an intruder, which quickly scares them off).
Silent start-ups of radiator via thermostat (no 'clicking’)

Traditional installation


No
No
No

No
No

No

No

No

Smart installation


Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

In addition, a traditional installation covers the expense of time to choose suppliers and devices, transport, assembly, uncertain warranties from several suppliers, costs of future changes in case we want to change functionality, twice as high short circuit risk (2x more wire connection points), lower aesthetics and of course the lack of capabilities and advantages offered by a smart installation.

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