From lighting to climate: Holistic Smart Home Planning with KNX

A modern smart home should support daily routines intuitively and efficiently because real comfort means not having to think about every individual function. Lighting, shading, heating and ventilation should work together seamlessly, adapting to the time of day, the weather, and the presence of people in the room.

This only works when all building systems are designed to interact – not when each trade follows its own plan in isolation. If systems are added without coordination, the result is often inconsistent behaviour, overlapping functions or unnecessary manual steps.

To avoid this, it’s important to think holistically right from the start. That includes defining your priorities, identifying which systems should interact and choosing a technology that enables this level of integration.

KNX provides the ideal foundation for this approach: It connects all major trades into one open, future-proof system and allows for flexible, needs-based planning. On this page, you’ll learn how to structure your ideas, avoid typical planning gaps and lay the groundwork for a truly intelligent home.

The true strength of KNX lies in how it connects different functions. It’s not just about switching lights or adjusting heating – it’s about how these features respond to one another and create comfort through coordination.
Let’s take a few examples:

• Shading and lighting: When the sun shines directly into a room, the blinds lower automatically and the indoor lighting adjusts to maintain a pleasant brightness.
• Heating and windows: If a window is opened in winter, the heating in that room turns down to save energy.
• Presence and scenes: When someone enters the bathroom in the evening, a predefined scene activates: soft lighting, warm floor, and fresh air.

These small interactions happen automatically in the background but only if your system has been planned accordingly. That’s why it’s helpful to think in everyday situations, not in isolated devices. What should happen when you wake up, leave the house, cook, relax or go to bed? Read how this works in real-life in our Smart Home Guide article “Smart living in the detached house”.

KNX allows all of this – as long as you define it in the planning phase. Once the logic is set up, your smart home will quietly do the work for you.

Imagine starting your day and your home already knows what to do. Before your alarm even rings, the bedroom blinds begin to rise slightly, letting in the first natural light. As you walk into the bathroom, the floor is pleasantly warm, the mirror is clear thanks to controlled ventilation, and soft lighting welcomes you into the day. None of this happens by chance. It’s the result of a smart home system that has been designed with your routines in mind.

Later, when you leave for work, the blinds close automatically to protect your interiors from direct sunlight. Heating or cooling switches to an energy-saving mode. The system knows: no one’s home, so it adjusts accordingly.

In the evening, your home shifts into relaxation mode: Blinds lower for privacy, the hallway and kitchen lights create a warm atmosphere, and the living room is ventilated just right. No more stale air, no more stuffy corners. Learn how KNX helps maintain healthy air indoors in our Smart Home Guide article “Room air quality: measurement and control”.

This isn’t a futuristic luxury. It’s what happens when you plan your smart home to work across all trades – lighting, shading, heating, ventilation – and define clear routines from the beginning.

With KNX, these interactions are reliable, secure and consistent – all without switching between apps or relying on cloud connections. And the best part: once your routines are set up, your home simply works. Every day. Quietly in the background.

What’s a good way to start planning my smart home?
Start by writing down which functions you want – for example, controlling lights, automating blinds or improving energy efficiency. Then think about how these functions might work together. Our KNX checklist can help you structure your thoughts before speaking to a professional.

How do I make sure my smart home won’t feel outdated in a few years?
Choose a system that’s open and expandable – like KNX. With the right planning, you can start small and add new features later without changing the entire setup.

What if I only want to automate a few functions at first?
That’s totally fine. KNX is modular, so you can begin with basics like lighting or heating. As long as your planning considers future steps, it’s easy to expand later.

How do I avoid systems that don’t work well together?
By using a shared protocol like KNX from the beginning and coordinating all trades during planning. This avoids compatibility issues and keeps everything in sync.

Do I need to decide everything before talking to an installer?
Not at all. But having a rough idea of your routines and priorities helps your system integrator create a setup that fits your life – and prevents costly changes later.