The Brief
A GCC family was finishing a new-build villa in Reem Hills and wanted a smart home that would still be standard in twenty years. They had researched KNX themselves, knew it was the international building automation standard, and wanted us to design and install the whole system from scratch — during fit-out, before the walls closed up.
The brief was longevity, reliability and zero compromises on aesthetic. They wanted the keypads to feel like jewelry.
The Build
KNX twisted-pair backbone through the structure
We coordinated with the MEP contractor to run KNX bus cabling to every room before the gypsum went up. The bus terminates in the main equipment room with redundant power supplies and a structured patch panel.
22 KNX lighting actuators
Every lighting circuit in the villa lives on a KNX dimming or switching actuator in the main panel. 96 individual light points across the house, all programmable in ETS. The dimming is silky from 1% to 100% on every fixture.
18 Palladiom-style KNX keypads
Engraved button keypads at every entrance, in matte black brass to match the door hardware. Buttons say what they do — Welcome, Goodnight, Cinema, Pool — with a small status LED that confirms the scene is active.
Six KNX-native thermostats
The villa's central HVAC is split into six zones, each on a KNX thermostat. The system learns the family's schedule and pre-cools 30 minutes before they typically wake or arrive home. Bedroom zones drop 2°C automatically at sleep time.
14 motorized blinds on KNX shutter actuators
All bedroom and west-facing living-area windows have motorized blinds. They track the sun via KNX astronomical clock and close on the west side at 1:30pm in summer.
Home Assistant as the consumer layer
KNX handles the wired backbone. Home Assistant sits on top via the KNX integration and gives the family a beautiful dashboard, voice control via Apple Home, and the ability to add Aqara sensors or future Matter devices without touching the KNX core.
The Outcome
- Total scope: AED 380,000 including KNX hardware, ETS programming, structured cabling and Home Assistant integration.
- Designed for 20 years. Every KNX device installed is from a brand that's been making the same product for over a decade.
- Aesthetic-first. The keypads have become a feature the owners point out to visitors.
- Reliable beyond Wi-Fi. Eight months in, zero communication failures.
- Open, not locked-in. Home Assistant on top means the family can add to the system independently forever.
This project is part of our KNX work in the UAE.