Jordan O'BrienLoxone talks all things Miniserver Go in this in depth product report.
Briefly explain what the Miniserver Go is and what it does
The Miniserver Go is the small, green heart of the Loxone smart home and is based on Loxone Air technology.
At just £249, it’s the perfect answer for anyone looking for an affordable wireless home automation system.
In the past there have been many isolated wireless solutions that look after single aspects of the home, such as lighting and heating.
The Miniserver Go changes this by combining ease of use and installation with intelligent automation, resulting in a superior smart home.
Take us through the product from a technical point of view
The Miniserver Go provides a wireless hub for a smart home installation. Using Loxone Air technology, a wireless mesh protocol specifically developed for home automation, the Miniserver Go can communicate with a range of Loxone Air enabled devices such as temperature sensors, sockets, relays for light control, IR modules for AV control, and more.
The Miniserver Go is the only central controller that provides a truly affordable, comprehensive automation solution for the retrofit market.
Its broad range of capabilities allow its functionality to be tailored to any installation’s specific needs.
Can the product communicate with other home automation platforms?
The Miniserver Go can communicate with other IP enabled devices over the network.
Furthermore, the network API for the Miniserver Go is fully published, allowing it to be controlled by other manufacturers or other automation systems that can communicate over http or web sockets.
The Miniserver Go can be used as a standalone product or with the existing Loxone system.
How easy is it to install? Take us through the process
With the Miniserver Go, there is no wiring required.
At just 90 millimetres in height and width and just 20 millimetres in depth, it’s compact size and weight mean that it can be placed anywhere- on a sideboard, on a table, or mounted on the wall using the integrated bracket.
The Miniserver Go can be set up in mere minutes. The first step is to connect the Ethernet cable in order to join the Miniserver Go to the home network.
After this, simply plug in the Micro USB power cable. Once powered up, the Miniserver Go acts as the base station for the Loxone Air network.
What particular type of customer can installers target with this product?
This wireless platform opens up an opportunity for custom installers to offer their services to those that do not want to re-cable their whole house, but want an automation system with the same capabilities as wired and professionally installed systems.
The Miniserver Go and Air accessories take just a few minutes to set up, making it ideal for customers including tenants of rented properties, who need an automation system installed quickly and with the minimum of fuss and mess.
Air technology: tell us about this, what does it offer and how does it work?
Loxone Air is our very own wireless technology which was designed specifically for retrofitters.
The Miniserver Go can communicate with up to 128 Air devices, and enjoys a great wireless range thanks to mesh network technology.
What accessories are available for the product now? What will be added in the future?
The Smart Socket Air is our intelligent wireless plug which works over Loxone Air.
With an in-built temperature sensor and power monitor, it can do much more than just switch devices on and off.
We are continuously expanding our range of products and plan to release a wireless remote and wireless heating actuators over the next few weeks.
How do installers get involved? Is there training available on the product?
There are several ways to get involved with Loxone. We run training courses across the UK as well as English speaking courses at our purpose built smart headquarters in Kollerschlag, Austria.
Our training courses are split into three parts; Part 1 is an introductory half day course for those who’d like to find out more about the solution.
Part 2 focuses more on Loxone configuration software and at the end of the week, we hold Project Days for those looking to get real hands-on experience with planning a Loxone smart home.
We also offer a free project consultancy service at our offices in Reading and an on-line library of seminars and video tutorials.