Billed as the “first†building operating system for the home, office, hotel or other commercial environments, ComfortClick’s bOS software offers support for a number of technologies (including KNX, Z-Wave, Sonos, Amazon Alexa, Philips Hue and IP cameras and intercoms). With its bOS Configurator tool on hand to allow users to design their smart building configuration, the software can be installed on any number of mobile devices (iOS, Android and Windows) and supports an unlimited number of end nodes.
Reviewed by Robin Alsterberg, founder and owner of Sweden-based system integration company RBN Teknik
Where have you used this product?
We have used ComfortClick bOS in a variety of installations, including residential installations, restaurants and offices. Since it supports many protocols, both standardised and proprietary, it is an ideal system to use as a base for an installation.
Why did you choose this product?
ComfortClick bOS feels like a modern application compared to a lot of the competitors that still use systems that are based on platforms developed 10+ years ago.
It has a great responsive design in its end user GUI, making it very easy to use for the customer with a similar design no matter what screen size he or she is using.
The commissioning of the system is also very straightforward, with a good and effective workflow that is easy to use and get started with, even for those that are not used to working with building management systems. The editor application (bOS Config) is connected directly to the server, so you can see changes, values etc. right away when you are working with the configuration, compared to working with a configuration offline where you must upload the changes, reboot the system, etc. before you can check if the configuration works as intended.
What do you like about using it?
The platform offers good support for the KNX system, which we work with a lot on projects.
I also like that it’s easy to use, both for the system integrator and end user, without removing the ability to perform complex tasks.
Time spent on doing visualisation and configuration of tasks is often lower than on competing systems, but with a better result.
The support of multiple protocols makes integration easy with a lot of different systems. For example, using the alarm systems presence detectors to detect movement and subsequently control the lighting over KNX and ventilation over Modbus is very easy, and removes the need for separate detectors only for lighting and/or ventilation. So, using the ComfortClick bOS system often gives you a competitive advantage, since you can remove other hardware in the installation.
Overall, it’s suitable to use in a variety of installations, from small homes to big office buildings, which makes it a good choice for a system integration company to use as a standard system.
Is there anything you would change about it, or like to see updated?
Of course, there´s always room for improvements, but overall we are very pleased with the system, and nothing in particular comes to mind.
Over the last couple of years we have seen some nice improvements in both software and hardware, like the release of bOS4 and the Jigsaw line of devices with integrated KNX and Z-Wave interfaces, which have added a lot of the features that we wanted. Therefore it’s a system that we feel is being maintained and further developed all the time.
Support for more proprietary protocols are always wanted, but we also understand that you can´t develop solutions for everything!