Hello.
My parents got a new flat, and they want to invest I to reforming it and install home automation.
I have experience with hardware for gradually add domotic to a house, but I have no idea about how to get advantage of being able to rewire everything and install more “wholesale” hardware.
For example, I think it will be worth using a single relay box for all the lights, but I don’t know anything like that. Also which thermostat and water metering solutions and all that stuff do you recommend? wired motion sensors? Door sensors that are not visible? A wired audio system? That stuff.
Of course, the house should be usable by normal people, so light switches and all that stuff should be integrated as ligtt controllers.
When designing the system, always be thinking of the next owners. Don’t make it impossible for them to dumb-down the home wiring. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. For two reasons. When you sell the home the new owner will appreciate it, and in a year, so will you when you can’t recall why you did something.
I’ve never thought of a central relay box to control the lights. While a central box would simplify the automations, the complexity of the wiring from every light and outlet box to the relay box would be complicated and expensive. Especially considering the cost of copper today. (I live in a 2400 square foot house, so a central relay box would be more of a cabinet.)
If the walls are open, I would run a lot of CAT5 cable everywhere. You may never use them, but if you decide in the future that a wire from A to B would be ideal, then having a load of CAT5 in the wall will pay for itself in aggravation saved. You can use the same spider web of CAT5 for security switches and audio distribution. CAT5 isn’t just for Ethernet, it’s 4 pairs of wires that can carry 5V power, sensor data and audio at the same time.
Wired or wireless? Why even ask. Wired when possible, wireless when getting wire to the location is difficult or impossible. But don’t make servicing the device impossible. For instance, mount a PIR sensor on a wall plate installed on an outlet box in the ceiling or high wall. This way, in the future you can update the sensor without doing further damage to the wall.
Normal people? (Are there any left?) I have recently adopted some HASP (Home Assistant Switch Plate) devices in a couple of locations in my house. They fit into a U.S. switch box, only need power, and provide the user interface for lots of Home Assistant controls. But it’s simple enough that even Grandma can use it. I’m sure that someone has adapted the 3D print files to EU box dimensions.
I’ve tried using a couple of tablet devices for the UI, but they all fall short. Especially when a reboot is necessary.
I would do this as well BUT for windows and doors, While Cat5/6/7 is nice, there are some things it doesn’t do well and it’s expensive for those cases. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t run it - but I would ALSO run 4-conductor 16ga (1.29 mm) bell wire to the top corner of EVERY window and door you have and in some cases two. You can use it for wired alarm sensors (you can pull most wired alarm systems into HA one way or another and use the sensors) AND it will give you options for DC power for blinds and curtains. Most of these systems run on battery OR 9-12vDC. If you can find a PoE tap that can do the appropriate voltage / current combo, great! - but at least the systems I’ve seen strongly recommend their stepdown transformer and some require using an approved battery or power supply to maintain warranty. So, by running the wire you can install one transformer in the attic or a service area and not worry about batteries. At the typical amperages these kinds of systems usually run, you can get ~500ft (~150m) before voltage drop becomes an issue, if you need more distance, larger guage wire is required. Considering you’re running alarm sensor wires, might as well just double each run.
Unless you’re installing a single system like Control-4 that home-runs everything back to a single panel, IMHO you’re better off using commodity electrical equipment, installed according to code with best of breed zwave, zigbee or esp32 devices on the lighting controls (pick what tech works best for you, for me it’s a combo of ZigBee and ZWave) That way - when you leave you can revert it to something the new owner can customize.
This is probably some of the best advice anyone can give. You don’t want to have to climb a ladder to reset a flaky device…
Thanks everybody for the detailed responses. Wiring Cat5e to every room is something out of question. I saw it is also possible to take advantage of Cat5e for audio, which is fantastic. I also plan to install two dedicated access points on the ceiling. There are some good advice here (like wiring to each dot and window), but I am looking for more specific things. I have some network experience, so I know more or less what to use, but I don’t know a single wired window or door sensor, nor do I know any motion sensor that can also be wired and integrated to HA. Of course I will use zigbee if the need ever arises, but that is something I can always add later and I know it well.
Of course the objective is to make the flat (not a house, just a flat) as smart as possible while keeping it usable as a totally dumb home. For that reason it’s important that light switches trigger the same relays as the automations and smart bulbs are totally out of the picture.
It is interesting to see that having everything centralized may be more expensive than needed, but I don’t want a single device per light/room either, and wired is an absolute plus (radio is already crowded).
So to summarize, I would love to get some advice on which wired devices are available for:
Most of these kinds of sensors (door, window, etc.) are what you would use with traditional wired security systems then you integrate the security system into HA and are installed accordingly. You’ll need to find out what security systems are available for them in the area, then research if those can integrate.
(I only know what’s available for continental US… If you were US, I would recommend installing a good quality wired DSC or Honeywell security panel that can use a device called an ENVISALINK EVL4 as one of its keypads. The EVL4 has a core integration that integrates into HA and exposes the sensors.)
It’s going to be the same story for all of your gear. Due to power, and RF requirements it is ALL very region specific. But at least on the sensors - if you’re going wired, find out what alarm systems you CAN get - then go from there.
I never thought about using ESPHome, but it is actually a good idea.
I too have those mini sensors around, but never found the time to try them, hahaha.
Manufacturer:
Most of my actuators, dimmers and binary_sensors are from MDT and my “Glass Buttons” I have in most rooms too. My presence sensors are from Busch-Jaeger. Weather station from Hager, but that’s the only thing I’m not so happy with.
Retailer:
I ordered all my stuff from a german online supplier (voltus.de) as I’m located in Germany, but I’m sure there are shop in Spain too, that deliver KNX devices. If not: voltus also deliveres to Spain, and 30€ shipping is not sooo much compared to the devices
A second vote for KNX if your going to do new wiring.
Keep in mind that you will need to get ETS5/6 for programming the KNX, depending on how large your installation is you might need to dish out for the PRO version. But you can watch the KNX forums as sometimes ppl buy the software as a group and thats cheaper.
With a KNX IP tunnel device you can use HA easily.
It is very robust and rock stable. Plus installations i did 22 years ago work with components i get today.
Which is handy cuz alot of old dimmers will not work with LED’s
As I think I said before, I am in the process of moving everything I can to ESPHome.
Whatever you decide to do, I strongly recommend against mixing solutions. You will have maintenance nightmares if you have a mix of MQTT, Zigbee, WiFi and Z-Wave devices.
If the walls are open, why is this “out of the question”? To me, this would be a no-brainer.
