Hi
I am building a house in France and would like to install full domotic but have no clue about any system/hardware (the software will follow) that would provide a good service with potential for evolution without costing a leg.
I have been proposed with some solutions that are proprietary and this does not get my favor. I am looking for solutions/hardwares to (at distance)
Detect if windows are open or close
Close/open rolling shutter
Detect/switch on/off lighting
Open close garage/door
camera
Heating/heat pump/stove
Main door with PIN that can be modified via apps
smoke detector
activate sound/tv/other personal devices
As well looking for hardware that can be wired rather than working with WIFI when possible
.
Has anyone conducted such a project and has any suggestions/recommendations re. the hardware to implement.
Thanks a lot!
If you search the forum you will find a lot of people using it for the a purpose similar to yours. ANd there are a lot of threads that go through the exact same question you are having. I am sure you will find pointers. However, keep in mind that most live in their houses, yet, there are some vacation homes that use openHAB this way. None of your needs are particular unusual and there are plenty of options.
One of the critical consideration however for you are, how vital are these systems to you remotely and what are your needs when (not if, but when) you lose access to your home automation (think power or internet outage as the most straight forward example, of course there can also be system malfunction).
OpenHAB is certainly a robust solution and many people run a rock-solid installation. If you engage, you will have a rather steep learning curve, however, no system is perfect and sooner or later it will malfunction. If you have someone knowledgeable available locally who can help, this is one thing you may be able to work in; if not and you require near 100% availability, your requirements are suddenly sky high and solutions will be expensive.
Hi,
I built a new house with whole house automation in Austria. I think the best approach is to choose a system that can do most of what you want and add additional items to fill the gaps or perferences; with openhab bringing it all together. I installed a whole house wired BUS system. There are a few choose from eg KNX or BTicino openwebnet.
I chose BTicino , partly cost, partly ease of use and ease of programming. Luckily a very good openwebnet binding was developed for openhab, and is still improving. Check it out. I use openhab more as the icing on the cake. All the essential and important house control is handled by the BUS scenario controller with openhab as a layer on top. That makes it very reliable. I have:
Shutter control
Light control
Socket control
IP cameras
Weather sensors
Temperature, heating control
Temperature eg heat pump, and humidity reporting
Whole house music control… independent but could be integrated
Presence sensing
Alarm, smoke and heat sensor integration
Door control (garage and main door)
Voice control via Amazon Alexa and openhab skill
TTS alerts via Amazon Alexa and openhab echo control binding
Video door bell with phone app
Wall touch panels, phone apps, web access.
All can be operated and checked remotely.
Notifications are via email, push, upload to my own web site, sms.
1 Like
MDAR
(Stuart Hanlon, UK importer of Velbus hardware)
4
Based on what has been said already, I can’t add much more.
I agree with almost everything that has been said already.
My only task now is to suggest that you look at a Velbus based solution.
Whaou! Gentlemen you are truly amazing.
Thank you for all the recommendations on the path forward and network//hardware.
Let me have a look in detail and I may come back with some questions.
In the meantime Thanks a tonne for your help!
HI Mark
I have checked BTicino (Legrand) and really like the system, at least on paper. Can I quickly ask regarding end devices connected to the BUS system, Have you been using SOMFY or NEST or NETAMO products? (not sure they do not work exclusively on wifi).
Did you install sensors for art open windows/open doors? and if yes do you recall which product did you choose?
Do I understand correctly that you are not using my HOME app but run the openhab one?
Hi,
I do not use Somfy, Nest or Netamo, so I dont know if they will work directly on the BUS , I doubt it as they are not BTicino products. BUS connected products are propriety but there is a layer above that that is open source… openwebnet and also BTicino provide gateways for some things too. If there is an Openhab binding for non BTicino products then they could work with the BUS via Openhab and rules. I do that for several non BTicino products and even some without a specific binding. Eg web page caching or API call.
I do have sensors for movement, doors and windows but that is part of independent alarm system. I have partial integration with the BUS for specific tasks but prefer to keep my alarm system separate. Also, my house is low energy with controlled air circulation and therefore rarely fully open a window. Door and window sensors were installed during the house build . They are integrated into the window and door units by the respective companies.
I do also use myHome app but Openhab app has nearly taken over all myHome tasks as it does much, much more and is more configurable. It nice to have the myHome app as a backup though. I am still developing more jobs for Openhab to do and also beta testing several bindings. Openwebnet being one of them. So I find BUS very reliable and most jobs run directly from a BUS scenario controller. Openhab brings lots more options and flexibility = complexity = less reliable, while I am playing around with it
You can do a lot with just BTicino products if you want to stick with them eg alarm, video, music, door control but my installer, and or me, preferred different products for some tasks.
A lot of decisions will depend on your installer and what they work with. Here KNX and BTicino installers are common.
I should add that there are some wireless BTicino zigbee components if you cant always run wires.
