If you have a dimming switch, the bulb still needs to support dimming too.
I have some Neo Coolcam products used with OH. I do not see that they have dimmer switches listed though.
I’ ve heard the RaspberryPi 4 is so fast, you can create openHAB rules that are so fast that they can use PWM to control LED lamp brightness. 
@matt1 Phillips fixed this fairly recently with a software update. You can now set the lights to retire their previous state on restoration of power.
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@Kardiii
If you´re going to build a new house. I would strongly advice you to focus on a wired installation (a wired smart home system) as a main installation. Then use openhab/whatever to act like a gateway between your main installation and whatever other needs you have, (which could be wireless, zigbee/z-wave/sonof/whatever).
The cost is a bit more, but you´ll get a main stable installation, which I believe is the most important factor when it comes to having an smart home system, which controls things in a house which can become fatal i case of an error, specially light, heating/hvac/ maybe even security/alarm (including smoke/fire alarms). These devices simply cant be run by something which sometimes doesnt work.
Then add openhab (or whatever other system) as an add-on to your main installation, to support your system in a parallel way, and perhaps less important devices, (such as local motion detectors, less important ligthing, voice control, monitoring systems etc).
Reason is fairly simple - If/when you get tired of openhab (or something else). You just pull the plug, and your house is still working in a smart way. If you have build you house from a system of z-wave/zigbee/sonoff or simular, you´ll be forced to be running somekind of system like openhab/HA or whatever, and you´ll be force to take some causion regard regular updates/stability/bad hardware etc. And you can not “pull the plug”, unless you start all over from scratch.
You have a huge advantage in building a new house. Choose right first time, and be pleased with getting a highly flexible and powerfull system which opens up all kinds of possibilities. Whatever you choose, make sure it can work/communicate with other systems, (ie focus on the interfaces such as ethernet, communication protocols etc).
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Great thanks for the updated info, but I still do not like that. The Milights do the same thing and I have automated sending brightness to 1% before turning them off so if the power fails in and out quickly it does not turn the lights back on to 60% or whatever the previous state is. This happened once to me and I did not enjoy the lights coming back on in the early hours of the morning.
I suspect that most devices have these small niggles that you have to work a way to live with them, and I’m hoping someone will post what the Yeelights are like. I’m not keen on having tons of wifi devices in my home which is why I like the bridge concept that Phillips and Milight uses as it keeps them off my router.
I agree but it costs a huge amount more and the level of planning needed for a first time DIY job is difficult if you are also doing the building and left it too late to plan before thinking automation. You could install draw wires and drill out the framework to install wires later on but it is far better to do it early on in the build. It complete depends on what level of automation you are after and how much you are willing to spend.
FIY I installed approx 500 meters (1500 feet) of cat6 cable in my house, plus draw wires and heaps of other types of cables. Have photos and video to prove it as the proof is handy to use to make sure I dont hit a cable when I nail or drill the wall 
Just to throw my hat into the ring, I’ll make these small points.
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Building and planning a house is NOT a DIY task, to do it properly takes time and money, but most importantly, skill and experience.
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@Kim_Andersen is absolutely right, a wired infrastructure with a system that can stand alone is far better than anything that requires batteries or a central decision engine.
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Ask yourself why there aren’t thousands of questions / complaints about wired solutions, as opposed to endless posts about wireless systems
This one is a prime example
Whining about (non)functional status of OpenHab
Don’t get my wrong, I don’t detest wireless systems, I just think that every home builder should make a two column list.
Just to focus the mind on what is really needed.
For example
Mission Critical. ----- Architectural
Or
“What MUST work 24/7” ------- “Nice toys and fancy bits, that I can tolerate not working”
The obvious candidates for Mission Critical are :
- Heating
- Cooling
- Ventilation
- Most lighting
- Door & window locks & sensors
- Security grills / shutters
- PIR / movement sensors
I was thinking in a wired solution, but as a noobie in this whole smart home and automatisation, it is really hard to understand and even harder to plan with it. Also I was not able to find helpful videos or tutorials how to establish a wired system. For other wifi/zwave/zigbee solutions there’s a ton. So that is a limitation for me.
Also the total price would be like 10x. For ex: A KNX 4 way relay switch costs like 300-500 euros per piece.
You guys are absolutely right about the downtimes and the problems with the wireless systems. That is why I’m trying to plan the system that way even if OH is dead, or some communication/settings problem do happen, I will still be able to use standard functions of the lights etc.
Planning at wired smart home is NOT a DIY unless you know exactly what you´re dealing with.
Like @MDAR says, contact a company which knows how to deal with it. Yes, it do cost more, but thats the price of getting the stable and working system.
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I’m more than happy to help you design a wired system if you want.
Take a look at this generic wiring plan to get you a starting point.
This topic might make for interesting reading if you’re looking for someone else’s experience
As for costs, then yes, KNX is expensive.
Thankfully KNX is not the only wired solution out there.
Velbus is a very powerful product that doesn’t have a millionaire’s price tag.
For example, both 4 channel relays have a retail price tag of €155 + tax
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The price (the more costs) definitely depends on how much battle you might risk yourself.
If you choose the wrong system, you can end up spending a lot more time and probably more money in the end. And time will be filled with grief and frustration. Perhaps you can never get a decent system to run and you find yourself starting over and over again. This cannot be measured in money, in my opinion.
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Would you object to me quoting you when I talk to new customers and installers?
“Never a truer word” and all that
Yes but usually the content in them is biased or not a complete picture, see my previous posts on some of the common smart globes and I am sure you will not have seen even a hint of anything less than perfection from those videos. It is helpful if you go into a purchase with a realistic expectation on what you will have if you spend X dollars/euros on each device.I am not saying smart globes are rubbish or don’t work, I am just saying they have their place and for some people they will love them and for others will want to throw them out and buy again. Whilst you are building it would be a shame if you did not take a serious look at wired solutions as later on the cost goes up to retro fit wires.
I agree that 99.9999% of people need to get a pro installer to design early on in a build, some of them will try to lock you into repeat business by not allowing you access to the software or programming tools so any change you want means a call out for them to program X device. Finding a good installer, the right gear and still be able to do the programming with openhab will be a challenge which is why it is great to see people like @MDAR helping out.
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Go ahead quote all you want, Stuart!
I have been in this “game” as a regular costumor for enough time to say, things like these have to be right from start. Beside all the struggle, the worse of all is an angry wife… it can be worth a fortune not ending up in a situation struggling with wife and/or family, cause thats a lost battle even before it started!
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Now that will remain for some time until you dug enough into HA technology to understand and actually plan it yourself, but in the end, you will have to do that anyway. Remember you want openHAB to control your home, there’s no company to program that for you.
Another problem with getting a company to do it is - besides what @MDAR already said and cost - that most are very much biased to some sort of tech. In Germany for example most installers understand “KNX” when you say “Home Automation”. They don’t know any other tech to combine that with, let alone a non-KNX central to hand control over to. They don’t know about (cheaper) alternatives but will try to do everything with and even plan the wiring for “their” tech (only). They cannot integrate existing or future household appliances, lights and entertainment media to come with a WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth or ZigBee interface (or it gets VERY pricey).
And sooner or later you will be having wireless devices because you will want to relocate or add more sensors, and more.
The best advice at this stage is to plan for a tech-neutral setup. That essentially means to centralize your wiring of devices to one or few wiring hub(s) in the first place - at least mission critical ones, preferrably all of them.
Then at a later stage you can deploy any tech (be it wired or wireless) or any combination thereof inside those hubs.
Remind you that any decision in favor of classic bus/loop-like wiring for KNX or Velbus will lock you into use of these - think what will happen if you have to exchange or complement any of these in the future.
There’s a number of more or less generic posts on questions like yours on the forum that I’d encourage you to browse.
Planning for a centralized wiring now will get you some time to decide on technology a little later.
I absolutely agree.
I’m openly biased towards Velbus because that’s my business, I understand the product and I’ve got plenty of very happy customers.
Obviously other companies / individuals will be biased in other directions, which is all absolutely fine.
What Markus says is 100% accurate, please plan for a technology agnostic setup, so that should a situation arise in the future where you want to start all over again, you probably won’t have to worry about changing cables.
Now you could take this advice to its natural next level and install flexible conduit so that your can pull through whatever cables you like.
This is (to my knowledge) the French and Dutch way.
I think I’d second this. Most people just getting into home automation are unlikely to understand the compromises involved when choosing one approach over another (the bulb versus switch debate above is a good case in point). However, if one does go with a wired solution with all wires leading to one (or more) central location then they can probably build in enough flexibility to grow into their system.
OK, “self, why?”
- Wired solutions are more expensive to deploy, particularly if one is not building their home from scratch.
- Wired solutions, at least here in the U.S., are much less readily available.
- Most people getting into home automation are living in or moving into preexisting homes and are unwilling to tear walls down to the studs so they can run new wires.
- The premise of the question is suspect, just look how many KNX posts there are on this forum. Because of the above, more people are using wireless technologies than wired; more people means more posts. Here is a similar post to the one you linked concerning KNX. Intuitively, the claim feels correct, but I’m not sure that is substantiated with the sited evidence.
This is why, even for DIYers looking to retrofit an existing home with wireless devices, I recommend starting small and gradually grow a system over time. DIYers rarely have the experience or a full enough understanding of what they want to do or grow into at the start. And by starting small, the cost of moving to some other technology is much less because there hasn’t been as much investment. It’s far cheaper to replace a hub and couple of zigbee bulbs than to rip out 30 zwave outlets and wall switches.
While I’m usually down on bulbs, I agree they have their place. I have a new puppy right now. This means a trip to the yard at least once a night. I’d like to automatically turn on a red light on the stairs at that time of night but use a white light in the evening. A smart bulb is pretty much the only option. Though that bulb will be paired with a smart switch so the wall switch can still be used.
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Thanks Rich
I knew I could count on you
I didn’t want to do down KNX, but you are absolutely spot on. There are posts that pose questions about KNX (as an example), which is why I like Velbus so much
As Kim said in an email recently (which echos previous comments from customers) “Velbus just works”.
@Senne posted a similar sentiment on their topic recently.
@rlkoshak I’m guessing you don’t want a full on illuminated staircase ?
I want just enough light not to kill myself but little enough light to not fully wake myself up. 
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What kind of light does your new puppy prefere? 
I just checked- you can also now set a custom power-on behavior for your lights. So, they either come on at their previous state or they can come on to a pre-defined color and brightness. I’m not home so I can’t test it now, but I presume it includes a setting of default off.
I’m pretty happy with my Hue setup.
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