Home automation

neilmcmahon123 · July 1, 2020

Hi all,

My wife and I are currently in the process of refurbing a house built in the 70s for our family, I would like to put in as much smart technology as I can but am not sure where to begin.

I am looking at setting up an office in the house with a cabinet and racks for networking, my computer is a pretty substantial build so should be more than capable of running most things. I am going to be using it for my Plex server and plan on putting in a home cinema also?

What would be your recommendations? Should I run software of the computer to control the house?

What would yous recommend for the different rooms? Kitchen (lighting, kettle, over, etc) and the same with all other rooms? Where should I begin?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated. I’m basically starting from a blank slate and want to do as much as I can with the money I have

Thank you

zeusthemoose · July 1, 2020

I haven’t done much home automation myself, but I did do some research a bit ago, so I’ll try and recommend what I remember.

For lighting, get philips hue or a cheaper control light bulb alternative (I think there is an ltt video about it). I’ve also heard that you can get smart switches instead of bulbs which might be cheaper.

For audio, Sonos is amazing. Expensive but great functionality and sound quality. They have all types of gear so you can use their speakers or convert existing speakers so they work with the Sonos system.

PeachGr · July 2, 2020

I use only yeelight bulbs for now. If you want to control everything from PC, connect them all to Google home and then share it with your wife, then download Google home app on a virtual Android app (I have BlueStacks), or have a tablet somewhere. You can have smarty fridge, laundry, hot water, or have smarty plugs for opening and closing (add scenarios) to almost any devices. For example I have my PC connected on a smart plug to check electricity used. For a home cinema i think a high end TV the with a nice soundbar is enough.

For the scenarios, you can have lights open when it gets dark or when someone is putting a wrong code on your alarm, or when you have alarm on, and someone opens your window (magnet taps on door) you can do endless things.

NineEyeRon · July 2, 2020

Start with security, lighting and sound.

Smart plugs for certain devices can help too.

Then it gets (even more) expensive as you need to replace devices with wifi capable ones. Like a new fridge, kettle, washing machine etc...

Most people get as far as a Ring doorbell...

McBUrn · July 2, 2020

I'm in the middle of a full renovation myself (70's home in Europe, so thick concrete walls/floors ;( ) and had to think about all of this too.

Honestly everything is possible and it all depends on what you are looking for/what you mean by home automation.

I first wanted a true Smart Home and currently the best and only real automation system is the whole KNX ecosystem.
Pros: You can really control everything, have your house react itself to certain changes and adapt. For ex, you are watching TV and the leaving room is getting too bright, the shades will go down, You're going to the toilet during the night, the lights will light up automatically at a low brightness etc etc .... Anything is possible as long as you can install all the necessary sensors.
Cons: Wiring is a nightmare. All switches/control panels/sensors need to be linked to a BUS cable and all controlled appliances (lights, shutters, garage doors) need to be individually brought back to the main fuse board meaning a ton of cables running through the house and a massive fuse board to house it all. If you are not doing this yourself, the cost can also be prohibitive.

In the end I settled for the following:

- IT part, I wired all rooms with ethernet cables paying attention to reach all possible spots where a TV/desk could be installed. I also ran a fiber for the office. They all come back to an 18U wall mounted cabinet in a "technical room where the HVAC/fuse board and other large equipements are in.

- Audio, I wired the kitchen (single stereo speaker), living room (two front stereo speakers), main bedroom (two front stereo speakers) and garden individually. They also come back into the cabinet and will be wired to Sonos connect AMPs mounted on custom rack shelves found online. Sonos is pricey but quite flexible, if I want one of those rooms to have a 4.1 setup for a home theater use this is still possible using wireless Sonos speakers. Had to go that way because of wiring issues but of course if this can all be wired in the first place, always better.

- Alarm system, I went for a wired one covering all windows/doors/halls with motion sensors/smoke detectors etc ... Was pretty easy as I ran it with the ethernet cable and this is much much more reliable and secure than the Wifi counterparts.

- Cameras have also been installed and I settled with Unifi ones since I have their networking gear already. Easy install as it is powered through PoE and as I had to run ethernet cable anyway ... Plus no licence fee to pay!

Then for the rest I will go with certain Wifi protocols for radiators and lights. Not ideal but will do the job.
For connected kitchen equipements honestly I see this more as toys rather than useful products. Costs a lot of money and there's not much practical element to it that worth the hassle of wiring it all (at least during a renovation, building new would be different).

I went a bit off topic with alarms/cameras and other non smart home devices but when you are talking about wiring it's always good to think about those use cases ahead and do the work only once.