Background:
I own an old house (about 270 years old) where my company and my apartment were located. As the office kept expanding with new employees being hired, I moved into a separate apartment due to space constraints.
However, this was not meant to be permanent. I wanted to have something of my own again, but this time “small but nice.”
After considering various options from tiny houses to mini houses, the decision was made to build a small semi-detached house and use one unit myself (about 65m² (700 sq ft) plus terrace and garden).
My brother is building the other semi-detached house, and both units will then be rented out.
High-quality, ecological, and sustainable construction was important to us from the start. A healthy indoor climate, photovoltaic system, heat pump, and controlled residential ventilation were therefore fixed requirements.
At first, I considered some home automation (implemented, for example, with Shelly devices installed later to control certain functions remotely).
But since our company is involved not only in general IT activities but also in software development, programming, and consulting on IT infrastructure and digitalization for larger organizations such as hospitals, and since my brother is the lead developer of a software that has been on the market for over 20 years and is the market leader in Germany in this field…
Couldn’t we do it ourselves?
Yes, we could!
“Coincidentally,” a bachelor thesis on an open (non-proprietary) smart home system was submitted to my brother (who teaches computer science at FOM among other things).
Based on this and other work that proved certain fundamentals, plus freely available information showing many other possibilities of a smart home, we formulated our requirements.
We wanted a “Smart Home” (as we understood it at the time).
We wanted to at least control lighting and blinds, have a front door with motorized lock, possibly video intercom systems, presence monitoring, etc. The wishes naturally grew as we learned what was possible. So, voice control via, for example, Alexa should also be possible (for those who find it useful).
Our key criteria were:
• Open system (no proprietary/cloud dependencies, etc.)
• All active components centralized in the distribution board if possible
• No “bus switches,” but “normal” Gira, Jung, etc. push buttons
• Affordable!
• The base programming can be quite complex (done by experts), but afterwards the system should be adjustable by “non-technical users” via a GUI (This alone could lead to lengthy discussions)
• We will do the wiring and programming ourselves (my brother and one of our partners are software developers, and I am an IT specialist)
• The wiring will be done with plenty of spare capacity and smart home compatibility.
-> Lighting circuits (lamps) all go directly to the distribution board
-> Outlets are wired room-wise to the distribution board and use 5-wire/three-phase cables so nearly any outlet can be switched later with small wiring adjustments.
-> All push buttons are connected with (plenty of) LAN cable directly to the distribution board
(Discussion about CAT7a/CAT8.x LAN cabling or 10DA took place: Result: Almost everything will be done as CAT7A duplex because, overall, it is easier to handle and cheaper for us.)
The result will soon be installed as a prototype in my unit (half a semi-detached house, about 65m² (700 sq ft)). The photo of the small sub-distribution board is only a small part of the test system currently being assembled! The Eltakos were installed only for comparison (space requirements vs. the Controllino) and will probably not be used in the finished system.
Almost anything “speaking” a smart home language can be integrated into the system via the appropriate binding.
The core hardware (the “brain” of the system) will cost about 1000 to 1500 euros (approximately $1100 to $1650). It mainly consists of the SmartHome Manager (Raspberry Pi) and Controllino Mega pure (Arduino).
The programming of OpenHub, etc. (open source) is done by our software developers/programmers.
Temperature, distance meters, motion detectors, humidity, CO2 sensors, and similar devices can easily be integrated. Small touchscreens (around 20€ (about $22)) as “cornerstone components” usually cost only a few euros.
I will be happy to report on further steps and on the prototype development once progress continues.
Notes:
The advantages of KNX are often mentioned, and some of these certainly apply. In our smart home, if the SmartHome Manager (which is also industrial hardware) fails, almost nothing works. With KNX, all unaffected subsystems continue to run. However, the example described by @Mycraft: “… It’s enough to just connect another push button to the bus cable and configure it…” is hardly feasible in practice. The user cannot do it themselves, the proverbial “unicorn” (ideal technician) is not there, and if the “system integrator” does come eventually, every small change or adjustment is extremely expensive. (These are the experiences of two people with KNX in our circle of acquaintances.)
Please do not fill this thread with pros and cons of the various systems. It only concerns “our” system based on the hardware and software components mentioned at the beginning – thanks!
I own an old house (about 270 years old) where my company and my apartment were located. As the office kept expanding with new employees being hired, I moved into a separate apartment due to space constraints.
However, this was not meant to be permanent. I wanted to have something of my own again, but this time “small but nice.”
After considering various options from tiny houses to mini houses, the decision was made to build a small semi-detached house and use one unit myself (about 65m² (700 sq ft) plus terrace and garden).
My brother is building the other semi-detached house, and both units will then be rented out.
High-quality, ecological, and sustainable construction was important to us from the start. A healthy indoor climate, photovoltaic system, heat pump, and controlled residential ventilation were therefore fixed requirements.
At first, I considered some home automation (implemented, for example, with Shelly devices installed later to control certain functions remotely).
But since our company is involved not only in general IT activities but also in software development, programming, and consulting on IT infrastructure and digitalization for larger organizations such as hospitals, and since my brother is the lead developer of a software that has been on the market for over 20 years and is the market leader in Germany in this field…
Couldn’t we do it ourselves?
Yes, we could!
“Coincidentally,” a bachelor thesis on an open (non-proprietary) smart home system was submitted to my brother (who teaches computer science at FOM among other things).
Based on this and other work that proved certain fundamentals, plus freely available information showing many other possibilities of a smart home, we formulated our requirements.
We wanted a “Smart Home” (as we understood it at the time).
We wanted to at least control lighting and blinds, have a front door with motorized lock, possibly video intercom systems, presence monitoring, etc. The wishes naturally grew as we learned what was possible. So, voice control via, for example, Alexa should also be possible (for those who find it useful).
Our key criteria were:
• Open system (no proprietary/cloud dependencies, etc.)
• All active components centralized in the distribution board if possible
• No “bus switches,” but “normal” Gira, Jung, etc. push buttons
• Affordable!
• The base programming can be quite complex (done by experts), but afterwards the system should be adjustable by “non-technical users” via a GUI (This alone could lead to lengthy discussions)
• We will do the wiring and programming ourselves (my brother and one of our partners are software developers, and I am an IT specialist)
• The wiring will be done with plenty of spare capacity and smart home compatibility.
-> Lighting circuits (lamps) all go directly to the distribution board
-> Outlets are wired room-wise to the distribution board and use 5-wire/three-phase cables so nearly any outlet can be switched later with small wiring adjustments.
-> All push buttons are connected with (plenty of) LAN cable directly to the distribution board
(Discussion about CAT7a/CAT8.x LAN cabling or 10DA took place: Result: Almost everything will be done as CAT7A duplex because, overall, it is easier to handle and cheaper for us.)
The result will soon be installed as a prototype in my unit (half a semi-detached house, about 65m² (700 sq ft)). The photo of the small sub-distribution board is only a small part of the test system currently being assembled! The Eltakos were installed only for comparison (space requirements vs. the Controllino) and will probably not be used in the finished system.
Almost anything “speaking” a smart home language can be integrated into the system via the appropriate binding.
The core hardware (the “brain” of the system) will cost about 1000 to 1500 euros (approximately $1100 to $1650). It mainly consists of the SmartHome Manager (Raspberry Pi) and Controllino Mega pure (Arduino).
The programming of OpenHub, etc. (open source) is done by our software developers/programmers.
Temperature, distance meters, motion detectors, humidity, CO2 sensors, and similar devices can easily be integrated. Small touchscreens (around 20€ (about $22)) as “cornerstone components” usually cost only a few euros.
I will be happy to report on further steps and on the prototype development once progress continues.
Notes:
The advantages of KNX are often mentioned, and some of these certainly apply. In our smart home, if the SmartHome Manager (which is also industrial hardware) fails, almost nothing works. With KNX, all unaffected subsystems continue to run. However, the example described by @Mycraft: “… It’s enough to just connect another push button to the bus cable and configure it…” is hardly feasible in practice. The user cannot do it themselves, the proverbial “unicorn” (ideal technician) is not there, and if the “system integrator” does come eventually, every small change or adjustment is extremely expensive. (These are the experiences of two people with KNX in our circle of acquaintances.)
Please do not fill this thread with pros and cons of the various systems. It only concerns “our” system based on the hardware and software components mentioned at the beginning – thanks!
H
hampshire2 Sep 2020 18:10Projects like these thrive on the fun and fascination of creating something from your own mind. I think that’s great.
As a private, individual project, you shouldn’t start adding up the hours in monetary terms any more than you would count the hours spent sunbathing.
It’s possible that this will result in a decent product where the customer can use affordable peripherals. For a product, it’s quite modest.
@superzapp: What would the USP be?
@Ben-man: If you can build your own blockchain and have knowledge of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, team up with @superzapp and found a joint-stock company based on cryptocurrency. Right now, raising capital is really interesting in this area. The product is the new smart home technology – but it needs to be something groundbreaking to attract investors. The only thing missing is someone to guide the process with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority through to approval and handle marketing targeted at the crypto scene.
As a private, individual project, you shouldn’t start adding up the hours in monetary terms any more than you would count the hours spent sunbathing.
It’s possible that this will result in a decent product where the customer can use affordable peripherals. For a product, it’s quite modest.
@superzapp: What would the USP be?
@Ben-man: If you can build your own blockchain and have knowledge of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, team up with @superzapp and found a joint-stock company based on cryptocurrency. Right now, raising capital is really interesting in this area. The product is the new smart home technology – but it needs to be something groundbreaking to attract investors. The only thing missing is someone to guide the process with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority through to approval and handle marketing targeted at the crypto scene.
hampshire schrieb:
@superzapp : What would the USP be?That’s my big question as well.
So far, I see an infrastructure cobbled together from mismatched components, some of which are comparable to low-quality Chinese imports, which existing software developers (far too expensive for this task) are supposed to make work on a project-by-project basis. A custom solution understood only by this provider. Why would anyone want that?
K
knalltüte2 Sep 2020 18:45I can assure you that we already have all the necessary experience (including blockchain). Just give us a little more time before you criticize the project... OK?
Then don’t just copy what already exists in abundance.
Build something that can learn on its own.
Or a system that requires minimal investment and where anyone can _really_ put together a smart home by themselves. Not by cutting functions to make it simpler, but by making the full complexity easy to handle for everyone. That would be the next big step in my opinion.
Because currently, smart home solutions fail to reach the masses due to
- Investment costs
- Expensive services / ongoing costs for changes
- The benefits of smart homes being largely unknown
Superzapp, please take this as direct feedback from people who have already implemented such systems themselves. Especially undergasse and mycraft have a lot of expertise in this area.
Build something that can learn on its own.
Or a system that requires minimal investment and where anyone can _really_ put together a smart home by themselves. Not by cutting functions to make it simpler, but by making the full complexity easy to handle for everyone. That would be the next big step in my opinion.
Because currently, smart home solutions fail to reach the masses due to
- Investment costs
- Expensive services / ongoing costs for changes
- The benefits of smart homes being largely unknown
Superzapp, please take this as direct feedback from people who have already implemented such systems themselves. Especially undergasse and mycraft have a lot of expertise in this area.
H
hampshire2 Sep 2020 21:15superzapp schrieb:
Just give us a little more time before you criticize the project... OK? I don’t want to criticize. Understanding would be great. What is the core of the matter? What is substantially better compared to other systems? It doesn’t all have to work perfectly in a development phase. I find the goal interesting.
untergasse432 Sep 2020 21:18guckuck2 schrieb:
Currently, smart home technology fails to become widespread mainly due to
- investment costs
- expensive service fees / ongoing costs for changes
- unknown benefits of smart home systems That’s true. At the moment, and probably for a while longer, it remains simply a luxury. However, I like to compare it to integrated GPS systems or simple electric window lifters in cars. For years, they were exclusive extras; today, they are standard. When it comes to houses, Germans are unfortunately very conservative. In the US, the situation is completely different. Of course, their basic houses cost only a fraction of ours, but often here the limited funds go elsewhere.
I actually didn’t intend to say anything about the main topic... I don’t really have anything productive to add, but here’s my opinion.
What bothers me most about this solution is the phrase "for everyone." At first glance, it looks to me like one of many existing low-cost DIY solutions, just at a somewhat higher level because of the manpower behind it (although the worst smart home horror stories I’ve seen came from IT professionals and highly decorated engineers). I only skimmed through it because this approach interests me little to none, but it seems like a mix of classic DIY Raspberry Pi smart home and Loxone-type actuators, on top of which openHAB is installed (I assume OpenHub was a typo). That would—no offense meant—be nothing new and neither significantly cheaper than “real” solutions nor suitable for users with little knowledge. Nevertheless, I’ll keep following it here closely; maybe it will turn out to be the “next big thing.”
guckuck2 schrieb:
Build something self-learning. That doesn’t really exist in a functioning form yet. In this area, my colleague from the industry and I once experimented with Watson and something else based on AWS. It had a lot of potential, but the intelligence came from a large German corporation and will probably stay there.
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