ᐅ What exactly is a smart home, and is it possible to retrofit one?

Mycraft schrieb:

Most consumer-grade systems fail even at reliably detecting presence or absence. Let alone recognizing whether the present person is authorized, and I won’t even start on activity and condition detection—these systems are far behind or haven’t even considered that such functionality might be required.

These requirements were never even set!!! So why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut when the original poster just wants a little bit of "fun" or a simple experiment.

K1300S schrieb:

... or voice control. 😉

That’s putting the cart before the horse again. I deliberately left that out of the list since it was meant figuratively. After all, voice control can be retrofitted to a rotary dial. It’s just an add-on module. 95% of rotary dial users are convinced of that.

Pacc666 schrieb:

I don’t think I need a “real” smart home.

Since everyone understands that term differently and it seems you’re not really clear on what it actually means…

Pacc666 schrieb:

I wanted to skip motion sensors because I have a large dog who would probably trigger them all the time.

That might be true, especially if your dog is 2m (6.5 ft) tall. But is the dog constantly moving? No moments of rest? And does it run all over the house, repeatedly entering side rooms on purpose to trigger the sensors?

Pacc666 schrieb:

I find EnOcean technology interesting where there is no power supply.

It’s generally only interesting until you actually get to use the switches, then you realize they are quite different from the usual and familiar experience in terms of feel, look, and sound. But yes, it’s great for the garage or attic.

Pacc666 schrieb:

What’s important to me is that everything still works the old-fashioned way with push-buttons.

That is hugely overrated and is actually the root of the problem. But yes, it’s all possible. If the customer wants it and has the money, they’ll get plenty of unnecessary buttons exactly where they want them.

Pacc666 schrieb:

but also works with rules and small automations

That’s where it starts to get interesting.

Pacc666 schrieb:

My expectations don’t seem to be very high.

You simply have no overview yet of what is possible or could be, and you would need thorough consulting. Your wishes and requirements are more or less raw.

For example:

Pacc666 schrieb:

Roller shutter control with rule setting, for example always open 30 minutes after sunrise but not before 7 a.m.

And when should they close? And what if you want to step outside before or after sunset once more? Do you operate everything manually again or wait until the set time? Why have it all at all then?

Pacc666 schrieb:

Lighting control via smartphone or voice (Philips Hue lamps for ambient lighting to be installed in the living room)

Usually this is more complicated than it seems, and then hardly anyone uses it regularly after the initial hype wears off. Controlling anything in the house via smartphone is rarely convenient: you have to take out the phone, unlock it, open the app, etc. Voice control is similar.

Pacc666 schrieb:

Window sensor for the sliding door to prevent my roller shutter from locking me out.

One sensor is not enough — or only conditionally sufficient. And using it just to control the shutters is wasting a lot of potential.

Pacc666 schrieb:

Video doorbell that notifies me on my phone when I’m at home.

Looks great in advertisements. In reality, often quite the opposite — but yes, it’s possible. You can spend a lot of money just to have this one feature, which is something I never really understand.

Pacc666 schrieb:

Smart music system in the living and dining area, for example for internet radio.

Again, that requires a considerable budget, and “smart” can mean very different things. What else should it be able to do? Internet radios are now available dirt cheap.

Pacc666 schrieb:

Maybe later, control of the underfloor heating.

What exactly should be controlled, and what should actually be regulated? (Those are two different tasks.)

I thought it would already be smart if I could control the blinds like that 🙂

We are currently building a house with a developer, and he told me that smart home features can be planned with the electrician. But the problem is, we only get contact with the electrician very late, so you have to decide quite quickly.

All the standard light switches are already included in the price.

What kind of smart home system would you recommend?
The additional cost should not be too high or should be kept as low as possible because there are many other things to take care of, and eventually, the budget will run out 🙂

If you want to do things directly during construction, you probably have to postpone other things.

What is also very important to me is that I can create new settings or rules and automations in the "Smart Home" system myself, or modify existing ones.

I don’t want to have to call an electrician or similar professional for changes.

Pacc666 schrieb:

I thought if I could control the blinds like that, it would already be smart 🙂

You’re not alone. The vast majority of all "Smart Home" fans already consider the app for their Hue bulb to be smart. But it’s nothing more than a basic remote control. Years ago, you could get something similar as a remote-controlled outlet at a hardware store; nowadays it’s called Smart Home...

Pacc666 schrieb:

What kind of Smart Home would you recommend to me?

There is no such thing as *the* Smart Home. It depends 100% on your budget and the amount of effort you or your electrician are willing to invest. And effort usually means money when it comes to electricians.

Pacc666 schrieb:

The extra cost should not be too high or rather as low as possible, because there are many other things to take care of and eventually the money will run out 🙂

Are you an Apple user? If so, you might want to look into Opus GreenNet. At first, it can simply replace all your switches and later be expanded with a gateway, for example to HomeKit or other apps (yes, including Alexa). The switches are initially somewhat more expensive, but then they’re already installed, and you can, for example, group blinds or do similar things even without a gateway or other intelligent system. Other than that, there’s nothing really cost-neutral. Fun costs money, after all. Alternatively, you could work with Shelly devices—nothing cheaper comes to mind. Homematic could be another option... a bus-based system is likely way outside your budget, so you should probably focus on wireless solutions and choose an open or widely supported standard.

And most importantly: your electrician has to be on board. Many general contractor electricians simply don’t want to deviate from the standard setup. It’s frustrating for the customer, but that’s often how building with general contractors goes. So I’d clarify that first.

Is this a property developer?
In that case, you usually don’t have much say, and once construction has started, it is generally already too late.