Hello everyone,
Over the past few years, I’ve gradually made our rental apartment a bit smarter. Tado for heating and air conditioning, Hue for the lights, Nuki for the front door, Eve for the garden, some smart plugs and window sensors, and Netatmo to stay informed. Everything is integrated with Apple’s HomeKit, and almost everything can also be controlled via multiple Alexas.
Overall, we are very satisfied with our setup. So far, we have no problems running automations that, for example (where desired), turn on the lights via motion sensors. Geofencing controls many things (cameras, heating, lighting, etc.), so for us, almost all needs are covered. Since we already have a lot of hardware, we want to keep all of it and implement it in our new house. Of course, there are also some things to improve here.
Just this past weekend, I discovered that Philips has a collaboration with Gira offering switches that require no wiring, no batteries, and look great as well. Although we enjoy almost everything automated, there are always some situations or rooms where a simple switch is still faster and better. That’s why we are currently considering installing these switches alongside the existing wired light switches where they already sit. Weberhaus also offers this solution for their houses, so it can’t be too bad. Still, it would be quite a drastic step to completely give up the “old” switches and thus wiring as well.
Here is question 1:
Who has already implemented this solution with the Hue switches and can share their experience?
I have, of course, imagined some worst-case scenarios and have tested a few things at home. Lights MUST always be able to be turned on somehow—that is my basic requirement.
Case 1: Internet connection fails (Wi-Fi still active).
Apple HomeKit is offline, as is Alexa (both perfectly manageable since these are luxury features, not basic requirements). Hue devices still communicate and can be controlled both with the switches and the app.
Case 2: Router (FritzBox) total failure.
Same as Case 1.
Case 3: Hue Bridge breaks.
Lights can no longer be controlled by either the switches or the app. BUT the emergency solution still works: cutting power to the lamp and restoring it. Hue bulbs are, by default, ALWAYS on when powered.
The catch with the new Gira switches is that they also stop working, meaning you really have to remove the bulb and put it back. For me, that’s okay in such an exceptional situation—it has never happened to me in all these years, and one night can be managed like that.
So, the Hue solution with their switches is basically acceptable to me even in an emergency. Test passed!
Please point out any cases I haven’t thought of (and please don’t just say power outage 😀).
Now, as a new feature for my new house, I will have roller shutters everywhere, which will be controlled wirelessly with Somfy motors, so I need your help again since I can’t test these yet.
The question here is: are there wireless solutions that allow the roller shutters to be lowered even in exceptional situations?
Theoretically, radio motors don’t need switches anymore, but are there similar wireless switches that require no wiring?
What’s really important to me is: if all standard equipment fails (the associated bridge, Wi-Fi router…), is there any way to still lower the roller shutters without installing a wired backup solution?
That’s it for now 😀.
A quick clarification: I’m just a user, so if I have described things incorrectly (like calling a switch a button or vice versa—I’ve never been able to keep that straight), please overlook it 🙂
Best regards
From a smart home enthusiast who doesn’t really have a proper smart home yet 😉
Over the past few years, I’ve gradually made our rental apartment a bit smarter. Tado for heating and air conditioning, Hue for the lights, Nuki for the front door, Eve for the garden, some smart plugs and window sensors, and Netatmo to stay informed. Everything is integrated with Apple’s HomeKit, and almost everything can also be controlled via multiple Alexas.
Overall, we are very satisfied with our setup. So far, we have no problems running automations that, for example (where desired), turn on the lights via motion sensors. Geofencing controls many things (cameras, heating, lighting, etc.), so for us, almost all needs are covered. Since we already have a lot of hardware, we want to keep all of it and implement it in our new house. Of course, there are also some things to improve here.
Just this past weekend, I discovered that Philips has a collaboration with Gira offering switches that require no wiring, no batteries, and look great as well. Although we enjoy almost everything automated, there are always some situations or rooms where a simple switch is still faster and better. That’s why we are currently considering installing these switches alongside the existing wired light switches where they already sit. Weberhaus also offers this solution for their houses, so it can’t be too bad. Still, it would be quite a drastic step to completely give up the “old” switches and thus wiring as well.
Here is question 1:
Who has already implemented this solution with the Hue switches and can share their experience?
I have, of course, imagined some worst-case scenarios and have tested a few things at home. Lights MUST always be able to be turned on somehow—that is my basic requirement.
Case 1: Internet connection fails (Wi-Fi still active).
Apple HomeKit is offline, as is Alexa (both perfectly manageable since these are luxury features, not basic requirements). Hue devices still communicate and can be controlled both with the switches and the app.
Case 2: Router (FritzBox) total failure.
Same as Case 1.
Case 3: Hue Bridge breaks.
Lights can no longer be controlled by either the switches or the app. BUT the emergency solution still works: cutting power to the lamp and restoring it. Hue bulbs are, by default, ALWAYS on when powered.
The catch with the new Gira switches is that they also stop working, meaning you really have to remove the bulb and put it back. For me, that’s okay in such an exceptional situation—it has never happened to me in all these years, and one night can be managed like that.
So, the Hue solution with their switches is basically acceptable to me even in an emergency. Test passed!
Please point out any cases I haven’t thought of (and please don’t just say power outage 😀).
Now, as a new feature for my new house, I will have roller shutters everywhere, which will be controlled wirelessly with Somfy motors, so I need your help again since I can’t test these yet.
The question here is: are there wireless solutions that allow the roller shutters to be lowered even in exceptional situations?
Theoretically, radio motors don’t need switches anymore, but are there similar wireless switches that require no wiring?
What’s really important to me is: if all standard equipment fails (the associated bridge, Wi-Fi router…), is there any way to still lower the roller shutters without installing a wired backup solution?
That’s it for now 😀.
A quick clarification: I’m just a user, so if I have described things incorrectly (like calling a switch a button or vice versa—I’ve never been able to keep that straight), please overlook it 🙂
Best regards
From a smart home enthusiast who doesn’t really have a proper smart home yet 😉
H
hampshire24 Nov 2021 11:04I understand that you want an automated system with the possibility of manual intervention even in case of a malfunction. This makes it expensive for the failure scenarios you mentioned since you would then be using both wired and wireless systems in parallel.
I would like to think further:
Best regards from someone who uses "dumb" rotary switches to turn on the lights.
I would like to think further:
- A light in the room must always work to allow orientation, but not every light.
- A failure of the roller shutters is not a serious problem; the redundancy solution needs to be balanced against the cost.
- How do I assess the probability and frequency of a failure occurring?
- Perhaps it is more economical to simply keep a spare part available than to create technical redundancy.
Best regards from someone who uses "dumb" rotary switches to turn on the lights.
Nixwill schrieb:
Since I will now, as a new feature for me, have external venetian blinds everywhere in the new house that can be controlled wirelessly with Somfy, I need your help again due to the lack of testing options.
The question is: are there wireless solutions that allow the blinds to be lowered even in exceptional cases?
Theoretically, the radio motors don’t need a switch anymore, but are there similar wireless switches that do not require any wiring?
What is really important to me is whether there is a way to lower the blinds if all standard systems fail (the associated bridge, the Wi-Fi router, etc.) and I do not install a wired backup solution? Somfy IO switches are paired directly with the IO motors of the external venetian blinds. You can think of it like a Bluetooth pairing. This direct connection also works independently, without Tahoma, Wi-Fi, router, bridge, or anything else. Theoretically, such a direct connection might fail occasionally, but honestly, I don’t know how that would happen. And even if it does, it can be reset and re-paired through a defined on/off procedure. In that sense, it functions as a wireless system and backup combined 🙂
@Hangman
This is absolutely awesome!! Thanks so much for the clarification! So basically, I don’t actually need any additional wired solution here either! Am I correct in understanding that TaHoma doesn’t really function as a bridge, but is mainly used for the additional app connection (including HomeKit) to enable creating automations? (Do you know the difference between the TaHoma Box and Switch?)
From what I see, both the lights and the blinds should be completely controllable wirelessly, even if the internet goes down or the Fritzbox fails completely. It’s quite a big decision to completely skip the wired setup—I’m not sure if I have the courage for that 😱. But I don’t spot any flaws in the logic so far…
I was really surprised that the Hue system still worked without the Fritzbox, so it seems to somehow work over another wireless protocol. Does anyone know if the Hues relay the signal to each other, meaning for example down to the basement where there definitely wouldn’t be direct bridge reception, but several Hues are installed along the way?
@hampshire
Thanks for your thoughts!
That was at least the original plan; in the case of a failure, it still has to work somehow. Wiring would be included in the house price anyway, but I thought since we hardly use our light switches anymore (with very few exceptions) for years, why bother installing wiring if there are now really nice (and truly functional) wireless switches?
The only downside is the emergency solution of removing and reinserting the bulb, which is inconvenient but at least doable once in a while. We haven’t experienced a failure like that in years.
Blinds aren’t really an emergency matter, but if you plan to have them in the bedroom (my consideration also applies to Somfy roller shutters, even though we don’t have any), it would be great to be able to lower them even if the Fritzbox is down 🙂. But Hangman has already provided the solution for that.
Otherwise, you’re absolutely right, a second Fritzbox doesn’t cost the earth (I probably have one somewhere anyway 🙂) and a second Hue Bridge isn’t expensive either! That settles the emergency lighting situation! Thanks!
A thought in between.
It would be really cool if you could operate the blinds with a Hue wall switch via TaHoma and HomeKit. That would be the ultimate 😎.
This is absolutely awesome!! Thanks so much for the clarification! So basically, I don’t actually need any additional wired solution here either! Am I correct in understanding that TaHoma doesn’t really function as a bridge, but is mainly used for the additional app connection (including HomeKit) to enable creating automations? (Do you know the difference between the TaHoma Box and Switch?)
From what I see, both the lights and the blinds should be completely controllable wirelessly, even if the internet goes down or the Fritzbox fails completely. It’s quite a big decision to completely skip the wired setup—I’m not sure if I have the courage for that 😱. But I don’t spot any flaws in the logic so far…
I was really surprised that the Hue system still worked without the Fritzbox, so it seems to somehow work over another wireless protocol. Does anyone know if the Hues relay the signal to each other, meaning for example down to the basement where there definitely wouldn’t be direct bridge reception, but several Hues are installed along the way?
@hampshire
Thanks for your thoughts!
That was at least the original plan; in the case of a failure, it still has to work somehow. Wiring would be included in the house price anyway, but I thought since we hardly use our light switches anymore (with very few exceptions) for years, why bother installing wiring if there are now really nice (and truly functional) wireless switches?
The only downside is the emergency solution of removing and reinserting the bulb, which is inconvenient but at least doable once in a while. We haven’t experienced a failure like that in years.
Blinds aren’t really an emergency matter, but if you plan to have them in the bedroom (my consideration also applies to Somfy roller shutters, even though we don’t have any), it would be great to be able to lower them even if the Fritzbox is down 🙂. But Hangman has already provided the solution for that.
Otherwise, you’re absolutely right, a second Fritzbox doesn’t cost the earth (I probably have one somewhere anyway 🙂) and a second Hue Bridge isn’t expensive either! That settles the emergency lighting situation! Thanks!
A thought in between.
It would be really cool if you could operate the blinds with a Hue wall switch via TaHoma and HomeKit. That would be the ultimate 😎.
Nixwill schrieb:
The question here is: are there wireless solutions that can still lower the external venetian blind even in exceptional cases?
Theoretically, radio motors don’t need a switch anymore, but are there similar wireless switches available that don’t require any wiring? Yes, there are, for example from Somfy, which we have along with the app. If you use Somfy, then enOcean and many other systems also work.
tomtom79 schrieb:
Yes, Somfy also offers them, we have it along with the app.Do you mean the glass switches (at least they look like that), which are also shown on Somfy’s website?tomtom79 schrieb:
If you use Somfy, then enocen and many more are also compatible.Uhhh, no capito...Similar topics