ᐅ Smart Home without switches? P.Hue, Home Assistant, Homematic wired IP

Hello,

I’m currently considering the electrical installation in a house with two holiday apartments. KNX is too expensive... I’m thinking about using two control panels to operate the apartments... Roller shutters, lighting, Philips Hue is great because of the colors and the little light accents you can place everywhere...

The idea would be to install a distribution system with Homematic IP Wired... and run Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi... I would use iPads in the apartments to control everything smartly from two locations within the apartments... lighting scenes, roller shutters, heating... by the way, are there smart air conditioners or heaters that can be integrated into the system? ... and Powerline communication (PLCs) in the distribution cabinet...

This is roughly how I imagine it... Has anyone already implemented something similar or have tips, etc.?

Regards, Bampa

What you’re describing so far isn’t smart, just remotely controllable.
You don’t need colorful lighting just for the sake of it. But colorful light strips have become the new must-have.
What do you mean by Powerline Ethernet (DLAN) in the distribution panel?
Do you even have a proper plan for LAN and Wi-Fi?
Sure, you can mix many systems. But then you also need the time and expertise to ensure everything works together.
In the end, KNX is more cost-effective.
Are we talking about one apartment or both? How do you separate them in the network, access, and control?

Not enough information.

What is your background in this field? Are you familiar with protocols and electrical engineering?
Is this all for the two holiday apartments?
What is a DLAN?

Well, LEDs are a matter of personal taste. I quite like the Philips Hue concept, especially for the wiring. You just run 230V (230V) everywhere and that’s it. The rest is handled by the app. Regarding powerline communication (Dlan), yes, I feed the internet into the distribution board and then distribute it to both apartments, so internet is available in every corner. Devolo or something similar.

This setup is for two holiday apartments, and I imagine designing a dashboard for each unit.

Hmm, Home Assistant can even control KNX devices. I think Homematic IP Wired in the distribution board is just cheaper. I’m just not sure yet how to integrate the heat pump or air conditioner smartly.

Everything else seems intuitively integratable with Home Assistant.

If I understand correctly, this saves a lot of wiring. A few motion sensors in critical places like the bathroom could also communicate wirelessly via Homematic. I can’t imagine KNX being cheaper when you have a $100 Raspberry Pi and a few Homematic IP modules in the distribution board; I expect the programming effort to be about the same.

It’s just more feasible for a layperson without having to spend a lot of money on software. I don’t fully understand the pros and cons of both solutions yet, but the Raspberry Pi solution seems much more affordable to implement. In terms of knowledge, well, I’m familiar with MQTT and JSON, and I suppose I’m allowed to run cables.

But so far, I’ve only read about it and never played around. This applies to both KNX and Raspberry Pi.

Regards, Bampa

Unfortunately, you answered almost none of the questions.
LEDs make sense. Whether you need to make everything colorful is another matter...
I get the impression that you don't have much knowledge of networking or home automation.
What you describe has nothing to do with SMART systems; you are simply making components remotely controllable.
You can also integrate air conditioning and heating systems.
Using powerline communication to provide internet is not a good idea. How do you plan to ensure good Wi-Fi coverage? What speed is required?
How are you separating the networks? There are two separate living units...
With a lot of tinkering, you might get quite far. Whether it will work reliably is a different question. It still wouldn’t be truly smart.
Will you go there every time the batteries in the wireless motion sensors run out?
If you have to lay cables anyway, you might as well install KNX, LAN, or just fully wire everything. With KNX, you also have the actuators centrally located in the distribution board.

Hello,
Take a look at free@home by Busch-Jaeger. With this system, you can implement everything without extensive programming or DIY solutions.
Whether it makes sense to completely do without switches is a matter of personal preference. Personally, I don’t think it is practical.