ᐅ Is it possible to retrofit a smart home?

Hello everyone,

I’m currently exploring the topic of smart homes and would like to gather some tips and suggestions.

Unfortunately, I had no influence on the electrical installation during the house construction.

I would like to install a display (TFT; tablet; etc.) in the entrance area. I want to visualize my smoke detectors (the ones that can connect to Wi-Fi), possibly some door and window contacts, as well as some lighting elements.

Which systems have proven reliable? Raspberry Pi with a tablet? Do you have any recommendations for me? How or what can I build myself?

I use Homematic. It can be retrofitted relatively easily (although not cheaply) since it is radio-based. The system is very comprehensive and can be extensively expanded and combined. For visualization, there are various options (FHEM, Homematic directly, different apps, IP-Symcon, Mediola, etc.). It all depends on the desired scope and budget. The cheapest option is probably with FS20 components; however, they do not have a feedback channel, which I personally would not want to do without for most components.

What is the point of visualizing the smoke detectors? The system can only show on/off status, which you should hopefully notice acoustically anyway. For other things like window contacts, weather information, thermostats, roller shutters, lighting, etc., a tablet is certainly nice.

I have taken a look at Z-Wave. It seems very interesting. Which base unit or controller would be recommended for getting started? Zipato? Fibaro Home Center Lite?

Hmm, have you checked out my suggestion for the Homee control unit? It also includes a Z-Wave module.

Take a look at videos online showing how to set up various central systems; you can choose whichever one you prefer.

I spent a long time researching this topic and comparing different systems. Starting with Homematic and ending with Z-Wave/Fibaro. The only downside to Homematic is that it is a proprietary solution, which I didn’t want to rely on. Z-Wave seems like a good standard to me, and there are great products from various manufacturers.

In the end, however, all of these solutions have one major issue – they are centrally controlled. This means that if the central controller fails, nothing works anymore. That’s why I finally settled on KNX again and am currently in the implementation phase…