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

First of all, I would plan and install the light switches in advance. Use deep flush-mounted boxes and/or electrical junction boxes behind them. You can remove the switches later and replace them with something else or make them blanked off, etc. You won’t be able to retrofit the building without creating a lot of mess later on!

Also, the electrical trade should carry out a functional inspection. This can only be done if the lights can be controlled by the switches. If you’re going to handle the configuration yourself, there is always some uncertainty about whether the wiring has been done correctly.

I also have one or two walls where I didn’t install any power outlets because I was thinking about the aesthetics. But now I know that you can never have enough outlets, and in daily life, they “blend in” so well that you sometimes have to really look for them when you want to plug something in. It’s always good to have power accessible somewhere.

I wouldn’t want to do without room thermostats either. For example, you can install smart devices there, such as wall panels like the NSPanels from Sonoff. With these, you can control scenes and much more (keywords: Lovelace UI and ioBroker).

If you want to get into property rental, I suggest searching for “smart hotel room.”

Hello, yes, I understand the concerns and, of course, no one wants to make mistakes. That’s why I have the following question: Can I control the following modules directly through their respective gateway solutions using IO Broker? Or do I first need to create the links, for example, via the Homematic IP app, or is it enough simply to integrate the devices and then link them with functions through IO Broker?

Where can I find a list of what IO Broker is capable of linking?

Regarding network cables... I need network connections in the distribution board... I will figure out how to get Wi-Fi into the apartments... The network will eventually have one or maybe two Hue Bridges, possibly one for each apartment, then in the distribution board a Raspberry Pi, Homematic wired system, maybe the CCU if I need it for a few wireless sensors. People will also need Wi-Fi, so how would you set this up? Or how would you distribute the network?

Hello,
since these are two holiday apartments intended for rental, I would never plan them myself without professional expertise. You need to involve a specialized company as early as possible. You explain your requirements to them, they advise you on the options, select the appropriate system, take care of the planning, and manage the implementation. They also provide support in the following years. Anything else doesn’t make sense.
At home, you can tinker and fiddle as much as you want, but not in a rental property.
Happy Easter to everyone

Good morning and happy Easter,

Regarding specialist companies, nowadays there are some really great firms where you send your ideas and receive an offer with a concept and a price. But everyone has their own approach and does things the way they think is best. One might say they use Homematic, another KNX, and another something else... but none of them explain the connections because maybe they’re afraid you might want to handle some of it yourself.
I personally prefer to clearly tell the company exactly what I want and then compare offers, rather than being dependent on whatever they are trying to sell me at the moment. And if IO-Broker supports all my home interfaces, the task could simply be: create a concept with a visualization based on that. Now the KNX expert might say it can all be done much better that way... from their perspective, that’s probably true... an automation specialist would say, “We’ll do everything via OPC UA...” and you, stuck in this jungle, have to rely on it... Everyone will present a solution that works based on their own expertise 😉

But just looking at the interfaces alone... I have to say IO-Broker is pretty cool... even more so than Home Assistant... And KNX is just another interface among them... just like Homematic... meaning what’s behind it doesn’t really matter to me... it just has to work and support ALL interfaces... Of course, if one major system can cover 80% and only 20% require other manufacturers, that would be ideal... which is why I’m also looking for the 80% solution.

Now try going to an electrical contractor and tell them that you want home automation with IO-Broker for your house, with two control panels and no light switches, where you can also automate air conditioning, heating, photovoltaics, and robot vacuums…

Personally, I don’t think a typical electrical company alone could handle something like this anymore and they’ll probably suggest... “Just start by drilling deep holes for switches...” That works, young man! From what I’ve experienced, the electrician is usually brought in as a subcontractor, but they’re no longer the planner... because people these days get well paid for that…

Anyway, it works, but the goal is that my robot vacuum starts cleaning when the apartment is empty, following a preprogrammed route, and not only when I press a switch. At least, that would be the goal...

So the exchange of ideas here is really valuable... And yes, I see that it makes sense to run a network cable to every apartment but not into every corner...

I just want to be able to understand later what was installed and why 🙂

Audiobampa schrieb:

I think it’s better to clearly tell the company exactly what I want and compare offers, rather than relying on what they try to sell me.

Let me know if you find a company willing to do that. Real professional companies don’t want to have their work explained by someone with half-knowledge from the internet. From experience, these makeshift projects without a proper plan are usually only accepted by hobby craftspeople on platforms like MyHammer, who then fail partway through and disappear.

There are three options:
1. Hire a professional company, trust them, and pay for their work.
2. Keep ignoring tips here, try to build something yourself (because you can’t find a reliable company), and eventually pay someone more than in option 1 to fix the mess.
3. Do everything yourself because you don’t trust tradespeople, and have a construction site for an unpredictable amount of time.