ᐅ Smart Home in an Older House – But How Exactly?

As I mentioned in my introduction, we purchased a mid-terrace house built in 1975 and have renovated it so far.

Current setup:
- Internet via cable connection
- Vodafone cable router in bridge mode
- FritzBox 7590 as Wi-Fi router in the attic
- FritzRepeater 2400 in a mesh network on the ground floor
- IKEA smart home gateway connected to the repeater via LAN cable
- Lamps in the living room and hallway from IKEA Tradfri

Planned additions:
- Dining room lamp with Tradfri lights

I am quite satisfied with the IKEA lamps, but I still have several plans.

What I would like for the future:

Heating efficiency:
- In the next few years, a new gas condensing boiler will be due --> it should be smart enough to integrate into a smart home system (e.g., Junkers or Buderus)
- Smart thermostats on radiators in several rooms
- Wall thermostat in the living room (central position)
- The thermostats should communicate demand-based directly with the boiler

Security:
Outdoor cameras on the street side and facing the garden. I was thinking of something like the Bosch SmartHome Eyes or comparable products from Steinel or Netatmo.

Regarding the manufacturer or system, I’m still quite open. Zigbee support to integrate the IKEA lamps would be nice to have but is not a must.

It should be IP/Wi-Fi based only since we are already quite far along with the renovation.

What experiences have you had? Which overall system/ecosystem are you using? And where do cost, benefit, and quality best align?

SidekickJohn schrieb:

- A new gas condensing boiler will be needed in the next few years --> it should be smart enough to integrate into a smart home system (e.g., Junkers or Buderus)

You can't go wrong with that.

SidekickJohn schrieb:

- Smart thermostats on radiators in several rooms

Sure, why not, for example Tado or something similar.

SidekickJohn schrieb:

- Wall thermostat in the living room (centered)

That wouldn't necessarily be required now.

SidekickJohn schrieb:

- The thermostats should communicate demand-oriented directly with the boiler

Depending on the level of integration desired... this can be inexpensive and simple or complex and costly to implement.

SidekickJohn schrieb:

Thinking of something like the Bosch SmartHome Eyes, or an equivalent from Steinel or Netatmo.

That’s more of a gadget, really.

SidekickJohn schrieb:

Regarding the manufacturer or system, I am still quite open. ZigBee for integrating the Ikea lights would be a nice-to-have but not essential.

It should be IP/Wi-Fi based since we are already quite far along with the renovation.

What experiences have you had? Which overall system/ecosystem do you use? And where is cost/benefit/quality balance the best?

Z-Wave for the rest and ZigBee for the lights. Combined via one of the many middleware systems like ioBroker, for example.

Mycraft schrieb:

Depending on the level of integration desired... this can be cost-effective and simple or complex and expensive to implement.

So far, I have found the overall Bosch Smart Home concept quite interesting. It allows direct integration of heating boilers from Junkers or Buderus.

This is also why I am considering the Bosch outdoor camera. I would prefer to have a single app on my phone/tablet to control everything and access all devices. So, the idea was to choose the manufacturer that offers the most features in one system.

Why would the mentioned cameras be considered more like toys? I’m not deeply familiar with the topic yet.

I also find your suggestion about IO-Broker interesting, so I will take some time to research it.

@Mycraft has recently written a lot about smart home technology (thanks for that). Network topics have also been quite frequent lately.
From what I’ve seen, it looks like there will be a mix of systems in the future that aren’t really smart. Just because something is remote-controlled or has a display doesn’t make it smart.
You should also reconsider the cameras.
If the walls are still open, try to run cables to the necessary locations now.
Try to choose a standard system. That way, you can integrate (almost) everything, including visualization or apps.
Were these considerations made only later?

@rick2018 thanks for your input.

Yes, these thoughts only came up now that we are basically "done" with everything. We had a pretty tight schedule (handover in December, then renovations and moving at the end of January). During that time, we mainly focused on the must-do tasks (for example, removing the wall between the living room and kitchen, installing various floors, finishing the attic drywall...).

You’re right that the systems are more about remote control rather than being truly smart. I will read up on your suggestions over the next few days and consider my options.

Thanks again!

Retrofitting solutions are usually wireless and also more expensive.
However, this can still achieve your goal in a "smart" way.
Just please avoid cobbling together multiple different and independent systems.
Even if it’s only about remote control, rely on one (open) standard.
Write down exactly what you want to achieve. After that, you can consider how to accomplish it sensibly.