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 😉
@karl.jonas
I’m not quite satisfied with this yet 😕.
@tomtom79
In 80% of cases here, it will definitely be controlled by voice or via the app. But I also want to be able to use physical switches.
@Hangman
My response to your post is the same as to tomtom79’s, with the addition that I want switches, but not at every single window. For example, in one room we will have 2 or 3 windows on the west side. It would simply be nicer if all 3 blinds could be controlled with one switch. I think that situation is more common than the other way around. Or another example: in the bedroom, there’s one window facing south, one east-facing window, and directly connected is another on the east side in the dressing room. Since we will almost certainly keep the sliding door to the dressing room open about 360 days a year, it would be practical if one push button in the bedroom could lower all three blinds at once.
I would definitely set up automation behind all of this and link the blinds to other functions, but having the option to control them by switch is simply great.
@netuser
Since I don’t understand your question, I can only ask one in return.
If I have Somfy radio motors in my blinds, why wouldn’t I use Somfy’s connection to HomeKit? How would you integrate this into HomeKit in my case?
I’m not quite satisfied with this yet 😕.
@tomtom79
In 80% of cases here, it will definitely be controlled by voice or via the app. But I also want to be able to use physical switches.
@Hangman
My response to your post is the same as to tomtom79’s, with the addition that I want switches, but not at every single window. For example, in one room we will have 2 or 3 windows on the west side. It would simply be nicer if all 3 blinds could be controlled with one switch. I think that situation is more common than the other way around. Or another example: in the bedroom, there’s one window facing south, one east-facing window, and directly connected is another on the east side in the dressing room. Since we will almost certainly keep the sliding door to the dressing room open about 360 days a year, it would be practical if one push button in the bedroom could lower all three blinds at once.
I would definitely set up automation behind all of this and link the blinds to other functions, but having the option to control them by switch is simply great.
@netuser
Since I don’t understand your question, I can only ask one in return.
If I have Somfy radio motors in my blinds, why wouldn’t I use Somfy’s connection to HomeKit? How would you integrate this into HomeKit in my case?
I implemented something similar for a client using Loxone.
Hue wasn’t really a topic there (at least not so far).
It was more about roller shutters, motion detectors, and so on.
Everything works perfectly, and the client is satisfied.
And I don’t need any cloud services for it.
Hue and Loxone can work together, but probably through indirect methods—I haven’t personally set it up with Hue yet.
Hue wasn’t really a topic there (at least not so far).
It was more about roller shutters, motion detectors, and so on.
Everything works perfectly, and the client is satisfied.
And I don’t need any cloud services for it.
Hue and Loxone can work together, but probably through indirect methods—I haven’t personally set it up with Hue yet.
Nixwill schrieb:
@netuser
Since I don’t understand your question, I can only ask one in return.
If I have Somfy radio motors in my venetian blinds, why wouldn’t I also use the Somfy connection to integrate them into HomeKit? What would you use to connect to HomeKit in my case? Sorry, I had forgotten that you want to avoid wiring entirely and rely completely on wireless connection. So that’s settled 🙂
I called Somfy today and brought up, among other things, the range of their radio system. The radio motors cannot relay the signal, which concerns me because everything has to be controlled through the TaHoma switch. This is problematic in my case since I planned to place the box in the (concrete) basement. That would probably work well for the roller shutters in the basement, maybe okay for the ground floor, but it is quite likely that it won’t work properly on the upper floor (though I’m not sure). If I put the box on the ground floor, I’m uncertain whether it will still reach the roller shutters in the basement [IMG alt=":huh:"]https://forum.smartapfel.de/images/smilies/emojione/1f62e.png[/IMG].
Does anyone here have experience with a detached house that has a concrete basement?
Somfy also told me that the radio motor is not compatible with a standard switch, meaning even if I wanted to, I couldn’t use a regular switch and would need a Somfy switch that also operates wirelessly (and on battery). They did mention, as Hangman already said, that this is not really a problem since the motor is always accessible via remote control, which is needed anyway to program the motors.
I’m feeling a bit torn about this. I also read elsewhere that Eltako is about to launch a new product line called 64 that supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HomeKit, Alexa, and more.
Would it perhaps be more practical to avoid radio motors altogether and instead go for a traditional wired solution, controlled by devices like the Eltakos? It seems you could then install a switch if you want and still operate the system wirelessly. Plus, you’d avoid the range issue because, as I understand it, this would work over Wi-Fi.
Man, this can really drive you crazy 🤨
Does anyone here have experience with a detached house that has a concrete basement?
Somfy also told me that the radio motor is not compatible with a standard switch, meaning even if I wanted to, I couldn’t use a regular switch and would need a Somfy switch that also operates wirelessly (and on battery). They did mention, as Hangman already said, that this is not really a problem since the motor is always accessible via remote control, which is needed anyway to program the motors.
I’m feeling a bit torn about this. I also read elsewhere that Eltako is about to launch a new product line called 64 that supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HomeKit, Alexa, and more.
Would it perhaps be more practical to avoid radio motors altogether and instead go for a traditional wired solution, controlled by devices like the Eltakos? It seems you could then install a switch if you want and still operate the system wirelessly. Plus, you’d avoid the range issue because, as I understand it, this would work over Wi-Fi.
Man, this can really drive you crazy 🤨
Or you could avoid installing wireless gadgets and instead use proper equipment in a house that is meant to stand and function reliably for a sufficiently long time. That way, you can sleep peacefully.
Why insist on Somfy at all costs? There are many better and less closed-off solutions available.
Why insist on Somfy at all costs? There are many better and less closed-off solutions available.
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