FAQ

In most cases, we encounter homes and properties that can simply be controlled remotely. Digitalized light switches, or perhaps mechanical systems, each with a virtual button. While these are good foundations for a properly automated property with added convenience features, Yabune aims to go significantly further than that.

The most important feature of the systems we install is that they are able to operate independently of devices and brands. We do not need to commit to a manufacturer's equipment, we are free to use the best devices from different manufacturers. The data of all relays, sensors, valves and switches is collected in a processing center.

The cooling and heating system is working properly, the Wi-Fi doesn't drop, there are no more wasteful lights left on or lawns watered before it rains. They respond to the user without the need for an app or a tablet mounted on the wall, hiding complexity and maximizing comfort.

It largely depends on the quality of the implementation and service. A solution that anyone can put together for themselves can also be perfectly implemented. Many smart device manufacturers also emphasize, among other things, how easy it is to integrate their devices — however, if the number of people who can understand and manage the system as a whole is limited to one person, it can reduce the future value of the given property, and even make it more difficult to sell.

In several cases, our clients have contacted us at a point where, due to the number of devices in the property and the variety of manufacturers, the complexity of smart home technology has reached a critical level, where it has become a burden rather than an increase in comfort.

The price of installed smart devices alone does not really add to the value of the house, but a carefully implemented — and more importantly — properly supported and maintained system is a price-maker when selling, as it represents added comfort value for future owners.

The biggest savings from smart home technology come in heating and lighting: a smart thermostat or zone-based valve control can significantly reduce your heating bill, while automatic lighting control eliminates unnecessary consumption. The amount of savings you can make depends on the condition of your building, your heating system, and your habits — which is why it's worth measuring first and then taking action.

It is also worth monitoring standby consumption with smart plugs, which is surprisingly high in many households.

Monitoring consumption can bring significant savings in itself, as we can reduce what we measure. With smart meters, you can see in real time which devices are using the most electricity and easily filter out hidden standby consumers.

In the case of gas, telemetry from smart thermostats and radiator valves provides the most information — you can see when and how much you heated, and adjust your habits accordingly.

Water meters, leak detectors and smart irrigation systems can save a lot of money. Even an unnoticed, slowly dripping tap or toilet tank can mean hundreds, even thousands of litres of water per month.

When building a new house or renovating an existing one, it is definitely recommended to plan ahead. For example, even though the garage door will not be smart in the near future, it is still worth taking the time to run the 230 V and an additional 6-core wire underground in a conduit. We draw attention to countless such small but critical points during our consultations.

So don't be afraid to seek advice from a smart home expert, even if you want to do the work yourself — the experience of professionals can save you many hours of wasted time during an already stressful construction or renovation project.

Always assess exactly what your goal is and think ahead as much as possible. This is especially critical when it comes to wiring and designing the electrical network: no one wants to have to dig and rewire a nicely finished and furnished house later just because the circuit or neutral was not connected in the right place.

You can find what is worth building by area: Smart home technical preparation.

It depends on several things, and the correct answer is rarely one extreme these days.

The advantage of wired solutions is reliability: they are not dependent on the radio environment and do not drain the battery. In return, the implementation and design cost significantly more, and later expansion is severely limited — we either wire everything or rely on a hybrid solution.

Wireless devices have brought the real breakthrough: they can be deployed quickly, can be expanded later, and there is greater interoperability between devices from different manufacturers. With a properly designed network, almost the same stability can be achieved for a fraction of the cost of a wired implementation.

In practice, a combination of the two works best: wired backbone (structured network, PoE endpoints, wired relays in critical circuits) and wireless endpoints (sensors, switches) — so neither reliability nor flexibility is lost.

However, this requires the system to be brand-independent. For business reasons, major manufacturers are reluctant to allow other devices into their own controllers, and in the end you end up with multiple systems that don't talk to each other — and managing this is not user-friendly.

Based on the current state of science, Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and other wireless technologies used in households (RF, Z-Wave, Zigbee) are not ionizing radiation. This means that their harmful effects are negligible. We are much more exposed to radiation from mobile phones in our daily lives, and no demonstrable harmful effects have been demonstrated there yet.

There are some good tips — like turning off your phone before bed or keeping it at least one meter away from you — that are worth heeding. However, let's not forget that most wireless smart home devices are tiny sensors with a signal strength that is a fraction of that of our smartphones.

With proper design, even this minimal electromagnetic smog can be reduced to a negligible amount inside the home.

It is important to consider what our goal is with making our home smarter. If we are skilled and don't mind the smell of solder, then flashing it to Tasmota will give us usable devices in pretty plastic cases. Of course, in this case we can say goodbye to the manufacturer's warranty — although this may not be a consideration for devices ordered from AliExpress.

It is important to decide whether a smart home is a hobby project or if you really want to save time and keep your loved ones and valuables safe. When purchasing devices from a reliable source, the manufacturer's warranty is often useful, and professional smart home installers usually have general insurance up to a certain value limit. No one would be happy if their new house was damaged by a malfunctioning device.

Homemade ESPHome and flashed SONOFF solutions often require extra care — which is fine for a hobby project, but can easily become a hassle in busy everyday life. However, by choosing the right central system (such as Home Assistant), we can leave the possibility open for the integration of lesser-known devices.

A smart relay is nothing more than a remote-controlled switch — usually wireless, but also available in wired versions. The advantage is that it can control an entire electrical circuit.

Let's take an example: the kitchen has two lighting circuits, an LED strip hidden under the kitchen cabinets and six spotlights for general lighting. If we replace all six spotlights with smart ones, we can control them individually — but this is the more expensive way, and if the Wi-Fi or internet goes down, there is no way to manually switch them.

With a single smart relay, the six bulbs form a circuit, so it is less flexible, but by installing the relay behind the switch, the possibility of mechanical switching remains as an emergency solution.

Lighting is just one use case for relays: practically any switching task can be automated with them — heating, blinds, garden watering.

If we have chosen the devices and the central system with the appropriate expertise, the only negative effect is that the system cannot be accessed remotely — but everything at home will still work, as the apartment and network components (such as the Wi-Fi router) will still be powered. Local automation — heating, lighting, shading, alarm — will continue to run independently of the Internet.

In the event of a power outage, the heart of the system (the controller and network devices) can be operated from an uninterruptible power supply, so that measurement and notification are not interrupted.

That's why brand-independent, on-premise control is important: a cloud-based system becomes unusable even if the service provider goes down.

The cost of a smart home depends mainly on five factors: how many areas you automate, whether you are building or converting an existing home, which devices you choose, what network the system runs on, and how much custom configuration you ask for. There is no single price, because every smart home is different: basic heating and lighting control in an apartment is one thing, a fully automated family house is another.

• Areas: heating and cooling, lighting, shading, security, energy metering – each needs its own devices and configuration.
• New build or existing home: during construction or renovation, wiring and preparing device locations is cheap; an existing home can be made smart without tearing into walls, but the choice of devices is narrower.
• Devices: wired solutions last longer, wireless ones are more flexible; brand and quality matter too.
• Network: stable Wi-Fi coverage, a tidy network cabinet, an uninterruptible power supply – without these, even the best device is not reliable.
• Setup and operation: the more custom automations you ask for, the more programming is needed; after handover, we look after the system under a Service package.

The good news is that a smart home can be built in stages. It is worth starting with the areas that matter most or save the most — typically heating and cooling, and security. There are hundreds of devices to choose from for every task, so there is plenty of room to manoeuvre.

The cheapest step, however, is the one that costs almost nothing during construction: the right wiring and leaving space for the devices. Done afterwards, the same work means cutting into walls, patching and repainting.

See what you should prepare: Smart home technical preparation — or request a consultation, and we will discuss your case.

The quote lists the devices, the labour and the optional Service package fees item by item, on separate lines. It also describes the prerequisites, such as the cabling or preparation needed. The completion deadline is counted from when the prerequisites are met, because the work cannot start until then. If you accept the quote, the work starts once the order form is signed.

• Trouble-free operation: we monitor your system's health during business hours, back it up weekly and apply updates only after testing them.
• Secure remote access: you reach your system from anywhere over an encrypted connection operated by us, not through a manufacturer's cloud.
• Committed response time: when you report a fault, we start investigating it within 72 hours on the Advanced plan and within 24 hours on the Premium plan, and fix it remotely where possible. On the Advanced and Premium plans, the call-out and labour costs of replacing a faulty device are also covered by the package (the device itself is not).

• The system is yours: if you ask, we also hand over full administrator access, and it keeps running locally without our infrastructure.
• Whatever runs on our side (such as remote access) keeps working for another 60 days; during that time, at your choice and for a fee, we either migrate it or keep maintaining it.
• We back up your system at handover and, unless you opt out, refresh the backup monthly (basic backup, free of charge).
• In the event of a fault, we investigate and fix it for a fee based on an individual quote – unless the fault is covered by warranty.
• We provide our own 12-month warranty on our work (installation, configuration, programming) from handover. The devices we supply are covered by the statutory mandatory warranty (2 or 3 years depending on the price) and by the statutory warranty for defects (2 years for consumers). If a fault is covered by warranty, we repair or replace the installed device on site free of charge. Details are set out in our General Terms and Conditions.

Yabune Home runs locally: the center is with you, the control works without the internet and our servers – only remote access and monitoring are tied to our service. The system is based on open source Home Assistant, so any professional familiar with Home Assistant can take over. Upon handover, you will receive the documentation (construction document, user manual, network port assignment – which cable connects to where), and upon request, we will also hand over the system with administrator rights. If Yabune ever ceases to operate, we will notify you at least 90 days in advance so that you have time to switch.

If another installer’s system has been left without anyone to look after it, we’ll take that over too, audit it and document it. System takeover →