Designing and implementing a smart home is not an easy task. With so many devices, it is not always clear which one is the best choice for what purpose. With the following collection of questions and answers, we would like to help both our prospective and existing customers.<\/p>\n
There are as many answers to this question as there are websites and people, so we have now tried to collect the criteria that a smart home system must meet.<\/p>\n
This largely depends on the quality of the implementation and service. A home-built solution can be perfectly implemented, but if the number of competent people stops at 1, then its future value can be significantly reduced. The value of the smart devices purchased does not really add to the value of our house and data security issues may also arise, however, a sophisticatedly implemented and supported system, even if it does not significantly affect the value of the home, can definitely attract more attention from new buyers. As technology spreads, it becomes increasingly common knowledge how easy it would be to make a home smart, and how much the owners took this into account during the design.<\/p>\n
By connecting the irrigation system in the garden and various electronic devices to the system, we can get an accurate picture of the water and electricity consumed. In addition to monitoring consumption, we can set up various intelligent solutions so that, for example, shading technology also plays a role in the temperature of our home. At a given external and internal temperature and sunlight intensity, it can be lowered or raised, thereby regulating the heat in the home. In summer, air conditioners and heating take up the majority of the overhead costs. The heat pump solutions that are spreading nowadays significantly improve the numbers, but more sophisticated control is also recommended. In such cases, it is worth optimizing our lighting for more complete energy savings.<\/p>\n
If you are building a new house or renovating an existing one, planning ahead is definitely recommended. For example, we understand that even though the smart garage door will not be on the agenda in the near future, it is still worth taking the time to run the 220V and an additional 6-core wire underground in a conduit. In this section, we would like to share knowledge gained through this and similar experiences.<\/p>\n
Don't be afraid to ask for a consultation from a smart home expert, even if you want to do the work yourself, as the experience of professionals can save us from many hours of wasted time during an already stressful construction or renovation project.<\/p>\n
Always assess what exactly your goal is, think ahead! This is especially critical when it comes to wiring and designing the electrical network. No one wants to have to dig and install wires in a nicely finished and furnished house later just because the switch circuit or neutral was not connected in the right place.<\/p>\n
It depends on several things. Wired solutions have been present in the smart home market for years, but the real breakthrough came with the advent of wireless devices. Wired solutions have the advantage of reliability, but the costs of implementation and design skyrocket and the possibility of later expansion is also very limited. So we either wire everything or rely on some hybrid solution, which, however, presents a number of problems. The larger brands on the market usually do not really support integration with other cheaper wireless devices for business reasons, so we unintentionally end up with a multi-controller system, the management of which is not really user-friendly. In contrast, with a suitable WiFi network, a network with almost the same stability can be created for a fraction of the implementation cost. And there is greater interoperability between wireless devices.<\/p>\n
Based on the current state of science, none of WiFi (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) or other wireless technologies used in households (RF, Z-Wave and Zigbee) are ionizing radiation. Translated into Hungarian, this means that their harmful effects are negligible. We are much more exposed to mobile phone radiation in our daily lives, and so far no demonstrable harmful effects have been demonstrated there. There is good advice, such as turning off our phones when going to bed or putting them at least 1 meter away from us, which is worth taking. However, let's not forget that most wireless smart home devices are tiny sensors, the signal strength of which is a fraction of that of our smartphone. So let's not be afraid of wireless technologies. With proper planning, even this minimal electromagnetic smog can be reduced to a negligible amount inside the home.<\/p>\n
Here it is important to consider what our goal is with making our home smarter. If we are skilled and not afraid of the smell of soldering tin, then by flashing it to Tasmota we get specifically usable devices in a pretty plastic casing. 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 the smart home is a hobby project or we really want to save time and money with it, as well as keep our loved ones and valuables safe. For devices purchased from a reliable source, the manufacturer's warranty often comes in handy, and professional smart home installers usually have general insurance up to a given value limit. No one would be happy if their new house was damaged due to a malfunctioning device. Also, home-assembled ESPHome and flashed SONOFF solutions often require extra care, which is okay if it is a hobby project, but can easily become a hassle in busy everyday life. However, by choosing the right central system, like Home Assistant, we can leave the possibilities open for the integration of lesser-known devices.<\/p>\n
A smart relay is nothing more than a remote-controlled switch, usually wireless, but also available in a wired version. The advantage of smart relays is that they can control an entire electrical circuit. Let's take the following example: the kitchen contains two lighting circuits, an LED strip hidden under the kitchen cabinets and a circuit containing 6 spot lights for general lighting. 6 smart spot lights cost about 60,000 forints, while a smart relay costs 10,000 forints. In the case of the 6 spot lights, we can control them individually, but there is no possibility of manual switching (WiFi, internet, etc. will be lost). By installing a smart relay, the 6 bulbs form a circuit and are less flexible, however, by installing the relay behind the switch, we can also retain the possibility of mechanical switching as an emergency solution. Lighting is just one area of use for relays, in fact, any switching task can be automated with them, heating, blinds, garden watering... etc.<\/p>\n
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 because the apartment and network components, such as the WiFi router, are still powered.<\/p>\n
It is true that for a complete solution we will have to dig deeper into our pockets, and the material cost alone can cost much.<\/p>\n
However, if we choose a versatile and customizable solution, we can schedule the smartening of our home. By taking into account the areas that are most critical or where we can save the most, such as cooling and heating and security technology. Nowadays, we can choose from hundreds of devices for every task and, as in other areas of life, our wallets are the only limit.<\/p>\n
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