If you are building a new 3-storey house, what are the things to consider if you want to make it a smart home?
1) Wired vs wireless - a wired system is preferred over wireless system? Pros and cons?
2) WiFi - how to effectively cover the entire house with WiFi?
3) Security devices (camera/doorbell/doorlock/…) - how to decide? (preferrable with ios support)
4) Smart devices (lights/plugs/switches/controls/…) - what brands stand out?
5) Other things to consider?
Thanks!
/WhyTea
I vaguely remember a 70s/80s horror movie anthology that featured an evil man luring someone to be his victim in his wired house but being trapped in it himself as the power failed. Unfortunately, my Google-fu is so bad I can't locate it…
Could only find this, "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury (possibly an inspiration for that Halloween Simpsons episode).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Veldt_(short_story)
Look out "The Demon Seed" - its a different film, but same smart house premis.
Thanks! I have a fondness for these old-school movies… in fact, on that 'its a different film, but same premise' bent, just reminded me of 'Embryo' (Rock Hudson, Barbara Carrera)… haha.
^^(the one true Spider-Man is Nicholas Hammond!)
Running ethernet around the house is probably a good idea. But many people don't seem to realise that you can already do this with regular powerlines using ethernet-over-power. I've used this in my mums old townhouse, and years of struggling to get wifi coverage around the house were basically fixed overnight, for cheap.
Basically, ethernet/eop ports around the house let you set up multiple local wifi points on the same network without any special hardware. Since they are wired, they all have solid connections. Your floors could be slabs of steel, but you'd have good wifi on each level.
And ethernet ports are the same as eop, just more convenient since no adaptors are needed.
If you are thinking about it now, there's probably no reason NOT to consider wiring the house. Wireless can still be used anytime, since it doesn't need any infrastructure at all and would still need to go in after the house is built.
EOP is not anywhere near as reliable as straight ethernet. Tried it in my house and constant drop outs. Same circuit and all. My experience is not unique. Decent Uniquiti APs were a good interim solution but running Ethernet is the best solution.
true, i made it sound more equivalent than they actually are. ethernet would be much simpler and better
i meant that eop can be decent when wifi sucks and ethernet isnt an option. still some occasional dropouts but a massive improvement over what we had before
gotta ask, did you plug them straight into the wall? they turn to complete crap when used with adaptors, and are generally sensitive to use of other appliances
Yes direct to power points and same electrical circuit tested by only having one electrical breaker on. Got a high data rate out of it but reliability never worked.
if you're going to be doing ethernet cabling in your house, go for Cat6a cabling, that way you've future-proofed yourself for 10Gbit which will probably be the standard in 5yrs or so
I'd also look into putting a few speakers in the walls/ceiling
Just kinda like the idea of ambient background music all around the house
"Ride of the Valkyries" playing whilst on the dunny!
Sorry, I'm building a 5-storey house…
I thought when it says "smart" it is the eco friendly type that doesn't mean you spend a fortune to heat and cool.
If you mean just loading it up with IoT devices.
The "My Efficient Electric Home" FB group is excellent for that kind of thing.
This is Australia. We don't like them types around here.
You mean Hemsworths?
My next big purchase in terms of networking for the home will be a Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro. Then I'll get the accompanying AP point and PoE cameras for a more stable network set up. Also need to get all the IoT devices on different networks too. I find in my home one WiFi source is fine. Ethernet over Power is ok as was mentioned above, but on my main desktop the ping is slower than WiFi when using EoP, depends on what your use case is. I would still wire the house.
I've currently got a Rasperry Pi running Hassio to be the local interface for everything I have, but also I have Google Home's in most rooms for both voice control and speakers. Benefit of Hassio is that the speed of light switches is more instant (as it's done locally), whereas using something like smartthings (which I also have) pings their services and the delay is noticable. Also have a Logitech Harmony in the living room for voice control of the TV/Foxtel/Shield. In the future I might get a NAS with docker for that side of things rather than a seperate device.
Most rooms have LIFX lights, with a couple Hue lights in the living room. There's also a few smart switches around, both for lamps that don't have smart light compatible globes.
Automations I have going on atm are motion sensors in the entry/front door that turn on the respective lights when motion is sensed.
In my home office (which I use most days), the lights turn on until motion isn't detected for 15 minutes, then past 7pm the lights are red to reduce blue light exposure. Light in the bedroom turns on with a bright white in the mornings, and a deep yellow in the evenings.
One thing I've found though is I really need to still enable physical switches where possible, my partner is less tech savvy than me and has a shorter temper for tech that doesn't work. Years ago, I bought a heap of Logitech POP's, but I'm trying now to get more reliable switches.
Hey mate,
Actually in the process of planning our build. Def not an expert but this is from my experience.
This is where we are at:
1) We are going for the best of both worlds to ensure reliability. Since it is a new build, and the budget allows for it, we are putting in Cat6 wiring to all the bedrooms, study and living areas. To ensure no issues with signals etc. Will use mesh networks throughout both levels to help ensure wireless strength is good though.
2) You can likely get away with mesh networks where you have an open home plan and thin internal walls. If budget is an issue perhaps run Cat6 to say your TV for your 4k streaming (& also security cameras) and run wireless everywhere else.
3) I prefer Nest doorbell from research done. We are going old fashion with locks. Security cameras will likely be ultra 4k hd all running wired. Do not use a wireless net work for security cameras.
4) There is an aussie product called ikeon smart power outlets. Will be released soon, Aussie designed and will be ios friendly as well. TP-LINK has a host of products but ikeons will be the best way to go with andriod/ios support and a lot of safety features.
5) Consider what the point is. How do you actually interact with your home environment and what do you want to achieve. Is energy monitoring important? If the budget is tight are you better off investing in a top of the range solar battery package for instance?
Other'smart'features/add-ons we are considering; smart blinds, zip taps, smart mirror in our gym (called mirror from usa), wireless charging pads on each beside table, nest hubs throughout the house, Sonus smart music system for larger events.
Love to hear more from others that have actually gone through the build.
Flood wiring with cat 6 now would be quite cheap, though fibre blown through conduits is also a possibility for a future when you have 16K 3D displays in every room.
Every switch should be controllable via network - silly otherwise.
A centralised server and hub is also a no brainer.
Avoid being locked into apple proprietary anything, go for proper standards.
We built a house a couple of years ago and have a couple of regrets in regards to smart things we didn't include, but not much. Our house is 41sq over two stories.
I like as little as possible on wireless, so we put multiple ethernet points everywhere we knew we'd have fixed devices, so 3 behind every TV (Amp, TV, Console), so no need for bandwidth sharing over switches, probably overkill, but definitely not a regret. I should have put another couple in my study as I ended up needing to buy a switch as I have 5 ethernet connected devices in there. There are no cons other than cost to having wired, it's more stable/faster, but you'll need routers/switches and installation cost.
Pre-wire for wireless APs if you can. I have provisions in the ceilings so I can put in some Ubiquiti APs with PoE, which is a planned future upgrade when they release them with WiFi 6. But tbh, haven't had any issues getting wireless coverage with a single router, so may/may not use these.
Two regrets:
Hey guys,
I'm in the process of renovating my place (single story) and have gone down the smart home path. I'm the sparky doing it all my self but newish to the game.
1) Wired vs wireless
I strongly agree with wire as much as you can! Data, security, switches etc.
Pros
No battery,
No drop out or interference,
I tried to design the house as if WiFi was the last resort. That way I'd keep the WiFi bandwidth relatively free when I've got things streaming or downloading.
2)
I've gone with a mesh WiFi system. They are easy to install, add to and Google nest has a built in assistant. Or access point is a great option too.
3) Security devices -
Can't go wrong really, almost all have Android/iOS support.
I've gone with dahua star light cameras (night looks like day, really impressive).
DoorBell I had a hikvision doorbell lying around but as it's ip it integrates with the cameras NVR. But I like the ring.
Door lock, going to go with August. Keep the out door lock and key. But no pin.
Alarm system I've integrated konnect with my Bosch alarm. Bosch is feature rich but lacks in connecting it with home automation so hence the konnect. If you're looking for something basic but with your home automation then I'd suggest the konnect.
4) Smart devices
You can go with environexus or you can save 90% and go with sonoff. Huge range, cheap, reliable but no app dimming with lights. They do my
Lights, roller shutters, garage door, driveway gate, power points, door open close sensing.
Do you want a central app like Google home or what I highly recommend "home assistant" to control everything? If so Make sure their all compatible.
Plan out what you want to achieve, do you want everything automated or just the commonly used stuff? Are you concerned about your house being on the cloud or want it just local?
I suggest Smart switches rather then smart bulbs. The switch works like normal and on the app rather then keeping the switch on and have to use the app…. Gets annoying
What about Heating cooling? Most are WiFi capable or can get a smart Thermo. I've gone Daikin ducted with a WiFi module.
Try to stick to 1 brand where you can.
With all the above I've integrated it to home assistant. from there you can create scenes, I've created a button on the front door tablet so when your the last person to leave the house HA closes all the shutters, arm the house, notify if a garage n back door is left open and turn off the AC and all the lights after 10sec.
Hope that made sense lol
Wired. Wired. Wired
Put in Ethernet port in every room. Ethernet cable link is SO much faster than WiFi.
Install wiring for security cams. All battery based cams have a lag because continuous recording or pre-recording drains battery fast. You will always miss the first 1 or 2 seconds of movement.
Yes, I've done it on a budget, thanks to ozbargain. I use a range of devices.
It all runs through a Pi4 running homeassistant
I have a Synology NAS handling 4 $7 kmart IP cameras, which the Pi4 steals a stream from
I run Xiaomi temp/door+window/smoke detectors/movement sensors in each room
I have mainly Philips Hue bulbs I bought in Amazon sales, but I'm also running some wemo light switches and wemo makers for things like watering systems (and a b-hive in the back garden)
I also have some random bulbs and cabinet lighting from ikea and bunnings, all integrated
I have some integrated LED strips (chinese stuff)
I use Amazon Alexas in every room to control it all, as well as Hue switches and some random xiaomi switches
I have a Daikin SKyfi module I bought second hand handling the HVAC system
Xiaomi vacuum and air purifier
Ring doorbell
There are heaps of other devices on the network that I've probably forgotten about, almost too many to count these days. I can track the cars (get range etc)/phones etc, I have API from traffic cams for my journey to work, so I can see traffic before I leave, I also have a travel timer from Waze set up
All TVs etc are integrated too, a use a few harmony hubs/chinese copies to control IR devices that don't have web interfaces
There are a few things I need to do. I need to integrate the garage door (easy) and I need to also have a lot of electric Velux roof windows. I bought an interface in the UK to put it on the system, only to find out UK systems use a different frequency, so I was burnt with that and haven't bought another (cost me hundreds).
I have a Victorian house, so one of the stipulations was that everything was hidden. You can't tell that my house is highly automated, it looks like it's 120 years old (because it is).
I run a gigabit ethernet backhaul through the house, but most of the devices are on the wifi (which I'm changing over from a Netgear Nighthawk to a mesh system this week).
I played with the casambi lighting system - which operates using bluetooth mesh setup. Its pretty good but good lord is it pricey.
I have my cabling license, So I have my home wired with Cat6, it means less congestion on my wifi network, while streaming/gaming/downloading
I have a comms cabinet in my linen press with a 24 port patch panel and my modem (set to bridged mode)
Also a NAS and my TV points are terminated here too.
I have 13 data points, 8 cameras and a Ubiquiti AP in the roof space.
I use a google nest hub max to control:
- 3 roller blinds in the living room (Connector)
- 2 roller shutters on the front windows (Orvibo)
- Airtouch Air conditioning
- Hue lights
- Kasa Smart plugs connected to lamps and a small heater
- Kasa Cam in Garage and Nursery
- Swann cameras
Also have a Waterme wifi retic controller, but that isn't controlled by the nest.
I love it all, I've set up heaps of auto routines.
I'd do a few things different like the blinds and roller shutters but overall they're pretty good
I have started trying to make a smart network as I am into tech and an architect. I have watched alot of youtubes. This is what they don't tell you.
You will need a good internet connection. I use a 4g wifi in a rural setting so things don't usually work properly. If I do get a good connection
There is always a lag with equipment servers. The other issue is that the apps don't give the ability to granular control things. Ie I can set a schedule for motion sensor to do three things based on time of day. It does not allow interaction with other accessories. You can use ifttt but you run into more issues internet connection and server speeds being one of them.
My extent of automation is setting up night lights and automating a dumb radio to turn on. The areas where it could be used more is AC systems and door controls.
I have lifx bulbs, samsung smart things hub including button and motion sensor and philips hue equipment controlled by Google hub max and Google max speaker. The philips hue is good as it has its own hub and does not require internets. I have also found lights in power points are better than lights on light switches. There will be someone in the household who won't or cannot grasp you can't touch the switch.
In conclusion its flakey and expensive. You can count on it not working when you need it. However it is a lot better than 5 years ago and will be better in another 5 years.
The question is what do you want it to do and can you live with it not working every so often. Plus is everyone on board?
I'm currently in the process of building my home, and have started doing some research in the smart home area.
So far I have decided the following:
Zigbee/Z-Wave seems to be the way to go, as you do not want everything connecting to the WiFi, especially if you live in a populated area.
Devices like TV's are all wired though, as they should be.
As I have chosen Zigbee/Z-Wave, I needed a hub to transmit the commands to my devices. I have chosen Samsung SmartThings, there are many other services out there like Tuya and Wink etc, SmartThings, seems to be the most compatible for the products and Services I plan to use.
Google Home appears to sync with SmartThings flawlessly and is the smartest voice assistant there is, so easy winner. (Nest Hub is an awesome screen to have in the kitchen also)
Philips Hue have a solid solution with Smart Lights, the lights are of good quality and the dimmer switches are awesome, they also work with some other lights, like Ikea Tradfri. (This is the Friends of Hue program)
I chose this as it doesn't break the bank and just replaces the deadbolt. (It needs a network module to connect to your network.)
Yep, I have decided to go with a smart smoke alarm. I like this idea specifically because it also houses a carbon monoxide sensor, and will alert me if I happen to be away from my home when/if anything occurs.
New homes in SA are required to have a mains-connected smoke alarm at handover, so it will be an easy installation too.
—
Currently I am trying to figure out the rest of these topics with solutions to connect to my network:
Garage Door Controller (Need something that can detect if it's already open or closed)
Security Cameras - Want an NVR capable of 8 cameras at 1080p, but also with a solid app, can be chinese brand as it will be on a separate VLAN to my network and will not be integrating with my home network, remote access will be via VPN (no open ports, firewall configured to block internet access)
Doorbell - Need this to be able to be casted to a Nest Hub or Chromecast when rung, not sure on what brand to go with yet.
Blind controller - Unsure yet, haven't searched at all, but will look for solution that won't break the bank.
I'm open to suggestions for any of these.
I use this for a garage controller (Z-Wave)
https://capitalsmarthomes.com.au/products/aeon-labs-z-wave-g…
It has a sensor which detects open/close state of your garage. However, i think its meant for tilt garage doors, while mine's a roller-door. Needs more fiddling to work well with a roller-door, which i havent succeeded at as yet.
Having said that, the controller is a "toggle" device, so when you activate it it'll close the door if its open, and open it if its closed, regardless of what the sensor says.
This looks perfect! Thanks for that suggestion, I reckon this will be the one :)
I have a panel-lift door so this should work well
Also, if you are going to completely fit-out your house with smart products, do yourself a favour and protect your investment with a surge arrestor.
For the uninitiated, does the surge arrestor install before the main breaker and does it remove the requirement for multiple surge protectors inside the house?
Unsure if it goes before or after the breaker, but it will mean you don't have to surge protect each item, as it is an entire home solution.
When we built our first home about 16 years or so ago I went with the mantra of Wi-Fi for everything but within a few years I'd run CAT6 to numerous places through out the house, mostly behind TV's so I could stream HD content. Was a massive mistake. We moved house a few years ago but before we moved we did a major renovation. I had 22 CAT6a runs installed with conduits so the cabling can be easily replaced later on. Installed a 9RU comms style rack cabinet and all my equipment runs out of there. There's also a large C channel running to it so if I wanted to replace or add extra cabling it could be easily done. Had a 7 camera CCTV system installed recently and it went nice a smooth with the new NVR in my rack and the PoE cameras all running from there.
I looked at doing a Fibaro Z-Wave smart solution but it was quite expensive but it can be retro fitted if required.
This is a slippery slope. Soon you will outgrow the capability and lack of interoperability of the apps, and start looking at Home Assistant / Node Red / deCONZ. This may suck up a lot of your time.
Good point regarding neutral wire in light switches. Australia seems to be one of the few places in the world where that isnt standard. It means most light switch smart devices arent compatible with AU wiring.
AOTEC do have 2-wire devices however, which is what i've used.
So, in summary, 2-wire is still ok but you'll be limited to only a handful of devices which will be compatible.
I just built two townhouses to be smart homes.
1) Wired vs wireless - a wired system is preferred over wireless system? Pros and cons?
My builder charged $100 per wire run. Don't know if that was expensive, but it really adds up fast. You could be paying many thousands for wires that are "just in case".
Also, the builder squeezes the electrician on price so they are under pressure to do things fast, which can make communication/clarifications painful for the electrician.
My solution was to get cat6 to every room, in all external spots and any other spot that would be inconvenient to change batteries or required too much power for batteries. So this was:
Wired:
Wireless:
I plan to add an alert for when too many wireless devices become uncontactable. Not sure how useful it will be in practice.
2) WiFi - how to effectively cover the entire house with WiFi?
Pretty easy with a few mesh routers. I get good performance in a 2 storey home with just one router. You can also get mesh routers that also support other home automation standards such as Zigbee and Z-Wave.
3) Security devices (camera/doorbell/doorlock/…) - how to decide? (preferrable with ios support)
Currently video doorbells are overpriced and are locked into their own home automation system. I bought the Ring v1 2nd gen for $150, with a view to replace in a few years when better things come along.
All of the doorbells charge monthly subscriptions for storing video for a month or two.
Same with door locks. They are either super expensive or don't integrate that well. I ended up with a Lockwood Zigbee keypad lock for $299 - cheapest I could find that did the bare minimum, and wasn't super ugly.
I'm still deciding on cameras.
I saw that the Ring can store all of your doorbell footage and security camera footage for 60 days for $10USD/month. If you were happy with their security cameras, and wanted something simple and hassle free, then it's not too overpriced in my opinion.
Recommend buying door bells and locks from Bunnings as they have a good range, most are on display, and are pretty good with returns if the device is unreliable or doesn't do what it says on the box.
4) Smart devices (lights/plugs/switches/controls/…) - what brands stand out?
Cost is a big problem if you're doing the whole house. You could easily spend $20k if you pick an expensive brand. I would research cheap brands and buy one of each device and experiment with them to see if they work the way you want, and are reliable enough. For things like lights and light switches, you need to test first because your electrician will want to install everything in one go. No turning back.
I like IKEA devices. They are Zigbee so work with other Zigbee home automation systems. Their prices are reasonable, and you can get them in your hands quickly.
I'm currently using SmartThings with Zigbee and Z-Wave devices and a few Wifi devices. It's quite a difficult and often unrelaible system. If I were starting again I would use IKEA devices as much as possible, and Xiaomi for anything IKEA doesn't have. I would try the Hubitat hub. I would do a test set up in current house to test. I would even pay electrician to install the 240V stuff for testing in current house before building.
5) Other things to consider?
Home automation is still very immature, no system is perfect, and they all require hundreds of hours for tinkering and troubleshooting. The main thing I would stress is to pick a system that doesn't rely on the internet/cloud for anything to do with lights. Eg. turning on a light when motion sensor triggered. Anything that goes to the internet will add a minimum of a 1 second delay, but often 3, 4, or 5 seconds. Doesn't seem like much but it's very annoying in practice.
Also be mindful that it's hard to get everything you need in Australia. Reasonably priced brands with a local presence are always running out of stock, and anything from China can take 2 months to arrive.
Don't forget about blinds. If you like the look of the IKEA automated blinds, which are the cheapest, you might consider using window sizes that match their blinds. Otherwise consider if you want to wire power for blind motors, or recharge blind motor batteries every 6 months. You can get motors that go inside the tubes, which you need to pre-plan for to ensure tube compatibility, or you can get "chain motors" that sit at the bottom of the chain. I ended up using Acmeda in-tube battery motors with their hub that supports IFTTT.
Also, if you want an alarm system integrated with your home automation system, then you need to check your system carefully. As far as I know, the only home automation system in Australia can do security is SmartThings. Even if the system says that it supports security, check carefully as often it is a US-only feature.
I'm considering installing the following switches as they have HomeKit, Google Assistant and Alexa support:
https://hpm.com.au/switches-sockets/indoor/arteor-with-netat…
I haven't used them though so can't say how good they are.
I'm also considering installing Daikin Airbase for our ducted AC. No HomeKit support, but I'm not sure there are any HomeKit ducted AC options available:
https://www.daikin.com.au/controllers/daikin-airbase
I would then try to add HomeKit support using either homebridge or Home Assistant:
https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/daikin/
https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-daikin-airbase
As you are building, consider how you will get power to locations where you may want to install cameras or smart door bells or other smart devices later on.
My current setup:
Haven't looked into smart house but one thing I would consider is that in case of power failure or network outage, what will be affected? Also other scenarios: smart device malfunction, fire…