Best whole house smart system

[sraper]

I'm just about to purchase a house on South Coast near Torquay.

The plan is a "complete" refurbishment. Hopefully underfloor heating (with either ASHP or GSHP) lots of rewiring and plumbing, alarm system, CCTV, connected smoke alarms (as 3 story property).

What is the best, flexible smart system that can tie all of this together along with control of lighting and maybe even some air conditioning units?

I could probably "roll my own" solution using a mixture of z-wave and zigbee with a decent hub. Just want something more "professional".

The only solution i can think of is control4, are there any alternatives?

 

[Seb Briggs]

Lots of alternatives

I use both Shelly and Fibaro for my installs, they are certainly no less professional than Control4 these days

A hub i have used that ties up many different protocols is Hubitat

Drop me a line and I can put some ideas together if you can elaborate on your exact requirements

 

[sraper]

Lots of alternatives

I use both Shelly and Fibaro for my installs, they are certainly no less professional than Control4 these days

A hub i have used that ties up many different protocols is Hubitat

Shelly always felt a bit rough around the edges!

Fibaro is z-wave I believe.

If not tried hubitat but have been using Domoticz for a number of years as I liked the programming options using LUA

 

[Seb Briggs]

Shelly always felt a bit rough around the edges!

Fibaro is z-wave I believe.

If not tried hubitat but have been using Domoticz for a number of years as I liked the programming options using LUA

Shelly used to be rough but their modules are rock solid now, i use them either on their own with the app or with a Hub such as Hubitat

Fibaro is mainly Zwave but now supports other protocols as well

Control4 is a very closed system and expensive as well, if you like to be able to do some programming yourself then Control4 is definitely a no no

 

[sraper]

Control4 is a very closed system and expensive as well, if you like to be able to do some programming yourself then Control4 is definitely a no no

That's my worry. I like to tinker

 

[Seb Briggs]

That's my worry. I like to tinker

I thought so, you would end up very frustrated when you just want to make a minor change and have to pay an exorbitant fee

 

[Seb Briggs]

My recommendation, and installed many of them, would be the new Fibaro Home Centre 3, Fibaro Dimmer, RGBW and relay modules, a Heatmiser UH8 UFH wiring centre (nothing else from them ) with dual Fibaro relays for Under Floor heating. Fibaro multi-sensors for motion sensing and temperature. CCTV mainly separate but add video feed to Fibaro app. Fibaro also as Alarm

 

[sraper]

Given I hope to eventually include AV control (amps and projector) what else talks to as many devices as Control4?

Can you control a projector, AV amplifier, door entry system, AirCon and underfloor central heating with the right modules using Hubitat

 

[sraper]

My recommendation, and installed many of them, would be the new Fibaro Home Centre 3, Fibaro Dimmer, RGBW and relay modules, a Heatmiser UH8 UFH wiring centre (nothing else from them ) with dual Fibaro relays for Under Floor heating. Fibaro multi-sensors for motion sensing and temperature. CCTV mainly separate but add video feed to Fibaro app. Fibaro also as Alarm

Last time I looked at Fibraro(about 4 years ago) it did seem limited in what it could do. Sounds much improved

 

[Seb Briggs]

Hubitat and Fibaro can control all of those

Door entry - Doorbird integrates nicely with both
Projector if IP or IR controllable - Both have that facility
Aircon - Again if IP or IR then can be controlled by both
UFH - See above

 

[Seb Briggs]

Last time I looked at Fibraro(about 4 years ago) it did seem limited in what it could do. Sounds much improved

Fibaro even 4 years ago with professional knowledge its really unlimited

 

[sraper]

At the time I went with Domoticz and an Aeotec Zwave stick and numerous z-wave relays to control 2 dehumidifiers, CH multiport valve, etc for a swimming pool. Wrote my own logic to control when to turn on central heating system and the dehumidifiers depending on inputs from an Aeotec multi-sensor (and time of day to maximise use of economy 7)

 

[Seb Briggs]

Definitely Fibaro for you, professional setup and then mess as much as you like !!

 

[sraper]

I assume (maybe incorrectly) that control4 would be able to control the Aircon using modbus whereas hubitat at least would need an ir repeater similar to Z-Wave Remotec ZXT-600 Z-Wave+ to IR Extender for AC

 

[sraper]

Oh just seen euLINK seems a very handy device

 

[Seb Briggs]

Oh just seen euLINK seems a very handy device

Plenty of those type of devices, but also i use the more Professional Global Cache devices as Fibaro can also integrate with those

 

[Seb Briggs]

Also looking at a new product that integrates with Fibaro and others for auto flushing and deodorizing of toilets . Leftfield but with my kids when they were younger and grandkids now a godsend !!

 

[sraper]

Also looking at a new product that integrates with Fibaro and others for auto flushing and deodorizing of toilets . Leftfield but with my kids when they were younger and grandkids now a godsend !!

Thankfully not that but may want to control bathroom fans based on time (eg 2 minutes after light switched of) or humidity (when humidity less than 50%)

 

[Seb Briggs]

Thankfully not that but may want to control bathroom fans based on time (eg 2 minutes after light switched of) or humidity (when humidity less than 50%)

Standard thing we do with Fibaro, but not coming on at all after midnight

 

[rslewis]

You should take a look at Loxone. Similar integrated system approach to Control4 but less expensive and doesn't tie you in with a locked down, engineer access only system. Would cover the things you've already mentioned as your wish list and doesn't rely on external internet access to work. I've helped a number of people do self installs which are very straightforward and if, like me, you enjoy playing around with the control software, it's very flexible. Drives my wife round the bend when I keep tweaking stuff!!
Drop me a PM if you want more details.

 

[Seb Briggs]

You should take a look at Loxone. Similar integrated system approach to Control4 but less expensive and doesn't tie you in with a locked down, engineer access only system. Would cover the things you've already mentioned as your wish list and doesn't rely on external internet access to work. I've helped a number of people do self installs which are very straightforward and if, like me, you enjoy playing around with the control software, it's very flexible. Drives my wife round the bend when I keep tweaking stuff!!
Drop me a PM if you want more details.

Used to install loxone but decided I didn’t want another proprietary system or one that mainly relied on none standard wiring .

However Loxone was pretty good and a damn site better than Control4

 

[rslewis]

Used to install loxone but decided I didn’t want another proprietary system or one that mainly relied on none standard wiring .

Yes, it's true some elements of Loxone are proprietary but in reality there are very few truly open integrated systems out there. That may change when the Matter standard gets off the ground. Although Loxone will tend to guide people toward their own wiring standard, with sensible planning it just uses standard mains and cat6/7 cabling. I always design wiring to be as future proof as possible and not to rely on specific proprietary cable types or topology.

However Loxone was pretty good and a damn site better than Control4

It's not perfect (are any of them?) but I agree it's pretty good and one of the few big name systems you can install, programme and manage yourself. I think Loxone have become reasonably successful by focussing on reliability and the approach of everything being designed to work well together.

 

[Seb Briggs]

I’d be careful with the apple analogy , the archetypal closed system

 

[rslewis]

hmmm, yeah good point Seb

 

[sraper]

I’d be careful with the apple analogy , the archetypal closed system

hmmm, yeah good point Seb

I'm not a fan of the Apple approach.

Looks like Fibaro and Loxone will be on my list