We turned Saltcote Place into a Smart home for a
number of reasons.
Risk Mitigation
Our Security
Operating costs
Peace of mind.
Smart home technology works for us and we hope this is both useful, inspiring and above all we hope you will share your experience when you find something that works well for you.
You will want an internet connection for updates but do not purchase any device that cannot operate without an internet connection.
Your Smart Home system will require a smart hub, some are proprietary and only work with specific devices.
We selected a hub that is constantly updated, contains all of the rules and operating system and database of rules that means if the internet was unavailable the house continues to function reliably regardless.
If you want to see a short video on the technical elements see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqsFdcL6ffE
Since 2019 Hubitat has proven to be remarkably reliable and resilient without any issues. We have benefitted from a great many enhancements without additional cost to us over the small annual subscription to Hubitat.
Hubitat easily works with Alexa and Google Home and new devices can easily be brought into the system by asking the the smart hub to update itself.
Hubitat supports Zigbee, Wifi and Zwave protocols and works with most smart speakers such as Alexa and Google Voice.
What is a Smart Home
Simple rules ensure the home environment supports you and your lifestyle without costing a fortune to setup.
A smart home can serve many purposes from reducing operating costs and improving security or by alerting you to non compliant events as they occur whilst also taking action to protect your home.
Examples could include
If a water or gas leak is detected instantly turn off the water and alert you and others on their mobile devices and email.
Movement
If movement is detected in the wrong place at the wrong time it can alert you, the key holders, neighbours or even the alarm monitoring company. Conversely if movement or an action has not taken place such as an elderly relative has not visited the kitchen by 9am perhaps something is wrong.
At sunset and sunrise switch on and off security lights
Randomly throughout periods of non occupancy or throughout the night turn on internal lights to give the impression you are home.
Rules are flexible, Conditions you set out such as the time of day, the state of other items in your setup, temperatures in rooms, the location of key family members and movement in the property.
Our Network
The Cat 6 Network that supports the house is in two parts with a Unifi Wifi system operating two distinct networks. Devices is password protected for Smart home devices and is separate to the Saltcote network which pervades the home with Wifi.
We aligned with two protocols to keep it simple and reliable.
Wifi Devices
Wifi operates back to the WiFi access points for each device and if drawn out would resemble a spiders web with the hubs or connection points providing internet access.
Every device is locked down on the network by the device MAC address to a specific IP address which ensures integrity and easy management of the mesh.
For properties with good a strong WiFi network reaching all areas perhaps WiFi is the only protocol you need and so https://www.shelly.cloud/ could be a great place to shop.
Zigbee Protocol
With the basics in place but a larger property a MESH may offer a greater flexibility. A Mesh could be with Zigbee or with Zwave. We chose Zigbee because it’s easy to setup, and if something goes wrong it takes only a few minutes to repair itself which is not the case with Zwave.
Zigbee units operate as a switch or a relay to turn on the lights, or to open the blinds, it could be a temperature sensor to monitor your fridges, the heating or almost any other device that is not battery operated can further contribute to your MESH.
Most devices are very simple to install and require no knowledge of electrical wiring, some are designed to be fitting inside the light switch on the wall or in the electrical junction box and so would require an electrician.
Generally an electrically operated device will be a repeater so it’s simple to extend your MESH if needed.
Alarm Signalling
As we are thinking about our comfort and safety consider that any monitoring of your home Alarm system is only as good as the communications upon which it can notify the Alarm Receiving Centre. For this reason we use broadband and have a cellular backup for signalling the Alarm Receiving Centre.
Water and Gas Leaks result in Automatic Shut off
When a water sensor detects damp these can automatically turn off the water valve or multiple valves you have determined should be shut off.
The shut off valves gives you peace of mind in the event of a leak. Easily fitted on existing valves with either 15mm or 22mm and only require a 12v supply.
The best prices are on AliExpress.com at under £15 compared to £85 for the same product bought in the UK. It’s probably letting your local electrician make a profit on these so that if it goes wrong he can return the devices.
Upgrade any alarm system
If you already have a hard wired Alarm solution the heavy lifting has been done which is the cable infrastructure and control panel.
Using the Konnected system atop of your existing solution enables remote access and control, more importantly soft notifications of non compliant conditions such as movement when the property should be empty or partial setting of zones without needing to call out the alarm maintenance company.
You would benefit using someone with knowledge of your alarm panel to get this added – https://konnected.io/
Shelly Flood is a WiFi device that works with Hubitat and using the rule machine within Hubitat is a potential life saver. With a near two year battery life it notifies you and others you select when it needs changing.
When the Flood detector is triggered it can automatically turn off the water or gas valve shut off devices you have linked it to and alert the householders and key holders to the situation on their mobile devices AT THE SAME TIME.
As with other Shelly devices they work best with a fixed IP address (easily setup in your router) and also report temperatures and movement of temperatures within temperature ranges which means that any rapid increase in temperature would cause an alert to the mobile devices, it’s like having eyes and ears all over the property in all areas 24 x 7.
Costing under £25 each from https://shellystore.co.uk/product/shelly-flood/
Relays
These have been used in ceiling pendants and many of the light switches and wall sockets to enable the device it is connected to to be automated.
Including a new Zigbee device into your home not only gives you a new device you can automate it also strengthens your Zigbee network so that other devices can be included to further expand your “Mesh”.
When buying any new devices it is worth considering if there could be a benefit to having a degree of automation at a later date.
Always get a qualified electrician to install anything that touches mains electrical loads. A Shelly device could have a 30A Resistive and 10A inductive load specification, if you don’t understand this make sure your electrician does.
TRV’s or Thermostatic Radiator Valves.
We have two types in the house, both had advantages over the other but if I was starting again I would buy Zigbee TRV’s from AliExpress at around £12 each and not the Honeywell Evohome units at £45 although they have been reliable.
Having rooms automatically held at the temperatures you determine based on usage, living patterns and external temperatures is an advantage.
Radiator TRVs
We have two different types of TRV in use, this one is an early Shelly TRV, which was withdrawn from market, a replacement is available with excellent controls via an app on the mobile phone but not simple to use without the App or online control via the web interface.
Excellent battery life, seriously quite and since it only costs about £50 from Shelly and does not require an additional control panel like our Honeywell TVRs.
The Shelly TRV uses WiFi and works with the Hubitat control hub
The HR92 TRV from Honeywell works on Wifi but also requires a controller. The HR92 cost around £45. We have around 30 of these with three controllers at £130 each.
This video could save you literally thousands in heating costs, turning down room temperatures when windows are left open and understanding heating schedules.
TRV’s Alternatives from China.
As technology evolves and much of it comes from China you may want to consider these inexpensive alternatives. Remember it’s your quality lock shield valve that is being operated by the TRV so there is very little risk in trying these units which are being re-branded by UK resellers all the time.