Dettached house
The challenge

We were contacted to see if we could automate a house around 5500 sq ft, it was rebuild in 2019, but at that time the works did not include home automation pre-installation.

The owner installed motorized blinds and a basic communication network on some rooms. There were issues with the Wifi coverage, the garden and pool were giving lot of work. There were also some awnings with remote, that were damaged due raining.

Thanks to Open Smart Homes flexibility, we were able to deploy this solution with 50% less costs than other automation systems, and also including the Wifi communications.

Priority List

After first study the following priorities where defined:

  • Improve home network.
  • Better security using cameras.
  • Integrate with an existing external managed security system.
  • Cover Automation
  • Light Automation
  • Aerothermia Integration
  • Pool and garden irrigation automation.
  • Reduce daily tasks

    •
    The Solution

    To cover all needs the following was installed

  • Home Assistant server: House's brain, it was installed on the exisisting communications cabinet, to be able to fit a recabling and optimization was done.
  • Meteo sensors: Humidity, temperatura and rain external sensors were installed. Those were needed to coordinate covers and awnings in case of rain or sharp temperature changes.
  • Unifi Network devices: 4 APs, a router and POE switch were installed to enhance the wifi coverage.
  • Smart Wifi y Zigbee devices: Depending on the needs different devices were installed, also some custom ESP based devices were built to be able to integrate the existing awnings.
  • Presence detection sensors: Were added to automate the aisle and entrance lights.
  • Wifi Cameras and AI based recognition system: A new wifi camera system was added and it was integrated with the existing house alarm system.
  • Tablet based control: A new tablet was installed on the kitchen to allow whole control, together with the mobile apps.
  • Solar Panel System integration: Later a solar panel solution was added to the house, and it was included in Home Assistant.

    • Final Result
    Communications Cabinet

    We recabled and reorded all existing elements (TV, phone and network) to maximize the available space and left some space for future installations. New layout simplifies the maintenance.


    Control Tablet

    The owner wanted a table in the kitchen, also it needed to be mobile, so custom fittings were done to allow it. It uses magnetic charge in the back to hide all cables. With this solution you can put as many screens as needed.


    Main control panel

    Main page, from here most common tasks can be done.


    Energy management

    Dashboard with the home energy production and consumption.

    Smart Car

    Added later, thanks to the constant Home Assistant evolution could be integrated without problem.

    Thermostate control

    Room temperature control, remotely and automated.

    CCTV Management

    Videowall, all cameras controlled from a single pane.

    Automations

    Manage all automations in a simple way.

    Improvements

    These are some benefits after makin the home real smart:

  • Energy Savings: La casa se adapta a cambios exteriores, cerrando y abriendo persianas y toldos. Se ha dado inteligencia a la bomba de agua sanitara para circular agua caliente sólo cuando sea necesario. Se ha centralizado la gestión de los termostatos de las habitaciones para controlarlo todo desde la aplicación.
  • Improved Security: Alarm is armed automatically if there is no one home, or if it is bed time. It also warns the owner if somethign is not right (open windows or doors)
    The CCTV systems sends pictures and videos in case of people detection. Lighting routines have been implemented to be activated when nobody is home.
  • More confort: Lots of daily tasks have been automated, and others have been simplified to help the owners not being pushing buttons all day long. Aisle ligthning is fully automated and covers move automatically depending on the time of the day.
  • Ready for the future: After installation new devices have been added, making the day to day even easier for the owners without the hassle of works in the house.
    • What couldn't be done:

    Becase there were some physical limitation on the water installation, we could not install a electrovalve to manage the water supply, because some mayor works had to be done and the owner did not want to do them.

    If in the future, the owner will decid to do major works, then there will be no problem to add as many new integrations as needed.

    Remote support after install

    After install, we were able to add new devices and elements thanks to the remote support feature, like Smart cards, Solar panels, vacuum robots and much more.

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