Cum iti transformi casa intr-o locuinta

inteligenta

17.05.2018 12:22

Casa inteligenta nu mai este de mult doar un scenariu de film sau un moft, iar
implementarea unui sistem smart te poate ajuta sa faci economie la facturi si
sa te bucuri in voie de timpul obtinut cu ajutorul lui.

Pentru a te bucura de toate beneficiile unei case inteligente ai nevoie doar de

un smartphone sau de o tableta si de o retea wireless.

 Casa inteligenta, o idee vehiculata inca de acum 100 de ani

 Ce este o casa inteligenta
 Cate tipuri de case inteligente exista
 Ce poate controla o locuinta inteligenta
 Care sunt avantajele unei case inteligente
 Ce dezavantaje are o casa inteligenta

Casa inteligenta, o idee vehiculata inca de

acum 100 de ani
Notiunea de casa inteligenta nu este una noua. Primul proiect de casa care se
adapta nevoilor celor care locuiau intr-un anumit spatiu a aparut in anii 1920,
deschizatorul de drumuri fiind celebrul arhitect Le Corbusier.

Mai tarziu, in anii 1970, odata cu evolutia tehnologiei, primii pasi in

dezvoltarea casei inteligente au fost facuti de trucurile folosite pentru a
economisi energia electrica. Incepand cu 1980, calculatoarele au inceput sa
se dezvolte si au aparut primele cladiri in care existau obiecte controlabile
(de exemplu, usi cu senzori care se deschideau singure).

In timp, tehnologia a evoluat, permitandu-ne astazi interconectarea tuturor

aparatelor si echipamentelor dintr-o casa, in vederea automatizarii unor
obiceiuri repetitive pentru o „calitate mai buna a vietii”. Poti alege intre
produse inteligente individuale (de exemplu, aspirator robot, termostate
automate sau becuri smart, fiecare cu telecomanda sau cu aplicatia sa) si
servicii sau comenzi (de exemplu, coborarea automata a jaluzelelor si
aprinderea lampilor) controlate de pe aceeasi telecomanda sau aplicatie
pentru telefon.

Pentru acel control dezirabil centralizat al tuturor aparatelor si sistemelor din

casa, momentan exista trei mari platforme: Apple Homekit, Alexa si Google
Nest. Odata ce aceste platforme castiga tot mai multi adepti, producatorii de
 device-uri smart vor fi obligati sa asigure compatibilitatea dintre ele. Daca
astazi putem propune aplicatiei legate de sistemul de incalzire sa creasca
temperatura atunci cand in casa se inregistreaza sub 20 grade Celsius, de
pilda, pe viitor vor exista senzori care vor detecta temperatura din fiecare
camera, casa inteligenta reusind sa stabileasca o temperatura prielnica in
fiecare dintre ele si sa „memoreze” astfel obiceiurile tale.

Ce este o casa inteligenta

Sistemul unei case inteligente include, printre altele, de la banalele sisteme
de securitate si interfoane video pana la sisteme de securitate cu senzori de
miscare (unele au incorporate chiar si o camera video) si sisteme de
detectare a inundatiilor, sisteme de incuiere electronica sau reglarea
temperaturii. Exista inclusiv sisteme legate la smartphone care, atunci cand
iti suna dimineata alarma, declanseaza programul de preparare a cafelei.

Aceste sisteme sunt utile si pentru reducerea consumului de energie. De

exemplu, odată cu implementarea unui sistem de reglare a caldurii si a
energiei electrice, facturile lunare pot fi cu pana la 30% mai mici. In plus, cele
mai multe dintre ele intra in modulul pentru economisirea energiei atunci
cand nu sunt folosite pentru un numar mai mare de ore.

Cate tipuri de case inteligente exista

In cartea Inside the Smart Home, Frances Aldrich imparte casele inteligente
in cinci categorii:

 Case care contin obiecte inteligente - acele case in care exista obiecte
ineligente (in general, electrocasnice si aparate de entertainment);

 Case care includ aparate inteligente care comunica intre ele;

 Case conectate - acele case care includ retele ce pot fi accesate si

modificate chiar si de la distanta (de exemplu, un sistem de supraveghere cu
un feed live direct pe telefon sau de aprindere a luminilor in casa atunci cand
esti plecat, pentru a tine hotii la distanta);

 Case care invata - case in care iti vezi de activitatile de zi cu zi si care

reusesc dupa cateva zile sau saptamani sa iti anticipeze nevoile (de exemplu,
sa aprinda lumina la baie la ora 7:30);

 Case atente - aceste case iti inregistreaza frecventa cu care folosesti

anumite aparate prin casa si utilizeaza aceste date pentru a anticipa nevoile
viitoare (de exemplu, iti coboara jaluzelele dimineata).

Ce poate controla o casa inteligenta

 Mai sus am enumerat cateva dintre principalele trasaturi ale unei case
inteligente. Iata, in detaliu, fiecare aspect ce poate fi controlat cu o astfel de
tehnologie!

 Sistemul de control al temperaturii

Folosirea smart a capacitatii de incalzire a casei tale te va ajuta nu doar sa te

bucuri de temperatura potrivita in orice moment al zilei, ci si sa contribui la
reducerea costurilor aferente incalzirii. Poti reduce factura cu pana la 30%.

Sistemul va asigura temperatura propice fiecarei incaperi (de exemplu, nu e

nevoie sa incalzesti camera pentru oaspeti atunci cand nu ai pe nimeni in
vizita), indiferent de orientarea casei sau de gradul de izolare a peretilor
externi. Incalzirea personalizata a fiecarei incaperi (sau oprirea pe timpul
verii si pornirea aerului conditionat) se poate face din cateva atingeri pe
smartphone, tableta sau laptop.

 Sistemul de securizare a locuintei inteligente

Este unul dintre cele mai importante atribute ale unei case inteligente pentru
multi dintre noi. Un sistem de securizare incorporat intr-o casa inteligenta
combina senzorii de incendiu cu sistemul de alarma, supravegherea video si
audio si controlul de la distanta al acestora, informandu-te despre existenta
unei posibile probleme, chiar daca te afli la cateva mii de kilometri distanta.
Odata ce sistemul de securitate detecteaza un eveniment necunoscut, iti va
oferi o notificare si posibilitatea de a lua o masura: blocarea usilor, apelarea
la firma de paza sau pornirea unui sistem de stingere a incendiului (daca
senzorii detecteaza fum in locuinta).

 Sistemul de control al accesului

Cu ajutorul unui astfel de sistem poti restrictiona accesul in anumite incaperi

din casa - de exemplu, sa nu permiti copiilor accesul la biroul tau. Poti face
acest lucru cu ajutorul un sistem de control al accesului pe baza de coduri
unice. De asemenea, un astfel de sistem este responsabil pentru deschiderea
automata a garajului sau pentru blocarea yalei de la usa daca o persoana
neautorizata forteaza usa (familia poate avea acces prin identificare
biometrica sau prin amprenta).

 Sistemul de control al luminilor din casa

Un astfel de sistem iti permite sa controlezi iluminatul din casa, chiar daca
esti sau nu la domiciliu. Principiul de baza al sistemului de control al luminilor
implica un senzor care detecteaza nivelul de lumina din fiecare incapere si
adapteaza becurile inteligente nevoilor fiecarei incaperi, cat si in functie de
anotimp si de ora din zi sau din noapte - se vor aprinde luminile automat in
living atunci cand esti acolo, dar vor fi stinse in dormitor, de exemplu. Un
astfel de sistem iti garanteaza ca nu se pierde inutil energia electrica
aferenta iluminarii.
 Sistemul de mentenanta

Un sistem de mentenanta te ajuta sa salvezi din timpul pe care altfel l-ai

aloca curateniei in casa (menajul este facut de un aspirator robot de la
distanta, de pe canapea sau de la birou), filtrarii apei de la piscina sau
udatului gradinei. Aceste activitati se pot comanda rapid din cateva taste sau
atingeri ale ecranului.

 Sistemul de control audio-video

Din telecomanda sau de pe smartphone poti controla volumul sau lista

pieselor pe care vrei sa le asculti, chiar daca esti pe sezlong, langa piscina.
Mai mult, daca vizionezi un film in sistem home cinema, aplicatia audio-video
va regla volumul in functie de zgomotul ambiental si va cobori jaluzelele
pentru a te putea bucura de film chiar si pe durata zilei.

Alte sisteme inca in faza preliminara implica un sistem de geolocalizare care

sa detecteze cand esti aproape de casa si sa iti deschida portile, usa de la
garaj si usa de la casa. De asemenea, daca ai o terasa, un sistem inteligent va
implica copertine retractabile si sisteme de iluminat care se adapteaza
nevoilor tale. Aparatul de purificare smart a aerului si cuptorul cu microunde
legat la reteaua Wi-Fi inca sunt in faza de proiect.

Produse pentru casa inteligenta

Exista o multime de obiecte si dispozitive care iti pot face viata mai usoara si
casa mai inteligenta. Mai jos sunt cele mai populare dintre acestea:

 Eelectrocasnice inteligente - de la masina de spalat rufe sau vase pana

la frigidere, multe dintre acestea pot primi comenzi de la distanta. De
exemplu, pornirea unui program de spalare a rufelor cand esti inca la job -
cand ajungi acasa, tot ceea ce ai de facut este sa le pui la uscat sau direct in
dulap, daca alegi un program cu uscare.

 Becuri inteligente - aceste becuri controlate direct din telefon te ajuta

sa te bucuri de tipul de lumina de care ai nevoie (cu o intensitate mai mare
sau mai mica). Acestea pot fi setate sa se stinga atunci cand iesi din incapere
si sa se aprinda atunci cand intri din nou, dar si sa regleze nivelul
luminozitatii in functie de lumina zilei.

 Prize inteligente - sunt folosite pentru oprirea energiei electrice atunci

cand esti plecat de acasa, dar si pentru a detecta nivelul de energie
consumat de fiecare aparat pe care il bagi in priza. Mai mult, unele branduri
au introdus o optiune prin care priza inteligenta iti spune, in functie de
variatiile de energie electrica, cand un aparat electrocasnic este defect.

 Sisteme automate de termoficare - sunt excelente atat pentru a-ti

asigura necesarul de caldura, cat si pentru un consum de energie eficient.
Optional, exista varianta de incalzire prin pardoseala controlata de la
distanta, dar costurile sunt destul de ridicate.
 Senzori pentru miscare, iluminare interioara si exterioara, temperatura,
fum, umiditate - acestia iti transmit anomaliile printr-o notificare pe telefon.

Preturile unor astfel de sisteme sunt destul de mari, producatorii promitandu-

ne ca vom recupera investitia prin economia facuta la gaz si la energie
electrica. Momentan, un senzor pentru optimizarea curentului electric ajunge
la 89 de dolari (este necesar doar unul), un senzor inteligent de gaz, la
aproximativ 70 de dolari, senzorul pentru inundatii, 35 de dolari, senzorul de
miscare, 35 de dolari, o clanta inteligenta, 180 de dolari, un bec inteligent, 69
de dolari, iar o priza inteligenta, circa 60 de dolari.

Standardele aplicate caselor inteligente

Odata cu dezvoltarea dispozitivelor inteligente pentru casa, au aparut si

cateva reglementari pentru producatori privind standardele aplicate caselor
inteligente. Mai jos sunt cateva dintre cele mai importante standarde pentru
casele inteligente:

 European Installation Bus (EIB) este unul dintre cele mai importante
standarde la nivelul Uniunii Europene. Acesta reglementeaza cablurile de
semnal si liniile de alimentare.

 KNX este o combinatie a trei standarde: European Home Systems

Protocol (EHS), BatiBUS si EIB. Acest standard reglementeaza cablurile de
semnal, reteaua electrica, detectia cu infrarosu si Ethernetul. KNX este
recunoscut atat in Europa, cat si in Canada si China.

 Local Operating Network (LON) este un standard care reglementeaza

controlul energiei electrice, sistemul de acces, sistemul de control si
automatizarea echipamentelor.

 X10 vizeaza automatizarea electrocasnicelor, de la lampi pana la

sisteme de termoficare. Acest standard este restrans momentan doar la
comenzi de tip deschis/inchis.

 BACnet este un standard care reglementeaza automatizarea spatiilor

mari. Momentan este folosit doar in SUA.

Sursa video: youtube.com

Care sunt avantajele unei case inteligente

 Principalele avantaje ale unei case inteligente sunt simplitatea si rapiditatea
cu care poti controla felul in care se desfasoara anumite activitati casnice
direct de pe smarphone. Mai jos sunt alte cateva beneficii ale unei case
inteligente:

- Eficientizarea energiei electrice, a consumului de gaz si de apa;

- Securizarea mult mai eficienta a locuintei;
- Nu va mai trebui sa iti faci griji ca ai uitat sa stingi lumina sau sa incui usa
atunci cand pleci in concediu;
- Siguranta sporita in caz de incendiu sau inundatii;
- Iluminarea eficienta in functie de nevoi si de ora din zi sau din noapte;
- Mai mult timp liber.

Ce dezavantaje are o casa inteligenta

Multi dintre cei care isi doresc o casa inteligenta se pot confrunta cu cateva
neajunsuri. Mai jos sunt principalele dezavantaje ale unei case inteligente:

 Pretul - casa inteligenta nu este accesibila tuturor, costurile pornind de

la 200-300 de euro pentru un sistem rudimentar si ajungand la peste 1.000 de
euro pentru un produs performant. De asemenea, inainte de implementarea
unui sistem care controleaza energia electrica sau caldura, trebuie sa te
gandesti la costurile aferente inlocuirii anumitor componente, unele dintre ele
fiind destul de piperate. O suma pusa deoparte pentru eventualitatea cedarii
sistemului de incalzire fix in mijlocul iernii devine obligatorie. Implementarea
unui astfel de sistem este, de asemenea, costisitoare.

 Orice aparat sau sistem conectat la reteaua wireless a casei

este expus unui potential atac informatic. Acest lucru are loc mai ales in
cazul unor persoane care detin informatii confidentiale sau de mare valoare
(personala sau profesionala).

 Prin folosirea dispozitivelor si a aparatelor inteligente, liderii in

tehnologie (aceiasi care produc cele mai vandute sisteme de case inteligente)
vor primi informatii despre noi si am putea deveni mai usor tintele campaniilor
de marketing si nu numai.

 Dificultatea de folosire - cateva atingeri sunt simple pentru o persoana

care foloseste smartphone-ul de dimineata pana seara, dar o ruda mai in
varsta sau un copil nazdravan si neatent va simti ca a „aterizat” intr-o lume
paralela si nu va sti cum sa utilizeze corect sistemul inteligent.

Automatizarea locuintei simplifica in mod evident viata proprietarilor,

economisind timp si bani. Prin urmare, este o investitie pe care o faci in
confortul tau si nu numai.

Casa inteligentă și sistemele de automatizare a locuinței. Cum

controlăm casa cu un buton
Casa inteligentă, dotată cu sisteme smart, a trecut stadiul de concept și a ajuns realitate. Este
deja la îndemâna noastră și nu ține doar de comoditate.

1. Tehnologiile inovatoare folosite într-o casă inteligentă

a. Ce putem controla prin sistemele de iluminat inteligente
b. Siguranţa şi securitatea în era smart
c. Tehnologii şi dispozitive pentru case inteligente
2. Cum transformi o locuinţă într-o casă inteligentă
a. Echipamente pentru o casa inteligentă
b. Senzori pentru integrarea unui sistem smart home
c. Instalarea aplicaţiilor pentru case inteligente
3. Avantajele caselor inteligente. De ce merită să îți transformi locuința în una smart

Tehnologiile inovatoare folosite într-o casă inteligentă

O casă inteligentă (smart home) este locuința în care se automatizează și se controlează de la
distanță aspecte ce țin de confortul ambiental și nu numai. Unele echipamente pot lua decizii în
funcție de anumiți parametri, pentru a crește confortul locatarilor sau pentru a economisi
energie.
Pot, de exemplu, să schimbe lumina ambientală în funcție de momentul zilei, pot să pregătească
ceașca de cafea la o oră presetată, pot să descuie și să încuie ușile când plecăm și când ajungem
acasă, să aprindă lumina, să pornească sistemul de încălzire sau de răcire, dar și să tragă
draperiile. Astfel de acțiuni sunt gestionate de un controller ce poate fi programat și controlat de
la distanță.

În viitor, se estimează că sistemele inteligente care coordonează o casă inteligentă vor comunica
cu proprietarii, le vor anticipa și satisface nevoile. Un exemplu care deja este folosit este
comandarea de alimente sau adăugarea lor pe lista de cumpărături când frigiderul inteligent
comunică faptul că nu mai este un anumit aliment.

Internet of Things (IoT) este conceptul de la baza caselor smart. El presupune folosirea
Internetului pentru a conecta mai multe dispozitive și sisteme care vor forma o rețea de obiecte,
lucru care deja se întâmplă.

Discutăm, așadar, de o realitate palpabilă și nu despre sisteme pe care le-am putea vedea doar
în filmele Science Fiction, și, dincolo de comoditate sau economie de timp, aceste sisteme sunt și
mai prietenoase cu mediul înconjurător.

Ce putem controla prin sistemele de iluminat inteligente

Primul aspect ce ține de confortul nostru și pe care am reușit să-l controlăm de la distanță este
iluminarea casei. Stingerea și aprinderea luminii la o simplă bătaie din palme este posibilă încă
din 1985, odată cu apariția sistemului Clapper și cu toții am văzut în diverse filme sau serii
animate un personaj stingând lumina în acest fel. Astăzi pare un sistem rudimentar, însă el poate
fi privit ca un prim mod de a ne conecta iluminarea la propriile gesturi, un adevărat precursor al
sistemelor ce nu ne obligă să ne mai dăm jos din pat când vrem să stingem lumina.

Sistemele de iluminat inteligente fac în prezent mult mai mult de atât. Un asemenea sistem este
Philips HUE, care conectează, prin bluetooth sau wireless, toate corpurile de iluminat și becurile
din casă la o aplicație pe telefon. Prin această aplicație se poate porni sau opri lumina în casă,
micșora sau crește intensitatea luminii și poate chiar schimba culorile și nuanțele de lumina din
casă, de la distanță.
Becurile HUE se instalează la corpurile de iluminat (lustrele, lămpile, lampadarele) existente în
casă. Aplicația HUE este centrul de comandă al luminilor din casă și permite controlul luminii din
fiecare cameră.

În aplicație găsim fiecare încăpere din casă - Living/Dormitor/Bucătărie - și fiecare bec instalat în
respectiva încăpere. Putem controla, pe încăperi, intensitatea fiecărui bec, putem opta pentru o
setare deja făcută - Arctic Aurora, Savanna Sunset sau putem opta pentru o lumină pentru
concentrare, relaxare sau o lumină de noapte. Desigur, din aplicație putem, de asemenea, să
aprindem și să stingem lumina. Putem, totodată, să mai descărcăm aplicații care să ne permită
sincronizarea luminilor cu muzica sau chiar cu filmele, pentru o experiență completă.

Kit-ul de start Philips Hue cuprinde bridge-ul (un dispozitiv legat la rețeaua wi-fi prin router,
inima sistemului și conexiunea dintre aplicație și becuri) și trei becuri. După ce te obișnuiești cu
tot ce poate face acest starter kit, poți să adaugi și ale becuri, până la 50.

01:23

Siguranța și securitatea în era smart

În casele inteligente avem de-a face și cu sisteme de securitate mai performante. Ce înseamnă
asta? Deschiderea și închiderea ușii cu ajutorul aplicațiilor și orice breșă de securitate anunțată în
mod automat pe telefonul proprietarului. Un sistem de securitate inteligent permite apelarea
poliției sau a unei firme de securitate la primul semn că un „musafir nepoftit” a intrat în casă.

O cameră de luat vederi inteligentă învață obiceiurile locatarilor, începe să înregistreze doar când
depistează mișcare, moment în care trimite și o notificare pe telefonul mobil și are și un sistem
de recunoaștere a chipurilor pentru a nu trimite alarme false. Totodată, camerele noi sunt și
dotate cu un speaker prin care poți transmite un mesaj de avertizare celor care au intrat în casă
pentru a-i determina să părăsească locuința, dacă nu își doresc să suporte consecințele.

Tehnologii si dispozitive pentru case inteligente

Pentru a putea controla lumina, electrocasnicele și alte aspecte din locuință, se folosesc
dispozitive precum senzori de mișcare, lumină, temperatură sau fum, prize și întrerupătoare
inteligente, becuri wireless și unități centrale de control, care pot fi configurate după nevoile
proprietarului și prin care se controlează fiecare dispozitiv din casă.

Cum transformi o locuință într-o casă inteligentă

Transformarea locuinței într-o casă inteligentă nu este dificilă, însăși ideea unei case inteligente
este de simplificare a lucrurilor. Primul pas pe care trebuie să-l facem este să alegem
echipamentele potrivite, urmând ca apoi să instalăm senzorii după care se ghidează și apoi să
instalăm pe device-ul nostru - tabletă, telefon - aplicațiile care ne permit să controlăm
echipamentele în funcție de ce le transmit senzorii.

Echipamente pentru o casă inteligentă

Printre echipamentele inteligente pe care putem deja să le achiziționăm se numără:

● Electrocasnice smart - Mașina de spălat rufe/vase și frigiderele pot avea sisteme inteligente
integrate care să îți permită să le dai diverse comenzi din aplicația instalată pe tabletă sau pe
telefon.

● Becuri smart - Becurile smart pot fi controlate de pe telefon să furnizeze orice tip de lumină
ne dorim - caldă, rece, de intensitate mare sau mai mică și în orice culoare ne dorim. Ele pot fi
aprinse înainte să intrăm în casă și stinse după ce plecăm și pot de asemenea să „simtă” lumina
zilei și să regleze intensitatea luminii în funcție de ea.

● Prize inteligente - Pot fi controlate de pe telefon sau tabletă atât din rațiuni de siguranță -
oprirea curentului în casă în perioadele în care ești plecat - cât mai ales pentru economisirea de
energie.

● Sisteme de termoficare inteligente - Extrem de utile atât pentru confortul termic, cât și
pentru a eficientiza consumul de energie, sistemele de termoficare inteligente pornesc și se
opresc în funcție de temperatura setată de noi. Într-un fel, sunt cele mai vechi sisteme
inteligente din locuințele noastre pentru că termostatele există (într-o formă mai performantă
sau mai puțin performantă) deja de câteva decenii în locuințe și spații de birouri.

● Kit-uri de automatizare a funcțiilor unei case inteligente - Există mai multe tipuri de kit-uri
smart pentru a avea o casă inteligentă - unele cu prize inteligente, altele bazate pe securitatea
locuinței. Un asemenea kit poate conține contacte magnetic, senzori de mișcare, telecomandă,
cablu Ethernet, adaptor alimentare. Poate fi controlat printr-o aplicație prin care putem seta
intensitatea luminii, intrarea în casă sau poate, datorită senzorilor de mișcare, să avertizeze
proprietarul în cazul unei intrări prin efracție.

Senzori pentru integrarea unui sistem smart home

Senzorii sunt componente de bază când vorbim despre o casă inteligentă. Senzorii de mișcare
sunt cei folosiți pentru securitatea casei, cât și pentru a aprinde lumina. Senzorii de temperatură
sunt utilizați pentru a controla sistemul de încălzire sau de răcire a casei - care poate porni
automat când temperatura scade sau crește peste nivelul setat de noi.

Instalarea aplicațiilor pentru case inteligente

Fiecare sistem inteligent și kit smart vine de obicei cu propria aplicație pe care o putem descărca
din App Store pe telefon, tabletă, laptop și orice alt device. Așadar, vom avea aplicații pentru
controlul electrocasnicelor, aplicații pentru controlul luminilor inteligente, aplicații pentru controlul
sistemului de securitate, aplicații ale sistemelor inteligente pentru controlul temperaturii.

Avantajele caselor inteligente. De ce merită să îți transformi

locuința în una smart
Care sunt avantajele unei case inteligente? Ne gândim, desigur, la confort sporit, economie de
timp și de energie, cât și controlul și monitorizarea de la distanță a casei sau a sistemelor din
cadrul casei inteligente.

Dincolo de aceste aspecte care par evidente, merită să privim avantajele caselor inteligente
dintr-o perspectivă mai adâncă. O casă smart este, în primul rând, una mai sigură. Este,
totodată, și cea care reușește să ne răspundă nevoilor fără ca asta să se traducă în pierderi
inutile de energie.

Sistemele care ne fac locuința mai inteligentă ne permit pur și simplu să ne bucurăm mai mult de
timpul nostru, să ne creăm condițiile perfecte de lucru sau de relaxare (prin controlul luminii, de
pildă) și ne ajută să ne protejăm locuința și pe noi înșine.

Casa inteligenta este de câteva decenii deja o idee cu care fiecare dintre noi cochetează într-un
fel sau altul. Nu mai considerăm de neconceput faptul că putem să pornim mașina de spălat de
la birou sau că putem regla aerul condiționat astfel încât să avem o temperatură plăcută când
ajungem acasă. Totodată, aceste sisteme inteligente devin din ce în ce mai accesibile ca preț,
iar, în curând, ele ar vor deveni cel mai probabil normă, așa cum au devenit de-a lungul timpului
și telefoanele inteligente.

Smart homes: the smart home in the age of

the Internet of Things
The world of home automation is changing and converging. As the IoT is
increasingly being used for smart home use cases and there has been quite
some – increasing – hype around all sorts of smart home labelled products
and future home scenarios, the concept of the real connected smart home is
more popular than ever. Yet, as always beyond hype there is also a reality.

Energy efficiency is a key driver in home automation market forecasts,

adding to the major role for light control and HVAC
In this article we don’t look at the avalanche of consumer electronics products that
have been launched at tradeshows such as CES nor at what a smart home could like
 in a decade from now but at smart home and home automation realities and
evolutions as they are out there, will soon be out there or have been out there since
quite some time.

In fact, home automation, an essential part of a smart home, and even the concept
and reality of a smart or intelligent home as such go back to long before the term
Internet of Things was even coined.

Table of Contents [hide]

 Home automation and smart homes – roots and realities
o Home automation: around and evolving since the eighties
o Smart house, intelligent home, connected home and smart home
 The definition of home automation
 Defining smart homes: the difference with smart buildings
 The definition of a smart home: when worlds convergence in the age of IoT
 Smart home solutions do not make smart homes: comparing with smart
buildings
 Is the real connected home here? Challenges and solutions in an increasingly
IoT-dominated smart home context
o Smart homes and standardization – IoT as a converging force
o Smart homes and the cost/practicality/security challenge
 o Connected home solutions, ease of use and the preference of the
single application
o Towards the connected, smart home: the solutions that buyers want
o Connected home solutions in numbers
 Smart home automation forecasts

Home automation and smart homes – roots

and realities
To illustrate this fact let’s look at some of the existing standards, technologies,
functions and realities in two different areas, home automation with its increasingly
importance of ‘smaller’ building management systems and small building
automation on one hand and the smart home ‘segment’ as it’s often understood in
the sense of connected appliances, remote controls and, today, IoT-enabled
appliances at home on the other hand. Two separate, yet converging worlds as we’ll
see.

Home automation: around and evolving since the

eighties

Standards and protocols which are used in a small residential building

automation, home automation and lighting and room control context such
as KNX, C-BUS or DALI bus technologies and wireless EnOcean exist since a
long time as well, in many cases far over a decade.

Even Z-Wave, a name that will probably ring a bell with people who are familiar with
IoT is over a decade old. And of course everything is IP nowadays as light and room
control (L&RC) and building management system (BMS) expert Jean Commeignes,
who is responsible for the L&RC badge of the EcoXpert certification program of
Schneider Electric, explains in our interview on the evolutions of light and room
control amid the accelerating use of IoT.

You can even go way back further in time to the seventies when the X10 home
automation communication protocol was launched and enabled remote control of,
among others, lamps. It was joined in the eighties by platforms/protocols such as
LonWorks and CEBus (not the same as C-Bus).

You will find some of the many mentioned standards in the high-end
segment of the home automation world, for instance with regards to that
aspect of light and room control which is part of the smart home
automation ecosystem.

Smart Home investments by consumers will more than double between

2016 and 2020, reaching more than $63 billion by 2020 (IDC)
You might also find them in a smart building automation system for buildings that
are larger than the average home as this building automation example shows. You
might even find them in even larger buildings and in an Industry 4.0 context as well,
albeit it integrated with other standards. There are overlaps and more standards out
there which really are used in various contexts, including home automation – but not
solely.

By way of an example: as Jean Commeignes also eloquently explains in our

interview on lighting and room control, the concept of a room – and thus the used
technologies and standards – stretches beyond rooms in a smart home context and
combines a range of room control functions which you can find at home, in a hotel
lobby, in an office meeting room and, as you can imagine, also in rooms and similar
spaces in any other environment: warehouses, factories, you name it.

Smart house, intelligent home, connected home and

smart home

Just like home automation and its evolving protocols aren’t new, the
‘vision’ of a smart home as most people see it in this day and age of
connected IoT devices, isn’t really new either.
The example of the connected fridge and all it would be able to do goes back to the
early days of the Internet. In fact, at the end of the nineties these kinds of
connected appliances already existed, albeit in limited ways and not as they look
now.

More importantly, as we’ll see a smart home is not one with a bunch of IoT-
enabled and connected kitchen and other appliances. And smart home
automation is a different thing. However, the notion of the smart home has been
broadening and gradually including appliances on top of longer existing home
automation realities such as temperature control, blind control, energy management
solutions and the mentioned lighting and room control to name a few.

Over a decade ago the term smart house used to be quite popular.
However, the meaning of a smart house wasn’t really defined.

In this 2004 publication, for instance, you see the term smart house used as the
combination of intelligent devices, embedded into the home environment, with a
focus on health monitoring and older people or people with disabilities. Do note that
the idea of remote health monitoring, an important IoT use case in healthcare, goes
back some time as well. For the authors a smart house consisted of several building
blocks, including of course a lot of sensors.

Others spoke about the smart house and indeed sold smart house solutions
in the sense of what you would call a smart home in an IoT context, with on
top of that several home automation controls and functions as they exist
today.

The emphasis needs to be on how the connected home can helps solve
daily tasks rather than just being a novelty collection of devices and apps
(Jessica Ekholm, research director at Gartner)
So, once again overlaps. This was also the case for another term we have been
using long before the smart home; the intelligent home. Synonyms indeed but with
intelligent homes and intelligent buildings we were again more in that dimension of
heating and air conditioning controls, audio and video and so forth. There was also a
Danish company, LK (Lauritz Knudsen), that made a building automation system for
the intelligent home, called IHC which stands for Intelligent House Concept and
is/was sold as a smart house solution by partners and got acquired.

A term that you also may encounters is the connected home. In 2017
research from Gartner on connected home solutions (more below), the firm defined
connected home solutions as follows: “Connected home solutions consist of a set of
devices and services that are connected to each other and to the internet and can
automatically respond to preset rules, be remotely accessed and managed by mobile
apps or a browser, and send alerts or messages to the user(s)”. That’s a nice one
too. Yet, essentially it overlaps with the types of solutions in the more modern sense
of the smart home as we covered it and which is converging with the home
automation sense anyway.
To cut a long story short: many terms for similar and/or overlapping
concepts and quite a bit of history indeed. And then the modern consumer
IoT smart home craze still had to come with all its appliances and platforms
such as Nest and many many others….. Reality? If it’s called smart today,
the Internet of Things is always there.

The definition of home automation

Home automation and smart home are two different things, although they
are often used interchangeably.
Home automation does what it says: home automation enables to configure and
automate how various devices inside and outside/nearby the home work together in
an automated way in the context of a connected home. You can compare it with
building automation in larger, often commercial, buildings. And, in a sense, a smart
home automation system can be compared with an IoT-enabled building
management system (BMS) for smaller buildings, although in most homes you won’t
find those high-end BMS systems but more limited home automation systems
whereby the functions and look and feel are different, depending on what functions
are needed.

Yet, in the world of building and home automation, which really brings together
several specializations, not all is black or white – it rarely is in general. So, you
might certainly encounter mini-systems for home automation that are pretty
sophisticated and look more like an integrated small building management system.

Thanks to home automation you can monitor and control the components in and
nearby your home with the infrastructural foundations for a truly smart or connected
home where smart electrical, mechanical and other operation
technologies (OT) meet IT in IoT.

Defining smart homes: the difference with

smart buildings
What is the definition of a smart home, of which home automation is part,
then? Is a smart home a smart building? Although everyone knows that a
home is a building, a smart home is not a smart building.

By way of an example that these two terms are distinguished from each other: in
our overview of the main IoT investments per use case according to June 2017 data
from IDC you’ll notice that a de facto distinction is made between smart buildings as
a cross-industry IoT use case which is poised for fast growth ($40 billion in 2017
and, along with connected vehicles predicted to rank among the top segments until
2021) on one hand and the also fast growing investments ($63 billion by 2020) by
consumers in smart home solutions on the other, with spending on smart home
technologies forecasted to grow with a 19.8% CAGR until 2021.

Prominent drivers of smart home adoption are energy efficiency, home

security, entertainment, convenience/productivity, remote health
monitoring and connectivity (Zion Market Research, see below)
So, is that the difference between a smart home and smart building?
Residential (private, home) versus non-residential? Unfortunately not
always and it depends on whom you ask, it can get complicated indeed.

Some will classify a large or even smaller residential multi-family building such as a
big flat building or a smaller apartment building with the necessary connectivity,
capabilities, intelligence and automation as a smart building. That is because such
buildings have shared assets and facilities. Unless you’re really rich or disabled you
probably don’t have a lift in your smart home, for instance. And if you do, it’s not
shared, it’s yours. Some have found the answer by speaking about smart
apartments in such a context of large residential buildings as it separates the
‘private living space’ which a home tends to be from the shared building space.

Let’s make it even a bit more complex before making it easier and tangible
again.

Imagine airconditioning (AC). If you have it, it might be across your entire home or
in one or more rooms. If you have it in your apartment, same scenario. If you live in
a block of apartments one or more shared areas could also have it.

However, it’s not hard to imagine that an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation And
Airconditioning) solution doesn’t look the same in a room, building-wide in a luxury
villa and in the possibly big entry hall – with the elevators – in a multi-family
housing flat complex. Moreover, in the case of flats it uses shared resources such as
the networks, electrical infrastructure and so forth, so with large residential buildings
it’s a bit of a grey zone.

The definition of a smart home: when worlds

convergence in the age of IoT
Last but not least it’s important to remind that, although there are smart
home and home automation experts, de facto often many worlds are
colliding here.

The people who know all about smart metering know electricity but that doesn’t
mean they understand HVAC, which is an entirely different ball game or lighting and
room control, which again is different.

In most homes you won’t find the really high-end solutions though and home
automation is different from your large luxury villa in the tropics. Moreover, the IoT
is playing a converging role. In smart homes. And in smart buildings.

So, can we finally define what a smart home is? Not so fast. The term smart
home is used for the two earlier mentioned, equally converging,
phenomena:

 On one hand smart home is an umbrella term for the automation,

digitization and interconnecting of several home automation
areas, which as mentioned have existed since quite some time: lighting,
room control, blind control, solar shading, audio and video control, security
and entry control, the list goes on.

 On the other hand and especially since the arrival of the Internet
of Things and its many applications in the sphere of home appliances,
smart meters and IoT consumer devices for the home such as smart TVs,
connected entertainment systems, Internet-enabled appliances and voice-
command systems, the smart home increasingly was seen as an integrated
IoT-enabled living, security, comfort, entertainment and overall home
concept which looks a bit different (no smart fridges in traditional home
automation).

Yet, as said, this too is converging. So, what would be the definition of a smart
home in this context whereby we really move beyond single and often isolated
‘smart home solutions’ (and gadgets) to a somewhat broader perspective?
Home healthcare becomes an important smart home investment segment
as populations age and remote healthcare is poised to increase
A smart home is a house or other form of mainly one-family private buildings which
is either home to the family, serves as vacation home or is rented to other families
for living or holiday purposes, consisting of automated, digitized and connected
home assets, electrical services, controls and appliances across several building and
home components and functions. These run within a communications network and
enable an enhanced monitoring, comfort, energy conservation, maintenance, home
activities and security of its occupants whereby the residents/owners have access to
the resulting services and controls via special displays and controllers, which can
take many forms such as built-in wall displays, proprietary devices, remote controls,
various IT devices such as a computer, tablet or smartphone and/or multiple devices
at the same time.

Smart home solutions do not make smart

homes: comparing with smart buildings
A smart home solution is a solution which plays a role in the realization of a
smart home. However, the use of an intelligent device in the home or of one
or more separate products or solutions which are labelled as smart home
products or solutions by their vendors do not make a home a smart home.

Integration and expansion possibilities are essential components of a smart

home (more about the preferences regarding smart home solutions and ‘the state of
the smart home’ below).

We haven’t defined a smart building yet, that’s for another article. But by looking at
some of the goals in smart buildings and building management, we can compare
with the smart home. At the end of the day it’s more or less the same but with
different types of buildings (mainly commercial and functional like schools, airports,
hotels, factory plants, hospitals or office buildings but, as mentioned also and
depending on whom you ask, large residential buildings), different technologies and
application areas, different networks, other standards and solutions and goals of
which some are also found in smart homes but which predominantly revolve
around energy efficiency, building and occupant health, productivity and comfort of
residents, asset maintenance, security, regulatory compliance and overall building
health and value (as an asset to its owners).

You immediately see some of the mentioned overlaps and grey zones. Some
examples:

 Regulation is a key driver in smart buildings (energy and ecology) but

in some countries there is also regulation (and/or incentivization) with
regards to modernizing older homes with an eye on energy consumption
and even with regards to new homes. And saving on that bill is still
important for families and the environment in general, regardless of type
of building.

 The value of a building is important for whom owns it. Just as

environmental certifications, modern technologies that make sense and
the future readiness of a big commercial building makes it more valuable,
the same goes for – truly – smart homes. And that doesn’t just go for the
price of the building as such. If you ever wanted to rent a holiday home in
a country like Spain for your vacation and you compared the price for a
home with airconditioning (it indeed can be hot in Spain in the Summer),
blind control and a connected home entertainment system with the price of
a holiday home without airco and a good old satellite TV you know what
we mean.

Most of the other aspects in smart building (except perhaps the connected office and
asset maintenance dimensions but you can easily translate those into private
benefits too) are valid for smart homes as well. Comfort, for instance, needs no
further explanation.

Is the real connected home here? Challenges

and solutions in an increasingly IoT-
dominated smart home context
As you can see it’s easy to speak about a smart home but less easy to
understand what it exactly means.
Practical applications such as home safety and money saving devices such
as smart thermostats and energy meters are currently driving the market,
along with smart home entertainment systems (Beecham Research)
The latter is due to the explosion of all sorts of stand-alone IoT solutions and
products that are sold under that ‘hot’ label of smart home but whereby the more
holistic scope of smart homes and home automation is very often ignored. Again: a
smart home solution does not make a smart home – and it’s not because a vendor
sells something as being a smart home solution that it is but that’s another story.

As mentioned smart home investments are poised to grow rapidly in an IoT

context. There are already many smart homes with advanced home
automation in specific markets, however.

Remember that convergence of the traditional home automation and the smart
home in the modern IoT context? Well, in luxury houses, among others, you will find
smart homes with previously mentioned standards such as KNX, still one of the
fastest growers in terms of smart home standards, also outside Europe and China.

If we look at the more recent IoT-related meaning of the smart home, most ‘owners’
de facto have some smart solutions like a smart thermostat (and how smart
is that, really?) , a smart entertainment system, a smart home security
solution and of course a smart meter as governments and utilities roll out
smart meter programs pretty much everywhere. But really few people have
a fully smart and connected home.

Smart homes and standardization – IoT as a converging

force

The full-fledged smart home is rarely a reality today. A true connected home would
at the very least mean end-to-end interoperability and security, several of the above
mentioned ‘applications’ such as HVAC, light control, room control, some form of
energy consumption monitoring and control, the connection of smart home
appliances and a more or less stabilized market, making that smart home vision
come true.
However, with the Internet of Things existing standards have been joined
by several other standards and communication forms. Just think about the
various evolutions in connectivity standards (short range like Bluetooth 5.0,
Bluetooth Mesh, the next Wi-Fi and long range too for some applications),
proprietary standards in the vendor ecosystems and platforms (the wars of the big
players such as Google and Apple) and the different alliances with home automation
standards (the previously mentioned Z-Wave, ZigBee etc.).

If you look at the – longer existing – high-end of the smart home and home
automation market there is obviously more maturity and these vendors have
solutions that support several of the existing standards such as KNX, as well as IP.
In home automation and building automation, a few standards will remain but IoT
will replace a lot and act as a converging force.

Smart homes and the cost/practicality/security challenge

At the lower end and in the pure IoT smart home market it’s still a bit more
of a disconnected mix. Moreover, that segment isn’t necessarily cheap either and
there is a lot of DIY going on there, certainly in an IoT context (HVAC and electrical
work, for instance for connected power, isn’t really fit for DYI and with DYI there are
also DYI risks of course).

Smart home solutions that cover it all are still far too expensive for most
people as Beecham Research stated in its October 2016 smart home report.

A basic light bulb is more than 20 times cheaper than its smarter
counterpart (Olena Kaplan, Senior Analyst at Beecham Research)
The research said that smart homes are overpriced but also undersold and
misunderstood. Although the market of smart home devices is expected to do just
fine, there is a lack of understanding of smart home solutions and what they can
offer. This leads to the focus on practical applications and not enough on the aspects
of new home comforts and easy living.

At the end of 2016 there were ample announcements that will certainly
further boost the IoT smart home space. There is more attention for
security (e.g. the Z-Wave alliance launched a new certification program), there are
innovations in connectivity (e.g., finally Bluetooth 5.0 is there, now the products),
vendors have taken new initiatives (e.g. Google’s Android Things), the list goes on.

However, the devices and solutions are still expensive, there is no open standard
that is 100% safe to connect all the appliances and data. People also don’t trust the
manufacturers and the suppliers enough and there is more fear than before. Despite
all the factors that hold back growth in the market Beecham Research says that the
sales of smart devices for the home will grow with an average of 34 percent to reach
$16.2bn in 2020.

Connected home solutions, ease of use and the

preference of the single application

The earlier mentioned research by Gartner, announced early March 2017,

confirms that the connected or smart home in its true sense isn’t exactly for
tomorrow (for everyone), although the period until 2021 will see strong
growth in connected home and smart home solutions.
According to Gartner’s research, a lack of understanding buyer motivations seems to
play a crucial role in the reluctance of buyers and providers of connected home
solutions are urged to better understand what inspires users to adopt these
solutions. Do note that with connected home we go beyond Internet of Things
devices for consumers, even if used in a home context as you’ll read.

All in all, approximately 10 percent of households in the surveyed countries (US, UK

and Australia) have connected home solutions. So, we’re still in the stage of the
early adoption.

An interesting finding from a user/customer perspective for providers of smart home

solutions is that a majority of respondents is more in favor of having a single
application to integrate their connected home devices.

Ease of use, interfaces and a single app do seem logical preferences, certainly if you
are one of the few having various connected home solutions such as connected
home entertainment systems and connected security alarm systems. In total, 55
percent rated 51 or more toward the preference of one integrating app, Gartner
found.

Towards the connected, smart home: the solutions that

buyers want

A second interesting finding is that consumers also start recognizing the

importance of brand certification (58 percent rating 51 or more with
regards to certification of – the parts – of the solution by a brand).

While these insights might help vendors and providers to enhance the attractiveness
of their connected home offerings, Gartner’s Amanda Sabia recommends to push
beyond early adopter use and see what motivates those early adopter users to buy
more solutions.

Gartner’s Jessica Ekholm recommends connected home solution providers to focus

on the real value proposition of a full connected home environment, meaning
devices, service and experience, with an emphasis on the solving of daily tasks.
We’ve indeed seen enough consumer Internet of Things devices (also in a home
context) pop up that are not just hard to defend from a value proposition overall and
certainly from a more holistic and task solving perspective.

Connected home solutions in numbers

Do remember Gartner’s definition of connected home solutions and that, when we

talk about the real value proposition of a full connected home environment, that
does mean/include the value of integrating devices and of a connected home
ecosystem.

So, what kind of connected home solutions do customers buy? Some of the
categories of connected home solutions which are most purchased include:

 Home security alarm systems (18 percent)

 Home monitoring (11 percent)

 Health and wellness management (11 percent)

 Home automation or energy management (9 percent)

The US is by far leading in the adoption of connected home solutions. A large

majority of respondents is still happy to set temperature and lighting controls
manually. And for providers there are monetization challenges in some categories
(subscription models aren’t that obvious everywhere).

Despite the fact that the real smart home is not there yet, we are using smart home
appliances and specific solutions in specific areas. It could be entertainment, home
security, smart kitchen appliances (a rather popular segment), anything really.

According to a study by the IAB, released end 2016, 47 percent of

consumers already have a connected/smart TV and streaming device.

Another 39 percent of consumers is interested in buying such a combination. So,

that part of the entertainment piece seems to get covered fast. Smart home
entertainment systems are also called one of the key ‘practical’ applications, driving
the market, along with home safety and anything that saves money.

Smart home automation forecasts

We already mentioned quite some data sources (IDC, Gartner, Beecham
Research etc.). Let’s tackle some more that confirms the findings regarding
smart home automation dynamics.

According to April 2017 findings from Zion Market Research, the global smart home
market is expected to reach $53.45 billion by 2022. That’s more cautious than IDC’s
forecasts, yet it’s important to look at the definitions as usual.

For its report, Zion Market Research looks at, among others, following
areas:

 Smart kitchen (typically part of that more recent IoT segment)

 Other household appliances (e.g. smart washing machine)

  Security and access control (e.g. CCTV connected home surveillance
cameras)

 Lighting control, a major home automation area, also in the future.

 Home healthcare (shifting demographics and the mentioned changes in

healthcare with e.g. remote monitoring)

 HVAC control, essential in home automation.

 Entertainment systems (e.g. smart TV)

 Irrigation systems.

Among the main drivers we find (just as in commercial and larger

buildings) energy efficiency (part consumer awareness and part
legislation), an aging population, government initiatives and rising income
in developing countries.

Light control has the largest market share in smart homes and convenience, comfort
and security are other key topics as was to be expected.

According to July 2017 research by Transparency Market Research the

global market for home automation is expected to rise to a valuation of
US$21.6 bn by the end of 2020.

Here as well energy efficiency (or energy conservation) is seen as a key focus point,
leading to, among others an important role for the comfort and value of HVAC.

Comment domotiser sa maison ?

 Sommaire

 La domotique, c’est quoi ?

 Comment domotiser sa maison ?
 Combien coute la domotique ?
 Comment choisir sa solution domotique ?
Nous avons vu ce qu’est la domotique, et ce qu’il était possible de faire avec.
Nous allons maintenant voir comment domotiser sa maison, et surtout que ceci n’est
pas aussi compliqué que ce que croient beaucoup de gens.
Pour domotiser sa maison et la rendre intelligente, il est bien sûr possible de passer
par un professionnel. Pour cela de nombreux installateurs sont référencés sur notre
annuaire domotique.
Mais ce n’est pas le but du blog ici : quand je disais que la domotique est
aujourd’hui accessible, c’est que chacun peut l’installer lui même
chez lui, même avec des notions de bricolage réduites.

Structure d’un système domotique

Pour domotiser sa maison, il faudra mettre en place un système domotique. Un tel

système est toujours constitué des mêmes équipements, quelque soit le système et
la technologie utilisés :

 Un cerveau, que ce soit un automate, un ordinateur, ou plus

communément aujourd’hui une « box domotique« . C’est lui qui va
centraliser toutes les informations de votre maison et déclencher des
actions. Je l’appelle le cerveau, car c’est réellement un équipement qui
va donner de l’intelligence à votre maison.
 Les capteurs. Un cerveau sans vue, sans ouie, sans odorat ne sert
pas à grand chose. Les capteurs sont des périphériques qui vont donner
des sens à votre maison : relever la température, l’humidité,
la luminosité, le niveau de CO2, le niveau de bruit, détecter
une présence, de la fumée, une fuite de gaz, suivre
la consommationélectrique des appareils, etc… Grâce à eux la maison
saura tout ce qui se passe.
 Enfin, les actionneurs : savoir ce qui se passe, c’est bien, mais
pouvoir réaliser des actions en conséquence, c’est mieux ! Les
actionneurs sont donc des périphériques qui vont permettre de piloter
des appareils (radiateurs, chaudière, TV, machine à laver…),
des lampes, ou encore des automatismes (volets, porte de garage,
store banne, etc…).
Le « cerveau », grâce aux informations recueillies par les différents capteurs
disséminés à travers la maison, va pouvoir déclencher des actions en conséquence.
Par exemple, si aucun détecteur de présence dans la maison ne détecte personne,
le « cerveau » pourra demander aux radiateurs de passer en mode éco et aux
lampes de s’éteindre.
En pratique, il existe donc différentes solutions pour domotiser sa maison.

Des solutions filaires, qui relient donc le cerveau, ses capteurs, et ses
actionneurs, par des câbles à travers toute la maison. Le KNX en est l’exemple le
plus connu. Autant dire que cela est difficilement envisageable pour beaucoup de
monde, car le passage des câbles dans une habitation existante est une
vraie contrainte. Ce type de solution s’adressera plutôt à des constructions
neuves ou de grosses rénovations. Oublions donc le côté facile, nous ne
partirons pas ici sur ce type de solution.
Heureusement, aujourd’hui il existe de nombreuses solutions sans fil, toutes
aussi fiables, mais nettement plus simples à mettre en œuvre. Cela passe
le plus souvent par une box domotique, semblable à votre box ADSL, mais qui
sera en charge de piloter la maison. Connectée à votre box ADSL, via un câble
réseau ou parfois en wifi, elle permettra de piloter votre maison que vous soyez chez
vous ou non. Peu gourmande en énergie (souvent moins de 5w) et ne
nécessitant aucune maintenance, la box domotique a beaucoup aidé à la
démocratisation de la domotique.

La VeraEdge, de Vera Control LTD, est un exemple de box domotique très

performante.

Ensuite, des capteurs, sans fil, le plus souvent alimentés par des piles (mais
parfois sans, comme le EnOcean), sont placés où vous souhaitez dans la maison
pour relever la température, détecter une présence, etc… Leur installation est ainsi
très simple.
 Exemple d’un détecteur d’ouverture Nodon, fonctionnant sans fil mais
également sans piles !

Enfin, les actionneurs, qui seront souvent de deux formes : une prise à brancher
entre la prise murale et l’appareil à piloter. Facile à installer par n’importe qui.
Le WallPlug de Fibaro est une prise domotique très esthétique, capable de
piloter un appareil et relever sa consommation électrique.

Ou ce qu’on appelle un micro module, à brancher derrière un interrupteur ou une

prise existants, qui permettront alors de piloter l’interrupteur ou la prise électrique, et
donc les appareils connectés dessus.
 Les micro modules Fibaro sont parmi les plus petits. La taille réduite est
importante pour une installation plus facile.

Cette dernière solution est, esthétiquement, la meilleure, mais elle nécessitera en

revanche quelques connaissances en électricité. Mais rien d’insurmontable, rassurez
vous, tant que vous savez reconnaitre la phase, le neutre, et lire un petit schéma
électrique de ce genre :
 Exemple de schéma pour « domotiser » une lampe et son interrupteur.

Grâce à ces équipements, la plupart sans fil, l’installation est grandement

facilitée. Pour commencer, il est tout à fait possible de démarrer avec une box
domotique et des périphériques à brancher simplement dans une prise,
qui ne nécessitent aucune compétence technique. Le résultat sera tout aussi
fonctionnel.
Vous trouverez sur le blog de nombreux guides permettant d’en apprendre
davantage sur la mise en place des systèmes, notamment à travers les sections
suivantes:

 Guides pour domotiser son chauffage

 Guides pour domotiser ses automatismes
 Guides pour domotiser son éclairage
 Guides pour la sécurité

Comment choisir sa solution

domotique ?
Tout d’abord, pour bien choisir sa solution domotique, il convient de
bien déterminer vos besoins : gestion du chauffage, gestion de
l’éclairage, gestion des appareils, gestion de l’arrosage, gestion de
la sécurité, suivi de consommation d’énergie, assistance à des personnes
dépendantes, etc… Il s’agit d’établir votre cahier des charges, pour bien
définir vos besoins.
Cela permettra, à l’aide d’un tableau comme notre comparatif des solutions
domotiques, par exemple, de trouver les solutions qui peuvent répondre à vos
besoins. Certaines solutions sont en effet plus spécialisées dans certains domaines.
Si on prend par exemple la solution de Pluzzy de Toshiba, celle ci est plutôt
centrée sur la gestion de l’énergie et du chauffage. D’autres sont plutôt axées sur la
sécurité, comme par exemple MyFox (maintenant passée sous la marque Somfy
Protect). D’autres cumulent toutes les fonctions, mais moins poussées que des box
spécialisées. Etc…

Pluzzy est une solution plutôt axée énergie et chauffage

Ensuite, une fois les solutions trouvées, le choix de sa solution domotique se fera
selon moi sur deux critères que je trouve particulièrement importants.

Choisir le protocole domotique

Tout d’abord, pour bien choisir sa solution domotique, il faut bien choisir le protocole
utilisé. Le protocole domotiqueest le moyen de communication utilisé
entre les périphériques et la centrale, ou box domotique. Même si nous privilégions
ici les périphériques sans fil, plus simples à installer, tous ne parlent pas le même
langage. Z-wave, Zigbee, RTS, ARW, EnOcean, etc… tous ces protocoles sont des
langages différents, qui ne savent pas ou peu communiquer ensemble. Certains de
ces protocoles sont dits « propriétaires », c’est à dire qu’en général ils sont issus
d’un seul fabricant. Ce cas est un double problème : d’une part vous
n’aurez que le choix des périphériquesque veut bien proposer le fabricant;
d’autre part, si le fabricant vient à disparaître, vous ne pourrez plus
acheter de nouveaux périphériques pour compléter votre système. De plus, en
général le fabricant propose dans ce cas sa propre box domotique, qui est la seule à
pouvoir communiquer avec ses périphériques. Certains appellent ça un système
sécurisé, j’appelle cela un système fermé.
A contrario un protocole ouvert dispose de nombreux
fabricants différents, dont les périphériques sont tous compatibles entre
eux, et qui peuvent être utilisés par plusieurs modèles de box domotiques. Le Z-
wave, le Zigbee, l’EnOcean en sont les principaux exemples. Pour toutes ces
technologies, il existe de nombreux fabricants, et de nombreux produits : si l’un
d’entre eux ferme, vous ne retrouverez peut être pas exactement le même
périphérique que celui que vous aviez, mais vous trouverez un équivalent qui fera le
même travail. Ensuite, qui dit protocole ouvert dit compatibilité avec
plusieurs types de box domotiques. Ainsi, il sera possible de choisir une
box qui convient le mieux à vos besoins.

Le Z-wave est l’un des protocole domotique radio les plus utilisés, choisi
par exemple par Orange

Certaines box ont même la possibilité d’utiliser plusieurs protocoles différents,

parfois de base, parfois en ajoutant simplement une clé Usb ou une carte
optionnelle, comme par exemple Jeedom, eedomus, ou encore MyFox, qui
peuvent alors supporter des périphériques Z-wave, EnOcean, Chacon, Bluetooth,
etc…
Pour bien choisir sa solution domotique, il est donc nécessaire de bien se renseigner
sur les protocoles supportés.

Choisir sa box domotique

Pour bien choisir sa solution domotique, le second point important à mon avis est
l’autonomie de la box. Aujourd’hui, pour faciliter la vie de l’utilisateur, mais
également le garder un peu dans leurs filets, il faut bien l’avouer, beaucoup de
sociétés proposent des solutions qui reposent sur le « cloud », c’est à dire
des serveurs extérieurs, appartenant à la société en question. Cela permet de
livrer une box domotique peu couteuse, car peu puissante, tout le travail
étant de toute façon exécuté sur les serveurs de la société : la box en question n’est
alors qu’une simple passerelleentre les périphériques domotiques et la société /
le fabricant.
Outre la question de la sécurité des données, puisque vous laissez tout de
même toutes les données relatives à votre maison sur internet, quelque part, se
pose la question de la pérennité de la société. En cas de coupure
internet, de panne de serveurs, ou carrément de la disparition de la
société, votre box domotique devient une boite vide qui n’a plus aucune
utilité. Relativisons tout de même, beaucoup de box domotiques continuent de
fonctionner en cas de coupure internet. La box eedomus permet par exemple d’avoir
une interface web de secours, locale, mais allégée. Mais en cas de disparition de la
société, il ne faut pas se faire d’illusion, la box devient inutile. Dans le monde des
objets connectés nous avons malheureusement connu cela à plusieurs reprises
avec notamment le lapin intelligent Nabaztag puis Karotz : deux fois la société a
coulé, et les utilisateurs se sont retrouvés avec un presse papier à 200€:/ Pour être
tout à fait sincère, les solutions domotiques, et surtout les box, se multiplient de plus
en plus : toutes ne survivront pas, faute de revenus suffisants. D’ailleurs, quand on
s’intéresse à certaines, les pertes sèches depuis quelques années laissent dubitatif
sur le devenir de la société.

La box eedomus, bien que reposant sur le cloud, continue de fonctionner

même en cas de coupure internet, et possède même une interface de
secours.

Tout ceci pour dire que choisir une box reposant sur le cloud est un choix
risqué à bien des niveaux. Une installation domotique dans une
maison n’est pas là pour 1 an, mais devrait au moins tenir 10 à 20 ans, car elle
devient une partie intégrante de la maison. Il est impossible de dire aujourd’hui si
telle ou telle société sera encore là, et donc si elle assurera le service. Cela est
d’autant plus vrai si la solution en question utilise un protocole propriétaire : dans ce
cas, si la société ferme, votre box domotique devient inopérante, mais l’ensemble de
votre installation également. Là vous aurez perdu de l’argent.

La box HC2 de Fibaro, haut de gamme à 599€, mais totalement autonome

Le problème est à relativiser dans le cas d’un protocole ouvert. Prenons par exemple
la box domotique eedomus, qui est sans doute l’une des meilleures solutions,
reposant certes sur le cloud, mais s’appuyant sur le protocole Z-Wave. Ce n’est
certes pas à souhaiter, mais si la société Connected Object, à l’origine de cette box,
venait à disparaître, que se passerait il ? La box deviendrait inutilisable, car elle
s’appuie sur les serveurs de la société. En revanche, les périphériques Z-Wave,
donc un protocole ouvert, pourraient tout à fait fonctionner avec une autre box. Dans
ce cas il suffirait donc de remplacer la box domotique, la perte ne serait que de deux
cent euros environ (le prix de la box).
 Jeedom SMart, une box multiprotocole par excellence, et totalement
autonome de surcroit

Quant aux protocoles propriétaires, certains ont eu la bonne idée de s’ouvrir pour
être utilisables sur de nombreuses solutions domotiques. Même si le protocole est
fermé et qu’il n’y a qu’un seul fabricant, de nombreuses box domotiques savent
dialoguer avec ces périphériques. C’est par exemple le cas des produits Chacon,
réputés pour le prix très abordable.

Pour résumer, je dirai que pour bien choisir sa solution domotique, il faut choisir son
système domotique en priorité dans cet ordre, le dernier choix étant à mon avis à
éviter absolument:

 protocole domotique ouvert + box autonome

 protocole domotique ouvert + box reposant sur le cloud
 protocole domotique propriétaire ouvert à différentes box + box
autonome
 protocole domotique propriétaire ouvert à différentes box
+ box reposant sur le cloud
 protocole domotique propriétaire et fermé + box propriétaire
autonome
 protocole domotique propriétaire et fermé + box
propriétaire reposant sur le cloud
Pour plus de détails sur une solution domotique en particulier, je vous invite à visiter
la section sur les box domotiques: chaque fois, la box a été testée en conditions,
minimum un mois, afin de la tester complètement: facilité d’utilisation, fiabilité,
interface adaptée, etc…

Où acheter sa solution domotique ?

Le Z-Wave, dans ce domaine, est l’un des protocoles les plus utilisés. De
nombreuses box domotiques l’utilisent, et de grands acteurs l’ont même choisi,
comme par exemple Orange pour sa solution Homelive, ou encore Somfy. On
trouve ainsi de nombreux périphériques compatibles, et les points de distribution,
encore exclusivement sur internet il y a quelques mois, commencent à prendre
forme physique. Ainsi certains périphériques sont disponibles en boutique
Orange.
Certaines solutions sont également disponibles en grandes surfaces de
bricolage (Castorama, Leroy Merlin, etc…), et commencent à débarquer dans des
magasins plus high tech comme la Fnac ou encore Darty par exemple.
Mais concernant les protocoles ouverts, le plus gros choix reste sur internet,
via des boutiques spécialisées dans ce domaine, compétentes et qui sauront
vous conseiller sur les périphériques les mieux adaptés en fonction de vos besoins.
En voici quelques unes très connues, qui sont d’ailleurs partenaires du blog:
 Domadoo
 Domotique Store
 Planète Domotique
 My Domotique
 …
Pour un choix plus vaste je vous conseille de vous référer à notre annuaire
domotique, qui possède une section dédiée aux boutiques.