Old building charm, fully automated

Service4Systems GmbH has been an authorised specialist partner of eQ-3 since 2017. The owners have smartly retrofitted their property, a historic building from 1901 without wired installation options, exclusively with Homematic IP wireless products. The Wilhelminian villa resembles a small old schoolhouse, features a modern, loft-style interior and was completely renovated in 2005.

- Gunnar and Sandra Thiele -

The property:

Single-family home, historic building
Year built: 1901
Living area: 250 m²
Floors: 3
Plot size: 1,500 m²

Application areas:

Climate control
Lighting
Shading
Security
Weather

Components:

1 Smart Home Central Control Unit
105 wireless devices

Comfort, burglary prevention, energy savings and always having an overview of the current status of their home – these were the requirements that were most important to the Thiele family for their smart home. As the family lives in an old Wilhelminian villa, they decided to equip their home exclusively with smart wireless devices. These devices are particularly well suited for retrofitting in (older) existing buildings.

The house was smartly retrofitted to approximately 80% completion with Homematic IP dimming and switch actuators as well as plugabble switches and dimmers. This allows almost all of the lighting in the house to be smartly controlled, whether the lights need to be switched on, dimmed, or switched off. Everything works automatically: almost everything is controlled via the outdoor light sensor on the wall of the house, in combination with motion detectors – indoor and predefined weekly programmes. The entire control system can, of course, be deactivated at any time, for example, when friends are visiting.

The status of the gate is displayed to the occupants via the Homematic IP switch actuator with signal lamp. For example, a red light indicates that the gate is currently open. This status is shown in the hallway, dining room, and entrance hall. This way, the residents can always keep an eye on the gate’s status at the entrance to the driveway, which is quite a distance from the house.

Shading is also dynamically controlled via the light sensor – outdoor: if the sensor’s measurements exceed a certain value and it is warmer outside than inside, the shutters lower to 50%. If the temperature remains the same, the shutters continue to lower to 30% after a few minutes to protect the rooms from excessive heat. However, if clouds move in for at least 10 minutes and the measured lux value changes accordingly, the shutters dynamically raise again.

A total of nine radiator thermostats were retrofitted for efficient and comfortable heating control. Together with four wall thermostats and a window contact, these ensure cosy warmth and pleasant temperatures in the Wilhelminian villa at all times. The control here is also smart, in combination with the light sensor and an outdoor temperature sensor. This means that when the sun is shining intensely, the temperatures in the south-facing rooms are lowered proactively, saving valuable energy.

“The greater the number of devices, the more possibilities there are for use and combination. In my opinion, a smart home’s true potential is only fully realised when multiple products are integrated. This enables me to create intelligent connections and dependencies, or to control them dynamically. We are particularly impressed by the flexibility and long-term availability offered by Homematic IP.”
- Gunnar Thiele -

An installed alarm siren, working in conjunction with the motion detectors, ensures that the five residents always feel completely secure. To provide flexible control of their smart home, a total of 15 wall-mount remote controls have been installed. This setup allows the Thiele family to operate their smart home directly using physical buttons. Thanks to specially designed adapters for brand switches, the actuators blend seamlessly into the existing interior design – without compromising on style, form, or aesthetics. The home owners were particularly impressed by the system’s ease of use, long-term guaranteed availability, enhanced routing capabilities, and the overall flexibility of the Homematic IP system.

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