System Overview Smart Home: Functions, Devices and Tips for Selecting

We are talking about smart homes and write the last 15 years - they say, there is such a toy for the rich. However, today the smart home from the exclusive turns into the ordinary, accessible to both the mid-level people. Let's try to figure out such "available" smart systems.

Photo: Denys prykhodov / fotolia.com, jonikfoto.pl/fotolia.com

Under the Smart House system, a complex of a large number of household devices combined into a common management network are usually implied. The devices connected to this network are equipped with their own "side computers", sets of sensors and sensors, as well as a network metabolic mechanism. Using these device data, each other can be adjusted. Thus, a high degree of automation of connected devices is ensured, as well as a higher efficiency of their operation. In addition, they can acquire new functions that they have been unusual before that. The refrigerator connected to the sings, for example, can make a menu based on the products available in it, taking into account the inhabitants tastes, and the hosts, connecting to the built-in camcorder of the robot vacuum cleaner, will be able to see what is happening at home in their absence.

The security system allows you to organize remote monitoring of all rooms with the help of compact video cameras, especially for potential attacker access points - windows and entrance doors. Photo: Africa Studio / Fotolia.com

A simple and understandable interface of the smart home insyte. Photo: Insyte.

A feature of the modern intelligent house is a sharp increase in the number of devices capable of processing and data exchange. The cost of embedded microcomputers and other necessary electronic elements is steadily reduced. Now it starts from the amount of 1 thousand rubles. It is not surprising that large household appliances and domestic equipment are becoming increasingly equipped with electronics - up to individual electric lamps (Philips, for example, is actively developing and implementing such lamps into street lighting systems). What is it for? In each case, it solves a number of necessary tasks. Refrigerators offer a menu based on the analysis of scanned barcodes of packaging products, washing machines report the end of washing, teapots and coffee makers can remotely start cooking tea and coffee, Internet irons can be turned off remotely, if you forget to do it, and the TVs themselves pick up for us Content.

The ease of management of all systems depends on the simplicity of the interface. Photo: Kange Studio / Fotolia.com

Modern smartphones or tablet computers allow you to manage the "smart home" engineering systems no worse than special panels.

Internet things

Internet of things IoT (Internet of Things) is a concept in which things are equipped with interfaces of communication (internet), allowing the interaction between themselves or with an external environment. These are things for personal use. There are also things for use in homes and buildings. They are called "Internet Things in the Building", or Biot (Building Internet of Things). Thus, IoT and Biot are closely intertwined devices interacting with each other with a person. Today, smart homes that use Biot technology begin to appear. Unfortunately, so far, any unplanned elements like robots-mowers or vacuum cleaners are unplanned in it. The world is only suitable for combining all types of gadgets into one system. Microsoft and IBM have already suggested their standards for this, but until the general use is so far. While we can use solutions within one manufacturer, but it is not always.

And SMEG devices can be remotely controlled using the SMEG Connect application. Photo: Smeg.

Sensory control panel AMX MVP-5200i. Photo: amx

Another important difference of modern intelligent houses is their decentralization. Previously, the system necessarily had a certain technical center where the managing computer was located and various auxiliary devices, for example, to store data. Now such formal centers may not be - microcomputers "on the ground" fully copier with data processing, and cloud systems of the Internet are often used for storing information.

The MielePro @ Mobile application installed on the smartphone or tablet allows you to manage MIELE techniques. Photo: Miele.

The combination of various systems and various data exchange protocols is a difficult task that requires a large amount of adapter modules. It can be simplified by creating a universal device of a smart home. Insyte develops such a gadget - a full-fledged "smart home" system, equipped with all modules for monitoring and managing the All-in-One. Inside a small case, modules replacing 20 smart home systems are built in: there is a Full HD IP video camera, a microphone, speaker, an IR receiver and a transmitter, ports for connecting lighting, curtains, motion sensors, humidity, smoke, light, temperature, and other details. Such a device saves 80% of the funds to install engineering systems in the house.

Sergey Gribanov

CEO INSYTE Electronics

Types of devices of a smart home

What do you need to make a homeowner who wants to make the most computerize your home? First of all, he needs to familiarize himself at least with a brief list of available features and determine its necessary set. We give the most sought-after.

Climate system

Automatic correction of the operation of the heating and air conditioning system in different premises, depending on the presence or absence of people and weather conditions. Remote control.

Lighting system

On and off the light depending on the presence or absence of people in rooms; automatic adjustment of the level of brightness depending on the natural light; Various scenarios for work and recreation ("Guests" modes, "Home Cinema", "Sleep", etc.). Remote control.

The smart Wi-Fi-socket HS110 (TP-Link) with power consumption monitoring allows you to control devices connected to it anywhere where there is an Internet using the KASA mobile application. Photo: TP-LINK

Replaceable management module for installation in different systems "Smart Home". Photo: Somfy.

Safety system

Protection against unauthorized access to the dwelling, from water leaks, gas leaks, fire, perimeter protection. The possibility of remote control over the position of affairs in the house.

The smart home domotix.pro can be controlled both from wall switches and from a free iOS or Android app. Photo: domotix.pro.

Sunshit

The control system of curtain cornices, blinds, roller shutters in automatic mode - depending on the time of day and the amount of sunlight, the ability to set the opening of the curtains exactly by time or the days of the week. Remote control.

Somfy curtain curtains. Photo: Somfy.

To automate the curtain, it is necessary to select equipment that would be compatible with the Smart Home system. For example, Somfy electrical drives are equipped with a Glydea Receiver RTS radio receiving RTS data transmission protocol (Radio Technology Somfy) (RADIO TECHNOLOGY SOMFY). This is a closed protocol with the highest degree of protection. For integrating other manufacturers of "Smart House" systems, replaceable control modules of the Glydea electric drive are provided. Installars will simply be changed to the control module of the drive itself. Other manufacturers of curtain cornices can have their own options. For example, the Xiaomi drive supports the ZigBee protocol and can be connected to a smart home from the same Xiaomi, as well as, let's say, to the smart home system MyHome Legrand using the same protocol.

Power consumption and energy saving

System for managing devices that consume electricity, load distribution and connection depending on the network load. Tracking certain parameters, the system will not allow inappropriate operation of different systems (for example, the inclusion of lighting in the daytime on the street or heating with thaw). Thanks to intellectual management, a significant reduction in electricity consumption is achieved (by 30-38%), water (15-25%), gas (by 20-35%).

Smart LED Wi-Fi Lamp LB130 with Color Adjustment (TP-LINK). Wi-Fi connection, remote lighting control, android and iOS compatibility. Photo: TP-LINK

Audoviovideo management

Elements of the engineering system "Smart Home". Smoke detector. Photo: Fotolia.com.

The system allows you to manage any audio and video equipment, a home cinema, acoustic systems. Using the scripts, you can configure the power on, audio volume, program recording, and play them at a certain time.

According to analysts, by 2020, Internet of Things (IoT) will unite 26 billion devices worth $ 300 billion.

How to choose a smart home system

Motion Detector. Photo: Fotolia.com.

Immediately note that the unprofessional with this task is unlikely to cope. But in order to approximately navigate in the Smart Home system, it is necessary to know that this system includes three main types of items. First, controllers. These are control devices that connect all parts of the system with each other and with the outside world. Sensors are connected to controllers (for example, motion sensors, levels of illumination, smoke detectors, video cameras), transmitting information about external conditions and events, and actuators (electric drives, relays, solenoid drives, etc.), which serve to actuate devices, Connected to the Smart Home system. For a smart home system, at least one controller will be required, several sensors and a certain number of actuators corresponding to the number of such connected devices, such as automatic curtains or blinds, garage doors, heating boilers and some others. Plus, some more additional devices, such as power supplies or, let's say, receiving and transmitting data on the radio channel or infrared channel (for example, if you have a wired system, and some item cannot be connected by wires).

Iot network organization scheme. All devices are controlled via a smartphone or a similar mobile computer. Photo: Bobboz / Fotolia.com

If you want to get a smart home more complicated than the solution "in one box", then you will have to spend money on equipment and design work.

SMS module on DIN Rake HDL-MGSM.431 (HDL). Photo: HDL.

Different signal encoding algorithms are used to exchange data - different data exchange protocols (wired and wireless, via Wi-Fi network). There are dozens of different protocols, some of them get wider distribution, some are used more specialized. For example, wired MODBUS and KNX data transmission protocols, as well as Russian (Insyte) and Chinese (HDL) analogues of the latter received widespread. Dali protocol is used to control lighting equipment; Z-Wave and ZigBee protocols are used in smart home wireless systems.

Relay on DIN rail 4-channel, 16 A on the channel (HDL). Photo: HDL.

Which version of the smart home to choose? The Russian market of smart houses looks like this: 50% is suppliers of foreign brands (USA, Germany, Austria). In most cases, their equipment complies with the standard KNX or EIB / KNX. This is high-quality, but expensive equipment for premium segment in real estate. 20% of the market occupy Russian brands of "smart home" systems, most of which are only masked under the "manufacturers" and "developers". In fact, their equipment is taken from the range of different Chinese manufacturers and issued for their own. The real development and production of integrated integrated systems "Smart Home" in Russia is engaged in companies. You can distinguish real manufacturers by the presence of patents and development departments.

Lighting control modules, curtains, Glass Touch Panels Thermostats (Schneider Electric). Photo: Schneider Electric

The remaining 30% is "sets in the box", simple electronic devices for managing individual processes in the house. They are only called smart home, but on the fact it is just toys for gadgets.

Elements of the engineering system "Smart Home". Wi-Fi Camera. Photo: TP-LINK

On the middle, an intelligent turnkey house for an apartment or a small house is offered for the amount of 150 thousand rubles. up to a million and more expensive. But, of course, much depends on the characteristics of the project. For example, will the above-mentioned additional modules, which type and in what quantity are required. Or, let's say, you can connect multiple sensors and sensors to the controller to the controller - and what if you need more? Will additional (sufficiently expensive) controller, are there any more cheap expansion modules? Will you use specialized control panels (branded panels can cost up to several hundred thousand rubles) or use the smartphone screen? Only the scrupulous calculation of the cost of the system, taking into account all the required equipment and the cost of assembly and commissioning, will give an answer as your smart home will cost.

Switches Lithoss SELECT and SQUARES series, compatible with smart home systems. Photo: Lithoss.

Sometimes the choice of one or another protocol affects the compatibility of devices. For example, in one case, an additional adapter module or a radio module costs is worth several tens of thousand rubles, and in another controller and electrical installations are simply connected by a twisted pair, as in the KNX protocol, which support many European manufacturers of lighting equipment and electrical installation (ABB, Legrand , Shneider Electric, Jung). For example, the HDL database devices will cost 2-3 times cheaper than similar KNX-based systems, and the components of the AMX or Crestron components will be even more expensive. For example, a four-channel HDL controller, installed on a DIN rail, can be purchased for 20-25 thousand rubles, and approximately equal to the functionality of the KNX controller JUNG will cost about 30-35 thousand rubles, the Russian, the same Insyte controller will cost at 15-20 thousand rubles.

A smart home is something more than a group of Iot-things (smart light bulbs, thermostats, security sensors) or so-called Connected Devices. The difference between smart household appliances and a full-fledged engineering system "Smart Home" is that the second can be completed first, but only on smart devices to build a full-fledged smart home is impossible! In any case, while. In essence, we are dealing with cool toys, but this is not a smart home, but separate smart devices. The high degree of automation of connected devices and systems, as well as the higher efficiency of their work is achieved only with the help of engineering solutions like Loxone, KNX, etc., but not exactly the Internet of things. This is my opinion - toys and there are toys, they are good by themselves, but they do not create a reliable system. In addition, to integrate them with each other, you need a hub (HUB). Elementary: when the router is disabled, nothing will work. And in the engineering solution there will be, since there is a "climb" controller only for the user interface and weather type services, and the communication between the switch and light bulb goes through the controller and the bus, and not the network.

Gennady Kozlov

General Director of Domotix.pro