FAQ
TL;DR: With 13 roller shutters, 37 power circuits, and over 40 planned electrical circuits, the safest approach is a star-wired installation with local wall controls preserved; as one installer put it, “manual control must be.” This FAQ helps self-builders choose between PLC, Home Assistant, Domoticz, alarm integration, and relay-based wiring without losing serviceability or future expansion. [#20865963]
Why it matters: A smart-home installation is hardest to fix after walls are closed, so wiring choices now decide reliability, maintenance cost, and future automation options.
| Option |
Strength from the thread |
Main drawback from the thread |
Best fit |
| PLC + HMI |
Familiar logic, existing hardware can cut upfront cost |
Large switchboard, many I/O points, more design effort |
Users already comfortable with PLCs |
| Home Assistant |
Broadly recommended, flexible, runs on varied hardware |
Requires learning a new ecosystem |
Central orchestration layer |
| Domoticz |
Reported stable, simpler for one installer, works with Satel |
Seen as less fashionable than HA |
DIY users who want a lighter start |
| Shelly/Sonoff modules |
Smaller switchboard, easy blind/light control |
Heat, failures, Wi‑Fi dependence, servicing concerns |
Distributed control when space matters |
| Satel Integra |
Stable alarm, code locks, useful automation signals |
Separate ecosystem, not a full smart-home core |
Alarm-first installations |
Key insight: Keep automation optional, but keep wiring permanent. Pull cables for local switches, sensors, and central access first; choose the software and controllers second. [#20993078]
Quick Facts
- One planned installation reached 37 power circuits, 9 telecommunication circuits, and PLC + Home Assistant I/O of 16 AI, 61 DO, 36 DI, showing how quickly scope grows in a new house. [#20987063]
- Real-world device counts can exceed 100–120 networked devices, including 14 shutter controllers, 17 lighting controllers, 16 IP cameras, 5 routers/APs, and 2 DVRs. [#20872166]
- Reported street prices in the thread: Shelly 2.5 about 90–150 PLN, Sonoff 4CH about 60–100 PLN, Sonoff Dual about 50 PLN, and Shelly 4 Pro about 600 PLN. [#20868007]
- One user reported failures over 3 years: 3 Sonoff 4CH replacements, 2 of 14 Shelly 2.5 units dead irretrievably, and capacitor replacements in about 8 of 14 Shelly modules. [#20869477]
- The discussed house scale was a 10 × 14 m single-storey building, later planned for attic adaptation, with more than 40 electrical circuits before adding cameras or shutters. [#20987063]
How should I plan a smart home electrical installation for roller shutters, lighting, alarm, monitoring, heating and recuperation in a new house so it stays expandable later?
Plan it as a star-wired installation and pull more cables than you need. Bring shutter motors, local buttons, lighting circuits, alarm lines, temperature sensors, and telecom cabling back to the main switchboard. One builder planned 37 power circuits, 9 telecommunication circuits, and separate control I/O, precisely to keep later options open. Also reserve circuits for outdoor sockets, soffit lighting, ladder heaters, cameras, and future attic adaptation. This makes later migration between PLC, Home Assistant, Domoticz, or relay control possible without opening walls.
[#20987063]
What works better for a house installation: PLC plus HMI, Home Assistant, or Domoticz?
Home Assistant or Domoticz worked better in this thread as the practical house layer, while PLC made sense only when the owner already knew it well. PLC plus HMI offers familiar control logic, but it pushed the design toward a very large switchboard and many modular components. Domoticz was described as stable and easy enough to run on Raspberry with SSD, while Home Assistant was seen as the stronger current ecosystem. A hybrid approach also appeared: PLC or Beckhoff for hard I/O, plus Home Assistant for visualization and integrations.
[#20869415]
Why is giving up wall switches for lighting and roller shutters considered a bad idea in a smart home installation?
Giving up wall switches is considered a bad idea because local manual control remains the fastest and safest interface. One installer called phone-only control a “defeat” because nobody wants to search an app just to close one shutter while standing in the room. Wall switches also preserve operation during app, network, or controller problems. The thread repeatedly converged on the same rule: keep classic switches for both lighting and roller shutters, then feed those signals into digital inputs or local controllers.
[#20865963]
How do you wire roller shutters so they have both local manual buttons and central control from Home Assistant or Domoticz?
Wire shutters with both motor cables and local button cables returning to the switchboard. 1. Pull the shutter motor conductors to the board. 2. Pull the local up/down button wiring separately to the board. 3. Terminate both on a shutter controller, relay logic, or PLC inputs/outputs. One user did exactly this for 14 shutters, so controllers stayed accessible for servicing, replacement, or full redesign later. That gives local wall operation and central control from Domoticz or Home Assistant without losing maintainability.
[#20865963]
What is Home Assistant, and on what hardware can it run in a house automation system?
“Home Assistant” is home-automation software that centralizes device control, automations, and integrations, with a web interface and local deployment options. In the thread, it was described as a system with its own desktop that can run on a Raspberry Pi with SSD, an old laptop, or even a Synology server. It was also presented as stable after power resets when the host platform was set up correctly. For this use case, hardware choice mattered less than keeping the wiring and integrations open.
[#20868007]
What is Domoticz, and how does it differ from Home Assistant for DIY home automation?
“Domoticz” is a DIY home-automation platform that manages devices, scenes, and dashboards, with a lighter, more block-oriented workflow than some broader ecosystems. In the thread, Domoticz was praised as simple, stable, and sufficient for years of use on Raspberry hardware. Home Assistant was described as more heavily promoted and now more popular, while Domoticz was seen as older but still actively updated. The practical difference in the discussion was not capability limits, but user preference and how much re-learning the owner wanted.
[#20869477]
Which roller shutter solution makes more sense in practice: Shelly 2.5, Sonoff Dual R3, modular contactors, or Modbus RTU I/O modules?
The most practical choice depends on whether you prioritize compactness or serviceability. Shelly 2.5 reduces switchboard size and adds percentage positioning, but it costs about 90–150 PLN per unit and had reported reliability issues. Sonoff Dual was cited around 50 PLN, but it needed custom firmware. Modular contactors and Modbus RTU I/O modules suit a central board better and match PLC-style wiring, but they increase cabinet size. In this thread, the owner gradually moved from PLC contactors toward Home Assistant plus distributed modules because the central board became “a big cow.”
[#20988944]
How is the roller shutter opening percentage calculated in Shelly 2.5, and how does calibration or re-basing work with electronic end-stop detection?
In the thread, percentage positioning was valued, but the exact internal method was not fully confirmed. The user discussing Shelly 2.5 treated it as percentage-based opening and asked whether it was time-scaled with end-stop behavior, which suggests practical calibration around opening and closing travel time. That makes sense for everyday use, but electronic load detection or anti-ice stop functions can complicate re-basing. If your shutters stop early on obstacle or ice detection, percentage accuracy may drift and need periodic recalibration or manual verification.
[#20872980]
What causes Shelly 2.5 modules to overheat or fail, and how should they be mounted in a switchboard to improve reliability?
Heat and power-supply weakness were the main failure themes in the thread. One installer reported severe standby heating, capacitor failures, Wi‑Fi loss, and about 8 capacitor replacements in 14 Shelly units. Mounted tightly on DIN-rail brackets, the modules reportedly ran hotter; hanging them loosely with airflow and fan cooling worked better. The same user explicitly advised against stuffing such modules into tight wall boxes. If you use them, keep ventilation, easy access, and replacement space in the switchboard.
[#20872166]
How do you integrate a Satel Integra alarm with Domoticz or Home Assistant so motion sensors can also drive lighting and presence logic?
Use Satel Integra as the alarm core and expose its states to the automation platform through the network interface. In the thread, Integra with ETHM sent alarm data into Domoticz, where motion sensors also triggered lights and presence-related logic. That let one installer use detector states to know whether someone was home or in a given zone. Satel was also praised for stable logic functions on its own, so the best pattern was alarm-first reliability with automation using those same detector signals.
[#20865963]
What is Satel INT-SCR, and how does it work with an electric strike for code-based door entry?
“Satel INT-SCR” is an alarm-system keypad reader that works with Satel Integra panels to manage code-based access, door functions, and linked automation. In the thread, it was used with an electric strike in the door frame, so entry happened by code while exit still used a normal door handle. The installation was wired directly to Satel Integra 128, not to a generic Home Assistant relay. The owner also used four such code-lock points and added bell logic through Integra outputs and a relay.
[#20988360]
How can I control underfloor heating actuators room by room and send a signal to a heat pump when all loops are closed?
Control each room with its own temperature sensor and actuator output, then aggregate actuator states into one heat-demand signal. The thread’s target design was room-by-room underfloor control with thermoelectric actuators, sensor-based logic, and a command to the heat pump indicating whether at least one loop remained open. If all actuators close, the system should send a stop request to the heat pump or clear a run command. This can be done in PLC logic or in a home-automation layer, as long as every room state is visible centrally.
[#20866792]
What is Modbus RTU, and how is it used in home automation for relay modules, digital inputs and PLC communication?
“Modbus RTU” is an industrial serial protocol that links controllers, relay modules, and input modules over RS‑485, using register-based data exchange and simple multi-device wiring. In this thread, it appeared as the preferred path for central I/O expansion, especially for relay modules and digital-input modules in a large switchboard. The owner considered devices such as 16-input and 16-relay Modbus RTU modules as cheaper alternatives to many Shelly shutter units. That made Modbus RTU a natural fit for PLC-style home automation with centralized wiring.
[#20988944]
How do I script Home Assistant or Domoticz so that a heating demand from any room starts the heat pump through Modbus RTU or a digital input?
Create a single heating-demand flag that turns true when any room requests heat. 1. Read each room thermostat or actuator state. 2. OR those states into one demand signal. 3. Send that signal to the heat pump by Modbus RTU or a digital output. In the thread, this exact control goal was confirmed as achievable in Domoticz, and Home Assistant was considered likely capable too. The practical rule is simple: if one loop opens, request heat; if all loops close, drop the run command.
[#20988740]
How many separate 230 V and 400 V circuits should be planned in a new smart home so future automation, UPS backup, photovoltaics and selective shutdown are easier?
Plan more circuits than a classic house would use, because separation increases future control options. In the thread, one design reached 37 circuits, then later more than 40 electrical circuits, and another participant explicitly argued that more separate circuits are better for UPS backup, hybrid inverter use, selective shutdown, and night cut-off of standby loads. Separate circuits were also recommended for ladder heaters, TVs, computers, outdoor sockets, and soffit lighting. The working rule from this build was clear: invest in cable now, because merged circuits are hard to split later.
[#20993411]
Generated by the language model.
