Wired or Wireless Home Automation System?

Wired or Wireless Home Automation System ? This question is in mind of many home-owners debate when considering home automation for their residence or buildings when under construction. In this modern day dominance of wireless in the forms of 3G,4G,5G, Wi-Fi, IR and much more, it is ever so tempting to go the wireless route even for home automation.  In many cases the physical circumstances and constraints posed in existing spaces leave no choice but to go wireless. However, there are many large scale residence or resorts or buildings situations where wiring is an only option, in such cases we would always recommend to the user to go with wiring being installed for enabling wired home automation systems.

How to build a good smart home system?

Building a smart home system involves integrating various devices and technologies to enhance the automation, control, and convenience of your home. Build a smart home and looking for the best system that will suit your needs and budget. While there are many options to choose from, not all of them are equally good or equally future-proof. First you need to understand what factors are important when choosing a smart home system:

1. System Reliability – A smart home should work at all times without any problems. Wired smart homes are way more reliable than wireless IoT solutions. While having a wired smart home system is not always possible, some wireless solutions can also serve as a good alternative.
2. Future proof – When you want to add or change something after 10 years, the technology should not only still be around, but also be up to date with all the new advancements.
3. Robust– Imagine having 50+ smart home devices in your home and having to change them every 5 years. Smart home devices should last for decades.
4. Open– Smart home market is still new and ever-changing. If your system is not open but instead controlled by only one company, you are completely locked in with whatever this company thinks is right. With an open system, you get to choose.
5. Automate Changes – Your life changes with time and so should your smart home. Make sure to select a system that gives you the ability to adjust and create new automation yourself, without the help of an integrator.
6. Ultimate User Experience – In the 2020s you shouldn’t be satisfied with an interface that looks like it was made in 2005.
7. Expandable – Smart homes evolve, and will keep evolving. You should be able to add new devices yourself at least to some extent.
8. Lagre Support Network – Having plenty of smart home integrators around to help you out when needed is a must-have. For most people, installing and maintaining everything themself is too technical and time-consuming.

Pros and Cons of Wired or Wireless Home Automation System.

While there are hundreds of different smart home systems, you can in general split them into two types: Wired and wireless smart home systems, each with its own pros and cons.

But , not many systems cover all or even most of that.

Wireless (IoT) systems

Pros:

Fast installation. Installing equipment in a wireless router is easy because there is no drilling or tricking of cables. In most cases, wireless systems are DIY, which eliminates expensive installation costs. Easy Removal. Since there are no wires to tear from walls or professionals to call for removal, wireless appliances are very easy to remove. This is especially useful for tenants who can move their devices to new residences without fear of damage to their apartment.

• Modern UI
• Ability to add new devices and change automation yourself
• Plug and play

Cons:

Vulnerable to RF interference. Although it’s very rare, wireless automation systems are just as susceptible to disruptions like Wi-Fi randomly turning off or cell phones not being able to find signals. Whether the interference is electromagnetic through a remote control or power lines, or structural through walls or metal filing cabinets, there are a number of things that can cause a sensor’s radio frequency communication to fail.

• Not completely reliable due to inherent limitations of current wireless technologies
• No real professional support ecosystem. You need to do everything by yourself.
• These devices are gadgets. The lifetime is often less than 5 years.
• Questionable long-term support. The devices might quickly become unsupported.

Examples: Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth/BLE , Casambi, Thread, Matter

Wired systems

Pros:

Because wired systems don’t rely on sensors that communicate through radio frequency, they are extremely reliable. After a professional does the initial setup of a wired system, there are limited possibilities to have to worry about. For lighting control Wired Keypads can be used and you have a wide range to select from. They are reliable and consistent. Once wired keypads have been laid with the correct wiring, they can be used for multiple rooms and multiple lighting scenes.

• Completely reliable
• Devices last for 20+ years
• Professional network of smart home integrators to install and maintain your system
• Works well with hundreds of devices in one home

Cons:

Wired automation systems are difficult to install and involve connecting sensors with low-voltage wires located inside walls, so holes must be drilled Even wired automation system equipment is troublesome to uninstall because you can’t remove the wires. To restore a wired system, you have to run completely new wiring.

• Many of those Home Automation systems are proprietary and controlled by a single company. This can be a large risk for an investment that should last decades. Make sure you are in the hands of an ecosystem that can still be around in 15 years and is not controlled by a single company (e.g. KNX).
• You need an integrator to change every little thing after you move in which can get quite expensive.
• Many mobile apps usually look like they were designed decades ago (because they actually were made decades ago).

Example: KNX, Lutron, Crestron, CBUS, Legrand SCS, Vantage, Mbus, RS-485

To make the best possible investment, you need to choose a smart home system with as few cons and as many pros as possible.

Thanks!!!