New Garden room Build - Automation options

[Speedyrazor]

I am building a garden room and starting to think about the electrics. I currently automate a lot of my lights and switches, using quite a few Sonoff Mini’s flashed with Tasmota, MQTT to Home Assistant, and although this method works well, I am thinking of a more centralised solution. For example, a 16 channel relay, controlled by Arduino, where everything runs back to the relay, mains plugs, lights, light switches, etc. Although Im sure this would work and be a good centralised system, I’m not sure on how I would go about getting this signed off by an electrician, or installed by an electrician. Or, is there a better option?

Kind regards.

 

[SpecialK]

Shelly do a 4 way controller https://shelly.cloud/ifa-2020-products/#fourproplus Pretty sure you can get a LAN add-on too? There are also devices such as https://www.aliexpress.com/store/5021175?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000061.1.24bb641bd4RCjG that should work with home assistant?

It will be interesting to see how you manage it. I'm adding an extension to my house and will wire it up for home assistant integration like the rest of the house. I'm thinking of just having all light switch and light wiring coming to a central location and running the smart devices in there (probably shelly 1's and shelly dimmers DIN mounted)

 

[Speedyrazor]

The devices at aliexpress look very interesting. I didn't want multiple Shelly's of Sonoff's, as each one need managing and takes an IP on the Wifi, which soon becomes very busy, this is why I wanted a centralised system.

 

[SpecialK]

They use tiny amounts of traffic compared to cctv cameras and kids phones (I have 26 wifi tasmota devices and in 20 days the most active one has used 200mb! of wifi upload - firestick has done 15gb of downloads!) But yes a hard wired system would be great...

The devices at aliexpress look very interesting. I didn't want multiple Shelly's of Sonoff's, as each one need managing and takes an IP on the Wifi, which soon becomes very busy, this is why I wanted a centralised system.

 

[ericmark]

A SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is an automation control system that is used in industries such as energy, oil and gas, water, power, and many more. The system has a centralized system that monitors and controls entire sites, ranging from an industrial plant to a complex of plants across the country. I have used it to link to a PLC to do rather complex functions, however the problem arises when you want some one else to work on it. OK at work there is always some one else working along side ones self, but at home finding a house bashing electrician who is a scheme member and also has worked with PLC's is near impossible, most who can program SCADA are not interested in paying the scheme provider there fee for the odd time they work on domestic. And the LABC charges are rather expensive.

So yes it can be done, but better to select the systems designed for home use, I was looking at my Mitsubishi FX the other day thinking will I every use it, even the cheapest PLC your looking at over £100, seem to remember the lead cost me £120 and I won the software, and have not got the install disks so would need to use a rather old Windows 3.11 laptop. So unlikely I will ever use it. I had planned to use it for central heating, but Nest does a better job.

Son gave me an arduino uno to play with, actually harder to program than a PLC, but I am 69 and at some point in the future I will not be able to fix it any more, so want something the local heating engineer can fix.