Wired
Wired home automation
Lighting automation is not home automation.
The difference is not visible on demonstration day. It shows up in year three, when something needs to change, and in year five, when something needs to be replaced.
Questions to ask any vendor
Eight questions that protect your investment.
- Are you designing a complete automation architecture, or installing standalone panels?
- Is the IR gateway a properly engineered integration, or a workaround that was never tested at scale?
- Will the home depend on a non-standard, proprietary mobile app?
- What happens if the supplier stops supporting that app?
- What happens if the gateway or controller fails in a few years?
- Can another qualified integrator maintain the system?
- Are warranties and service responsibilities written down?
- Can the different systems communicate reliably with one another?
Sheet 03
Before you choose a system
Lighting automation is not home automation.
An attractive demonstration and a low first price can hide what matters most: how the home is engineered, who can maintain it and what happens in year five. Ask every vendor these questions.
- Are you designing a complete automation architecture, or installing standalone panels?
- Is the IR gateway a properly engineered integration, or a workaround that was never tested at scale?
- Will the home depend on a non-standard, proprietary mobile app?
- What happens if the supplier stops supporting that app?
- What happens if the gateway or controller fails in a few years?
- Can another qualified integrator maintain the system?
- Are warranties and service responsibilities written down?
- Can the different systems communicate reliably with one another?
Conventional approach
- Standalone touch panels, room by room
- Disconnected lighting controllers
- Trial IR gateway integrations
- Proprietary, unfamiliar apps
- Unclear support responsibilities
- Limited long-term service planning
The Homebots approach
- A properly engineered wired architecture
- KNX, Crestron and Lutron platform options
- Coordinated system integration
- Documented programming and commissioning
- Interoperability planned per platform
- Clear manufacturer warranty information
- Defined post-sales support
No wiring method or platform is automatically future-proof, and no two platforms are interoperable by default. The quality of engineering, product selection and integration is what makes the difference.
Sheet 07
Why wired automation
Think beyond the handover. Think about the next decade.
An automation system must be designed for the years after you move in, not only for the day you do. Wired infrastructure is the core of the Homebots philosophy.
- Structured wiring
- Reliable system architecture
- Integration planning
- Documented installation
- Product warranty clarity
- Maintenance and service
- Upgrade and expansion
Wireless technology has legitimate uses. Where cabling is impractical, in some retrofits, or for specific devices, we use wireless components selectively and document them like everything else.
A decade in the life of a well-designed system
- HandoverAs-built drawings, programming files and a walkthrough of every scene.
- Year 1Scenes and schedules refined to the way the family actually lives.
- Year 3A new room, a terrace or a cinema added to the same infrastructure.
- Year 5A component replaced like-for-like from documentation, not guesswork.
- Year 10Interfaces upgraded while the wired backbone stays in the walls.
Where wired leads
New builds and major renovations, where cabling can be planned with the architecture and installed before finishes.
Where wireless helps
Retrofits, heritage interiors and individual devices where cabling is impractical. We use it selectively.
What we always do
Document every device, address and programme so another qualified integrator could understand and maintain the system.
Begin
Your home is unique. Its intelligence should be too.
Let’s design a home that responds to your lifestyle, reflects your architecture and delivers an experience that lasts.