An intelligent smart home system has a number of advantages. It increases living comfort, contributes to security and also helps to save energy with automated scenarios. But how can the smart home be retrofitted? Anyone thinking of chiseling open walls, kilometers of cables or complicated technical chaos can breathe a sigh of relief, as this is no longer necessary for retrofitting. If you want to make your home smarter, you don't have to plan any conversions or be afraid of technology. Retrofitting is also very easy.
Smart home components, such as those from Shelly, communicate wirelessly. This means that no cables need to be laid. That's why you can retrofit a smart home wherever you need it - whether in your own home or in a rented flat. Because installation is possible without any permanent changes. Existing light switches, sockets, radiator thermostats or sensors can be easily replaced or extended with smart versions and are ready for use in no time at all. Precisely because no complicated rewiring is required, retrofitting a smart home is now easier than ever. Nevertheless, there are of course a few things to bear in mind.
First of all, it is important that the system you want to retrofit is open and flexible. Because then you can adapt it precisely to the individual conditions in your home - and expand it easily if you want it to be even smarter later on. The decisive factor here is compatibility. Because only if the components are compatible with each other can they communicate well and reliably with each other. Also make sure that common platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant etc. are compatible so that you can also use your smart home via voice control.
f you want to retrofit a smart home, you should also consider the right wireless standard. This is often accompanied by the question of whether you want to use an additional smart home gateway or not. The Shelly system is very straightforward. The components mainly rely on WLAN or Bluetooth for the wireless standard. You don't need an additional gateway because many of the smart Shelly components function as gateways themselves. Control is then easy via the Shelly Smart Control app. You can then integrate various automation protocols, platforms and assistants for voice control.
A good smart home grows with your needs. That's why it's important that the system can be expanded step by step if necessary - because that's what matters when retrofitting, of course. If you later want to set up scenarios that increase security in the home during your absence or improve living comfort, you can do this quickly and easily thanks to the open Shelly system. Let's take a look at a few practical examples.
Whether lights, shutters, garage, heating or even garden irrigation - many areas in your home can be easily retrofitted with smart technology. And the best thing is: with Shelly, you don't have to remodel or network the whole house if you want to start small.
Smart lighting not only makes everyday life easier, it also contributes to security. While you are away, for example, you can control the lights while you are away so that thieves do not recognise that no one is at home. Shelly makes this simple and straightforward - and even works with your existing light switches. You can retrofit intelligent switches, for example. They are simply installed behind the existing switch in the flush-mounted box and connected to the Shelly Smart Control app via Wi-Fi. You can then control the light via app, timer or voice commands. You can find more enlightening information on this at here .
Your garage door can also be made smart in no time at all with Shelly. For example, a smart relay switch is connected to the existing button or the control signal of the garage door opener. As soon as the module is integrated into the Shelly environment, the door can be opened and closed conveniently via app or voice command. Particularly practical: you can see whether the door is open or closed in the app, even when you're on the move - and can react immediately if necessary. Networking not only makes everyday life easier, but also increases security. You can find more information here.
You can easily retrofit smart roller shutters. To do this, your electrician will install the Shelly 2PM behind the existing roller shutter switch or on the motor. Alternatively, the Pro 2PM can be installed on the top-hat rail in the distribution cabinet. The modules connect to the Shelly app via WLAN and operate the roller shutters. They can then be lowered by voice control with "Alexa, please close the shutters". You can also programme scenarios in the app that automatically raise the roller shutters at sunrise and lower them again in the evening, for example. When you're on holiday, they simulate presence, and on cosy Sundays they simply stay closed for longer.
We can enjoy the marvelous sea of flowers in the garden in our networked home without much effort. Because you can also retrofit garden irrigation in your smart home. To do this, simply connect your garden pump to a smart outdoor socket from Shelly. All you then have to do is integrate the socket into your Shelly system and set a schedule in the app, for example, and Shelly will take care of watering for you. If you realize that you need to water the plants outside of the time window, you can of course also use voice commands: "Okay Google, water on!" A real relief in everyday life. You can find out more about smart watering at here.
Always the perfect room temperature and save energy at the same time? This works completely automatically in the networked home. Retrofitting the smart home makes double sense here and is also very easy. With Shelly, you can integrate radiators via intelligent radiator thermostats. They are replaced with existing thermostats and connect to the app. You can then make yourself cosy by setting the heating to warm in the bathroom in the morning and save energy during the day by turning it down when you are away. This way, you only heat when you need to - without any effort. Here you can find more information about heating control, underfloor heating and temperature control.
It definitely makes sense to retrofit your smart home - for several reasons. Firstly, it increases security: motion detectors, door and window sensors or automatic light control ensure that your home looks "lived in" even when you are away and deter uninvited guests. Smart time schedules, automatic switch-off of standby devices or clever heating control can also help you save costs. With Shelly, you can also keep an eye on all electricity consumption via the app. Last but not least: Retrofitting is also convenient, because smart scenarios not only make everyday life easier, but also increase living comfort.
Scenarios or scenes are processes in which several smart devices or actions are included at the same time - depending on certain situations or times of day. An example: In the app, you create the "Evening mood" scenario and specify that it dims the lights, closes the shutters and sets the heating to a cosy temperature. All with just one click in the app, via voice commands or automatically at the desired time. With Shelly, you can define scenarios easily and, above all, individually in the app. Under the "Scenes" menu item, you select the devices, set what they should do and when or what should trigger the whole thing.
The Shelly app is the brain of the system. This is where all the devices come together, are controlled, monitored and linked together. Regardless of whether you are already a smart home professional or want to dip your toe into the networked world: The Smart Control app is clear and intuitive to use. It provides you with all the important data, for example on energy consumption, in real time and keeps you up to date with notifications. You can also control the integrated devices from anywhere. You can automate processes in the app particularly easily using the scenes and, of course, it is compatible with various voice assistants and smart home platforms.
For many, voice control is a crucial function in the smart home. After all, it makes everyday life a lot easier - and it's fun to operate the devices in a very cool way using voice commands. The Shelly system is also flexible here: you can connect your smart home with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or - depending on the set-up - also with Apple's Siri via Matter. With Amazon and Google, all you need to do is activate the relevant skill or service in the app and link your Shelly account - and you're ready to go: Whether it's "Alexa, switch on the living room light" or "Hey Google, lower the shutters".
No, retrofitting is not complicated, but a little preparation helps. You can easily retrofit many smart home gadgets yourself, for example networked sockets, radiator thermostats, door and window sensors, temperature measuring devices etc. They are easy to install and require no special prior knowledge. However, work that needs to be carried out on the power grid, the fuse box or flush-mounted, for example, must be left to a specialist. The bottom line is that retrofitting a smart home is neither expensive nor time-consuming. You can do a lot yourself, but if you need assistance, a professional can help. You can find installers in your area at here .
If you want to retrofit your smart home, Shelly offers a smart socket, for example, from just over €20. The total cost always depends on the desired range of functions.
You can install many smart home devices, such as sensors, sockets and the like, yourself. You should always call in a professional for work on the power grid or fuse box, etc.
Yes, retrofitting your smart home is worthwhile. Automatic heating control, smart electricity utilization and targeted energy monitoring can save costs and reduce consumption.
It all depends on what you want. You can network devices with a smart socket and add more later - or make your entire home smart with a comprehensive set-up.
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