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Clever Smart Home control units for your intelligent home

You need a Smart Home control centre to be able to control your automated home network simply and easily. Depending on the system and manufacturer, this intelligent control centre is called a Smart Home Hub, Access Point or Bridge. At Berrybase you will find various control units from renowned manufacturers such as Homematic IP, Xiaomi, Sonoff, SwitchBot and Nuki.

Smart Home Hub, Access Point and Co.: Function and meaning for the smart home

No matter what the smart hub is called - the function is basically always the same. The module serves as an interface between different Smart Home components that are linked to each other to create an individual interaction and to configure and execute automated routines. For example, your smart radiator thermostat can be coupled with a temperature or window sensor so that the heating is automatically activated when the temperature falls below a certain level or when the system registers an open window. In order for an action to be carried out, the corresponding information is recorded and processed by the Smart Home control centre. With many control centres, you also receive a notification on your smartphone or tablet when a previously defined scenario occurs.

A Smart Home control centre can also prove to be an extremely practical component in the area of building security. For example, you can arrange for your smart surveillance camera to send a signal to the control centre as soon as movement is detected. The control centre then passes on the information, whereupon a previously defined reaction is carried out. For example, a siren or light could then be activated to scare off uninvited guests.

The advantage of such communication between different Smart Home modules is obvious: you can control certain processes and everyday gadgets very conveniently or have them controlled intelligently by the system and even save energy costs depending on the configured interaction.

By the way: In most cases, the Smart Home control units are operated quite simply via a display. Sometimes it is also possible to control the system by voice command, which increases the comfort even more.

What you should consider before buying

Many Smart Home control units communicate via a specific radio standard, for example WLAN, Bluetooth or ZigBee. Modules that can handle multiple protocols, such as the Xiaomi Mi Smart Home Hub, are also available, but the repertoire of wireless standards is always limited. In addition, many control units can only interact with Smart Home modules from the same manufacturer. To avoid unpleasant surprises, you should therefore make sure that the respective product is also compatible with the other components of your network before you buy it. You can find the relevant information in the product description.

If you are using a Smart Home system with modules from the manufacturer Homematic IP, you should also note that there is a difference between the access point and the Smart Home control panel. While the access point is connected to a conventional router and creates a link between the various smart home components and the manufacturer's own cloud, the Homematic IP smart home control panel has a different task. It enables the local configuration and operation of all devices belonging to the network. This ensures that the system fulfils its functions even without WLAN access.