Non-tech budget set up for new home (Singapore)

Hi All!

Greetings from Singapore! I’ll be getting my new home in a few months time and happened to come across SmartThings home automation which I really find interesting and would like to integrate into my new house.

The thing is that I don’t have any technical nor programming skills which I think will be essential in setting up a home automation? I have sourced for local contractors to set up a simple automation and they are quoting me about $1500USD for the set-up. Would like to ask if this is considered a fair amount?

My set-up is fairly simple:

  1. 2-3 motion sensors
  2. 10-15 sets of power outlets (including light switches)
  3. 1 temperature sensor
  4. 1 smart thing hub

My concern here is that the products I purchase from Amazon.uk will not be compatible and I may end up incurring more money than allowing an expert do it for me. Total newbie here but willing to learn! Hope you guys can share your views :slight_smile:

Many thanks!

Welcome! :sunglasses: ( I’ve moved this to projects so you can get individualized responses based on your own needs and requirements.)

Singapore is complicated, because technically the region has its own Z wave frequency, but in practice many people do use the UK frequency instead (which happens to be the same as the Chinese regional frequency).

http://products.z-wavealliance.org

You have to match the frequency exactly so if you get the UK frequency hub you will have to get UK zwave frequency devices.

And as it happens, there are no UK frequency Z wave power outlets. Long complicated reasons for that, but they just don’t exist.

There are, however, plug in modules, which in this forum we usually call “pocket sockets” just to distinguish them from the ones that are wired into the wall. I’m not familiar with the outlet design used in Singapore, but there’s probably a plug in module version that will work. So if those are acceptable to you then that’s a possibility.

If all you need are lights and motion sensors, though, you might be better off either with the Xiaomi zigbee Home Automation system ( this is a Chinese brand available through gearbest for shipment to other countries) or maybe even apple’s HomeKit which is very easy to set up and use, although not as powerful as SmartThings.

So it really comes down to exactly what you are trying to accomplish, in particular, how complex you need the rules that you set up to be. I’m just concerned about any Z wave system in Singapore because of the complexities of the region specification. I know there are a lot of people who do use the other regions’ frequencies, but it’s just an additional complexity.

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As far as the budget, I don’t really have any idea of what installation costs are in Singapore, hopefully someone else may be able to comment on that.

The Xioami devices are typically around $10 each, but other brands are anywhere from $30-$60 each per device. That’s not installed, just for the device.

If you go with HomeKit, you should be able to do all of the set up yourself, it’s very easy. So even though the individual devices may cost a little more, you don’t have to pay any installation and maintenance fees.

If your local contractors are quoting you $1500 to set up 20 devices, that would be high in the United States, but again I have no idea what it would cost in Singapore.

In the US, Amazon home services would charge $99 an hour, but they expect to be able to set up three smart light switches in one hour even with wiring.

If the $1500 you were quoted included the cost of the devices as well as the installation it would still be a little high for the US, but not as bad. But again I don’t know typical charges in Singapore.

Thank you for your prompt response Sir!

If I understand you correctly, each country has its own Z wave frequency?

Then is it possible for me to just buy purchase a smart thing hub + power outlets and motion sensors from amazon.uk or I can only purchase units limited by my country listed here? http://products.z-wavealliance.org

A little confused with what you have said here, “And as it happens, there are no UK frequency Z wave power outlets. Long complicated reasons for that, but they just don’t exist.” How do I tell if smartthing compatible power outlets are Z wave or not if I were to purchase it through amazon?

Appreciate your help!

Btw, i was considering Xiaomi smart home set at first, but I noticed that their power outlet are not UK/SG compatible.

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Hi! I am in SG too. Have you successfully setup using a ST Hub?

Perhaps we can share pointers?

I am using UK version in Malaysia more than 2 years…