There is a point in almost every project when the same question comes up, usually too late: Can this be controlled from a phone?
Sometimes the answer is simply yes. Other times, not without reworking some of the decisions that have already been made.
Because home automation often comes in at the end. When the lighting design has already been finalised, the circuits have been planned, and the project is just one step away from installation. At that point, integrating an intelligent control system is no longer a design decision: it becomes a technical workaround for something that was originally designed without it in mind.
And that is where most of its potential is lost.
A well-integrated control system is not just about being able to switch the lights on and off from an app. It means lighting scenes can change according to the time of day without anyone having to do anything. It means the lighting in a workspace can coordinate with the rest of the environment instead of operating as an isolated system. It means climate control, sound and lighting can all respond to the same logic, rather than relying on three different controls that no one uses after the first month.
None of this is best decided at the last minute. It should be considered while there is still time to determine where each circuit goes, how different areas are grouped, and which luminaires need to be compatible with the system from the design stage, rather than adapted afterwards.
That is why, whenever the project allows, we bring Domoticat BCN into the conversation from the beginning of the lighting design process, rather than treating automation as something to be added later. Whether the client ultimately chooses to integrate it or not is entirely their decision, but that decision should be made at the right time, with all the information on the table, rather than when there is no longer enough flexibility to choose properly.
This leads to very tangible possibilities. A bedroom can have a “reading” scene and a “sleep” scene, each with a different colour temperature and intensity, without the user having to adjust anything manually. A living area can respond to the natural light entering in the afternoon, dimming artificial lighting when it is no longer needed. A retail space can change its atmosphere depending on the time of day, without anyone having to constantly manage it.
None of these solutions are particularly complicated to build. What is difficult is adding them afterwards, to a project that did not take them into account from the beginning.
Home automation is not a layer that is added at the end. It is a design decision, just like CCT or beam angle. The earlier it becomes part of the conversation, the less noticeable the technology becomes, and the more natural the space feels.
— HER Team