Overview of used products

I am using the following Homekit enabled devices in my bedroom:

1x Philips Hue White Ambiance ceiling light

2x Philips Hue dimmer switch

1x Friends of Hue Niko wall switch

1x Aqara curtain motor

1x DT-82 curtain track (3.5 meter)

1x Aqara humidity & temperature sensor

1x Aqara window/door sensor

5x IKEA Urshult Led-lights

1x IKEA Tradfi Driver (for Urshult lights)

2x IKEA Tradfri Smart plug

1x IKEA Tradfri Bridge

1x Aqara Bridge

1x Philips Hue Bridge

A Homekit controller. I’m using an iPad.

Recommended: a stable (wireless) network; I’m using Ubiquiti UniFi.

Setting up all devices

Switches

I’m using three switches to control the lights and curtains. First, I went with two standard Philips Hue dimmer switches, one on each side of the bed. Unfortunately, Philips only offers the dimmer switch in a white version. In order to match the other switches in my home, I had to spray paint them black. The dimmer switches come with adhesive to stick them to the wall.

The black Philips Hue dimmer switches control both the Hue ceiling light and Tradfri wardrobe lights

Installing the wall switch was a bit more complex. One of the disadvantages of the Hue system is that when you turn off a traditional hard-wired wall switch, it becomes impossible to turn on the light through the Hue/Homekit app. With the ‘Friends of Hue’ Niko wall switch you can solve this.

The Niko wall switch controls the Hue ceiling light, the five Tradfri wardrobe lights and the Aqara curtain motor

First, I connected to wires for the Philips Hue lamp to be always on, then installed the switch on top of the existing electricity box. The Niko Hue switch can be combined with traditional switches, sockets and surround plates. In the picture above you see the Hue switch on the left and a standard 220v socket on the right.

Lights

I’m using mainly Hue lights in my home. Unfortunately Hue has no products to use as a down-light above my wardrobe. So I bought five Ikea Urshult lights together with a Tradfri driver and homekit enabled Tradfri bridge. The two lamps on the bedside tables are connected with an Ikea Tradfri smart plug. These plugs will — hopefully — soon get an update to support Homekit.

Sensors

The battery powered sensors I use are from the Chinese brand Aqara, a Xiaomi sub brand. The come at an affordable price and are very reliable. The battery should last for more than a year. The first sensor I use provides in temperature, humidity and air pressure data. Homekit only shows the temperature and humidity in the Home app. (if you’re interested, the air pressure data is available in the Aqara app)

I use a door-window sensor on my safe. If the safe is opened or closed, a message is send to my iPhone. When I’m not at home it also triggers the alarm system that comes integrated with the the Aqara bridge.

Installing the curtain track and motor

So, this part was a big experiment. I ordered a custom-made 3.50 meter DT-82 curtain rail on Aliexpress, together with the Aqara intelligent curtain track and Aqara bridge. The whole package costed round $225 or €200, shipping included.

The packages arrived after two weeks and I had it setup within 2–3 hours. After drilling the rails into the ceiling, the curtain motor can be attached to the rails with a locking mechanism. Before you order the rails, make sure you count the number of runners your curtain requires and request the correct amount from the seller.

The curtain motor comes with a cable without plug — with phase, neutral and earth wire — so you have to connect one yourself. The cable is pretty short so I chose to extend it. I used Wago Lever-nuts to connect the motor cable with the extension cord and packed everything in an on-the-wall electric box. When installed right, the motor disappears behind your curtains!

Homekit setup with my iPhone

While I’m using devices from multiple brands, they all come with their own iOS app. These apps are only necessary for initial setup and configuration. When done the only reason to open them would be to update your devices. For the above configuration you need the Philips Hue app, Aqara Home app and the IKEA Tradfri app. Setup for both Hue and Tradfri is fairly easy. The Aqara app and Aqara curtain motor is originally intended for the Chinese market. For that reason, you have to use the ‘China mainland’ server in the Aqara home app to be able to add the curtain motor. Furthermore, for the bridge you need a plug adapter to use it outside China.