Conclusion:

Domoticz is an open source and free home automation system that has been put together by volunteers. When you consider this, it is very clever what has been put down. Love and attention are certainly not lacking.

The nice thing about Domoticz is that the software can be installed on various operating systems and hardware. So it is possible to run the whole on a RasberryPi 3 which is already available for 50 euros. You can also use an old laptop that you have left over. The installation is simple and there is a lot of information on the Domoticz website.

Another advantage is that you can use almost any wireless communication protocol. You can use the cheap 433Mhz devices, but also the more reliable Z-Wave protocol. Linking with Xiaomi MiHome, Ikea TRADFRIT and Philips HUE is also no problem.

Making rules can be done by almost everyone by using "blocky" programming. The advantage of this method is that you can create both simple rules and very complex rules. So if you seriously want to get started with home automation then you will not easily run into limitations. It must be mentioned that some programming knowledge is very pleasant.

The web interface does not look really slick, but it is simple in design. Despite this simplicity, you sometimes have to look for something where it is. Adding devices is almost always a sort of job and is not easy. Fortunately there is a lot of information on the internet.

I have a bit of a double feeling with Domoticz on the one hand it is free and it offers a lot of possibilities, on the other hand it doesn't feel like a professional system and you have to figure out too much yourself. In addition to these points, there are enough stories to prove that not everything works equally stable. I must mention that this is not always due to the software. During my review I did not experience this and did everything as it should work. The reaction time of modules was also very good and they were almost all added without problems.

So my conclusion is also that if you are looking for a home automation system where you don't feel like figuring everything out, then Domoticz is not the right package. If you like to find out and discover everything yourself, Domoticz is a very nice platform. If you have a tight budget (I wouldn't even start with Domotica at all) then you'll have to take it for granted that you have to put a lot of time in it to get everything working.

The last thing I want to report is that there is a very active development platform. So if you are handy you can create plug-ins yourself or even contribute to the code.

So: Are you looking for a cheap solution and do you like to sort things out yourself? Then Domoticz is a good package.

We want to thank rfxCOM for making a controller available.