Grade II Listed Farmhouse Smart Home, Seaham

Location SeahamSize 5 BedroomsProject value £20,000 ex. VATCompleted March 2022Type Full Smart Home

Project overview

This Grade II listed farmhouse had been sympathetically converted into a modern home while retaining its traditional character, which meant the original, extremely thick walls throughout the property were staying exactly where they were. That posed a real challenge for wireless smart home devices, since those walls significantly limit signal range and reliability. As a retrofit project on a listed building, wireless technology was the only realistic route, chasing new cabling through original stonework simply wasn't an option, so the whole system needed to be designed around that constraint from the outset.

Technologies & products

• Zigbee Lighting
• Motion Sensors
• Access Control
• Heating Integration
• Alexa Voice Control
• Control App

Scope of work

This was a lighting-led project with a significant access control and integration element alongside it. The brief covered:

• Around 250 bulbs installed throughout the interior, plus exterior lighting along the driveway and walkway perimeter.
• Full colour and scene control via smart bulbs, per the client's preference.
• Replacing incandescent lamp holders throughout the property, as the existing fittings weren't compatible with GU10 LEDs.
• Motion-based lighting automation in hallways, store cupboards, and walk-in wardrobes.
• Smart access control across three garage doors and a driveway gate, with open, stop, close, and status monitoring.
• Integration of the existing Hive heating system into Home Assistant.
• Full Alexa voice control across every connected device.

The challenge

The thickness of the original walls was the defining challenge of this project. On a standard retrofit, wireless devices can usually rely on a solid Zigbee mesh to get signal where it needs to go, but walls of this thickness disrupt that considerably, and as a listed building, running new cabling to work around it wasn't an option.

There was also a product decision to navigate. The client specifically wanted smart bulbs for colour control rather than the relay or dimmer modules we'd typically recommend for a retrofit like this. Relays and dimming modules integrate with the existing wiring, meaning the physical light switches keep working even if something goes wrong with the smart home. Smart bulbs, by contrast, are entirely wireless with no manual backup, so if the system has an issue, the client can be left with lights that simply won't respond to the switch on the wall.

Our solution

Given the client's preference for colour-changing bulbs, we used Philips Hue bulbs paired with Philips Hue switches, and bound them directly within the Zigbee network. This binding lets the switch talk straight to the bulb rather than routing through the coordinator, so even if the wider smart home goes down, the physical switch still operates the light. It's not always possible, it depends entirely on the compatibility of the devices chosen, but with Hue's ecosystem it gave the client a genuine manual fallback despite going the smart bulb route.

Across the property we installed roughly 250 bulbs, covering every room inside the home as well as the driveway and walkway perimeter outside. Since the original fittings were incandescent lamps rather than GU10 LEDs, every single lamp holder needed replacing before the new lighting could go in, a tedious but necessary step that will have delivered a significant energy saving for the client on top of the automation itself. Motion sensors were added in areas where automatic on/off lighting genuinely earns its keep, such as hallways, store cupboards, and walk-in wardrobes, cutting out lights left on in spaces nobody's using.

For access control, we integrated the property's three existing garage doors and driveway gate using relays and contact sensors, giving the client full open, stop, close, and status control from their phone. This isn't just convenient when away from home, it also enables automations such as the driveway gate opening automatically as the client arrives, and lets them share access with guests without handing out physical key fobs.

We also pulled the existing Hive heating system into Home Assistant, a straightforward integration given Hive's existing API support, and connected the whole setup to Alexa, which the client uses extensively, giving voice control over every device on the system.

Results

The client has full lighting, access, heating, and voice control across a listed property that still looks and feels like a traditional farmhouse. Motion-based automation and the lamp holder replacement have meaningfully cut energy use, and the Hue switch binding means the lighting keeps working even if the wider system ever has an issue.

“There is nothing these guys don't know about smart home technology and connectivity. We are so glad that we chose the guys at Luxeia.”Luxeia client, Seaham

Project gallery

What we installed

• Smart Lighting ControlAutomate, personalise, and fully control your home's lighting for comfort, ambiance, and energy efficiency.
• Smart Energy Monitoring & ManagementTrack, understand, and reduce your home's energy consumption with intelligent monitoring and automated energy management.
• Smart Heating & Climate ControlOptimise your home's temperature and air quality for year-round comfort while cutting energy bills.
• Voice Assistant ConfigurationSet up and personalise Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit for seamless whole-home voice control.

Is your home similar?

Listed or stone-built home? Wireless systems can work well when the network is planned properly. Every project starts with a free 15-minute discovery call, and you can see what other projects cost in our smart home cost guide.

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