IHC and Home Assistant — comparison
IHC and Home Assistant — comparison
Home Assistant is the world's most popular open-source smart home platform. But if you have IHC installed, the integration isn't entirely straightforward. Here we compare Home Assistant with BT Home for IHC homes.
Home Assistant + IHC
Home Assistant has a community-driven IHC integration (ihc-hass) developed by Danish enthusiasts. It connects to the IHC controller via the SOAP/XML protocol.
Pros
- Free software — Home Assistant is open source
- Huge ecosystem — thousands of integrations
- Active community — many Danish users
- Flexible automation — YAML or GUI-based
Cons
- Requires technical knowledge — YAML configuration, Docker, Linux
- IHC integration is unofficial — community-maintained, can break with HA updates
- SOAP protocol — slower and more fragile than Modbus TCP
- Setup time — typically hours to days for a complete setup
- Maintenance — updates may require manual work
Typical setup
- Install Home Assistant on Raspberry Pi or NUC
- Install HACS (Home Assistant Community Store)
- Install IHC integration via HACS
- Configure IHC controller IP + credentials in YAML
- Manually map each IHC device to HA entities
- Build dashboards in Lovelace UI
- Configure automations
BT Home + IHC
BT Home is built specifically for Danish homes with IHC. The integration uses Modbus TCP — an industry standard that is faster and more stable than SOAP.
Pros
- 15-minute setup — plug in, connect, done
- Native Modbus TCP — faster and more stable than SOAP
- No configuration — auto-discovery of IHC devices
- Browser-based — no app, no server maintenance
- Multi-protocol included — BLE, WiFi, Zigbee, 433 MHz without extra setup
- Energy optimization — DK2 spot prices and thermal analysis built-in
Cons
- Closed platform — not open source
- Smaller ecosystem — fewer integrations than Home Assistant
- Danish focus — primarily designed for the Danish market
- Hardware purchase — requires BT Home Hub (DKK 1,499)
Direct comparison
| Feature | Home Assistant | BT Home |
|---|---|---|
| Price (hardware) | ~DKK 500 (Pi) | DKK 1,499 (Hub) |
| Price (software) | Free | Included |
| IHC protocol | SOAP/XML | Modbus TCP |
| IHC auto-discovery | Partial | Yes |
| Setup time | Hours/days | 15 minutes |
| Requires technical skill | Yes | No |
| Hue/Sonos/Zigbee | Via integrations | Included |
| Energy optimization | Via add-ons | Built-in |
| Browser UI | Yes (Lovelace) | Yes (bt.langr.org) |
| App | Yes (HA Companion) | No (browser) |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Automations | Advanced | Automatic |
Who should choose what?
Choose Home Assistant if you:
- Are technically inclined and enjoy configuring
- Want full control over automations
- Already have Home Assistant running
- Need integrations for niche devices
Choose BT Home if you:
- Want it to work without technical setup
- Primarily have IHC + standard smart home devices
- Appreciate browser-based control without maintenance
- Want energy optimization out of the box
- Don't want to maintain a server
Conclusion
Home Assistant is a fantastic platform for tech enthusiasts. BT Home is built for homeowners who want a smart home that just works — especially with IHC as the foundation.
The two don't exclude each other: BT Home may in the future offer Home Assistant integration, so you can use HA's automation engine with BT Home's native IHC connection.
Try BT Home: See hardware | Read more about IHC integration