I Tried Building the PERFECT Smart Home: What I Learned (Mistakes Included)
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- Опубліковано 8 тра 2024
- Affiliate links to Smart Home Tech I used and had lots of success with:
Kara Light Switch: amzn.to/40PwC1V
Hue Motion Sensor: amzn.to/3Vl1OVO
Hue Light Bulbs: amzn.to/3AFS1Qv
Lutron Switches (Requires Hub): amzn.to/3HrhIIa
Aqara Temp and Humidity Sensor (Requires Hub): amzn.to/3oSelDO
Tapo Smart Plug: amzn.to/4295JqN
Affiliate links to UA-cam gear I use:
Sony a7siii: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8i/
Sony A7c: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8k/
14in M1 Pro MacBook Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb83/
Mac Studio: go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8o/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:00 What's the Goal?
1:50 What Needs Automating?
2:40 What Devices Do We Need?
5:53 Smart Home Standards
7:53 Smart Home Ecosystem
10:23 Home Assistant
12:21 Conclusion
Let’s talk about what I learned trying to make this house smart, this includes all the things I would do differently with everything I know now. That’s the idea, make things more convenient and make less things for me to worry about, which you’re about to see from me, actually leads to a lot of inconveniences itself.
We’ll need a way to control the ceiling fan, the 3 lamps, and the blinds. We also need something that can tell when someone is in the room, and a way to tell how hot or cold this room is. So, what devices are available to do these tasks? If you’re trying to control lights, you have smart bulbs, smart plugs, and smart light switches. Each have their own pros and cons and really you have to figure out for yourself what’s best to use for your situation. As for the ceiling fan, I’m going to use a smart switch since I don’t care about the fan speed and the fan will only be kept on medium anyway when I have it on. Now the hardest part was finding devices for the blinds. I had to purchase these aqara E1 drivers, to smartify and motorize these existing blinds.
To solve the remaining items, we’ll need to use sensors. These are the “eyes” of your smart home. These can be used for your smart home to understand what’s happening in your house and can be used in your home automations. And sometimes you can actually find multi-purpose sensors that have more than one sensor built in. Like the one I have right here. The Philips Hue motion sensor, has a motion, illuminance and temperature sensor all built into this single device.
The primary smart home ecosystems are Alexa, google home, and Apple Home or Homekit. You have to be careful using one because you have to be on the lookout to see if your specific ecosystem is supported by the device or hub that controls all these devices. So it requires a bit of research to make sure you have the right device. These systems don’t talk to each other and you get stuck in a situation where a bunch of devices only work on one platform but not the other. So my solution for a while was to just use both google home and apple home and use them for different things.
Home Assistant is a tool that enables you to consolidate pretty much all your smart home devices and more like your NAS into a single point. And from there it can behave as your smart home letting you control all your devices in the Home Assistant app, or then route all of your devices back to your desired smart home ecosystem even if they were not originally supported by that ecosystem. See this TP-link motion controlled light switch? It’s not Apple Home compatible, but with Home assistant controlling it, it can be used in Apple Home. Home assistant also has super robust automations that let you make some really complex stuff. The level of customization Home Assistant provides is fantastic. That being said, it has its own issues too, some integrations with Home Assistant aren’t very good and doesn’t work the way you’d expect. Home Assistant also requires being a bit techy to fully setup, and since the automations are so robust, it’s easy to make a mistake that leads to unintended consequences, like the lights turning on randomly at midnight causing your significant other to wake up. So if you’re willing to spend some time with it, it can definitely enhance your smart home, and make it so much better as long as you’re aware of its limitations.
So here’s a summary of all my tips. Research what you’re buying, make sure they’re compatible with everything you use now and in the near future, use 3rd party platforms like Home assistant to further consolidate what you need and force compatibility for the devices that aren’t compatible with your smart home ecosystem and use it to control all the automations in a single place. And take it one room at a time to keep the end goal in sight. - Наука та технологія
"But we're here to spend 100s of hours now to save a minute or two in the future." 😅
This fellow perfectly encapsulated the entire home automation journey in a sentence
I loved this quote too
Investing
In total it saves A LOT more time
@@agentsmith007 I believe you, but I couldn’t figure out the software. Too confusing for this noob
I reckon the real value in smart home automation is making optimal use of passive heat gain and loss to maintain a comfortable temperature with minimal energy use. Automated blinds or even air vents networked with brightness and temperature sensors and perhaps weather forecasting could go a long way.
I think being able to open my blinds so the sun wakes me up will be a big win for me... although I don't have that just yet...
Fortunately, manual still works for these things lol. There are, after all, considerations aside from the mere functionality that we here seek.
I love your sense of humor and subscribed for that alone :)
When I started automating my home, I did one thing right and one thing wrong. First, I used the "sigh" method of automation. What made my husband or son (or me) sigh? I remember my first one was my husband (who had bad knees) would sigh in frustration when he sat down, got all comfortable, had a cat in his lap, and realized he forgot to turn on the fan. So, I created an automation that when he sat down in his chair, the fan would turn on. My son would feel terrible when he would do the trash at night but then forget to close the garage door. So, I created an automation that would close the garage door after a certain time. These automations worked great and were invisible to the family. They didn't have to remember a certain phrase with Alexa. They didn't have to change their routine in any way to accommodate the house. Just live your life and the house worked for you.
The thing I did wrong was not getting buy in from my family. In my defense, it never occurred to me that they wouldn't love home automation. When my son heard the garage door close, he didn't think, "Ah, the house is taking care of me". What he heard was, "I forgot the garage door! AGAIN!"
So now, when I hear a sigh of frustration, I ask my son what he thinks. Does he want an automation? If so, how would he like it to work? Since doing that, he's even approached me with automation ideas!
Definitely feel like this man spent many hours in his room messing with lights and tinkering. Absolutely love it.
2:05 I control the TV and the lights with the IR-blaster in my phone. It takes a little getting used to but the ability to make buttons you use often larger slightly reduces the initial convenience problems. Of course you won't get that feeling that buttons give you (both sensing what button your finger is on and feedback).
Hi Jimmy, I use Home Assistant as well. I get up early for work which in Winter is before sunrise and I have an aquarium in my room. When I turn the light on this wakes the fish and I did not want to influence their circadian rhythms by then switching off the light and leaving, so my automation is as follows.
- If it is a work day, gradually fade the lights up and start to indicate by colour going whiter closer to my departure time.
- Leave the lights on, this is enough to side illuminate my aquarium and the fish start their day,
- 45 minutes after Sunrise, the curtain will open to allow natural light in.
- 60 minutes after Sunrise, the internal lighting will go out.
Energy bill > ‘circadian’ imaginary rhythm of a bunch of fish
@@19Jose91 Thats why after the sun has come up I open the curtains and shut down the lights. Sunlight is free.
Literally bought my Philips hue bulbs last week and now I’m going down this automation rabbit hole. Can’t wait to start putting more things up in my new house!!
I am in this ship. I am comfortable with the automations. I helped a neighbor get his up, and I realized that we have a lot of work to do to help the public understand.
I watched this video several months ago, and fast forward to today we moved into a house that really need automated window shades that were in a very high inconvenient location. I quickly remembered your video because of how much i enjoyed it and searched through my YT history and finally found this video again! We just bought the Aqara motor. Thanks for your tips!
Found this video while looking for ideas for other Smart Home automations. Glad to see my own trip down the rabbit hole is similar to others. Started with some Arlo smart cameras and a Nest Thermostat. Then added a Gen 1 Google Assistant speaker. Then was off to the races as they say. Now just about every outlet, light switch and fan in my home is smart. Once you start it's really hard to stop. Recently added Home Assistant as when my GF moved in I needed to also support Apple/HomeKit. Had that same issue and needed to force compatibility as you say. HomeBridge is great for that too. When we eventually sell this home it will be hard to leave so much of this hardware behind. But looking forward to Matter and hopefully my next Smart Home will be easier and deployed smarter. Also really like what you did with the blinds may look into adding something similar.
I love this video! Very clear and answered all my questions regarding advanced home automation. I’ll definitely try Home Assistant coming from a background of programming Crestron and Control4 systems
This is what Home Assistant is for! Gluing all of these standards together. Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread/WiFi for Matter, WiFi, Bluetooth, the cloud, basically regardless of device manufacturer. Well worth getting it set up. I use Aqara devices with a Zigbee USB stick on my Home Assistant server with zero issues. The automation capabilities are unparalleled in even professional installations!
I hate the idea of needing to run a "computer" 24/7 to keep this stuff running. And HA sounds super user unfriendly - as a software engineer myself I'm sure I could figure it out, but I'm at a point in my life where I expect better and just want point and click to work. Command line, scripting, config files and community made drivers as the only way to make things interoperate between ecosystems or do complex automations with local control is such an absurdly ass backwards way of doing things, I'm amazed that with all the buzz around Smarthome nearly a decade ago we haven't made pretty much any progress yet.
@@emissarygw2264 i was in the same boat as you around 3 years ago but gave ha another shot a few weeks ago and man, its not even close to being that bad. ha is running on a raspberry pi without issues. thats really low power consumption. other smarthome platforms also have a "computer" running 24/7, just not in your home. the installation is trivial and most things really are plug and play today. you can use scripting etc if you want and if you have something nieche thats not yet compatible but there are so many things that just work. i have phillips hue lights, aqara temp sensors, shelly relais and smoke detectors and octoprint to control my 3d printer. it just works without doing anything. all you have to do is buy a zigbee usb stick and you are good. the hue lights for example just have to be in pairing mode and they show up in ha. one click and they are added. its really that simple right now. no more cloud bullshit for everything and over 9000 accounts.
@@emissarygw2264isn't a router a computer running 24/7?
@@MrDragonorp a fraction of the wattage though
@@emissarygw2264 There are Home Assistant variants for running on lower-wattage Raspberry pi, or running on a NAS, or other "always on" computer. I tell myself I'm saving more power than I am "wasting". It may be a lie, but it helps me sleep better. :)
Complexity-wise, it runs on linux, and I''d say it's about as usable as Windows was in the 95/98 days, but not as easy as Win11, MacOS, iOS or Android, is yet.... and heck , we're 40+ years into home computing, and we still have Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, all slightly incompatible and needing tweaking, button finding, to perfectly interoperate. :D
In response to the bathroom fan, I found the DewStop switch to be very handy. You can calibrate the sensitivity for the season and it automatically times out if you are going number 2.
You have a real knack for explaining things clearly. Keep it up!
Thanks for this video, I found it really complete and helpful to understand the world of smart home devices since I am starting my software engineering journey in two weeks and I am looking forward to dedicate my time in learning while having fun with useful things as well, like domotics, assistants and smart devices... this video really helped me to have an overview about this world, thanks a lot !
Feels like the best video on the topic I watched! I‘m not new to the smart home world any longer but not having made big changes to my system and having moved to a bigger place recently, I feel like I‘m starting over somehow 😂
The most frustrating thing about smart homes is the vast difference in connectivity standards and interfaces for controlling your devices in ways that are both convenient and compatible with existing home designs.
With everything seemingly moving to Matter this should be remedied soon.
Use control 4 or savant
@@rossdamerell I wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon, Matter has been a promise for over 4 years, and only now we're starting to see brands embracing Matter, yet I'm skeptical that "everything" will be moving to Matter because that would mean companies would have to give up their corporate greed by letting everything be intercompatible and not keep you under one brand.
I think we should still build a Smart Home taking into account the main ecossystem that you want to be in (for example Tuya and / or Alexa).
If Matter becomes established later on it won't make your previous stuff obsolete, but it will add to it, so yeah hopefully it becomes easier in the future, until then just avoid the mistake of going to multiple brands that do not belong in the same ecossystem and you should be fine.
Home assistant app ? Anyone have experience with this iftt app
😅
I started with Homey Pro as my main smart ecosystem. Incredible experience. Recommend to both techies and non-techies
Awesome video, appreciate the honest look. Slowly getting started myself. Apparently I need to Home Assistant and need to spend some time tinkering.
Great video, thank you! I'm starting out small, just bedroom and bathroom speakers, and adding lights next. I have a ceiling fan, and that will be something to look at, unless just leave it on all day.
Amazing video Jimmy! Very informative as I’m just starting to get into smart homes
Awesome video, I would recommend that you do videos for beginners on single subjects, so that we could begin our journey with a step-by-step. I can see the makings of 10 videos in the one you just did. Many thanks for this, you’re a natural storyteller.
Great video!! My home isn’t fully smart, but I have a bunch of devises and routines set up.
All my outdoor lights turn on at dusk, and off at 11pm. My pantry and coat closet (that are shut when not accessed), turn on and off when door is open or closed with door sensors. My master closet and laundry room I tend to keep the doors open so they have motion sensors. I have a Hue button that I press when I’m heading upstairs for bed…it turns off all my downstairs lights, turns off the tv, locks my front door, turns on my stair lights at 30%, and turns on my bedroom nightstand lamps, love it 😍
I also have smart water detectors under sinks/washing maching/dishwasher. I haven’t switched to smart smoke detectors yet but I have Alexa set up to alert my phone if there’s a siren detected. I have a camera on my dogs kennel in case there is accessive motion so I can check on him. I have a smart cat feeder that I only use if I’m running late and can’t feed my cats on time. And, I love having a smart garage door so I can see if I accidentally left it open…or let someone in (even tho I could also use my smart lock on the front door). :)
I actually did the fan in the bathroom if humidity goes over 60%, and turns off when it’s below 55%. The switch for the fan also has an automation that when you manually turn on the fan it runs for 15 mins and then turns off, but no before checking the humidity otherwise it stays on if over 60%. This was with Aqara temp/humidity sensor that I also did a conformal coating on the circuit board to last, and a HomeKit WiFi switch like the one from Meross. The automation was with native HomeKit.
I loved this video. Great sense of humour and very informative. Thanks!
Thanks for this video. I fully dove into the home automation whole when I remodeled my entire house. I must of done hours of research before purchasing anything. I started my journey home Smart Things but quickly moved to Home Assistant after running into walls. I decided to purchase Zooz smart light switches to replace all the switches in my house and also Zooz scene controllers for the bedrooms. The scene controllers are great because I can use them for status. For example I have it set if there is a door unlocked in the house, the bug button led will be red. I can just press the button on any of the 8 scene controllers to lock the doors.
Dude I am literally trying to make my home fully smart and Alexa functional this is great advice thank you
so much knowledge keep up the good work
Great summary and advice in a short video, Good Job!
Best advice. Keep it as simple as possible and make sure it’s practical otherwise, smart home will start to feel like a part time job. I changed my Wi-Fi password recently and it took over an hour to re-sync everything. Not something I wanted to do right after work.
This video is spot on for what I’m trying to do at my home. Right now I am all in with Kasa TP Link and i’m very pleased with them but that may change. I use these because I’m a caregiver for my wife she has Parkinson’s and it’s so much easier to say hey Google or Alexa to turn on devices. It does not mean that you or me are lazy we just want things to be convenient for us. Thanks for the video.
😀the vent fan was one the reason I got into home automations.
For me it started with seeing that Evedal Lamp in the Ikea showroom. I ended up going on a wait list to get the showroom model as they're discontinued. Really like it and now I have a lot automated with Home assistant haha
Great video. Just shared it with my email list for my weekly roundup.
Çok iyi başlangıç olmuş inan bende bir ampul ile başladım ve kara delik beni de içine alıyor. :) Teşekkürler paylaşım için
Brilliant video, super informative and thorough. Feel a sense of relief in my choice to build everything on HomeKit.
Gonna get Home Assistant so I can add my Roborock, Washing Machine and TVs into the automations too.
Thanks for the content!
Thank you so much for this very informative, stetic and entertaining video.
Best advice I’ve heard. Thanks bro
Use my iPad as home hub along with a google home for other non apple supported things, one of the things I love is the smart plug device automation that trickle charges my iPad to keep it 35-80% battery at all times. Would be amazing if I could do that with my macbook, but not supporting device automations 😢
Since I bought my house I knew I wanted it to be a smart home, i started by putting meross switches for the blinds, a ring dorbell for the entrance, a meross smart dimmer for the leds on the stairway, next i want to put ac on 4 rooms and want to make them smart too, also want to put automatic curtains but the thing that i don’t like is that they need batteries to operate, also want to put a smart garage door controller also from meross. Basically what you need (if you don’t want to use home assistant) is that everything needs to be compatible with everything, i chose mostoy meross bc it’s compatible with alexa and homekit and work pretty good
Fantastic video. Glad I found your channel
I don't have too many smart devices, but I decided to use home assistant right out of the gate with them. Something amazing that I configured with it was a smart IR blaster. All of my non IoT devices (fans, projectors, etc) are controlled exactly like smart devices, with variables to track their states and such. Happily skipped out on paying for some smart alternatives on those devices that I wanted to automate.
Which unit did you use? Do you have good success with fans in multiple rooms?
@@Thejakegee I use a broadlink RF/IR blaster and receiver. Due to the nature of the tech, you'd need one unit per room since the IR waves can't really blast past walls.
i have a few of these as well. The only caveat is that you have no feedback on current device state. If you use a remote you are looking for real-world confirmation in the room, but sight-unseen, you don't know if it landed on the right final state.
@@BrunchCrawlerwell bruv you can do this without home assistant too
Well naive decision - Hype will pass and in the long run you will see "adventages" of HA:)))
Really well spoken video! Great information!
It’s very important to surge protect everything you can and install spike protection at the panel. Those hubs are costly to replace.
Bro ur a genius there is a lot to learn 👏🏽
Great video. I learnt a lot from this single installation. Could you please recommend or do a video on smart locks that can be controlled with an app? I need one desperately but am only seeing more keyless and fingerprint ones on the market with brand names I don’t know and worrisome reviews that the apps either don’t work or get discontinued on App stores etc. i just need to be able to open and close the doors with the app without needing a security panel that operates the automation of the door. Thanks.
Very interesting video, will subscribe for a while in hopes that it comes more videos of this kind regarding different smart home videos, Home Assistant, Lights etc.
Wow wtf! Insane fast, congrats and well deserved!
Love your video. Nicely explained the practical use case with negative and positive thoughts.
Apart of other details, I would be interested the TV you are using. I pretty much like it and interested to purchase, can you please share a link from where I can buy it.
Is there a video about the tv you used in your main bedroom? Love that look
Great video! I'll send it to my friend who is starting his smart home journey. Also, what audio gear/setup do you use? I like your audio quality and I'm starting my channel soon, so the info would really help me out :).
New guy here, just released a similar video last week. You're like my more refined brother from a different mother! Thank you for inspiration, love the intro (could not agree more) and format of video 🙂
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 💡 Start with identifying the problems you want to solve in each room before buying devices
01:13 🛠️ Focus on automating one room at a time instead of the whole house
02:50 🔌 Consider smart bulbs, plugs or switches for lighting control based on your needs
03:49 ⬆️ Smart switches may not work if you rent, smart plugs offer flexibility
06:09 🤝 Zigbee, Z-Wave and Matter are protocols for devices communicating through a hub
07:34 📱 Pick devices compatible across platforms to avoid multiple apps
08:46 🏠 Google, Apple and Amazon have main smart home ecosystems to link devices
10:38 🧙♂️ Home Assistant consolidates devices and enables complex automations
13:16 💡 Research carefully, focus on compatibility and take it one room at a time
Made with HARPA AI
When I am reading at 11:00 the last thing I want to do is get up to turn off the lights… hence our smart lights now. I haven’t touched my ceiling light in months- I use the smart lamps…
Being able to control the brightness and color is well worth the extra cost. LEDs have a reasonable lifespan.
Nothing is better than open source solutions. Home assistant was my savior too.
Have you looked into homebridge for device compatibility? It’s meant specifically for integrating non-HomeKit devices to HomeKit.
I had to go down the rabbit hole for my university assignment 😂
I didn’t know how amazing these smart setups can be!
Very cool set up. The only thing I disagree with is advising people to cheap out on light switches and getting ones without a hub. The Lutron switches are very reliable and super fast.
very good advice really opened my eyes
The video I’ve been waiting for.
One of us. One of us.
Great stuff. Thanks
My smart home evolved organically. Started with the wife wanting to not carry a key when out walking, so i bought a coded lock. Somewhat by design, but also somewhat by accident, the one I got was Z-wave. From there, it just filled itself in over time such that now, most every light and most of the major services in the home are smart.
Thank you for making this video.
Ok, so apparently you may be my other son…I’ve been “working” trying to perfect my “smart home” for years…started with Google, then Amazon, finally Apple and maybe adding in Hubitat or Home Assistant…..I finally realize it’s a measure twice cut once kinda thing….and it isn’t a sprint it’s a marathon so better to get it right than fast. Thanks for all you do…keep it up👍🏻
For devices turning on/off/ wrong state is something I noticed with TUYA/local TUYA.
Currently migrating to Zigbee. so I won't have those issues anymore.
I am gonna use the motion sensor Idea for a IR heating panel [need a sensor that is powered by USB to properly do it]
Hey Jimmy. Great video! Any chance you can share where you bought that corner lamp you have in your bedroom? Thanks!
Thank you, I loved all the tips including starting with one room at a time. I recently moved into a house with roller Bali blinds. They have a remote to close and open them. But I would love to get them into Apple HomeKit for automations. I haven’t found a good solution except for the Bali gateway from Home Depot for over $200. The blinds use z-wave for the remote, is there a way to use Hubitat or something to get them into HomeKit to automatically close at sunset?
Yes! Hubitat now has a home kit integration.
I appreciate you Jimmy
I am a young entrepreneur
In the very beginning states of starting my LLC for home Security
I’m 11 minutes into this video
On my way to deliver pizza
Still grateful for my job now of course
But with knowledge and your preparation you’re helping me get to a better place.
HOME ASSISTANT BLEW MY MIND
onto the next 20 minutes of your brilliant and well organized video thank you!
Where did you get the hexagonal wall lamp? can you share the link? looks great! and great video too!
the intro is spot on happening to me lmao, i bought a fan because i was hot and before i know it i'm buying a new lamp because i really want a smart light bulb in it, then i find out i could get a really cheap temp sensor, then i'm thinking i'll connect it all to google home so i need a hub.. god damnit what a time to be alive
Nice automations and good advice
Is there music in this video? I took of my headphones multiple times to hear if there was a phone ringing or something.
Really Nice Video!
I just got a smart bulb because I wanted to use the wake up routine, and I thought that was all I needed. But I now realized that I also need a bridge if I don't want to use the bluetooth on my phone all the time.
Can you turn on and off the lights when your not at home if you have a bridge?
Your nails looked fabulous with the smart plugs
Very good video. I recommend home assistant as well. Just don't use a raspberry. Use some kind of mini pc.
Home Assistant is a great solution. Covers all of my kit (x-wave, zigbee and matter/thread)
"Significant other to wake up" - made me smile. Great video finally properly explaining how it works. The humor injected into the video makes it more enjoyable to watch and easier to understand.
the vent fan was one the reason I got into home automations.
I started down this same rabbit hole about 8 years ago, making all of the same mistakes you so elequently described. I tried Zwave and more. I was pretty successful, but then devices started failing, the software would change, the hubs would get better, etc. Along with the slow response times, it just seemed that it was constantly sub par even when it was working at its best. (I assume some of the DIY tech has improved since then) Then I discovered Loxone. Best thing that has ever happened to me. In researching this Austrian smart home company I found that they had conquered every downside. Zero latency, high security, works when internet is down, elegant, bombproof and the list goes on. As you have discovered, they realized that a TRUE smarthome simply reacts to your presence. Enter a room and the lights, music, heat, blinds etc go to an "occupied room" setting based on the current avail light, temp, humidity, time of day etc..... Leave the room and everythign reverts to a predetermined "unoccupied" state. You dont touch anything. A smart home is NOT the ability to use complicated touchpads and cell phones for basic tasks. Screen interfaces should be reserved for fine tuning or special tweaks, or "Away From Home" access. Loxone works w both wired components for new construction and wireless components for remodel. I went crazy and now have lighting, music, garage doors, shades, sprinkler system, water features, ALL operating flawlessly for 4 years now. And its ONE APP TO RULE THEM ALL!! I could go on, but bottom line is check them out. The downsides are its a pro solution & not cheap, (but IMO is better than & costs less than Control 4 & other pro solutions) , which obviously doesn't work for all of your audience. One time my wife asked me if Loxone could perform a certain task, I said No. Then I called them them & it was easy. BLEW ME AWAY! I hope this is helpful for anyone who has come to the realization that they are ready to move past DIY and interested in truly amazing. Some day it will all get standardized, but till then I feel like I hit the smarthome lottery.
fully supporting solutions. I'm just leaving HA because this is good for tinkerers but not for serious home automation system. Constant breaking changes, lack of stability and complete lack of transparency not to mention responsibility and security.
Now imagine you get everything that Austrian company with its proprietary technology and this Single-Point-Of-Failure called Miniserver provides, but as global standard from 400 vendors with over 7000 devices to chose from.
You can chose from 50 odd servers including all Open Source ones. Home Assistant has even announced a partnership with the KNX foundation.
I would never install something proprietary like Loxone, given that my house electrics have a lifespan of 30-50 years.
What if they go bankrupt? What if they get acquired and then shelved over time? What if they do a 50$/month subscription for things to still work?
Nah. KNX gives you all the Loxone benefits based on an open industry standard, backed by the likes of ABB, Siemens & Schneider Electric.
That is way more sustainable.
Dude, I laughed at your intro. Exactly me, down the rabbit hole xD
I love WiZ smart button with Wiz smart bulbs 💡
I didn’t even have to watch the whole video to give you a thumbs up. Just by saying starts with a single light bulb cracked me up so much, because it’s so true.
There's an amazing little thingy called "Homey" dont know how big it is outside Europe an might be hard to get, but... Its like home assistant but you do everything in a very simple no code gui, worked with everything I tested so far, Ikea, Philips Hue, Aqura... and so on and without any gateways.
I use Homey in my home to make that that has to work very easy. In my RV that is my playground I use Home Assistant :)
Many thanks for recomendation. Im running away from HA.
Do you recommend the Homey or Homey Pro?
Hubitat sounds easier than home assistant. Have smarthings but thinking of consolidating. The third party solutions like homey for apple end up being pretty expensive on top of apple.
What's the weather like in Round Rock TX? Also, I love your nails in the scene with the outlet adapter....
Would be interested in seeing a video where you sit down with a caregiver to figure out what smart products can act as a helping hand when no one else is around. Or with someone with a disability to figure out what smart products can assist them.
The TV frame is awesome
What do you do or how do you deal with your smart home when the power goes out in your whole home? How many of them can you still manually use?
You have great taste in interior design pal. You've got me thinking...
Good to know its not just me, I got a nice Home Assistant going on but it is a absolute mess to find quality products that are affordable and work with HA, also being run locally instead of the cloud.
Honestly, home assistant should be your main ecosystem and control surface in a setup like this. If you have it, you should use local controls as much as possible so your house isn't dependent on a working internet connection.
Thank you for creating this. I LOVE when my lights come on in a closet. It is what got me started with my journey. I really want blinds for a couple of rooms.
would smart light bulbs work in an old fixture?
Actually I do have automation in bedroom. For automatic sunrise when I need to wake up. It's in addition to a dumb (but one of the better) wake up clocks. Works awesome and once you have it can't live without it. The few times it fails its not the same waking up. It's much more brutal.
So I have really been debating buying. Samsung Fold 5 and ditching my iPhone. But I have been an apple fan boy for years and have a complete smart home set up around HomeKit. Could I use home assistant to control these devices (including Apple TV) from an android phone?
A thermostatic bath tub that fills to a certain volume would be handy.
Hey welcome to Home Assistant... enjoy the rabbit hole... It's a fun hair crazy ride
Very nice video! I am going to build a smarthome. What do you think about Homey Pro? Z-wave, Zigbee, Matter al together in one solution.
just start planning around home assistant instead of any proprietary systems?
I have a question that I cannot find the answer for. I have tried my best to make a smart home based off Google. I have 2 living rooms, the main one and then one in the basement. When I call google to turn on the living room lights, it either turns on both or one over the other. How can I make it understand what room I'm in to turn the lights on that I'm calling? Do I just need to call it basement living room lights? Thanks for any advice!
The rabbit hole gets deep when you start using containers, vms, ESPs, Arduinos and other microcontrollers and such. Eventually those with cameras start to feel inadequate so then you pour your time into nvr setups but then you also need to store your data properly if you DIY and then you need a proper nas to start consolidating some of these tools. The house basically becomes a prototype and it’s gets exhausting sometimes lol. It never stops.
As hobbies go, still cheaper than owning a boat. :)