This Changes Everything… HUGE NEWS
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- I built an entire smart home from the ground up without voice control, AND WITHOUT HOME ASSISTANT!
This video is sponsored by Aqara, all opinions are my own
If you're building a smart home from scratch in the UK, you'll need a bunch of Smart Home gadgets; Smart Light switches that don't require neutral wires, Smart radiator thermostats, and if you want to do so without talking to Amazon Alexa every 2 minutes then you'll need presence sensors too.
Aqara's products all work with Alexa, Apple Homekit and Google Home too though, so I am actually also able to control all my Smart Home equipment from other manufacturers such as Tuya Smartlife by using Alexa routines, and if you want to stick with Home Assistant the vast majority of these products are local and work with Home Assistant.
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0:00 - Intro
3:49 - Aqara Lighting
6:11 - Aqara FP2 Presence Sensor
8:23 - Aqara Radiator Thermostats
9:22 - What's Wrong With it?
11:10 - Summary
#futurehouse #review #futuretech #technology #smarthome #smarthomegadgets #smartgadgets - Наука та технологія
Happy Saturday everyone!! My new Smart Home is so flipping exciting!! If you’d like to buy any of the products featured in today’s video then check them out below!…
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I have the same table and chairs! 🕺
(on my smallest yacht 😎)
wot was the video about again?
Happy Saturday! 🌞👍🌞
Curious if you have any idea what kind of power draw all of these devices are costing you? I know even in standby they are sipping away. Might be interesting to cover this hidden cost of smart devices, especially as people might be struggling with energy costs over the winter. And I imagine some devices might offset their energy costs with smart home efficiencies
Congratulations. On your move. Thank you for the en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mudita
I haven’t tested the power draw of the sensors specifically, it’s an interesting thought as I have covered this topic elsewhere. I doubt they would cost more electric than they would save in turning off lights that kids left on. That said their initial outlay isn’t going to be cost effective in that regard for quite some time!
The question everybody asks me is when starting out on the Smart Home journey is to what devices should they buy? Aqara seems to tick a lot of boxes. As you covered previously you need hubs or gateways for every smart home system and associated apps. As a smart home enthusiast I have various hubs and gateways and my smart phone has dozens of different apps. If starting over again I would like to have one app and one eco smart system to connect with via Alexa.
It frustrates me to buy a bulb or smart home device and you need another App or run gateway to run it.
Aqara seems to have thought this through. Something I think I might invest in.
Keep up the good work and good luck with the move.
This time next year we will see Paul change all his batteries. Prepare for a full hour episode 😂
Oh god, I hope not 🤣
Naaaaa, Aqara will just send him all new devices 😂
I've had Aqara sensors and switches for a couple of years now. And have only changed one battery in that time. And that was not because a battery was indicated as dead. It was an attempt to fix a suddenly problematic TVOC sensor. And, it didn't fix the issue.
Their battery life is amazing. At least to me.
Home Assistant is not so bad at breaking if you don't use custom integrations or bespoke configuration files. If you can do everything inside the UI, you don't really get things breaking as much. But if you want to be all in one ecosystem, then for sure you can ditch Home Assistant. Home Assistant is good if you have a bunch of devices from different suppliers.
I think, having a bunch of Aqara stuff, it could be better for what you want to do . The issue with Home Assistant is a lot of people over complicate it, because it can be over complicated. The KISS principle works with Home Assistant too. If you keep it simpler, it doesn't break as much. This is coming from someone who has used Home Assistant since 2017 and also has a life, a partner and a child.
I’ve been using a few custom integrations for 2 years now with minimal issues
Congrats on the new home, Paul. A big change like that is always exciting. I just popped in to say, yes, Home Assistant can be a bit like a Tamogotchi, but you likely experience a higher level of instability because your job requires you to make many and constant changes to the system. Average users, once set up, don't have quite the number of headaches in certain you do. Heck, I've gone months before realizing i haven't checked for updates and my days of tweaking things feel like they are over. None of this is meant to discredit what you've said, just to provide a little "other side" perspective. Cheers!
Thanks dude, you make a good point!
Well said, I wanted to chime in when viewing the video but my points would be similar lol. I think I went 6 months from March-September with literally not touching HA running on a NUC, besides using the app to turn things/on/off. Automations all ran fine. I go in cycles of tinkering, and completely updated and redid all dashboard this fall, but you can go very long stretches of time without changing anything, assuming you are using non cloud based gear.
Gotta admit that you've convinced me a while ago that Aqara was the bee's knees, and it hasn't let me down yet. They do absolutely make amazing quality stuff, and I'm glad to have found them through your channel.
I got my Aqara items after Paul recommended them. However unfortunately, added 2 more sensors to the mix and it broke nearly everything.
Sorry to say, I went back to the Philips hue sensors for the upstairs lights cos aqara didn't do it for us😢
Did you mean to say Zig Bee? (I apologize profusely)
The setup in our home is fully Nest (Google) and Ikea-tradfri based (due to cost). It works pretty smooth, Ikea's switches are an awesome-cost affective way to get switches in a rental property and also use nest-speakers without having to replace any stuff. If we ever decide to leave I just pack it up, build it up again and it works again.
Same, ikea stuff is cheap and can be used wirhout internet at all, they only sell you a hub if you want voice control, it's not even necessary for initial setup
Congrats on the new home! Looks amazing and starting your smart home from (almost) scratch must be fun!
Good presentation as always. You are responsible for helping me choose Aqara for my automation needs in the future. Thanks for all your honest, fair and balanced reviews. Merry Christmas.
Happy Christmas my friend!
Hey mate, do you promise not to send Mr. Socky after me if I say you are overusing the phrase "changes everything"? With all these stuff changing everything every time you post a new video, then we are probably on a 360 degree change and back to the first place over and over again! I am literally starting to hump the air shouting "this changes everything, this changes everything, this changes everything!!!"
This comment changes everything
@@sazshedevilYour comment about his comment changing everything changes everything!
Reading these comments has changed everything. Next weeks video title: “everything has changed”
... and nothing changes
Air humping changes everything
I like playing with Home Assistant, but it can take a lot of work. This looks like a great option for my parents. I don't wan to be their tech support when things go wrong, so easier the better. =)
Good use of skits, Paul! Usually you tend to overdo them, but this was proper
Congrats on the new home - I'm so glad you've told us, I've been watching the last few weeks wondering whose house you were in 😂 When you reviewed the vacuums I was somewhat confused!
I use both Homekit and Home Assistant. Love Home Assistant because it is so powerful so I am not likely to give it up. What I would like to see is a proper integration in HA for bringing in the Aqara hubs (integrations exist buy they are not great). If we get a proper integration then all the Aqara devices can be both in HK and HA without any fuss. Lutron Caseta works like this and it is quite handy.
Very cool! Did you set up all the lighting automation triggered with Aqara through the Alexa app?
I just got myself an exclusively Aqara home system too. Thermostats, tempature sensors and door/window sensors.
Right now my smart home only controls my:
* Thermostats OFF when any window is OPEN and Thermostats ON if all windows are closed. All thermostats have an associated external sensor for tempature detection.
* Tempature/Humidity/TVOC sensors in every room automaticly remind me of when I need to air out my apartment. When I do that, it monitors all sensors and notifies me when all values is below a certain point.
* Along with window sensors, all doors also have sensors on them, and if they change state during the time my alarm is ON, it raises an alarm and notifies me.
* My Aqara alarm system then uses the sensors to monitor for change and too high/low values. Right now my tempature sensors is monitored for tempatures above 50C as that could indicate a fire.
I'm planning to expand it with 5 waterleak sensors (one for under my dishwasher, refrigerator, sink in kitchen, sink in bathroom and toilet), 4 smoke detectors (one for each room), 4 pressense sensors (again one for each room) and 2 cameras (these can cover my entire apartment).
Haven't done any smart lighting as I live in a rented apartment and am not allowed to rewire my electrical installation (even though I'm actually an electrician). I'm gonna have to be a little creative with the lighting part, but it can be done with the relays and just blanking off the light switches with a plate on top. 😉
I have HA and I find it reliable. I have 12 Tasmota plugs, Aqura devices x 5, 3 x hue lights, 1 bellikn switch (first one I bought), nest connected… UDM cameras.
I’m curious if your issues with it is because your testing so many different products all of the time ? Do you have a separate HA instance for testing.
The biggest pain I have experienced so far is zigbee and pairing once paired fine, but the initial device discover is a pia!
Hi Paul, love the video 👍🏽
Have recently setup HA with a Skyconnect but this video has made me think it was the wrong choice.
Can I do similar with Aqara products and the skyconnect or do I need an Aqara hub??
If I do, does it need to be the G3, the M2 seems like a better fit for me with Ethernet and no camera but I don’t want to lose out or other functionality outside of the camera.
Thanks in advance
Another benefit of the Aqara system is that as it's mostly Zigbee, it will still work if the internet is down. Just had to deal with converting a 4 gang light switch to a 2x 2gang light switches. However finding the FP2 mapping range is not that long as you managed to get it? Was there any additional way or setting you did?
I love Aqara! They just work!
Aqara is hands down, one of my favorite smart home manufactures.
So do the proximity sensors show up in Apple Homekit to be able to control non AQARA light switches etc?
Congrats on the new place!
The new place looks great!
Based on your previous recommendation, I'm buying Aqara whenever i have a choice. The FP1 seems handy for lights but having lights flash off and on as I move around a space would drive me nuts. I use HA to keep lights on for 2- to 3-minutes in corridors and 5 or so minutes in busy areas like the kitchen. How are you getting on with your implementation now the novelty has worn off?
I have a similar setup to yours, but, since I upgraded to the m2 hub, I can't connect the bulk of my ZigBee stuff, it's super annoying!
How do I setup Aqara and Home Assistant to work together - as I have 20+ ZigBee bulbs and 10 ZigBee sockets that no longer are smart thanks to my new m2 hub...
How do I fix this? Or do I need to scrap Aquara, and go back Lidl's hub?
On the temperature sensors is there any heat coming off of the switch below. Remember Linus from LTT had a slight issue as his thermostats were above over switches (can't remember what) but the heat coming off of them was tricking the sensor into thinking the room was warmer than it was.
Looking forward to more video's on the new house 👍
Well done Paul. I moved to Aqara last year because they are easy to set up and use, they use Zigbee, are affordable, work well with Amazon products, and are covering matter. What they are missing though.
1. A speaker system like the Echos so I can finally ditch Amazon.
2. A Smoke detector (not here in Europe)
3. A clever frame to mount two wall switches together (you had that problem to)
4. they have announced a european wall plug several months ago but still not seen
5. A triple plug extension lead for Europe which allows all three plugs to be smartly controlled.
6. A real door lock system which is not a strap on.
What I dont like
a) the curtain control unit does not fully close my pair of full height curtains, full open no problem but it struggles to close them leaving a gap (they are not heavy ones)
b) the radiator control needs to be calibrated on a regular basis otherwise it just goes into full power heating up the room. This happens on all six of mine which I purchased over a peroid of several months so its not a batch production issue.
c) LED strip far to expensive for only two metres.
If you are starting fresh I do think that it is a great idea to keep with one company as you are more likely to have a more reliable system. Home assistant works well for those of us that have bought technology when it comes out "oooh shiny" approach so may have many different brands over the years. Then the problem with home assistant is they update to fix how they want something done and if youdid it a slightly different way it breaks. Then days of head bashing and hopefully all working again.
Damn man. Those sensors are awesome. I’m hooked and you haven’t even baited me yet
That is the true sign of a master!!
@@paulhibbert A master of what though, a master of what?
… it’s a secret, tune in next week to find out the answer!
(On the fly)
Can you just swap out the plug from US to UK style? Or does it require voltage transformation?
I have that exact arrangement in my house, 90% with aqara. Been working for 3 years NO STOP. Just add some fp2 and it’s everything amazing and “its just works” 😂😂😂😂
How did you connect the fp2 sensors to get them powered on those places? With some additional wire or converter?
Good timing. A friend is just getting started with home automation, so I’ll be steering her to this video
I am finding that sometimes my E1 radiator thermostats do not seem to close the valve when their coupled sensor is reporting that the set temperature has been exceeded. Do you have any issues like this? I am using an M2 hub.
I love that you're so easily amused. It reminds me of when I wasn't dead inside.
🤣🤣🤣
Good advice Paul. Aqara makes very good stuff, and the écosystem is nice for starters.
I've got plugs, switches and motion sensors to trigger lights everywhere in my place (like yours) and it is very reliable. It also works great with HA. I wanted to use it for my automations BUT... As it can't control my covers, radiators, energy sensors, presence sensors, media players, i would say HA is still needed if you want to make some advanced stuff.
I have already installed an appartment and a house with HA + Aqara stuff, and it's fine : low maintenance needed.
I think you start getting problems with HA when you put too many brands/écosystems in it and/or try to do too complicated things.
I'm sure there was a black mask and a cape in the bottom of that box too. 😆 But the presence and temp sensors look pretty good.
Do the presence sensors work with Alexa routines too? I already have smart switches and bulbs (wired them myself in a no neutral system) and really don’t want to change them
I just wish the radiator thermostats would come to the USA. Those would be a game changer for us. We have the manual ones, but having ones like yours would be awesome. I do love Aqara, but it doesn't always work as well as I would like with Alexa.
Great piece, love the Aqara stuff I have, most reliable in my set-up. But, the lack of support for sockets, dimming, and bulbs is a real pain in the backside.
Couldn't they just open up their ecosystem to other Zigbee devices? That would solve most of the problems.
It seems the simplest solution is to move over to Homekit and use Aqara devices.
Yep, got the exact same Aqara live and remote switches, works perfectly with HOMEKIT - no need for HA
Hi Paul. Congrats on your new home. Isn’t Flic Twist an answer to the dimming and colour selection issues?
HA is running smoothly for like 3+ years for me, updating it monthly and for like 1-2 years I had NO breaking changes to take care of.
Now there is one regarding the Ping integration which I use, but nothing major. If you keep it relatively simple it works fine.
How often do the e-ink temperature displays update the temperature to home assistant / aqara app.
Hi Paul. I have a mainly aqara ecosystem but the reason I have been scared off from going all-in is that I have a bigger house and know that not all devices would reach a single hub. That's why I have gone Z2M on home assistant and used ZigBee powered devices to extend the network.... But it can be flakey. Have you needed to get around this? How? I don't use homekit and the only solutions I have seen use that to possibly join 2 aqara networks. I am looking for a way to ensure that I cover the house. Thanks
I'm curious, Paul. How did your break your home assistant? I've been running mine since March 2020 on a pi 3B with the same 64GB Samsung evo micro sd card.
If you still want to leverage from your non HK accessories Homebridge whilst not as flexible as HA is relatively trouble free. Also I’d recommend Casambi (professional grade accessories) for dimming at the fitting with their tiny CBU-TED as an example. I have lots of them and HB helps to integrate. Also EnOcean switches require no power and no batteries!
Love the videos, one issue im having with aqara is getting the devices into HA. i have an M2 hub and a couple sensors but i cant find how to integrate it all into HA
Is there a way of using 3rd party smart bulbs with Aqara hubs? I find Aqara’s bulbs very dim but don’t want to use them through Alexa routines as that requires internet
I really hope Aqara Bring out one of their smart door locks here… the u 100 deadbolt would be great.
The one small thing bugging me is that the kitchen lights turn off before the dinning room lights turn on. Can a delay be added before the lights turn off when leaving a zone?
Yup, there is now a 20 second delay otherwise things get pretty trippy when you hang around the middle of the two zones 🤣
6:51 did the same installation of the remote sw in my 3way sw
Congrats on the new home. We have a lot of Aqara devices in our home and I completely get the attraction of a single platform controlling everything. However, there are so many things that Home Assistant can do that pre-configured systems cannot. Plus, our own Home Assistant instance takes very minimal maintenence to keep running smoothly. I spend about an hour once a week doing updates. The biggest time expense for me is if I add new functionality to Home Assistant, such as our TTS voice announcements over "she who must not be named". Anyway, keep up the good work and have a great 2024 when it comes.
Great video, thank you. I'm heavily invested in zwave, but he ocntroller I use by vera, albeit good, seems to be on the decline. What do you suggest so I do not loose my zwave investment (10 baseboard thermostats, door locks and a bunch of light switches and sensors)? Home assistant?(probably not).
How is the "Ready Room" progressing? Or has it been put on hold due to the move.
I rewired my parents’ boiler’s programmer unit many years ago (it was in an inaccessible position where you couldn’t see the date, time or temperature settings and I was fed up being woken up at 5am when I stayed there because they couldn’t change it when the clocks went forward (it wasn’t a one of the units that can do it themselves).
Anyway, only mentioning it because there were 79 connections to make. (There was a couple of metres of trunking and L-shaped angles having to get the wires out of an alcove round an external corner and navigate around awkwardly positioned surface mounted plug switches.) 79 connections.
Best job I did for them (it worked). Did I mention there were 79 connections? (Only bragging because I can’t do that stuff any more and am heartbroken.)
Love to the gerbils. And you both of course. 😘
Would love to see a video on how to set these up in the aqara app, plus also the radiator valve schedules
@paulhibbert what smart bulbs do you recommed? Specifically E27 and GU10? And colour changjng?
Thanks in advance
Congrats on the new home. I added HA to someone elses house because of a weird compatibility thing and then exposed HA to their normal smart home platform, if Aqura lets you do that it may be an option for the devices they dont support.
I'm just getting started with Aqara and finding my way. I do have the G4 doorbell camera and up to now I'm a bit disappointed with it. It misses quite a lot of things. I might need to study the settings a bit more to hopefully resolve this.
I wish there was Aquara outdoor motion sensor.
Hey, Paul. I've got a bunch of different smart stuff around the house, some of it is Tuya. I've been having issues with the reliability of routines/automation. I'm fairly sure it's because they are executed over the cloud. I was wondering if you knew or could test any of your Tuya compatible Hubs to see if any of them are able to take over the job of the cloud? The setting I'm referring to is in Scenes, then pick an automation, and then go down to more settings, and you'll see "Executed By" -> Cloud. Cheers.
Great presentation as always. Cheers bud. How long did it take you to remove all the home automation stuff out of your last house before you left? :)
So what hub is required to work locally when the internet is done? Does the USB one work in this manner?
Yep I so luv Aqara also. Australia here. Got a few Aqara things.
The Tomogatchi and Homeassistant comparaison is pure gold 😂
The issue is that if you don't buy a well preconfigured homeassistant green/yellow box, creating your own out of a raspberrypi can lead to serveral issues like you encoutered during all those years as you mentionned (mainly the sd card dying by constant writing, during initial setup i set it up as such so it writes to RAM first then the SD later, but you can't expect anyone to br able to do that)
Why wouldn't you use an SSD? lol
Congratulations on your new place! I’m going through very similar pains getting rid of bl**dy dimmer switches and other insane wiring!
This was a seriously stressful week. I had window fitters in too whilst trying to make this video and the electrician was like “you want me to do what?!” 🤣
@@paulhibbert 😱🤣😆😍
Hate to say it and will keep using HA. but you are right. thinks will break.
NEVER run an update before going to sleep.
I truly love Home Assistant, just I fixed yet another thing just yesterday afternoon and then at midnight I clicked my button to start my sleep sounds and nothing 😒
I moved cross county last year, and my HA server didn't mind at all. I labeled all of my lights as I uninstalled them, so it was just a matter of installing them in the new location.
I'm currently having issues with Alexa routines with Aqara. All my routines have stopped working. I was having to relink the skill to get them working again, however this week even that hasn't worked. Currently switched to link n link sensors, and testing Aqara daily. Today is the first day for a week it seems to be working. Maybe it's the update just received has fixed the issue. I do love the aqara gear. I'm hoping to enable my routes soon.
@paulhibbert - I have a pressure relief pump connected to a hot water system. This pump should only be running when there's a fault.. Do you think I could put a vibration sensor on it to get a notification?
Paul... Did I see a philips hue device at 1:48? 😂 (don t worry, got the same as a night light in my kitchen)
Doesn’t all the aqara stuff work in smartthings natively? Might be a good way to get the missing bits integrated into one system.
Hi Paul, i enjoy watching your videos and have subscribed, your home setup is amazing. Can you tell me, is it possible to manually record footage on the Aqara doorbell rather than the 6 second clips that are sent to the cloud just using the AA batteries?
Any chance you can ask Aqara to make a smart lightbulb with a presence sensory built into the lightbulb?
I ask this due to their presence sensor’s “fall down detection” only working if their sensor is mounted on the ceiling, so putting it into a light would mean it would be powered by built-in power for the lights (so no ugly wires or having v to change batteries), and would be in the right position for fall-down detection to work. It would be a game-changer for elderly and people living with disabilities. 💙
Another great video ! However the reliance on Amazon Alexa is a frustration for me. I do use Alexa around the house just for music and a couple of routines. But mainly I use a cheap zigbee hub for everything to work locally. I have no neutral light switches and motion sensors (all zigbee) and zigbee current sensing plugs to activate routines. Been in place for 2 years and all works well even without the internet. Aqara is great - I have the curtain motors and a few sensors to ensure the little one closes the fridge properly 😂
If you had philips hue bulbs you could map your house in the aqara app and then have the light literally follow you around the house. Only have the bulb directly over top of you on
Having just done my annual X-Mas viewing of Die Hard, I really smiled at the your choice of music @ 1:00 ish... 👍👍
Can I ask? What is your heating setup with the aquara app/ecosystem? x
I have no trouble with my HA Setup since I run it in a VM on my Synology Nas. But I get where you are coming from, I was there before I had my current setup :)
So, currently, I am using Aqara and HA in tandem too. All devices are present in both systems and through HA I am exposing certain devices to HomeKit because I use it as a sleeker UI interface an my iPhone.
Automations get made in HA since it is my HUB for all the devices from different manufacturers.
And the Voice assistant of choice is Alexa, since I am heavily invested in Echo Dots.
Very similar setup to how I will probably end up. Once I inevitably add more smart home gear from other manufacturers home assistant will be an unfortunate necessity.
Very healty and refreshing commentary. I'm also slowly preparing to leave HA - test other platform check other possibilities. HA after initial hype for tinkerers is getting problematic - many simple problems with overcomplicated solutions for each of them. Thanks.
Great video - I’m actually thinking of buying some smart light switches as I’m constantly fixing my BroadLink ones when they go offline. How are the Aqara ones for reliability? I just want to set them up and forget about them if possible
I've had some for about a year and have had no problems at all. Would highly recommend.
Best in the market for the UK, which is why I went to the trouble of swapping out the 4 gang for 2 two gangs. Can’t recommend them enough!
I had the same problem with Broadlink and also the one Aqara switch I try regularly falls of Hubitats radar as far as knowing what state it is is concerned. They are not as pretty as Aqara but to be honest Yagusmart Zigbee wall switches have been great in my home both with and without a neutral, really reliable if the zigbee network is strong.
Hi Paul, what lightbulbs are you using with Aqara? Because I didn't quite get your old video, where in my own mind you misleadingly promised compatibility with Home Assistant for BroadLink lightbulbs and switches (never mind). Now, my Aqara sensors only communicate through Alexa with my lights. Unfortunately, Alexa is even worse than Home Assistant because when she's not working, I can't even fix it. I’m desperate enough to buy non-neutral Aqara switches (sooooo expensive 😳) but I have no idea what lightbulbs 💡 should I have. Please help
I love Aqara buttons (Wireless Mini Switch), great buld quality, loveley to look at, short, long, continuous press and release actions in Home Assistant with ZHA. So cheap on Aliexpress too. The have no problem connecting to cheap Sonoff ZBMini switch relays or a Sonoff Dongle E Zigbee coordinator plugged into my HA. Aqara T1 and T2 relays are quite thick and might be a real PITA to stuff in a wall box.
Hi Paul, after your video review of the Aqara G4 door bell, I purchased one and was so impressed I got another one for my dad. However, it would be awesome some if there was an industry standard app that all of these smart devices connected to rather than umpteen different apps.🤔🤔
Nice pad, looking sweet with all the light automations. Not sure I would get that pass the boss!!!
Maybe your next home assistant project should be to bin off your old install and start over, HA has come a long way in the years I've been using it
Is it possible to add overlap the zones or add a zone bettween zones so both light areas are on at once for a better trasition? it looks so awkward when the room goes black for a second lol
Really wish they had uk plugs and/or sockets. Also if they sold their door locks over here too! Great vid, thanks Paul
Yeah man, me too 😔 thinking of creating some using the relays!
@@paulhibbert been using the ph- Eugh, Philips Eugh, sorry Phillips hue for now but would prefer to stay in the same eco system. At least it has ohhh the zigbee!
Spot on... they all don't actually have a full range.... non do...
In Australia they are actually just sensors no lighting bar led strip's.
The in wall/roof smart relays are available at 70 bucks each 🤯🤯
Shelly's are under 30...
If I did it all over again I likely would go Aqara
I don't get why Home Assistant seems to be such a hassle though. I mean all I do is install updates through the web ui a couple times a week.
Mind you, I don't automate with Home Assistant, I just use HA to listen to my devices change state. I'm still a Node Red Nerd when it comes to automation. Haven't touched that stuff in months, stable as a rock
I just installed a home assistant on a pi3. But all the sensor are aquara so mixed feelings?
Hello Paul, Im glad to hear about your new home. I think it looks outstanding. I presume that it was a considerable amount of work. I have observed a considerable delay when entering a new area. I am curious as to whether you have configured it in this manner or if it is a default setting. I look forward to hearing about your pushback home assisted somewhat and how it fares.
I wonder if you could make overlapping zones so the lights come on BEFORE you take that first step
Yeah, you just set the zone border a little further out, I have actually made some small adjustments since and set a delay before the lights go out so it’s doesn’t go dark until I have left the room
Honestly...Aqara is great, as is Shelly as is Switchbot and also Homematic IP...but at the end of the day, none of them makes everything, so, Home Assistant, while it does require attention and tends to break things with Updates (though some of the issues are down to manufacturers changing the API or blocking it) it is the only system I know that can (relatively) reliably connect everything and make it work together.
A Vaillant Heat Pump, Homematic underfloor heating controller, Huawei Solar system, Tibber electricity, a Tesla, some Switchbot stuff, Hue, Govee and other lamps? Ikea switches and so on and so forth...Home Assistant links it all up easily.
Great videos as always, but I’m interested to know what you think is the best sensor kit as you’ve recommended broadlink, linklink and now Aqara? Or are they much of a muchness?
The key difference here is price, the LinknLink sensor is amazing for the price, but can’t portion up a room and react to different parts of it, but it’s ludicrously cheap. The aqara sensor is what I would personally choose as I have a vast space to cover and want to try to keep everything in one ecosystem as much as possible. If however you’re on a budget or just have one room to cover then LinknLink are incredible
Perfect thank you. We do have a large space. So will look at the Aqara. Just bought the linklink to match with the Broadlink switches for the kitchen replacing hue. Combined it cost the same as a hue bulb. Just need to get the routines working better
Is it really automation if you aren't constantly making manual adjustments and tweaks?
Do you have any recommendation on how to use the aqara h1 wired for 2 switches operating the same light? Ty
You have to decommission one of the switches (basically wiring it to permanent live) and then put one of the aqara battery powered remotes in place of that switch. You see the part of the video where I’m drilling the holes? That’s to mount the battery switch over my living room’s two way original switch 👍🏻
would love to see how to get an LG tv to work with Alexa. preferably without HA. thanks
Bugger! Just bought a load of Tuya smart, touch switches (and yes, they do 4 gang switches). Really simple to install, needing only one live input and then one connection to each light (similar to a radial circuit, not a ring circuit).
11:09 Why an alarm system in Home Assistant would let down ? Does it break? Is not reliable?
For a moment, I thought you were in Reed’s house! Nice place you got there, Paul. Also, I’ve been using Aqara stuff for a while and it’s all been bloody brilliant. I didn’t know they did smart TRVs though, they look far nicer than the Hive ones
Nah I'm with you. Aqara are scarily good. I've done the same thing as you and now balance just 2 hubs.