Smart Home & Home Automation discussion thread

[Kaido]

Yes, they're wireless. Batteries typically last a few months.

You can use standard ZigBee or Zwave sensors inside of a refrigerator or freezer and they work fine.

Ooooh I see he was responding to your comment haha.

What are you using for water leak detection right now?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Ooooh I see he was responding to your comment haha.

What are you using for water leak detection right now?

Mainly SmartThings water sensors, with a couple of other types in the mix too.

 

[Linflas]

I have a GE smart light switch that controls a light outside my basement slider. It suddenly appears as unavailable in the Smart Things app and when I tell the Echo to turn it off/on it says it is unavailable as well yet the light turns on/off on command. Any idea what would cause this?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have a GE smart light switch that controls a light outside my basement slider. It suddenly appears as unavailable in the Smart Things app and when I tell the Echo to turn it off/on it says it is unavailable as well yet the light turns on/off on command. Any idea what would cause this?

Toggle the circuit breaker on that switch and see if it reconnects.

 

[Kaido]

I have a GE smart light switch that controls a light outside my basement slider. It suddenly appears as unavailable in the Smart Things app and when I tell the Echo to turn it off/on it says it is unavailable as well yet the light turns on/off on command. Any idea what would cause this?

You may just need to reset it. iirc the procedure is to press the Up button on the switch ten times to get it to reset.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I am looking for smart home automation where we can use voice command to control just like amazon Alexa, (Low Budget please)

Most popular options integrate with Amazon or Google Home to let you use them to control devices. I'd personally recommend SmartThings and Hubitat if they're available in your market. SmartThings is a bit more polished and supports more devices, but has limited local control capability. Hubitat has mostly local control (except for devices which require a cloud integration, such as Alexa or Google Home), which makes it much faster than ST and more resilient against internet outages. Other options on the market include Vera, Wink, and Home Assistant.

 

[Linflas]

Toggle the circuit breaker on that switch and see if it reconnects.

When went home with the intention of trying one of these 2 solutions it was back as available in the SmartThings app. This was nice as i hate to toggle the breaker as my house wiring was evidently done by electricians on drugs as there is no logic to the things any one breaker controls. IIRC the circuit this light in the basement is on includes outlets in the kitchen upstairs and outlets on the 2nd floor as well.

 

[Kaido]

SharpTools dashboard:

https://sharptools.io/

Kind of like DAKboard, Action Tiles, and SmartThings had a lovechild & added in a neato visual rule builder.

 

[Zaap]

Love this thread!
I posted here about a year ago when I was just getting started. Now I've got most of my house automated the way I like it- all lights, ceiling fans, iRobot, security for the doors, and a bunch of things automated with sonoff switches. In fact, for me the simple sonoff switch is king!

I just automated my garage door with a simple $10 sonoff switch and a $20 door sensor. The door sensor (eWelink/Alexa compatible) I mounted on a door hinge attached to the garage door. When the door is down, the hinge keeps the magnet next to the door sensor. When open, the magnet swings away from the sensor. Alexa says "The Garage Door is Open/Closed" and reports the status when asked.

If the door is open any time between 9pm and 6am, it triggers two lamps to turn red. Make it impossible to forget the door open at night.

I setup the sonoff switch to respond on/off to "Alexa, open/close The Garage" and merely hooked it via a small bit of speaker wire to the door opener button connections. Works beautifully!

My house is pretty much as automated as I want it for now (going to add door locks and some cameras soon) but the thing that surprises me is I never needed another hub of any sort. When I didn't know any better, I bought a Philips Hue hub and the starter light for it- but they are the only things in the house that require a hub, and I see no damn reason for one. (Okay, granted- my ceiling fans required a Bond Hub to work, but that makes sense to me as they are very specific devices requiring RF control, whereas lights aren't.)

In my rooms where I have a mix of Hue lights and much cheaper non-hub lights, the non-hub lights are actually faster to respond. If I had it to do over again, I'd never have bought the Hue stuff.

We mainly control everything with Amazon Echo- one in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in the main bedroom. Recently as a fun side project, I turned my son's no-longer-used Raspberry Pi 3 into an Echo, so it covers my home office. I plugged in an expensive USB Blue Yeti mic for it- something you'd never just buy for this use, but I just happen to have one unused otherwise. It picks up even whispered Alexa commands.

WAF is 100%, and let's face it, that's what really counts.

 

[Kaido]

I've finally found the blinds I want: Hunter-Douglas LightLock

LightLock™ | Darkness Window Shade System | Hunter Douglas

Achieve almost complete darkness for any room in your home. Our new LightLock™ system traps and absorbs light leaving any room almost completely dark. Find a dealer near you.

www.hunterdouglas.com

* Available with Duette Honeycomb Shades
* LightLock uses a U-shaped side-channel system in the window frame, which has rows of micro-ridges that absorb & deflect light
* Available with LiteRise & PowerView (compatible with Alexa/Siri/Google Assistant) motorization

I don't know if they offer a dual-shade option or not - one that does blackout & one that is translucent, because that would be nice for when you want privacy but also want sunlight to light up the room. The layering system I'm looking at right now goes:

1. Glassparency (exterior)
2. PTG windows
3. 3M privacy tint window film (interior)
4. Hunter-Douglas LightLock blackout shades

Now I just need a plot of land, lol!

 

[luv2liv]

I've finally found the blinds I want: Hunter-Douglas LightLock

LightLock™ | Darkness Window Shade System | Hunter Douglas

Achieve almost complete darkness for any room in your home. Our new LightLock™ system traps and absorbs light leaving any room almost completely dark. Find a dealer near you.

www.hunterdouglas.com

those Hunter Douglas are expensive!
im just a poor man for now and im going to try this

anyone it working already?

 

[Kaido]

those Hunter Douglas are expensive!

Yeah, I'd have to wrap it up in the mortgage to make the cost feasible. Hoping to build from scratch next year...then again, I've been saying that for 5+ years now LOL. Someday I'll get some free time...

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Anyone have the new Hue Sync? I'm really tempted to buy it and a couple new Hue lights for my main TV to replace the Hue Bloom I have behind it.

 

[Kaido]

 

[Kaido]

Alexa shower head:

Kohler's new showerhead is also an Alexa-powered smart speaker

Morning showers aren't usually thought of as a time for entertainment, but if you're really determined to make use of every minute you could try out Kohler's new showerhead with a built-in smart speaker.

www.engadget.com

* Waterproof speaker
* Alexa built in
* Docks magnetically
* Cordless charging
* Speaker is tuned for bathroom spaces so it can be heard over the noise of the shower & has tactile control buttons
* 6 to 7 hour play time
* $99 to $229 depending on options selected
* Available to order later this year

I currently have a a Home Netwerks Bluetooth LED ceiling exhaust fan combo in my bathroom, like this model:

HOMEWERKS 110 CFM Ceiling Mount Bathroom Exhaust Fan with Bluetooth Speakers and LED Light 7130-16-BT - The Home Depot

The Homewerks ventilation fan features an integrated Bluetooth-enabled stereo speaker and an LED light. Perfect for the tech-savvy homeowner with a desire to stream audio from their smartphone or tablets

www.homedepot.com

It does white LED plus blue LED (for night-time use), with an exhaust fan & Bluetooth speaker built-in. It's decent...the speaker could be better & I have to switch up the Bluetooth via the wall-switch button & then pair in my phone every time. Having Alexa built-in would be nice for launching a podcast or music or whatever. I shave in the shower, so my shower routine is usually 10 to 15 minutes, so having a built-in speakers with easy voice access for playback & that could actually be heard easily in the shower without cranking up the speaker to wake up the whole house would be nice!

I'm a productivity nerd & like to look for pockets of time to take advantage of. Just to do some simple math, a 10-minute daily shower amazingly works out to 60 hours a year (10 minutes x 365 = 3,650 minutes / 60 minutes in an hour = ~60.83 hours annually), which is a lot of time to put listening to TED Talks (they have a TED Talks Daily podcast) or learning a language. Also, I'm curious if they made a Qi dock or something for it for the "cordless charging" aspect. $99 isn't a bad price for a wireless, waterproof speaker, especially if it actually sounds good with the noise of the water on! Curious how well it hears your voice with the water as well. It mentioned tactile controls, so I wonder if it has hands-free Alexa or pushbutton Alexa. You can get a waterproof Bluetooth speaker with pushbutton Alexa for like $35 on Amazon these days:

https://www.amazon.com/Shower-Waterproof-Portable-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B07NDP8B7

However, I don't have an unused shelf in my shower, so I'd have to figure out how to mount it. This Kohler showerhead seemed silly to me at first, but it actually looks like a pretty good solution. Curious what the $229 top-spec option gets you though, seems like a crazy-high price for something you can solve with a regular $35 Bluetooth speaker, but if you're spending ~60 hours a year in the shower (which also sounds crazy, lol), the value would come from the convenience & usability on an ongoing daily basis.

 

[Kaido]

Kohler also has digital shower options available:

Digital Showering | Bathroom | Kohler

www.us.kohler.com

Curious to see it compares to Moen's offerings. I helped my buddy do his bathroom renovation with a Moen & it has held up perfectly for the past couple of years! The new version has Alexa integration, plus you can set the exact temperature, so if you are say finishing your morning workout, you can just yell at your Echo to preheat the shower so you can hop in:

U by Moen | Smart Shower

Transform your showering experience. Now with three ways to control your shower: voice, phone, and controller.

www.moen.com

Although Kohler has a whole product line available:

Digital Valves & Controls Shower Valves & Trim| Showering | Bathroom | KOHLER

Shower Valves & Trim

www.us.kohler.com

Including a digitally-controlled 6-port thermostatic valve:

K-682-K | DTV Six-Port Thermostatic Valve | KOHLER

The K-682-K thermostatic valve provides accurate, precise, and consistent temperature control for the KOHLER DTV+ showering system.

www.us.kohler.com

Pretty pricey stuff, but if you're building a custom, multi-nozzle shower, it's nice to have digital controls available!

 

[Kaido]

Alexa updates:

1. Alexa for Windows
2. Alexa for the Apple Watch
3. Alexa whole-house music
4. Alexa announcements

Finally got around to installing Alexa on my Windows 10 machine. I'm just using my Logitech webcam as an always-on microphone. Works great!

Get Alexa - Microsoft Store

Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Alexa.

www.microsoft.com

Alexa still isn't officially supported on the Apple Watch, which is dumb, but there is a workaround available. The downside is no announcements, calls, or music:

How to use Alexa on the Apple Watch

Alexa on the Apple Watch, you say? While the smartwatch still doesn’t have an official app for Alexa, it is still doable with the help of a very clever third-party app. Downloading it from the App Store allows you to ditch Siri and instead pop your queries over to Amazon’s voice assistant...

www.wareable.com

I finally have enough Echos to try out whole-house audio; did it last night & it works pretty good! Finally, an affordable version of Sonos!

Multi-Room Music - Amazon Customer Service

I also discovered Alexa's announcement feature, which is basically like a one-way intercom, which is pretty cool for announcing stuff like "WE'RE LEAVING!" or "Dinner's ready!". So, I'm late to the game for stuff like whole-house audio & whatnot, but pretty nice features once you discover them!

 

[Kaido]

IKEA blinds are finally available:

IKEA's smart blinds are finally available to buy online

After months of being limited to stores, IKEA's connected blinds are available online -- not that you have much choice.

www.engadget.com

Gateway is $35:

Products

Browse our full range of products from dressing tables to complete modern kitchens. Click here to find the right IKEA product for you. Browse online and in-store today!

www.ikea.com

Gateway works with:

1. Alexa
2. Siri (Apple HomeKit)
3. Google Assistant
4. Sonos

Both Android & iOS smartphone/tablet apps available. $129 to $179 for the blinds, depending on what size you need: (only a couple sizes are in stock right now/)

FYRTUR Blackout roller blind, wireless, battery operated gray, 23x76 ¾" - IKEA

FYRTUR Blackout roller blind, wireless, battery operated gray, 23x76 ¾". Using the included remote control, you can adjust your blinds from the comfort of your bed. The block-out fabric blocks out all light from outside – perfect for bedrooms.

www.ikea.com

RIP my stimulus check lol

 

[Kaido]

Ubiquiti has their own video doorbell out:

Ubiquiti's new UniFi Protect G4 Doorbell takes on Ring with $199 price tag

Ubiquiti's highly-awaited UniFi Protect G4 Doorbell is now leaving the early access store and is available for purchase. Get all the details right here.

9to5toys.com

Ring has their v3 doorbells out as well:

Video Doorbell 3 Plus

Enjoy the same advanced security features as Video Doorbell 3, now enhanced with Pre-Roll technology and adjustable motion zones. Free Expedited Shipping!

shop.ring.com

Arlo has a nice one too. I like their 1:1 video:

Arlo Video Doorbells with HD Resolution, Night Vision & More

Arlo doorbells allow you to monitor visitors to your home from wherever you are. Learn more about Arlo home security systems.

www.arlo.com

Nest has the Hello:

https://store.google.com/us/product/nest_hello_doorbell

Eufy has a 2K camera: (battery-powered or wired)

Video Doorbell 2K (Wired)

Monitor your front door with eufy Video Doorbell (Wired) in real-time. Offers 2k HD imaging, human body and face detection, 2-way talk & more.

www.eufylife.com

Honestly, I'd probably go with the Eufy wired if I were picking one up. 4:3 aspect ratio, Alexa integration, pre-recorded instructions, plus the wired version has 3-second pre-roll & instant wakeup. There's also a jumper for an existing chime. It has a 4GB integrated eMMC (good for 30 days of video @ 30 videos a day of 30-second clips). Great package all around!

 

[Kaido]

Delta has gone nuts on touch & voice-activated faucets:

VoiceIQ | Delta Faucet

www.deltafaucet.com

Even has a COVID mode available now!

VoiceIQ Handwash | Delta Faucet

www.deltafaucet.com

 

[Kaido]

I think I covered these before, but Hunter Douglas has LightLock shades:

LightLock™ | Darkness Window Shade System | Hunter Douglas

Achieve almost complete darkness for any room in your home. Our new LightLock™ system traps and absorbs light leaving any room almost completely dark. Find a dealer near you.

www.hunterdouglas.com

Now with Powerview automation: (Alexa-compatible)

PowerView® Automation | Automatic Blinds - Hunter Douglas

PowerView® Automation - automatic blinds and shades that you can control & schedule from your smartphone, tablet or with voice commands.

www.hunterdouglas.com

 

[Kaido]

Amazon is reportedly planning a wall-mounted Echo with a 15-inch display:

https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-reportedly-planning-an-echo-with-a-15-inch-display-122607832.html

The splashiest-looking product would be an Alexa-enabled Echo with a display size around 15-inches. Codenamed Hoya, it could not only be placed on a stand like a regular Echo device, but mounted on a wall as well. It would serve as a smart-home center to control lights, cameras, locks and other devices, while showing weather, timers, appointments, photos and more. It's specifically designed to work in the kitchen, displaying recipes and YouTube cooking videos, while letting you stream Netflix and other apps.

Also a soundbar with a camera, pretty cool to video-chat with family & friends:

The company may also announce its own soundbar, codenamed Harmony, to accompany a rumored lineup of Amazon-branded TVs. Unlike third-party Alexa-enabled soundbars, it would have a front-facing camera and support video calls from TVs, much like Facebook's Portal TV.

 

[Kaido]

Google has the new Nest WiFi Pro. Basically a Wink Hub (with the upcoming "Matter" standard) plus Mesh Networking using WiFi 6E (6ghz, 60 channels, meh range but good speeds). $200 for a 2-pack of mesh or $300 for a 3-pack of mesh, which is a fantastic deal as that's like half the cost of the other stuff on the market:

Nest Wifi Pro

Experience smoother connections, super fast speeds, and a smarter network all around your home with the Google Nest Wifi Pro.

store.google.com

Good article:

Google's new Nest WiFi Pro will help fix one of the worst things about smart homes

Google recently introduced the Nest WiFi Pro with Wi-Fi 6E capabilities and supports Matter, the latest smart home standard.

www.businessinsider.com

It will support Matter:

Matter, the smart home standard everyone’s backing, will only arrive in 2022

A more harmonious smart home experience is on its way. It's just taking a little longer than expected.

www.inputmag.com

 

[Kaido]

Roku (via Wyze) joined the Smarthome gang:

Roku

Roku provides the simplest way to stream entertainment to your TV. On your terms. With thousands of available channels to choose from.

www.roku.com

Wyze partnership:

Roku-Wyze Partnership: What Investors Need to Know | The Motley Fool

Roku is getting into the smart home business, but at what risk?

www.fool.com

 

[Kaido]

Guard Dog Valves:

Prevent Water Leaks with Toilet Valve | Guard Dog Valves Inc.

Guard Dog Valve prevents leaks in tank-filled toilets, saving you money, and helping stop the waste of water.

www.guarddogvalves.com

Water-powered motion-sensor valve to prevent water flow for no continous leaking on toilets, pretty genius!