Hi everyone
I am starting to get addicted to home automations.
So far I've got a few smart plugs, vaccum, garage door hooked up and wanting to add more.
What have you got setup and how? Do you recommend any other forum?
I really want to get wireless LED which doesn't require switch install/electrician. I've heard there are wireless switches too these days which controls the lights?
At the moment I've got downlights in a whole modern house.
I use Google assistant.
Home Automation Ideas/Recommendations and Feel Free to Write down Your Home Setup/Products
bhunter101 on 19/01/2020 - 08:45
Comments
Can you tell me more on the devices and products you are using for your setup?
How do you have the car and washer/dryer set up?
We don't use oven much so kinda no point there.
Blinds, I believe you need a PowerPoint nearby to run the motor?
Got evap cooling so can't automate that. Unfortunately.
Here is my current and future setup products:
2x Google Home Mini - Located In Kitchen and Bathroom
1x Echo Show 5 - Located in Office
1x Echo Dot - Located in Bedroom
1x Logitech Mega blast - Portable Echo Device
1x Ring Doorbell 2 - See Front Door
1X Swann NVR with 16 4K cameras - Used For Protect and Motion Alerts
2x Google Cast - Play movies and show CCTV camera when requested from Google Assistant
4x Smart Switches - Used for mostly bed lamps, 1 is connected to NBN modem in case a receive an alert from my firewall of an unauthorized IP or unrecognized device.
1x RM Mini 3 - Used for turning On and Off ACTo Be Added In The Future
Replacing All Light Switches With [Deta Smart Double Gang Light Switch Touch Activated With Grid Connect] ( I opted for this instead of smart bulbs because I don't need to change the color of my light or need to dim them. But it would be cool to make the light red if an intruder breaks in. I guess you could use IFTTT to link to ADT and Smart Bulb to flash red.)I don't currently have a smart washer/dryer but I would set it up to make Google Assistant Announce that the drying is finished or if it detects that my phone is not at the location of the house then make Google Assistant announce it when I open the front door.
The car can be setup to lock and unlock the car as well as start the engine but not many cars currently support this or support the feature in Australia.
A Few Tips:
Use IFTTT as it will make your life so much easier and add more functionality
Use Magnetic or Motion Sensors to Trigger Events, such as turning on the lights or sounding the alarm if the phone is not in the geo fence.
Don't use cheap Chinese product as they can:
- Fail Pretty Quickly
- Provide a backdoor into your network (Most run busy box with default or master password. Once accessed they can start hacking valuable stuff or even local CCTV.
- Don't meet Australian Regulations (So if your house burns down because of it, you won't be insured. I Think, Not Sure About This, But seems to make sense. As the device could be a fire hazard that has not been deemed safe for consumer use.)
-How would you set up a car to lock/unlock/start? Wouldn't it be risky to start the car automatically?
I have a timer I plug into a socket, then plug a nightlight into the socket, then set the timer for 9pm-6am, so my man can see where he’s going when he gets up to go to the toilet during the night.
That’s about as automated as my house gets, though I’m planning on getting solar garden lights, too.
We're a bit limited in terms of what we can do in this place because the appliances don't have any 'smart' functionality so it's mostly LED bulbs / strips and switches for the time being. Ultimately I want to get to a place where the house is mostly 'shut down' when nobody's home but automatically wakes back up when one of us gets home, with us both having full control of all smart devices from outside the house.
I'm using Home Assistant to tie everything together, it's a bit more work initially but I think it's worth it because it's all hosted locally meaning I can still control my devices even if my internet connection goes down.
It's a slippery slope once you start down it. I started out with Google Home and a few smart sockets and Philips Hue lights. Now I have full setup running through Home Assistant, entire house of Hue, smart plugs for dumb devices, Broadlink IR blasters for controlling ACs, 2x Robo vacuums, Wyze cameras + sensors controlling all automations, Yale smart lock, etc.
Some of the automations that I run that should give you ideas:
- Lock the door 60 seconds after it's opened, when we go to bed, or when we leave the house
- Smart climate zone control by detecting what room you're in and only using the AC in rooms that are occupied
- Notifications to our phones and spoken (TTS) over all our Google Home devices for:
- When we've left a door open for too long
- When the dishwasher or washing machine is finished
- Notifications to our phones when either one of us is at the grocery store to remind each other to add anything we need to the shopping list
- Turning off of computer/entertainment unit when no one is home/when we're sleeping to save on phantom power draw.
- Automatic dimming of lights/changing of scenes based on whether we're using the TV or not.
- Enabling/Disabling the security cameras when we leave/get home.
- Sending me a battery report at 6pm every day when any batteries in my sensors/automation devices are low.
These are obviously all quite advanced automations, but it just gives you an idea of what's possible to achieve.
My biggest starter tip would be to decide on a single ecosystem/brand that you like and stick with it. For me, this was Philips Hue. While expensive, they're worth it. And setting up alerts on here means you can get them for up to 50% off at times.
I second this: it's definitely a slippery slope but also a rewarding one.
I only started with a HASS setup before Christmas, and have managed to control disparate devices (LIFX lights, IKEA remote control, TP-Link power switches, Xiaomi air purifier, Aqara button switches and thermometer/hygrometer, Reolink camera and IR devices through the Broadlink RM Mini 3). Everything - after a bit of a steep learning curve - runs smoothly and reliably.
My setup is a Raspberry Pi 4 running HassOS and a ConBee II USB stick to control Zigbee devices. All IoT devices are isolated from the internet and are therefore controlled purely within the local network. I have OpenVPN set up so I can log in via the Home Assistant app remotely and, say, turn on the air con and air purifier before getting home.
Any recommendations on guides/websites?
Lots of Youtube videos around on Home Assistant. Check out JuanMTech, BRUHAutomation, DrZzzs, The Hook Up, Smart Home Solver, etc.
I definitely want to go down Google Assistant road. But some silly questions:
- What sort of sensors are you using for doors?
- Don't think i need smart climate zone but keen to know how you would detect what room you are in?
- How do you receive notifications for when dishwasher/washing machines are finished?
The only silly question is an unasked one.
- Using Wyze sensors for door contact sensors. These do not integrate with Google Home - they're coneected to my Home Assistant installation. I don't think there are any that actually connect directly to Google Home.
- Room detection is a combination of things depending on the rooms. Most rooms have Hue motion sensors (with built-in temperature sensors), some rooms have powered devices that are monitored through a smart socket (computer/TV/receiver), other rooms just have contact sensors. I generally use a combination of sensors to determine occupancy. For example, if the power socket in the office has over a certain wattage AND there's been movement in there in the last 30 minutes, it's occupied so the AC should be on. Another example is the ensuite which only has contact sensors. I check to see the sequence of open/closed events and determine whether it's occupied by how close these events are to each other.
- Home Assistant checks the wattage of the smart socket attached to dishwasher/washing machine. When it drops below a certain level, it means they're finished. At that point, it sends a broadcast to all Google Home devices in the house and sends a push notification to anyone who's at home. I also have it set up to slowly pulse a Hue light with different colours based on what device is complete.
As I mentioned, my use cases are all quite complicated. However, all I started with was 2 Google Homes and a few Philips Hue lights around 9 months ago. Like I said in initial post, it's a slippery slope after that!
Any tips for a smart doorbell that unlatches the gate? i.e. delivery man at the front gate presses the video doorbell and i can buzz him in to drop the package. I'm struggling to get my hear around how these video doorbells integrate with a gate latch.
I don't think such a thing exists as a retail package. There's definitely smart door locks that can achieve this, but a gate latch is a little different. You could certainly look to DIY something for this as all you really need is an electromagnet and a way to trigger it.
I'm in the process of a full renovation and have settled on the home assistant/HassOS on the raspberry pi as well but for lighting I've gone with the sonoff option (I'm am electrician so installing them myself).
Sonoff device is $10ish and gets wired behind the switch with no hub needed (no app dimming though) or there's fibaro or environexus for $100ish for a similar device that does dimming (but need to purchase a hub).Planning to use the sonoff for the garage doors and roller shutters as well. Daikin ducted system with WiFi that integrates with the home assistant too. Controlled by a wall mounted tablet at the front door or phone app on the network.
Trying to get my Bosch alarm to integrated as well but no luck, have to stick to their app for now.
I'm jealous of you being a sparky. Once I started down this route, I seriously considered getting certified as an electrician. The possibilities are endless if you can wire it yourself!
I have a dumb house and have used the money saved on this towards holidays. Seems smart to me.
Over 100 Hue lights and accessories.
Sensibo to all split system.
Orbit irrigation.
Neato D7 vacuum.
There are certain things I opted to not go Smart. These are all items to do with security.
That's smart not to be very smart with your security system.
Philips Hue is a good choice, Zigbee gadgets have better range compare to WIFI based gadgets.
The system is compatible with most of the popular home hubs like Google, Homekit, Alexa, Smartthings and so on.
A bit expensive, but you will always find a good deal on Amazone.
Budget is around $2,500-$3,000 for the medium size house (Downlights + Gadgets).
The Zigbee/ Wifi switches are cheaper choices as they work with normal downlights but there will be an installation charge of $40 each gadget.
Oven, Automatic Blinds, Smart A/C and Smart Home Enabled TV. Not essential but Smart Washer and Dryer. Also if your car supports it, remote engine start via google assistant.