I Tried Building the PERFECT Smart Home: What I Learned (Mistakes Included)
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 KZhead 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.
"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 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!
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.
Definitely feel like this man spent many hours in his room messing with lights and tinkering. Absolutely love it.
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!!
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 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!
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
😅
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).
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
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.
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.
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 !
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
Awesome video, appreciate the honest look. Slowly getting started myself. Apparently I need to Home Assistant and need to spend some time tinkering.
You have a real knack for explaining things clearly. Keep it up!
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). :)
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 😂
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.
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.
I started with Homey Pro as my main smart ecosystem. Incredible experience. Recommend to both techies and non-techies
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.
Amazing video Jimmy! Very informative as I’m just starting to get into smart homes
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.
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.
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.
😀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
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.
Dude I am literally trying to make my home fully smart and Alexa functional this is great advice thank you
I loved this video. Great sense of humour and very informative. Thanks!
Great summary and advice in a short video, Good Job!
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 :).
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.
Is there a video about the tv you used in your main bedroom? Love that look
It’s very important to surge protect everything you can and install spike protection at the panel. Those hubs are costly to replace.
I had to go down the rabbit hole for my university assignment 😂 I didn’t know how amazing these smart setups can be!
Great video. Just shared it with my email list for my weekly roundup.
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:)))
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
Where did you get the hexagonal wall lamp? can you share the link? looks great! and great video too!
Hey Jimmy. Great video! Any chance you can share where you bought that corner lamp you have in your bedroom? Thanks!
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 😢
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.
"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.
so much knowledge keep up the good work
Fantastic video. Glad I found your channel
Thank you so much for this very informative, stetic and entertaining video.
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?
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.
Really well spoken video! Great information!
Best advice I’ve heard. Thanks bro
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.
Wow wtf! Insane fast, congrats and well deserved!
Very good video. I recommend home assistant as well. Just don't use a raspberry. Use some kind of mini pc.
🎯 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
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 🙂
Dude, I laughed at your intro. Exactly me, down the rabbit hole xD
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]
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
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!
The video I’ve been waiting for. One of us. One of us.
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.
Çok iyi başlangıç olmuş inan bende bir ampul ile başladım ve kara delik beni de içine alıyor. :) Teşekkürler paylaşım için
Home Assistant is a great solution. Covers all of my kit (x-wave, zigbee and matter/thread)
What's the weather like in Round Rock TX? Also, I love your nails in the scene with the outlet adapter....
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.
Bro ur a genius there is a lot to learn 👏🏽
Your nails looked fabulous with the smart plugs
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👍🏻
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.
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?
the vent fan was one the reason I got into home automations.
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.
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.
Nice automations and good advice
very good advice really opened my eyes
You just dropped a gem on me. This “home assistant” was something I had no clue existed. I can’t wait to try and If it allows me to mix multiple products together that wouldn’t normally work with my apple home it opens so many possibilities. Thank you!!!
Thank you for making this video.
Great video .. question I have my a/c little heater and lights hooked to my google home . I recently had to get a different cable carrier.. I managed to switch my google home . But my lights. heat. Won't work it's a "!" MARK by them .. do I have to take them off and do it all over again ? Thanks
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.
I love WiZ smart button with Wiz smart bulbs 💡
Great video. Did you choose to run over zigbee or stick to WiFi
4:40 were you able to use these with your North American Aqara hub with other North American Aqara devices paired to it?
Great stuff. Thanks
Great video, thanks. Have you considered looking into the Homey world?
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.
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.
I'm curious, if I have a matter device added to Home Assistant, will it also be visible and controllable in google home if I scan the QR code? in other words can I view and control a matter device from both HA and Google Nest/Home interchangeably?
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!
Jimmy, what’s your take on Mi home and their smart products?
Hey welcome to Home Assistant... enjoy the rabbit hole... It's a fun hair crazy ride
would smart light bulbs work in an old fixture?
You have great taste in interior design pal. You've got me thinking...
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?
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.
These projects do seem very interesting as long as they stay on the LAN. If anything has to go out to the Internet or such, forget it!
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.