Top 10 home automation ideas - Ultimate smart home tour
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
- Top 10 home automation ideas - Ultimate smart home tour and review. Get Surfshark VPN at surfshark.deals/undecided and enter promo code UNDECIDED for 85% off and 3 extra months for free! It can be hard to know where to start with smart home improvements, so I thought I'd do a tour of my smart home and walk you through my top 10 home automations ... and some of the latest products, like the Yale Assure smart lock I'm using. These are the things I value the most to help with security, convenience, saving energy ... and even some money over time.
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If you liked this video, be sure to check out more of my smart home review videos here: th-cam.com/play/PLnTSM-ORSgi7obxembH4OAHDsrw52r9zk.html I've got some good ones in there on Hubitat, and wireless security cameras.
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Hi can you please make a video of how to setup Hubitat notifications and the laundry home energy monitor?
great show..are these products considered I o T´s ?..
I've forgotten cloths in the washer for days , or until i need them , I need this bad
One of my favorite automations is a LED strip and a motion sensor under the bed, so when I step off the bed during the night it lights up the floor subtly so that I can see without waking my partner. Great for when the toddlers wake up during the night and you have to scramble up quickly to stop them from demolishing something in the house at 2 am.
I like this idea so much I'm going to implement it.Thank-you.
Reg you are very welcome
How is the motion sensor set up, like would you need two sensors if you want one for your partner on the other side of the bed?
Zac the angle is quite wide, so I put it in the middle of the headboard (under the bed) facing along the length of the bed. That covers all motion on the sides of the bed from roughly chest height, lying down. Hope I explained that clearly enough. 😊
Genius my man!!
Love these ideas. Thanks for the insipration. I'm using Home Assistant, but here's my set up on my Washer/Dryer.
1) Energy monitor outlets for Washer and Dryer
2) Aqara Door/Window sensors on Washer and Dryer doors.
3) Input/Selector "Helpers" in Home Assistant. For the Washer the options are Idle, Running, Clean. For the Dryer it's Idle, Running, Dry.
4) When the power usage is over 50W for 2 minutes, the Selector is updated from Idle to Running. When the usage drops below 1W for 5 minutes (and the Selector is set to Running), the Selector is updated to Clean (or Dry), a message is sent to our phones, an Alexa announcement is made, and a Helper timer is started.
5) When we open the door to the Washer or Dryer the Selector is set back to Idle.
6) BONUS: If the door isn't opened and the Selector isn't set back to Idle within 30 minutes (remember the timer in #4), Alexa gets snarky ("Seriously, the Washer is done. Do you want the laundry to get moldy?" or "The Dryer is done. The laundry's not going to fold itself, you know!"), and the timer resets. Each time the timer hits zero the cycle begins again until the doors are opened to reset the Selector.
7) BONUS BONUS: We have a top loading Washer, and sometimes we start it then do one last run around the house for loose items. We've both forgotten to put the lid down if we get distracted. If the Selector is set to Running, and the Washer door sensor is still open after 5 minutes, a message is sent to our phones and Alexa to tell us to check the Washer lid.
I just found you and I must say, you are an amazing presenter. Thank you very much for the great ideas!
Appreciate that.
Just discovered your channel. Cant believe I never stumble on it before. Love your content man
My favorite:
1. Geofence to turn on lights in the garage when I come home. They automatically turn off 5 min. later.
2. No light switch at the door where I enter the house. Three lights automatically turn on when I arrive home but only if it’s after sunset.
I’ve got motion sensors for the lights in my hallways, and that’s my favorite automation so far.
I setup home/away based on our phones being connected to the WiFi and this has been faster and more reliable than any GPS method I tried.
Also got a Yale Assure with August and it's awesome!! Love the door unlocking when I walk up and relocking 100% automatically.
hey brother ive had so many of the products that your talking about and ive forgot how many things work together and ive been lazy to set things up specially like you said we have been stuck at home and instead of working on projects ive been on TH-cam haha... but tonight i thought to my self i want to do something with my night. your videos gave me so many new ideas and i need to buy more smart home gadgets but i have so many that ive not taken advantage of. great video thanks for the tips...
You offer some excellent insights into building a smart home. I'm diving into smart home equipment for the first time after buying my house last year and I appreciate the clarity with which you explain your device choices and their functionality. I work in industrial automation for a living but smart homes and home automation is a very different beast.
On an unrelated note, I noticed you mention in a previous video that you used to work for a video game developer. I'm a heavy-duty gamer myself, mind if I ask which developer you worked for?
Got a robot vacuum and mop combo (coredy) and it has changed my life! I have it scheduled for morning and night which is tremendously helpful when you have 4 cats and a teenager. My floors are ALWAYS clean now.
does it know/detect between tile, wood and carpet? I wouldnt want it mopping my carpet :)
Ok, you teenagers and cat must be very, very disciplined and never leave any mess around. This never ever worked in my house because the vacuum got stuck in cables, socks, etc.
The credit card idea worked perfectly! I started from the top and ran it along each side and it popped right off. Thank you!
My first automation was before smarthomes. I bought one of those mechanical timers meant for wall-sockets for my coffee-machine, and ever since I have always woken up to the smell of fresh coffee
I have outdoor smart plugs for the holiday lights and the backyard lighting, automated to turn on at the local sunset and to turn off at 11:00 pm. I added lights above and below the kitchen cabinets and those are automated to turn on and off at specific times. My wife has a glassblock in a basement window next to the front porch which she decorates according to seasons/holidays. It also turns on at sunset and shuts off at 11:00 pm. I’m looking at getting “Level” locks for our three exterior doors.
These are great ideas man especially the washer dryer dongle.
I have 40 smart things contact switches and 10 motion sensors that correspond to every drawer and cabinet in my kitchen. The idea is to have intuitive lighting only when you are around it.
Thanks for this. I have all of the items setup like you do except for the laundry. Just 30 minutes ago I was frustrated that I had left clothes in the washing machine. Since I have an electric vehicle, I am on a time of day usage, so there are limits to when I dry my clothes unless I want to pay the highest usage rate. These examples should help me greatly. (My system is SmartThings tied to my Google home speakers with z-wave light switches, although I recently bought a HomePod and now have to reconsider how my system integrates since my Apple Music subscription doesn’t easily play on the Google speakers except through painful workarounds.)
Awesome video! I always dig your videos. Can you share the link to the humidity sensor you use in the bathroom? I like that idea a lot and want to get it working with my house.
Dude I love your videos, there soo well done and addicting.
Matt, great video and very helpful. Have you seen the SimpliSafe Smart Lock? Any opinions on that vs the Yale one?
Created my smart home around my seriously ill wife. Using Amazon Alexa enabled devices I set up smart bulbs and switches so that she could switch on and off lights via her voice, setup routines to alert me during the night when she required assistance, and when things got to the stage where she was confused and couldn’t make Alexa understand, I set up alarms using routines and Amazon buttons, one in the bathroom one in her bedroom and one in the lounge. Together with a couple of Wyze cameras I could check on her day and night from anywhere using the smart phone. Peace of mind for us both . Smart homes are not just for helping with mundane things but are extremely useful for disabled, elderly or ill people whether living alone or with someone you are never going to be alone and vulnerable again.
p.s. Amazon bring back the simple button it is useful for much more than for playing games
Matt, have you ever thought through the process of temperature monitoring of your freezer(s). I have freezers in my kitchen refrigerator, a stand alone freezer in my utility room, and an old freezer in the ‘replaced’ frig/freezer that’s now in the garage. I’ve tried the transmitter design with batteries in the freezer, but they just don’t last. My desire would be to have a probe inside the freezer that is direct wired to a sender unit outside of the freezer (where the wire that the magnetic door seal goes over doesn’t affect the seal). This could then interface with a Hubitat for warnings if the temp rises above a certain temp. I’ve seen a couple of DIY videos, but I don’t have the talent of an EE to effect such a contraption. It seems like there is a valid need for a ‘home owner’ product that works as discussed. I’ve seen commercial, big freezer products that are too expensive for home use. Thanks.
0:49 Love it... I've seen a lot of videos where people overautomate (if that's a word) just for the sake of doing it.
Great, thorough videos. A recent fan and i like the content. Keep up the great work!
Awesome, thank you!
I love the SmartDry sensor for the dryer. SmartDry just released a beta program and now my Alexa devices alert me the dryer stoped and still wet, or when close are dried. Virtual switch to create the automation and when the switch is triggered then Alexa announces the automation. Pretty cool
Hi Matt, I see from the video, you are using home automation products from different brands. Are they interconnected to work like an integrated solution?
This video gave me a lot of ideas for my smart home. Thanks.
Hello, Mr. Ferrell, I like the font you use on your intro card mentioning SurfShark as well as the other topics of smart home automation. Do you know what that font is called and where I can download it? It almost looks like a variation of HP Simplified, but it is subtly different.
I have a lot of the same automations, although certainly not all. My main objective is voice control (as an option) for lights, TV, temperature, etc. One thought: when you have a case like your kitchen when one switch controls multiple lights, you really want a smart switch, even if smart bulbs will be fine -- the switch gives you the option of controlling lights either way. I have stuck with Alexa even though not entirely thrilled with it, and don't want a hub. There's a lot of complexity in all of this, and voice control gets harder as you have more devices, as you have to remember the incantation needed in that case.
Great video Matt. I am such a nerd and want to do home automation so badly.
I didn't realize you were listening in on our dinner conversations this weekend where I talked about looking for the "killer app".
Even with your help, I can't see the value or wow over-weighing the hassle.
Thanks for trying,...
Ha! That's the balance you have to find. If you're doing home automation for the wow factor, you're doing it wrong. But if there's something you do, or need to do, on a regular basis that could be helped with automation ... that's where to focus on. I've been slowly building the home automation in my house over the past decade. Just chipping away where it made sense, but looking at it all now it looks nuts ... like I just went all in at once. Lol.
I like this video because, for most of the things, he isn't telling you to buy all these expensive light bulbs and washing machines, he's showing you how you can make the things you already have IoT-enabled.
Only my 3rd video but I like your style Matt no BS and open honest opinions. I'm planning to build my own house in the next 5 years and definitely looking to integrate things like solar and battery system etc
I appreciate that!
Energy savings is my biggest goal at the moment. I like the idea of the SmartDry.
I saw in another video that there was something to get for making a water heater work more efficiently. Unfortunately my water heater is not compatible. I recently installed a heat pump system and I’m under contract for a solar instal. I’ll keep an eye on the channel for more energy saving ideas.
Nobody can convince me that the guy at 9:38 actually took a drink of coffee. Also great video, thanks!
The Hubitat hud rocks. I'm using some similar smart home setups.
Thanks for the washer and dryer tips.
Care to share which smart home system you’re on?
This channel is underrated, it should have a minimum of 3M subscribers!
No ❤️
Enjoying the videos Matt, thanks.
Great video Matt with some great ideas! Nice job!!
Thanks, Shane!
Good video content! automation is key for me from garage doors, to Honeywell smart thermo, roomba etc..
I am definitely going to look into the smart outlet for the washing machine. Thanks!
Very professional and truly valuable content. I find few channels that are so well done. Thank you
Matt, your videos are top-notch, very pro!
In this one you mention power switches for washers that send a message when the appliance is finished. I can't find any that are Alexa-compatible. Any advice? Also, do you know any that would work for a 3-wire range outlet?
Best home automation video available, thank you !
Awesome video - thanks! Questions: Are you pairing the lights with Hubitat directly? How about the Caseta gear? Using the Caseta hub or pairing directly with Hubitat? Are you doing all of your automation in Hubitat? Any automation happening elsewhere? Thanks again for your great videos!
Saving energy is a good place to start. An even better place to start is saving money by saving energy. Which kind of energy is the large chunk of your bill and which devices or rooms are using that much. concentrate on the big ones and try to invest in something that will earn itself back long it needs to be replaced. That way you earn money for new improvements.
If is heating, a programmable thermostat in every room that can demand for heat only when needed can save you up to 50% certainly if you make sure the heating system is properly maintainted and (cv)-tuned. I love honeywell evohome.
Electricity is kind of hard, most people have already changed their halogeen lights for leds so not much to do there. Fridge and freezer is often the next station together with desktop computers and large TV's.
My top smart home bits:
#1) without question my most favorite is my smart thermostat. It cost about $60, integrates with my security system, and within the month, I saved $60 on my electric bill.
#2) Automated irrigation. My system does *not* integrate with my alarm system (or anything else, as far as I know), but it will monitor both soil moisture and weather conditions; if the soil is damp enough, or if it's rained recently or forecast to do so before the next routine, it won't run.
#3) my cameras. I know people have concerns about having cameras in the home and I perfectly well understand that (I myself don't even plug my Alexa in unless I'm actively using it for some of those same reasons!), but hear me out on this one. I was out of state for a week visiting a friend, and we had gone out of cell phone range into the mountains for the day. The minute I entered the service area, my phone blew up with notifications, including that my alarm system had lost power. I've lived here 18 years and can count on two hands (with fingers to spare) how many times I've lost power AT ALL, and on one (also with fingers to spare) that it's been off for longer than five minutes, so this was an exceedingly rare event. I immediately checked my alarm system, saw everything was armed, saw none of the glass break sensors had gone off, that none of the door or window sensors was triggered. Then I looked at the camera. I saw one cat passed out on the couch, and the other was happily eating, thought to myself "well it can't be that bad if the cats are relaxed", and would have forgot about it entirely I wasn't fielding panicked and hysterical phone calls from friends & family about the 5 stadium wide EF5 tornado that had just passed by my house, killed a bunch of people including by picking cars up off the overpass and throwing them to the ground, and generally wrought tons of havoc. And with my cameras? I knew everything was fine before I even knew there was a problem.
Always love your smart home videos, Matt!
The only smart-home automation item I have (besides my powerwall... does that count?) is an Orbit b-hyve irrigation controller. I could see getting the garage door opener module as I've put solar on my garage roof the past year and when the sun is shining, the RF from either the panels/wiring/inverter interferes with the remote control. Surprised you didn't put in the doorbell as one of the top 10. That also seems very useful, especially for people that aren't home. TBH though, most of the other items seem frivolous, IMHO.
I’m setting up my house right now, so at the moment I’m just looking to set up the most smart lights I can (have 2/3 bulbs, a couple of lamps and some leds, all from Hue); the automation for the tv looks very interesting and I’ll look into it!
Lights always seem to be where most people start (that's where I did).
Hi Matt! Great video, very clear and precise! Any chances of making a new video on the best ways to improve the AWAY/AT HOME detection for a house when parents are away but kids may be at home with the nanny or grandparents?
Motion sensors and door sensors can handle this. If there's motion in the house, then someone is obviously there, and they will continue to be there until a door opens. I use that on my system for that exact purpose. I also use geofencing our phones so that if my wife goes to work while I'm still asleep (no motion) the house will stay in occupied mode because my phone is still home.
Pro tip. Put one of those water sensors in your furnace water pan. My system was going on 10 years and it leaked over the water pan onto the ceiling above. The only way we knew the furnace was bad was when we saw the watermarks on the ceiling. $18,000 later we have a new furnace and one of those sensors in the water pan.
Cheers
Great video! I just would love if you could put a list on the description down to all the things that you mention! I’m looking for those humidity sensors, but you didn’t tell what brand are they
totally agree
I have a Neato vacuum cleaner and I notice that I don’t need to have her charging all the time. So I have a smart switch (HomeKit) that turns on one hour before it has to start vacuuming and one hour after it finishes. That gives the vacuum cleaner enough energy to do its work and save some energy at the same time.
great stuff i am looking for a auto lock for a sliding glass patio door. sliders only can be locked from inside but is you have on a guest unit or pool house there is nothing any ideas
Like always, great video. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks so much for ur videos! What's the exact model for Yale lock? There are several on Amazon and I'm not sure which one ur recommending!
Great videos. Please keep it coming!
A friend recently discovered robotic (Smart) cat litter box. It looks like an escape pod from a spaceship but it's been a real game changer for her!
Nice video. Good tips and ideas to get started on this. Thanks
One issue with Ecobee geofencing. As far as I can tell, it only detects if 1 device leaves the area. So if you are home and your wife runs to the shops, the ecobee goes into away, even though you are still home. With HomeKit, you can select the option of, if one OR if last person leaves.
Also, if you run out for 5 minutes, and it is now in Away mode, it will not change to Home mode if you return before the status period has ended.
I have a hue hub will the Caseta wireless dimmer work with that hub so I don't have to have another running I would like to stay with Hue as that's what I have but my new kitchen in a new apartment has 5 led lights in the kitchen that I cant make smart bulbs so I need to go with a smart switch instead?
My son sometimes slams our deep freezer door when he shuts it and it can bounce back open. I setup a smartthings temperature sensor to send an alert when the freezer temperature goes above a certain temperature. Save our stuff in our freezer a time or two.
skynet approves of this.
Lol...
AKA Google
You got my sub for Blazing Saddles footage, lol. Brave, in today's environment!
And wow that dryer thing is awesome!!
I know ... right? It’s definitely rough around the edges, but damn cool.
@@UndecidedMF I like the washer/dryer idea too, much cheaper than buying smart versions of it just for the notifications
I setup a shortcut to start my vpn whenever I connect to certain WiFi networks. It’s great since I don’t always remember to turn it on.
That is an awesome idea Isaac
I like when people correctly use "automation". Most "home automation" is just remote control. That's not automation.
It's a first step towards automation. Many automation setups require some technical knowledge, so remote on/off is a great way for people to dip their toe in that water. Especially since the smart switches/outlets/etc can be pricey. Build it up slowly.
This is the first guy I've seen actually automate more than the lights
*remotes and controls
"Smart Home" means different things to different people and that's what it should be. It better allows you to customize your home to your preferences. For some that is mondo automation, to others that just might be just be the ability to remotely check and control things for peace of mind while away.
I initially set my TV to temporarily lower in volume everytime the smart speaker activated. It sounded like a great idea but 20% of the time the smart speaker activates falsely and the TV volume lowers during important parts... and then the volume doesn't always return like it is supposed to. Ahhhh! Technology and automation will be great someday. But today is not that day. The consumer oriented automation has a ways to go.
Hey mat, great ideas! And a very well timed video as I’m working on starting/ expanding my smart home options
Glad it was helpful!
what did you use for the auto lock door please? what do i need buy? i am the one always forgot to lock the door. i want something to auto luck on my bed time
Hi Matt, what would be your recommandation for geofencing if wife and I have cellphone but not the kids.. motion detection?
I use a combination of geofencing the phones, and motion detectors and door sensors. Basically, if there's motion in the house, the house is considered to be "occupied" until a door opens, regardless of if our phones are home or not. The house is also considered to be home if either phone is home.
End result is that if my wife leaves while I'm still asleep (no motion) the house still knows it's occupied because my phone is still home. But if both of us leave, but a babysitter is there with the kid, the first motion will put the house into "occupied" mode and stop the thermostat from being turned down.
Hi. matt good suggestions however what are your thought on smart blinds ?
04:10 shots fired.. then remembering how comfy the bed is XD
I got drawn in by the thumbnail. That bed looks like the one I’m considering from Article.
I'm running home assistant on a NUC and find it really flexible and awesome. If you haven't looked into Node-Red yet on home assistant - give it a try. It's way more flexible than any other system and yet still user friendly. My automations include a home-made smart doorbell based on a $17 ESP board with camera+wifi+PIR. When the PIR fires, members of my family get a text notification with a picture even before someone rings the actual doorbell :) Oh, and I bought a bunch of cheap google home minis and put them around the house for a very affordable notification system. Now I can call everyone to dinner with a touch of a button! Lastly, HA integrates very neatly with my Model 3 so I can remotely control it, charge it and track its location.
I too run Home Assistant, and I'd love more info on your smart doorbell. It's one area that I haven't been happy with. How have you made it look decent? what software are you using? how's the picture quality? Any false positives with the PIR trigger outside?
@@Green__one I used this design: www.thingiverse.com/thing:3704769 The PIR is a bit tricky as it depends on what happens outside. If you use something like Node-Red you can make the logic a bit more robust against noisy triggering. I ended up just capturing an image after the person rings the doorbell.
Great video . What is the specific model of the Yale door lock you used in the video ?
I am new to this and am accessing my needs. Do you know it their is a heavy duty smart switch that can be used on 220 volt appliances like a electric hot water tank?
Great stuff for beginners. I’m a seasoned home automator and frankly, overwhelmed early adopter of... everything. I’m at the stage of deciding what to dump and what to augment. Ring devices are gone! Too slow and unreliable. Most died in less than a year. Nest devices are on their way out as they die off. Subscriptions are too expensive, but the devices are rugged and reliable. Like Wyze cuz they are cheap. And going full Eufy as soon as HomeKit Secure Video is available for doorbells.
Arlo Cameras are great, had mine for going on 3 years never a problem, and Arlo makes a doorbell now. I have an outside camera with no hard wire so I do swap out the battery about once every three months or so but I have a second battery and takes less than a minute to change and camera doe not need to be reset, the battery recharges in about 30 min
If you're a "seasoned home automator" look into locally controlled devices wherever possible, avoiding anything cloud based. I love Z-Wave and Zigbee for that stuff. No subscriptions, no worries about the vendor changing their terms or discontinuing the service down the road.
I connect it all through Home Assistant myself, there's a definite learning curve to building the system, but the end result is an amazingly slick system with everything integrated through a single app and interface.
This dude is next level smarthome savvy.
I have a automation setup that when i go to bed, my lights auto turn off, works like a charm :)
Any videos of this?
Thanks for all of the clear advice although it comes at me rather quickly - but clearly! I am part way through connecting my lighting, front door access, video doorbell, Nest Thermostat and Nest smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.I have the Insteon system of switches, dimmers and outlets basically installed. I also have the Nest Thermostat and 3 Nest Protect devices installed. Then I have the newest Eufy video doorbell 2K as suggested by you. (Thanks) The Eufy is battery powered and I have purchased the very same 24volt transformer so that I can plug it into the wall. This means that I have the Eufy Homebase 2.
I want to find out if there is a base system that I can add that will link all of these devices. I had purchase the Insteon switches, dimmers and outlets prior to my limited knowledge of bases to which I can go to link all of my current items. I am completely at a dead end and ideally would like to employ someone to help me finish the project. I have had nothing but problems with my Nest products. I've had the thermostat replaced 2 times and hired a Nest Pro prior to the 3rd unit in my home. The Nest Protects (3) have all been replaced twice and one of them three times! They seem to be 'working' now. I got a false Carbon Monoxide reading once and Protect did turn off my Air Conditioning system as it should.
Can you think of any base that will link the Insteon, Nest and Eufy products? And an installer? Sorry for length. Ron
Thanks for watching! You can get the Insteon hub working with other systems like Smarttings. Same for Nest. Eufy on the other hand is still the odd man out. There’s very limited integrations at the moment. For you, I think your best bet is something like SmartThings, which will get Nest and Insteon pulled together. It’ll also give you more options down the road as you keep adding things. Fairly easy to set up too. Not sure about installers though.
Is there any way you could share your Hubitat automation for your Zooz ZEN15 and your washing machine? I've been messing with mine for two days...I feel like I'm getting close but I could be very very far off. I enjoy your videos, keep up the great work!
This is one of the best videos out there. Keep up the great work.
Great shirt!
Best smart home video I’ve ever watched! Well done
👍
I am using a smart things hub with door sensors, and an ecobee thermostat. I really want, and need, and automation that will turn off air conditioning if doors are left open. There is currently an automation on the smart things app that does this, however it is incredibly inconsistent. It will work once and then it will stop working. I am not sure if I have other stipulations on this automation that’s preventing the AC from turning off. Any suggestions?
thanks for the inspiration - particularly liked the announcement that the laundry was done but how do you get alexa or google assistant to make such an announcement? I settled for a smartplug so when the electricity drops below 0.01, then turn on a light, but i would have preferred an annoucement - seems that is not so easy to do
Hey man awesome video thanks 😊
All the options, all the hubs, all the rules... I'm exhausted just watching this video! I've worked in tech for 40 years (software engineer) and I still get the heebie-jeebies when contemplating home automation. Plus, living in a household where one or more occupants are luddites does not make things any easier. In any case, thanks for the info -- it still looks like there's a ways to go before home automation is for everyone.
Luddites can be overcome. The key is, as he says in the video, home automation should always add something, and never take away. In my house all smart lights are done using smart switches, not smart bulbs. That means all the switches still work exactly like they did before, but you can also automate things or use your phone. The door lock still opens with the key, but I can also automate things or use my phone. The smart thermostat still has up and down buttons on it to adjust the heat, but you can also automate things or use your phone. Nothing is taken away, and the "luddites" can decide whether or not to try the "new and scary" stuff, or stick to what they know.
Once they see how it can make their lives easier though, they'll end up using some of the things. My wife wasn't thrilled with the idea originally, but now there are several automations that she absolutely loves and isn't sure how she could do without. Go slow, avoid anything that looks ugly or intrusive, and make sure you never take away the old method of using whatever it was.
What is the humidity sensor you use? What protocol does it control the fan switch with? I have a use for a similar setup.
Hey Matt. I find most people in my store are scared of smart tech. Any resources, sites or links for dummies I can suggest or tips? You can recommend i read to help my uses transition?
Thanks mate.
Hi. Can you suggest a few options to control a water geyser. Would you use a Thermostat ? We don't really have home heating in South Africa. We have created a Googlesphere with Google mesh and 5 Google assistant's around the house. Thank you. I wish I was in the USA!! We are so far behind and I have had to import most of my smart stuff.
As always great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for great video. Definitely gives me plenty to think about. The question that nags me is how safe or secure is the connectivity. Could it be hacked and leave your house open, or someone watching you at home using your own video surveillance system?
Excellent question, and it depends on a lot. I personally use Home Assistant for my automations because it's all local stuff that I have full control over and is never on some company's server. There is still some risk of someone hacking it, but if I'm perfectly honest, it would be a lot easier to kick in my back door or break a window, than it would be to hack the system to get in, so the reduced security is negligible. For cameras it may be a different matter. I personally don't have any cameras inside the house, only outside. Again, if you want to look at the outside of my house, it's easier to drive by than hack the cameras. I think if I ever put any inside I'm going to have to be extra careful on the security side.
Matt, looking for the best wireless (battery operated) video doorbell that works well with Google Assistant. Is Nest my best option? What else would work well?
Eufy is another option
I have been using Insteon products for about 3 years - from internal and external cameras (useful for proving FedEx did not deliver when they claimed they did), motion detectors, thermostat, door sensors, water leak sensors, garage openers, front door locks, lights switches, etc, Multiple devices can be controlled through "scenes" and states of devices can also trigger other devices and so on , like turn TV on if motion detected while away. However, Insteon stopped providing support for remote front door openers which was a pain (I suspect insurance issues). I'm about ready to move from the Insteon hub to another more "open" system. It seems you like hubitat. What are its pros and coms? Do you use just the one systems or do you have many and if so how well do they integrate?
where do i get the humidity sensor and compatible fans for bathrooms
What is the Geofence app shown at the 6:52 mark. Is this part of Hubitat? Or Apple?
Great smart stuff, Matt. I just bought a new GE Washer Dryer WIFI enabled unit. It hasn't even been delivered yet so, I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks, Nate! Please do let me know. I have a Wifi enabled GE Profile oven and it's never been able to maintain it's connection. Didn't bother me too much since there aren't any smart features I really wanted/needed with it. Smart connected laundry though ... is really awesome.
Great video, as always.
I have some of these (or equivalents) in my home, but I've found that I need to use several different services to get everything that I need (Philips Hue, Google Home, Nest (now part of Google), Tesla, Withings, WeMo, and IFTTT). This works well almost all the time, but there are several single points of failure, and they all rely on Internet service being up in order to access different API endpoints. What I would really like is a single system that can control everything and operate when internet service is down, but that has a management API that can be accessed over the internet when it is up. I know I'm just dreaming!
Samsung Smartthings controls most if not all of these things, you will still need any bridge specific items though(Philips Hue Bridge)I have heard some rumblings about a monitoring system app that will work with Tesla Power Monitoring and different smart hubs(Alexia,Google and the like) but nothing of late, hope that helps
You're not dreaming, I'm already there. I use Home Assistant, and all devices are either commercial z-wave devices, or custom built MQTT. Nothing connects to "the cloud", but I can still access it all remotely from a single app on my phone.
There is a learning curve to the setup, but the end result is a beautiful, seamless experience that works 100% locally under your own control, but still with remote access.
Please provide the link of items explained in the video. I really like Automatic lighting (outside) . In my garage generally, I forget to switch it off. I don't want to use simple motion detection, because in some case, may be I am working in garage, and I want it to be on continuously.
Whats the app or hub that you use? And one that you recommend to use from your best bet/experience? I see some hubs with a dashboard display panel, and some just hubs. I am in dilemma between hub with displays vs hubs and have a control over an app. which one you'd suggest from your experience/setup?
Hey Matt, great ideas! I decided to use your washer automation, but I can't figure out how you did it. Could you share the trigger you used on Habitat to make the washer automation work?
I’m using the community “Better Laundry Monitor” app. The specific one I’ve got is from tierneykev, but there are several variants floating around the community forums. community.hubitat.com/t/better-laundry-monitor-port-update/3109/1
As always, great video.
Just surprised you didn't speak about doorbells. Trying to buy one which intergrates with Homekit but I really like the feature from Google whicha llows it to pop up directly on the Nest hub...
As well, can you leave a list of product you use, that would be great.
Thanks for watching, Charles! I left out doorbells because I've talked about some of my experiences with them in other videos. I also don't have them tied directly into home automations because Eufy (my doorbell of choice) doesn't integrate into third party stuff yet (cue the sad trombone). Supposedly the battery Eufy doorbell will be getting Homekit support very soon ... and the wired model might be getting it too (still dicey on that).
Here's a list of some of the gear from the video and other stuff that I use: kit.co/undecidedmf/smart-home-gear