Smart home tech

[User.45]

I'll also need 2 security cams, and I'd only trust secure homekit video, but I'm kinda annoyed by the requirement of having a 2TB iCloud subscription to have more than 1 cam. The compromise would be to have a smart doorbell on one end and a security cam on the other. Does anybody have experience with this?

 

[Eric]

In the process of buying a house again and after a 3-year break, it's time for me to delve into smart home tech again.

I'm planning to have meaningful smart tech installed, and since a lot of it is new, let me share some. This time around I'll create a guest network for my smart devices and use a Homekit router and limit the access of all these devices as much as possible. So I'm getting this setup:

1. Homekit router - Linksys Velop (there's no wifi 6 homekit router yet, and I decided to not wait for one)

Linksys Velop Whole Home Mesh Wi Fi System 2 pack - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

2. There are new cheap smart lightbulbs that use Thread...tech that uses each light as a wifi range extender to improve responsiveness. NanoLeaf's bulbs are $20 a piece. Philips Hues (of which I have a dozen) are 2-3x more expensive and are marginally better.

Nanoleaf Essentials A19 Bulb - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

3. This is a dirt cheap ($50) for a 32' lightstrip, which I'll use to wrap around the ceiling. This wouldn't be a brand I'd trust, but it has homekit and I'll fully restrict the network access of this.

Wifi Led Stripe - Meross Smart Home Devices - MSL320

Meross wifi led stripe that support scenes with different effects.

www.meross.com

4. I have an ecobee thermostat and am planning to get matched door/window monitors. Ecobees sensors can also double as motion sensors.

Extended Coverage Bundle | ecobee

Motion sensors that secure your doors and windows and alert you of any unwanted entry. Get peace of mind and better home protection.

www.ecobee.com

5. Ikea has smart blinds which I'lll use get my kids woken up by natural light.

FYRTUR black-out roller blind, smart wireless/battery operated gray, 32x76 ¾" - IKEA

FYRTUR black-out roller blind, smart wireless/battery operated gray, 32x76 ¾" FYRTUR block-out roller blind blocks out all light from outside and completely darkens your room. Use with remote control or with DIRIGERA hub and IKEA Home smart app for more smart control options.

www.ikea.com

It requires ikea's gateway.

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

Congrats on the new home! At least when doing it this way you get to plan the whole thing from the start rather than cobble things together. Most of my stuff is controlled through Smartthings and Google.

I also have a lot of Philips bulbs and a few strips as well. I also have their motion detector that I use along with Nest cameras for motion detection. So while you get the standard notification if there's movement detected, I also have it set to trigger one of my light strips above the cabinets. If motion is detected in the front on the camera, it turns purple and goes off after one minute. If there is motion in the back, it turns it orange the same way. Sort of frivolous but also fun.

I've also setup a recipe with between a Wemo plug and Honeywell thermostat that triggers a mini fan behind my TV pointed at my HDMI hub (which gets pretty hot in the summertime) when it hits 75 degrees, anything below 74 shuts it off. One of the cool things about Smarttings is that it let's nearly all of my stuff from different platforms play together.

 

[Eric]

I'll also need 2 security cams, and I'd only trust secure homekit video, but I'm kinda annoyed by the requirement of having a 2TB iCloud subscription to have more than 1 cam. The compromise would be to have a smart doorbell on one end and a security cam on the other. Does anybody have experience with this?

I personally use Nest cameras and the Nest Hello doorbell, they have pretty reasonably priced plans for multiple cameras, you can choose how long you want to retain storage, I think the max is 30 days but I just do a rolling 7 days on all of them, then save clips if I need them. I also have a couple of Google Hubs which are great for monitoring, iPhone app is really nice too. IMO whatever is chosen should be in the same ecosystem though, this way it all plays well together and integrates nicely into a single app.

 

[User.45]

I personally use Nest cameras and the Nest Hello doorbell, they have pretty reasonably priced plans for multiple cameras, you can choose how long you want to retain storage, I think the max is 30 days but I just do a rolling 7 days on all of them, then save clips if I need them. I also have a couple of Google Hubs which are great for monitoring, iPhone app is really nice too. IMO whatever is chosen should be in the same ecosystem though, this way it all plays well together and integrates nicely into a single app.

The only company I trust on this end is Apple, as their business model lergely relies on overpriced devices not my data. Now looking at Nest Cam subscriptions I might as well just shell out that $10 a month for 2TB iCloud. The Apple One family bundle is just really overpriced IMHO. So essentially I'd get iClould 2TB and Music family plan for $25 if subscribed separately which is too much already. Or pay pay for Apple One family, and pay an extra $5 for News, Arcade and Fitness+, none of which I'd ever use enough to even justify $5.

 

[tranceking26]

I have 4 smart LED bulbs here, you get an app to control the colours and themes etc. They run on the 2Ghz band on my router.

They may be more affordable ones but the developers listen to feedback, for example they added dark mode to the app after I requested it.

That's as far as I go in terms of a smart home, I don't even use Siri.

 

[User.45]

Not sure if I wanted it in my network without homekit support, but this seems pretty cool:

Amazon.com

 

[Eric]

Not sure if I wanted it in my network without homekit support, but this seems pretty cool:

Amazon.com

Very cool! Yeah, going with a single platform will definitely limit what you can use. Are you able to use Smartthings with homekit?

 

[Huntn]

What are you guys rockin? I'm mostly just hue lights, including motion sensors in my kitchen and walk-in closet - the 2 most common lights that don't get turned off upon exiting. I also have a standalone motion sensor nightlight in my bathroom. Between timers and motion sensors I sometimes get appalled when I go to other's house and they actually have to touch a switch.

Zero smart tech in the house, though we do have a monitired security system and Ring devices. In the master bedroom, we have lamps on each side of the bed. I see no way to conveniently control that with motion devices. Sometimes one of us reads in bed. In the bathroom, we have 4 lights, just as easy to turn on the lights we prefer. Same in the kitchen, we have high spot lights and island lights, using a switch is easy. I guess I might consider it if I could say “island lights“, which I know is doable, I just don’t feel the need to go to the effort of installing it.

 

[Huntn]

Sounds like you have all you need and that's what really matters. I have so many frivolous devices to turn on little things that are totally unnecessary but also fun. If something doesn't work and I have to get up and turn out a light like a caveman I get all putout about it.

I've been looking at IKEA too and actually wanted to buy some of the FYRTU shades but they were out and had no future date for releases so I gave up on it.

I’m thinking auto blinds would be cool, but they are also something else to break. And our latest blinds are cordless and super easy to adjust and for the bathroom, lowering them from the top is wonderful, for the infrequent times they need to be adjusted.

I remember that I was anti-electric windows in cars when they first came out. Now I could not live without them..

 

[User.45]

Very cool! Yeah, going with a single platform will definitely limit what you can use. Are you able to use Smartthings with homekit?

I don't have a single smartthings device I have a hue hub and an apple TV (which doubles as a homekit hub).

 

[User.45]

In the process of buying a house again and after a 3-year break, it's time for me to delve into smart home tech again.

I'm planning to have meaningful smart tech installed, and since a lot of it is new, let me share some. This time around I'll create a guest network for my smart devices and use a Homekit router and limit the access of all these devices as much as possible. So I'm getting this setup:

1. Homekit router - Linksys Velop (there's no wifi 6 homekit router yet, and I decided to not wait for one)

Linksys Velop Whole Home Mesh Wi Fi System 2 pack - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

2. There are new cheap smart lightbulbs that use Thread...tech that uses each light as a wifi range extender to improve responsiveness. NanoLeaf's bulbs are $20 a piece. Philips Hues (of which I have a dozen) are 2-3x more expensive and are marginally better.

Nanoleaf Essentials A19 Bulb - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

3. This is a dirt cheap ($50) for a 32' lightstrip, which I'll use to wrap around the ceiling. This wouldn't be a brand I'd trust, but it has homekit and I'll fully restrict the network access of this.

Wifi Led Stripe - Meross Smart Home Devices - MSL320

Meross wifi led stripe that support scenes with different effects.

www.meross.com

4. I have an ecobee thermostat and am planning to get matched door/window monitors. Ecobees sensors can also double as motion sensors.

Extended Coverage Bundle | ecobee

Motion sensors that secure your doors and windows and alert you of any unwanted entry. Get peace of mind and better home protection.

www.ecobee.com

5. Ikea has smart blinds which I'lll use get my kids woken up by natural light.

FYRTUR black-out roller blind, smart wireless/battery operated gray, 32x76 ¾" - IKEA

FYRTUR black-out roller blind, smart wireless/battery operated gray, 32x76 ¾" FYRTUR block-out roller blind blocks out all light from outside and completely darkens your room. Use with remote control or with DIRIGERA hub and IKEA Home smart app for more smart control options.

www.ikea.com

It requires ikea's gateway.

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

A few updates on many of these items.

1. I got the Velop mesh routers. They are quite good, but 1 probably would have been sufficient for my 2000 sqFt 3-story home. This way though I definitely have no spots with connectivity issues. I could finally put my smart devices on a separate guest network and on homekit. I could also finally place my timecapsules in partial retirement. I turned off their wifi radios but continue using them for backups. In theory this is best of both worlds as I think this sped up the back up process by bringing up WIFI speeds to the harddrive speed limits.

2. The Nanoleaf bulbs may be 19 bucks, but they have some serious caveats. They tend to get stuck/respond slowly seemingly at random. What's both a pro and a con, that while the tuned white light of these is comparable to that of 2nd and new gen Hues, the color lights are super dim. It's about 2-3x more faint than that of a 2nd gen Hue. This works in the kids room where I prefer to keep a very dim red nightlight, but in living spaces where you'd expect to be able to read by colored lighting this just doesn't cut it.

3. Learned a lot about Ecobee as well. Ecobee 3 has 2 gens and the first gen is not homekit compatible... So you want the 2nd gen which I got yesterday. You can add it to homekit and set the temp from your Home app. You can also use this to add the exobee sensors to homekit, BUT you only seem to be able to add it to the same room the thermostat is in.

4. Lastly the Ecobee door sensors also double as motion sensors, so while I still couldn't figure out how to assign them to rooms other than that of the thermostat, you could in theory use this as a super helpful trigger to control lights (turn on when putting shoes on, turn off when I close the door and there's no motion anymore).

5. Oh and I got Flair smart vents too. They are arriving later this week. I got a puck which is it's hub and sensor. Yet to see it, but it's not homekit compatible yet and I expect it to be quite wonky...

 

[fooferdoggie]

I don't have a single smartthings device I have a hue hub and an apple TV (which doubles as a homekit hub).

we have all our lights and doors and several things that turn on and off on smartthings. but this last update has messed up the app and its pretty useless right now. it still runs the automatons but thats about it.

 

[User.45]

we have all our lights and doors and several things that turn on and off on smartthings. but this last update has messed up the app and its pretty useless right now. it still runs the automatons but thats about it.

yeah, this is why I went with homekit...all the security issues with me providing access to the wifi to 50 products, and I've been disappointed with samsung making exciting products only to abandon them few years later when it's not that hot anymore, just to copy Apple on something else. Homekit may be rudimentary on many levels, but it's realistic to expect not to get completely messed up with updates.

 

[fooferdoggie]

yeah, this is why I went with homekit...all the security issues with me providing access to the wifi to 50 products, and I've been disappointed with samsung making exciting products only to abandon them few years later when it's not that hot anymore, just to copy Apple on something else. Homekit may be rudimentary on many levels, but it's realistic to expect not to get completely messed up with updates.

HomeKit is pretty limited and it has been glitchy too and far fewer devices work with it a f they tend to be expensive. You can’t really program it like SmartThings well when it works. Like I open a bedroom window it turns on that fan and turns it off when it is shut plus can turn on and off with temps. Doors lock lights turn off and alarm turns on when we leave and reversed when we come home


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[User.45]

HomeKit is pretty limited and it has been glitchy too and far fewer devices work with it a f they tend to be expensive. You can’t really program it like SmartThings well when it works. Like I open a bedroom window it turns on that fan and turns it off when it is shut plus can turn on and off with temps. Doors lock lights turn off and alarm turns on when we leave and reversed when we come home


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

That's pretty neat!

Now you can do IF statements in home (or shortcuts?), but haven't had time to dig into it. You're generally correct, but recently Homekit items are dropping in price.

 

[Pumbaa]

HomeKit is really growing on me. I’m pretty happy with the Home stuff available now in iOS/iPadOS, and more and more devices seem to get support for it.

That said, I’m still planning to go down the openHAB route. More work for me, but easier to segregate stuff I reckon, I don’t trust the “smart” stuff as far as an imaginary cat can throw them.

 

[DT]

Wow, woo, finally.

We've got new lamps coming for the bedroom redesign, beautiful mid-Century design, umm, anyway, I was thinking about the need to turn off either from bed, and they have more traditional switches so not as convenient as the old pull chains, etc., just a way to make things a bit easier, maybe even have an option to schedule them, etc.

So I said, let me finally score some smart plugs. I wanted inexpensive (as this was semi-experimental), and HomeKit compatible.

Reviews, recommendations, led me to meross (on Amazon). A 2-pack of single outlet smarties was only $19, HomeKit compatible (along with Google/Amazon as needed), great reviews.

I decided not to setup their app at the moment, it required an account setup, and I don't plan on using it for control - however, it's how you update firmware, so maybe if I run into any issues in the future. HomeKit was amazingly simple, I already had the AppleTV in the entertainment room setup (that device, that room), I plugged in the outlet, connected to its WiFi (like an Access Point), iOS immediate ID'ed it as a smart device, added it to our network and to HomeKit.

Tap on/off, outstanding!

Then I changed the name, and tried something I had been wanting to do, the new name, Kettle Plug, and yep, plugged in the electric Kettle, turned off plug, turned on kettle, went upstairs ...

"Hey Siri! <bloop> Turn on Kettle Plug"

*click*

__Hell_Yes__



Added two new rooms, got the one plug upstairs, backgrounds color coded to match the room color, ordered another 4-pack

 

[DT]

Thinking of getting one of these as well:

Amazon.com

 

[Eric]

Thinking of getting one of these as well:

Amazon.com

Nice! "No hub required" is a big deal these days, if it doesn't work with Smartthings or on it's own I pretty much won't do it anymore. I have a Liftmaster that came with my home and the MyQ opener app, works great and best of all will alert you if you've forgotten to close the garage after x number of minutes. I also have a Nest camera out there just so we can view it anytime as well.

 

[DT]

Nice! "No hub required" is a big deal these days, if it doesn't work with Smartthings or on it's own I pretty much won't do it anymore. I have a Liftmaster that came with my home and the MyQ opener app, works great and best of all will alert you if you've forgotten to close the garage after x number of minutes.

Yeah, we have the compatible opener for the MyQ system, but only in that you can add that feature. So to get it to HomeKit it's the smart module __and__ the HomeKit module, this seemed to get straight to the solution I wanted for a good bit cheaper (~$45 for just the one controller).

I guess with HomeKit, devices are technically working through a hub, which I assume is one of the ATVs in the house[?] Hahaha, I haven't researched this thoroughly.

I also have a Nest camera out there just so we can view it anytime as well.

So you're saying if I come into your garage, I should take off my clothes first, gotcha.