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    Home Automation I built a working "magic clock" that shows the realtime locations of my family

    December 15, 2019

    Home Automation I built a working "magic clock" that shows the realtime locations of my family

    I built a working "magic clock" that shows the realtime locations of my family

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 11:31 AM PST

    Made my 30 year old garage door opener ‘smart’ with a custom shield for the Wemos D1 mini. I only have one door but designed it for two since I had room. Works with any opener that use a button that shorts the control wires together.

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 09:00 PM PST

    Can we hack Tradfri round dimmers?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 06:34 PM PST

    These little guys seem to suck as dimmers. I've seen lots of posts by people frustrated with trying to get them to work. Even Ikea is trying to get rid of them. I was there yesterday and they had a bunch of them in the as-is bin for $0.90. each.

    But they've got an accelerometer, a battery, and a zigbee chip. Has anyone figured out a way to repurpose them? Maybe as a movement sensor on a cabinet door? Or as a position indicator to tell if an object has tipped over?

    Similarly, I bought one of those Aqara cube things because they are cool although not very practical. So it's been sitting in a drawer. But I just noticed the other day, every time I open that drawer, the cube reports a "slide". So inadvertently I have a drawer sensor.

    Has anybody done anything interesting with these little dimmer things?

    submitted by /u/Steve2982
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    Control Spotify with IKEA Symfonisk

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 02:00 PM PST

    I need to get going on home automation.

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 08:17 PM PST

    I'm a DIY kind of guy for better or worse. ;) I'm very comfortable with Linux and programming as well. But I'm coming to the realization that I shouldn't be doing it all myself. I'm also near a Microcenter that had Pi Zero Ws for $5US (3.14 on Pi day and for up to a week or so after.) Here's what I have now.

    • Running an MQTT broker on my file server (Intel/Linux) and one MQTT client that saves all messages to a SQLite database. Work in progress on scripts to pull selected info from the DB. All of my sensors publish to the broker. That's really easy when the program that reads the sensor writes the result to the console and that can then be pumped into the MQTT client that does the actual publishing.
    • One Zero W connected to a DS18B20 temperature sensor that monitors basement freezer temperature.
    • A TP-Link (HS-110) smart plug for the basement freezer that can monitor power usage. A process on the file server interrogates this plug to see when the freezer is running. I can correlate this with temperature and tell when the door is ajar. I think I can tell when the freezer needs defrosting as the cycles seem to be getting longer and longer.
    • Several HTU21D temperature/humidity sensors around the house (upstairs and ground level) and one tucked under the garage eave to capture outside temperature/humidity.
    • A process that interrogates Dark Sky weather and publishes to the MQTT broker.
    • A couple TP-Link light bulbs - controlled via the Android app.
    • Several more TP-Link outlets I can use to monitor power on an ad-hoc basis (e.g. not publish to the broker.)
    • A couple Etekcity outlets that I control via Android app. They can monitor power and are cheaper than the TP-Link ones.
    • A Venstar thermostat - not presently deployed. My plan was to use this thermostat to control HVAC and then home automation as a supervisory system, adjusting setpoint and turning on the fan (when heating/cooling not otherwise needed) to reduce stratification between floors. I need to pull new signal wire between furnace/AC and thermostat.
    • Two Orvibo S20 outlets for which the protocol is well known and simple. I've written a program in Go to turn them on/off and I use scripts to do this when needed. (e.g. timed to turn aquarium lights on/off on schedule and the other controls charging to my laptop.)

    At the moment the only things I'm controlling are the last item in the list and I also have a script that controls a crock pot to make steel cut oats overnight. (PWM control of heat input on a 5 minute period.)

    Eventual goals include:

    • Smarter control of HVAC based on time of day, occupancy, differential between inside and outside temperature and anything else that makes sense.
    • Provide an alarm when the freezer door is ajar. (e.g. runs continuously and temperature does not drop.)
    • Control of lights based on occupancy and ambient light.
    • Turn on garage lights when door is opened and it is dark.
    • Control solar charger for garden tractor in the shed. On sunny days it drives voltage too high.
    • Maybe other things I have not thought about.

    I'm thinking that one of the home automation systems that exist would help to move me along toward my goal. Constraints are

    • I want something that runs on Linux. It can be on a Raspberry Pi or an Intel Linux host. (I have a file server that is on 24x7.) If this is on a Raspberry Pi, there is an advantage that it would be easier to support when power goes out. But I'm not sure how much of the rest of the system would also work during an outage.
    • At present I'm using devices that run off wall power. I'd consider moving to something that uses battery but WiFi might be out of the question. I've got an ESP32 and several ESP8266 boards to play with but haven't done much with them yet.
    • I'd consider other radio technology if it provided a significant benefit. Something like the Nordic radios or Zigbee/ZWave. I think some of those are more suitable for battery powered systems than WiFi. I had avoided them due to the need for another hub but it seems they may be supported by a USB dongle, presumably with the radio only and using the smarts of the computer they are plugged in to provide functionality.
    • I prefer something that operates locally rather than going through a server in the Internet. My Internet is mostly reliable but not 100%.
    • We're an Android house, not an Apple house. Something that requires Apple tech is not going to work for me.
    • I've done some work with MCUs such as the various Arduinos and some of the STM Discovery boards and am comfortable with embedded systems (to the extent that I earned a living programming some of them.)

    I've done a superficial survey of what's out there and there are a lot of options. Home Assistant and OpenHAB both seem to be pretty popular, but I don't want to take the time to dig deeply into (or try) more of the myriad OSS options. However I'm open to suggestions.

    If you think either of these is going to be a better fit for me or if you think there is another I should look at, please speak up!

    If you have questions about what I'm planning or questions I haven't thought of, likewise ask away.

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/HCharlesB
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    Any way to play a spotify playlist on Amazon Echo and have it start on both loop and shuffle?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 08:13 PM PST

    I just got an echo dot, I'm trying to create a routine where I say "Alexa, goodnight" and it lowers the volume, and shuffles a particular spotify playlist. I am able to get everything to work, but it doesn't start in loop mode, so at the end of the playlist it will start playing random shit.

    ​

    Anyone know how to make it start the playlist start in both shuffle AND loop mode? Or should I just make a playlist that's 10+ hours long so it doesn't ever run out before I wake up.

    submitted by /u/Omap
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    Google Nest Compatible light switch

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 08:03 PM PST

    Recently my place got flooded. The drywall and electrical installation is going to be repaired. I own several nest products and since the contractor has to replace light switches, and electric plugs. I was thinking if someone has any recommendations that are compatible with Google home.

    Thank you 🙂

    submitted by /u/Moon8lossom
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    Smarthome gear trading?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 07:20 PM PST

    I'm trying to coalesce all my various ecosystems into one, and we've decided on Wyze. I've sold most of my Kasa and Nest stuff, but I still have about a dozen Hue bulbs left and ideally would like to simply trade them for Wyze bulbs. Is there any online place that does buy/sell/trade for smarthome gear, sort of like a Swappa is for phones? Thanks!

    submitted by /u/Vomitology
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    Can someone tell me if I am missing something here? Should the LED strip power up in this example? I cant get them to light up. Thanks

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 11:42 AM PST

    Help understanding thermostat control

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 07:03 PM PST

    Hey hey,

    I'm moving into a house which has four dumb thermostats on the first floor and the first floor only (second floor is small). I'm in New Hampshire so there is no AC/cooling systems—only heat (oil). That's all fine and dandy but I'm looking to keep an eye on my home temp remotely as well as use Alexa integration. I'm planning on going with a Smartthings hub soon so I'm looking at Ecobee.

    I'm having a hard time understanding how multiple thermostats work on a house. I can only assume they are room specific since they are all in rooms next to each other. The Ecobees are very expensive but there are also the LITE versions (ecobee 3 lite). Would those work just as well in my situation? Maybe I would get the new Ecobee for the livingroom and lites for the rest of the rooms? Do houses have multiroom control with one device? Or will I need to get a device to replace for each room? I'm not sure how to set all that up and so I am here, looking up the the experienced, asking for help.

    I'm just trying to understand what direction I should go in in my situation. Thanks for your help/being awesome!

    submitted by /u/DangerRoss89
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    Shelly 1 Dusk Till Dawn How to

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 05:29 PM PST

    Can anyone please point me towards a good how to setup the Shelly 1 as a dusk til dawn switch for lighting - ideally what i want to do is dusk till approx midnight with a manual override if needed.

    I have been using this for the last 6 months as a time switch but would really like it to switch on some garden lights at approx dusk

    Cheers

    submitted by /u/Ogimpyone
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    usb or ip controlled power strip

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 12:49 PM PST

    I'm looking for a recommendation for a remote controlled power strip. It can be either usb or ip based and hopefully under $200.

    What I need it for is to put my cable modem and wifi router on it so that a raspberry pi can run speed tests at intervals and reboot both devices when the bandwidth drops below a certain threshold.

    I've considered the esp8266 devices but most of them are bulky and only support a single plug. I intend to attach the power strip to the back of a UPS.

    I suppose I could put a them both on a regular power strip and plug that into an esp8266 power switch which is then plugged into my ups. The power ports on my ups are fairly close together so I'm looking for the most compact solution.

    Since this will be attached to a raspberry pi, it'll need to be linux addressable.

    Thoughts?

    submitted by /u/jherioch
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    2 sonoff basic switches I need them to swap state with a Google home command

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 12:41 PM PST

    It's that simple but not really.

    submitted by /u/h4x0rJyNx
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    Best solution for in shelf lighting?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 08:05 AM PST

    To start, we use Google Home and have a Hue bridge and a Logitech Harmony Hub. I'm not opposed to a better hub, we just haven't needed one to this point.

    We also have an extensive video game/console collection. We have the skinnier Billy shelves (approximately 15" wide/40 cm) from IKEA. What I'd like is to be able to individually control lighting with my voice for every shelf separately or all of them together, including dimming and color. Secondary to that is cost (under $100-150 for 12 individual cubbies in the shelves) and third is ease of set up.

    Suggestions?

    submitted by /u/ImOswin
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    Legrand smart switches with HomeKit

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 08:38 AM PST

    I want to go the hubless route With a switch that works for HomeKit. It looks like the onq legrand smart switch is the way I have to go.
    Does anybody have any experience with these switches? (Amazon reviews are too easy to game). If they work, I also have some 2 way switches to replace.

    submitted by /u/zombiecmh
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    Question for all the professional installers out there

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 12:20 PM PST

    I was wondering how much of your business comes from referrals, vs. online marketing efforts? I have a buddy in the space who gets 100% of his business from referrals and I'm trying to convince him to build a website but he thinks it's a waste of time. He does pretty tremendous volume just from referrals.

    Anyone have any insights that they wouldn't mind sharing? Much appreciated!

    submitted by /u/demigr
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    Roborock s50 having trouble staying on charging dock?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 10:28 AM PST

    Been happening often recently and hope I don't have a new fault. Anyways after my roborock s50 is done cleaning, it will go back to the charging dock as intended but after it stays there for a few minutes, it will try to re-engage into looking for the charging dock again until it finds it again... But it will repeat a few times before it gives up and throws out a error. It has no problem finding the charging dock and charging but it just can't stay still.

    I've cleaned the charging contacts and it still happens. Why is this happening?

    submitted by /u/optimuspoopprime
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    1 Hub / Bridge For All

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 01:39 AM PST

    Hi I'm in the UK and have had hive heating couple of bulbs and switches they all work great. I have them linked to Alex which also works great. I've had LIFX bulbs now for a while and they just seem really temperamental, so I was thinking of switching to Hue lighting I also want a ikea automatic blind. My question is can I just have one hub / bridge connected to my modem to control them all? Otherwise I'll have hive, hue, ikea box's connected. Can the hive hub already do this? And will all the independent apps work? That's a lot of questions, thanks in advance Oh everything I own is Apple if that makes a difference

    submitted by /u/rugbydan77
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    Practical limits to number of devices?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 10:17 AM PST

    I know z-wave+ technically supports 232 devices, and zigbee claims to be unlimited, bit does anyone have experience with normal-use limitations? How many devices can you really get working reliably? Are some types/brands of devices generally more chatty?

    Alternatively-- is there a shared wireline protocol that's similar in function I could use for switches and plugs? I presume the bandwidth there is massive for the kind of communication necessary.

    submitted by /u/phblj
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    Just replaced my doorbell transformer and the chime is barely drawing power, need help

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 09:49 AM PST

    I just replaced my (possibly original) doorbell transformer which was only rated for 5V with a 16V transformer. I tested with a multimeter and it's pulling about 17.5V so it seems to be installed correctly.

    However, when I go to the doorbell chime to take a reading it's only showing .1-.2V, what's going on? Is it possible that this transformer went to something else besides the doorbell?

    Also, my transformer had two pairs of wires going to each terminal, is that ok? I'm assuming it was from the house maybe being wired for two doorbells at one point?

    Edit: This is for a Nest Hello

    submitted by /u/tcjohnson1992
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    Garage door open with Geofence?

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 06:37 AM PST

    I'm looking at getting a Chamberlin B970, with the built in MyQ. I know this allows you to open and close the door via the app, and also use IFTTT to close the garage door and do some other minor things....but the main thing I'm looking for is the ability to have my garage door open automatically when I enter a geofence location.

    Is this possible? I can't find any solid answers. Thanks.

    submitted by /u/Smitha6
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    Need purchasing help for cove lighting setup. 17m - warm white, dimmable and alexa controlled

    Posted: 14 Dec 2019 03:03 AM PST

    I know there are plenty of questions and answers of this type, I am sorry to ask, but I am so lost, I have very little electrical knowledge!

    Looking at something like this light strip for cove lighting, my total perimeter is just under 17 meters. I want to be able to switch on and off with something like a (wife friendly) philips hue switch rather than just the phone app. I'd also like it to be able to control via alexa.

    From what I understand, this wifi controller will enable alexa control and support a wireless switch.

    My question is, am I on the right track? Will the 12V plug supplied be safe to use on 17m of lights, seeing as it comes with a 10m reel? Because I am noticing the longer LED strips come with a beefy 220V plug and I have no idea if there is a wifi controller for this type,or how it would work.

    I'm a bit lost, and I need to order this stuff today really because I plan to install this over the holidays and I've left it too late, typical! Any help is appreciated!

    submitted by /u/AmicableSnowman
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