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    Home Automation Alright, which one of you did this

    January 12, 2020

    Home Automation Alright, which one of you did this

    Alright, which one of you did this

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:56 AM PST

    Which Smart Central Heating (UK) System?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 11:22 PM PST

    We're in the UK and are stripping our house back and as part of that re-doing the central heating system.

    Out setup
    Wanted to go for something like ground-source heat pumps, but we've ended up deciding that System boiler + Unvented Tank works for us (2 bathrooms, busy house). Not looking to retrofit the house with UFH, so looking at using convectors/radiators.

    There seems to be a number of improving vendors on the market today, but the review sites are no better than reading the marketing info.

    Questions
    Q1. Love the idea of controlling heating on a room/radiator basis using Smart Radiator Valves. Do they work well in practice over zone/thermostats? and have any of you found them worth the additional investment?

    Q2: When it comes to our home I'm a fan of durability:

    1. Any products out there that look like they'd actually still work in 10 years?
    2. Which products still work with an internet outage? e.g. Hive's introduced Hub 360.
    3. Which brands are here to stay, and I won't need to redo the entire system in less than 10 years?

    Been considering Netatmo, Drayton's Wiser, Tado, love to hear positives/negatives or others we should consider.

    submitted by /u/-agog
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    Noobie struggling with Alexa's routines;

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:53 PM PST

    So I got a GOVEE LED light strips, and found out that it can be connected to Google Home and Alexa for voice control capabilities, but I wanted to put them in my stairwell to be triggered by a Samsung SmartThings Motion sensor. Fast forward a little bit, I've got my SmartThings linked to my Alexa app, and I've got the motion sensor visible and the light is as well. The light toggles on and off via the switch in the app and the motion detector is showing when motion is happing inside both SmartThings app and Alexa app. I've made a routine to make it so that when the SmartThings Sensor shows movement, to turn on the lights. In theory, with both things working separately, it should work. It doesn't, and I'm lost. Any help?

    submitted by /u/wonderwu
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    Recommendation? wifi security cam that has integrated web server, NOT reliant on cell phone app or vendor cloud

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:35 AM PST

    HI,

    I am looking for a wifi camera for my garage workshop that:

    Is not reliant on a cell phone app to configure, control, or view the images (I can't see diddley on an iPhone 7);

    Does not constantly try to use the vendor's cloud;

    Can be run from a browser without installing more spyware-impregnated vendor code on my PC.

    I haven't been able to find anything, and it's driving me nuts. I have an olf Foscam from 5 years ago that has this means of control, but the picture quality is dismal and it doesn't have zoom.

    Budget, under 100 bucks.

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/PlashGoo
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    A whole home automation system that plays well together?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:29 PM PST

    I'd like to install a reliable and user friendly home automation system. I'm thinking something that kids or in laws can confidently operate, that doesn't require constant tweaking after initially setup. I'm planning on integrating lighting, audio, security, and HVAC. These are the manufacturers I'm planning on using:

    Lighting: Lutron RadioRA

    Security: Ring doorbell, cameras

    Smart locks: unsure, would welcome any suggestions

    Audio: Sonos

    HVAC: unsure, would welcome any suggestions

    Voice control: Alexa

    I would like to get your input on whether the above components are well chosen and if you think they will work well together long term. Any suggestions you have to offer would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

    submitted by /u/flatplanecrankshaft
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    IFTT Button for Meross garage door opener

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:12 PM PST

    Hoping y'all can point me in the right direction. I recently installed a Meross garage door opener kit on my very old chain lift door, and it works great. The only gap left to sort is a physical button or switch for my wife and other members of the house to use to open and close the garage door. That should be simple enough with an IFTTT trigger, but sadly the world of WiFi IoT buttons seems pretty dismal.

    I have a single gang switch box near the back door which is nominally the power switch for some Hue lights, but it's just always on. In an ideal world I'd replace that dumb switch with a two button panel—one that would trigger the Meross via IFTT to open the door and one that would close it the same way.

    Am I going to have to get a Raspberry Pi and learn Home Assistant to do this, or is there some product out there I've missed that can do this?

    Thanks!

    submitted by /u/ryanhindinger
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    I have added 4 WiFi bulbs to my room. Since echo controls them, the switch is now obsolete. Are people hardwiring to the switches out, or using automated switches that are always on, or leaving the mechanical switches as is?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:04 PM PST

    Benefits of Home Assistant

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:39 AM PST

    How plug and play is Home Assistant? I work in electronics and not afraid of a little tinkering. Just CBA. I am nearly at saturation of smart tech, mostly hue, ikea and netatmo with HomeKit and Alexa. As the raspberry pi foundation keep making new devices I have a few spare knocking around. So want to put them to use.

    submitted by /u/1360HeraldOfTriumph
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    Any suggestions for additions to walls of bedrooms?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 07:02 AM PST

    I just bought a house and they have a large non-functioning intercom system throughout the house, with the main module in the kitchen and individual intercom panels in each bedroom.

    We repainted the walls and took the Intercom panels out, leaving some large holes in the walls. Before I patch them up, I was wondering if anyone had a good idea of something to replace them with.

    My initial thought was something with thermostat control but we've got a combo baseboard (water) heating plus Mitsubishi wall unit heater/AC and I'm not sure how difficult it would be to control/automate all of these systems together. I'm obviously open to other ideas as well. Thanks!

    submitted by /u/swapmeetpete
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    What are your 2020 upgrade plans? I'm looking for inspiration.

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 04:15 AM PST

    I just watched a bunch of CES vidoes and there are some crazy ideas (like usual) and it got me thinking about what I would like to upgrade accomplish in 2020 as far as home automation and I'm curious to hear others.

    Mine is pretty basic. I want to nail down automations and in order to do this I need a rock solid presence detection system. What I have now is a hacked together solution that works 90% of the time but I want 99.9 before I start tying everything to it. Not sure how but that's my major goal. My other goal is a simple organization of devices so I know what I have, where they are, what batteries they need etc. I'm approaching 70 devices and I'm starting to forget about them all.

    ​

    What are you 2020 plans?

    submitted by /u/Detz
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    Newb Here...Where to Start? "All-in-One" App

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 12:20 PM PST

    Hey everyone. Sorry to do this to you, but another newbie question. This started with me wanting to get app controllable RGB LED lights for my computer desk. We eventually want to get more "smart" items for the rest of our house. But, we don't want a ton of different apps to control everything.

    Here is the run down of what I do/don't want:

    • Everything app controllable through 1 app on Android
    • Voice control isn't needed but OK if it has it
    • RGB LED strips that can be cut down to exact lengths
    • Smart outlets
    • Smart switches
    • Smart lightbulbs
    • Eventually want to add security and HVAC
    • If there is a choice between bluetooth connectability or WiFi, I prefer WiFi
    • Something that has some longevity. In other words, I don't want to buy into something that 5-6 years down the road is either obsolete or hard to find.
    • Wishlist Item: I'd prefer something that is "local", as in, doesn't need to send telemetry to China whenever I turn the bathroom light on at 3am to take a piss.
    • Wishlist Item: Something that'll work if my wifi network is up but internet is down.
    • Wishlist Item: Some type of web interface would be nice but not necessary at all.

    I know this all sounds very basic but I want to start off on the right road. I don't want to end up piece-mealing a bunch of stuff together and find I have about 10 different apps.

    Does something like this exist?

    submitted by /u/IndyPilot80
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    Aeotec LED Bulb 6 RGBW Review

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 03:55 PM PST

    Zooz 3-way switch works but second switch doesn't

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 03:23 PM PST

    I just installed a Zooz 3-way switch in conjunction with a standard dumb 3-way toggle on the other end. The light works as expected with the Zooz switch but the dumb switch does nothing. While trouble shooting I was trying to check for voltage on the dumb switch wit my multi meter. When I did, I noticed when I touched the leads to ground on the red wire the light switched on and when I lost contact the light switched off. The same thing happens when I contact the white wire and ground. I'm stumped.

    ​

    I used Option 1 from their instructions: http://www.support.getzooz.com/kb/article/72-3-way-diagrams-for-zen21-zen22-zen23-and-zen24-switches/

    ​

    Any idea what I have wrong?

    submitted by /u/bozrdang
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    Use Nest Camera/Doorbell as motion detector for Wemo plug?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 03:09 PM PST

    My house has lights built into the front steps. They plug into a conventional outlet in the garage.

    I'd like to use my Nest doorbell to automatically turn on the stairs lights with a Wemo plug. Has anyone tried anything like that?

    Can the motion detector in the doorbell turn on a Wemo plug?

    submitted by /u/RufussSewell
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    Update Post on jumping in to the deep end

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:45 AM PST

    Update Post on jumping in to the deep end

    My original post here https://www.reddit.com/r/homeautomation/comments/av4ruy/jumping_into_the_deep_end/

    With about three weeks to go until move in, I figured now is a good time to share an update. First off thanks for all the support! This community is awesome and has been a tremendous source of knowledge. We've been keen on future proofing as much as we can and not doing too many dumb things when we can't future proof.

    ​

    Here are a couple of progress pics. I'll add more or link to an album if there is interest.

    Front Door

    Front

    Back patio lighting

    Kitchen

    ​

    Systems that we decided we've installed.

    ​

    Lighting control: Lutron Homeworks - based on all of the feedback we received we felt this was the best fit for us. The system will form the basis of our automate home and we wanted something that just worked. It also allowed us to minimize wall acne. We begin programming the system next week.

    Security: Honeywell Lyric - lots of choice in the area. Given that we were essentially a new construction home we opted to hard wire as much of the system that we could. We are going to give HomeKit a shot and Lyric appears to work well with HomeKit

    Exterior cameras: Netatmo outdoor security cameras - It was important to us that video data be stored locally. These cameras simply work great and the alerting has been rock solid. We will add the Netatmo video door bell when it becomes available.

    Smoke/CO2: Nest protect - All of the feedback we've received indicated that Nest protect is a great product that works well.

    Audio/Video distribution: AirPlay2 and AppleTV - our goal is to keep things simple. We've installed in-ceiling speakers throughout the home with "homerunned" speaker wires to our equipment room. We've also run Cat 6 to each of the TV locations. My plan is to use AirPlay2 equipped Airport Express base stations as pre-amp inputs to a multi-zone/whole home amp. Would love thoughts/feedback on this approach.

    Garage Door Opener: MyQ chamberlain smart opener. So far so good with this choice. It is passing the "just work" test.

    Locks: August smart locks.

    ​

    TLDR: The smart home construction journey continues. We have picked and installed the gear. Move in and get it all configured over the next 3 weeks.

    submitted by /u/tapatinerd
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    Considering Sylvania Lightify - Can I use a wall switch of some kind?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 02:14 PM PST

    About ready to start buying the Lightify bulbs to install throughout the house. I'm fine using an app or voice control to turn them on and off (iOS app or Amazon Echo) but I know the wife won't want to deal with those things. She needs a "normal" wall switch. (I have a Samsung Smart Things, not installed yet.)

    Is it possible to use a wall switch, "normal" or specialized, with the Lightify bulbs? If I have to buy one purpose-built, will it install in a normal 1G, 2G, or 4G box?

    I'm very new to this, so if I'm being a huge dunce here please gently point out where!

    submitted by /u/quintios
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    Video surveillance and motion sensors / PIR

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 01:28 PM PST

    Hi, I've some cameras and motion sensors, is there some DVR/NVR software with web UI that allows to trigger external motion events ? I tried Motioneye but it seems isn't possible to trigger the video recording when an external event happen

    submitted by /u/grigio
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    Really odd toilet automation

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 01:15 PM PST

    Okay.. I have two cats that are trained to use the toilet. The problem is that they won't go if the other cat has used the toilet so I need to regularly flush the toilet between uses. Any ideas how I could build something that pushes the button on the cistern on either a timed basis or via my phone? I would only turn this on when we go away for the weekend as to not waste water. I was thinking a linear actuator and some type of interval timer module but I'm a bit lost. The toilet is an Aussie one which has the two buttons on top of the cistern so something that can push a button would be ideal. Thanks!

    submitted by /u/cmon_the_hoops
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    Lost Etekcity outlet - ugh!

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 01:03 PM PST

    I have a question about an issue that's driving me CRAZY! I have a bunch of those Etekcity internet connected outlets. Last summer, I'd taken one out of service because I needed the spot for an air conditioner. I THOUGHT I'd put it in a drawer, or given it to someone else to use. It stayed in the app, obviously, but showed as "Off".

    I was tired of seeing it in my app, so I made the fatal error of deleting it.

    But I noticed the other day that IT'S STILL LISTED AS ONLINE IN MY ROUTER. My only thought is that it must still be plugged in somewhere in my house (I cannot remember specifically the day I removed it), yet I've looked everywhere and cannot find it! And because I'd removed it from the app, I cannot try turning it on and off to see if anything responds.

    So my question: is there a creative way of sniffing this thing out???

    submitted by /u/CoffeeOrWhine
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    Shelly 1: is the wiring actually that hard?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 02:45 AM PST

    hey!

    as my sonoff (tasmota) went southways the last week, i want to replace it with shelly, as i have heard a lot of positive stuff

    but is the wiring really that complicated?

    my situation is: two lamps on the ceiling, one of them is fitted with Hue bulbs, the other is meant to be "upgraded" with the shelly.

    The functionality of the light switches does not have to be changed - so, off means off, on means on.

    The sonoff was straight forward: L/N input and L/N output (to the LED Driver)

    Can i do that with the shelly? So, L/N in on L/N and L/N out on O and I?

    what do i need the SW bracket for? do i even need it when making a ceiling lamp only "smart"?

    (usecase is: i want to be able to turn this lamp off via Alexa, whilste the other lamp still has power)

    ​

    Thanks for your advice!

    submitted by /u/IacovHall
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    Home Theater: Automating my subwoofer with Home Assistant and Node RED

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 12:18 PM PST

    Cold weather/garage switch suggestions?

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 08:18 AM PST

    I use inovelli and Zen switches on the inside with my echo/Smartthings setup. Any recommendations/experience with outdoor (not exposed to water) switches for my inside my garage? MN here and not temp controlled, so gets below freezing in the winter, hot in the summers.

    submitted by /u/spartywan229
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    Solution to open Chamberlain WiFi Gatage Opener with Voice NOT MyQ

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 10:49 AM PST

    If you have a WiFi Chamberlain garage opener with MyQ, the security settings only allow you to close or check the status of your garage door with any other linked service that uses your voice, like Google Assistant. You cannot open the garage door with your voice.

    I was able to find a relatively inexpensive solution. I bought one of these little 5V WiFi relays and wired it in parallel with the wall switch. It looks like this.. BUT, it's not quite as easy as it looks. You can't just put the relay across the 2 screw terminals that are used to connect the wall switch. You have to take the wall switch apart and put TINY pieces of wire on to the little switch on the circuit board. In my case, I just sort of forced strands of 24AWG Cat5 wire under the switch on each side. Use a multimeter to check continuity to find the proper terminals.

    Once those connections are made, connect the two wires to the common and normally open terminals on the relay.

    From there, follow the relay's manufacturer instructions to connect it to your WiFi and program it for momentary closure not continuous.

    Lastly, I downloaded the relay's App and linked that to IFTTT along with Google Assistant. Programmed it to active the relay when I say "open the garage."

    I have a detached garage so it's nice to be able to tell my google home to open the door as I'm walking out of the house intsead of digging out my phone or using the keypad at the garage. Other than that, it's not really all that useful, but for around 13USD it's worth it.

    Edits: typos typos typos and more typos. Seriously, "Gatage." Wtf

    submitted by /u/glenn_q
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    When wireless isn't what it usually means... (replacing old dumb thermostat w/ nowires)

    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 09:45 AM PST

    When wireless isn't what it usually means... (replacing old dumb thermostat w/ nowires)

    So, I rent the second floor of a two-family and our thermostat is wildly inaccurate in both directions (says it's hot when it's really cold and vice versa). It's heat only (AC handled by two LG WiFi units) and schedule programming is a giant PITA.

    The problem is, though, that it's wireless. By wireless, I mean that there's no wiring at all running from the thermostat to the furnace. It's battery powered and it eats batteries.

    ​

    https://preview.redd.it/4x941abfr6a41.png?width=1343&format=png&auto=webp&s=36b593f5ddfc3d18c3b5e630d36948d271969363

    ​

    https://preview.redd.it/25p9pokgr6a41.png?width=1343&format=png&auto=webp&s=832cdde5b326ab1e3ad70ddfba3c15dc796900ed

    ​

    https://preview.redd.it/ebprlmfhr6a41.png?width=1343&format=png&auto=webp&s=361e87d615cbeeb8a82b91638d16406ca631e948

    I want to replace this with something smart to better control my energy usage, particularly Google Assistant compatible since I've got Homes in almost every room.

    The problem is that this is the house that jack built and just running wires seems to be an issue. If you've never heard that phrase, it means that whoever built the house didn't seem to know what they were doing (door frames aren't remotely square, there's one wall that used to be a door and is a single layer of sheetrock with no studs, railings installed into plaster with no studs, etc.). Living in this house for affordable rent is the sacrifice you make for your kids to go to good schools. LOL

    Has anybody ever come across this? Is there some way to use a Nest or an Ecobee wirelessly to the furnace that I'm just not seeing anywhere? You guys got a line on some sort of wireless adapter I can use?

    submitted by /u/GilmourD
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