Home Automation What's the best way to create a smart outlet on my property that's too far away from my house to get WiFi? |
- What's the best way to create a smart outlet on my property that's too far away from my house to get WiFi?
- Philips Hue Outdoor Power Supply Product Recall
- How to read pulses off a dumb meter?
- Major Renovation: Anything you'd do differently if you had the chance?
- Control smart plugs with Hue switch
- Raspberry Pi Python MQTT script - how to keep MQTT connected?
- Will smart plugs save power
- What are the best smart plug switches? Just looking to automate some dumb accent lighting with plug-and-play smart switches into existing outlets. I have a few Hue and Wion products.
- Trigger "arrive home" automation by clicking 433MHz remote?
- Need a z-wave switch to control outlets.
- Because all of you are WAY smarter than I am...we are moving to a larger property with a detached garage and shop building. Property is 1.5 acres. Do any of you have advice on how to extend our WiFi to cover the whole place? TIA
- Advice on recording studio LED strip light setup
- Need help with smart switch wiring
- Looking for a smart bulb for bedroom
- Ecobee thermostat location?
- LED ceiling lights are buzzing after installing lutron caseta wall dimmer switch
- New Build Home Automation
- In search of a *very* smart power supply.
- Smart Switches... Direct Wireless Connection or Hub-based ones?
- Any tips and tricks for a noob?
- Rare configuration – How can I replace this configuration with a smart plug?
- New house-smart lock suggestions for non primary doors?
- Advice - Want accurate power monitor for smart plug calibration
- Sanity Check
| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 04:44 AM PDT
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| Philips Hue Outdoor Power Supply Product Recall Posted: 26 Oct 2020 11:46 AM PDT | ||
| How to read pulses off a dumb meter? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 03:31 PM PDT I'm looking for a way to read impulses signalled by a dumb meter. The meter is PAFAL 16ec3rn/1. It has a led-looking light on the front. I can not see it pulsing with a naked eye, but my phone camera shows that it does pulse with red-ish light. I was thinking about using an ESP32 setup with some sort of photoresistor, but I'm not sure how to select an appropriate photoresistor since i do not know the type of light (nor it's wavelength) it needs to detect. How do I figure this out? [link] [comments] | ||
| Major Renovation: Anything you'd do differently if you had the chance? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 12:11 PM PDT Just tossing out a very open-ended question. I have a major renovation project this winter. One of the early tasks is basically opening up and refinishing the drywall for nearly all the walls and ceilings. While I have access to the framing, I'll be running a lot of new A/C, low-voltage, and data cabling. The major reason I'm asking for cool ideas right now, is that I'm opening walls in about two weeks, and I have a limited amount of time to have the electrical inspections completed. I'm interested in future-proofing as much as I can for automation. I'll probably end up with a mix of wired and wireless devices to run automation. At this point in the project, almost nothing is off the table. I have a decent working budget set aside just for cabling with plans to install new automation in phases. I'd like to eventually be able to do just about everything that's in common use now:
This is also on a multi-acre rural lot with multiple outbuildings that I will eventually integrate into the system. The one important requirement is that everything will need to operate without an Internet connection. The whole system must be very secure: at least as secure as properly encrypted and locked-down WiFi. Prefer hard wiring of anything that isn't mobile. For the purposes of this discussion, assume I lean towards more open source solutions and I have no existing automation or infrastructure. Control via Android phones is nice, but I must have centralized monitoring/control and appropriate reversionary control in each room to maintain resale value of the home. Cloud integration and subscriptions are fine, as long as they're not required for the solution to function. I'm also an EE who did his senior thesis on low-cost commercial automation over computer networks more than a decade before the expression "IoT" existed. So, there isn't really a ceiling on how complex something can be. I can even design custom boards and bake SMDs if necessary. (I hope it doesn't come to that, haha!) The question: If you had a blank canvas, what kinds of infrastructure would you put in place before going all-in on the devices? [link] [comments] | ||
| Control smart plugs with Hue switch Posted: 26 Oct 2020 12:08 PM PDT So, I have 3 lights in my bedroom. 1 is a hue bulb, and the other 2 have standard bulbs and are connected to TP-Link smart plugs. I can say "hey google, turn on/off the bedroom lights" and they all turn on/off. But I also have a wireless hue dimmer switch that I would like to be able to turn on/off all the bedroom lights with, but I can only figure out how to make it play nice with the hue bulb. The switch doesn't show up in google home app, and only lets me configure the hue light within the hue app. Is there any way to do this? Kasa smart plugs: https://www.amazon.ca/Kasa-Smart-Wi-Fi-Plug-TP-Link/dp/B079B7SHD8/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=tp+link+smart+plugs&qid=1603739185&sr=8-6 [link] [comments] | ||
| Raspberry Pi Python MQTT script - how to keep MQTT connected? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 09:21 PM PDT I thought folks around here might have some experience doing similar things. I have a I2C sensor on a raspberry pi publishing data over MQTT. The script itself (reading I2C every couple of seconds) works just fine, for days and days. The part that crashes is the MQTT part. I'm using Paho MQTT client for python. Pretty much like the example:
When using paho library, publishing a message just puts it in the queue. It's the loop thread that actually does the publishing. I've tried using loop_start(), which starts another thread that handles reconnects and publishes your publishes. That works for like a week, and then I can see that my script continues to run and "publish" data, but it's not reaching the mqtt broker. I think the loop_start() thread died. I don't see any way built into the API for checking if the loop_start() is still alive or adding a callback for a watchdog on the loop_start(). Alternatively, I've tried manually running mqttc.loop(0.2), but it still leaves me with the issue of not knowing if I've been disconnected and need to call connect() again. Am my missing something with the paho MQTT client API? It seems everyone uses it for Python mqtt clients, but how do you make it robust? [link] [comments] | ||
| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 02:38 PM PDT If I buy smart plugs for my entire house, then set them to all turn off during my work hours, would I save a noticeable amount of power? [link] [comments] | ||
| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 10:40 AM PDT | ||
| Trigger "arrive home" automation by clicking 433MHz remote? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 11:13 AM PDT TL;DR: Is there any approach to sniff tha 433mhz signal by an android phone to trigger some automation in the apartment upon my arrival? Long version with a background: I live in an apartment in a block that has underground parking, so that its door is controlled by a standard cheap 433mhz remote and can't install my own devices there. I know that phones don't have 433 mhz receiver, but maybe somebody has some sleek solution for this? Definitely, I could trigger it manually from the phone, but we are here to automate :) Other solutions I can think of are:
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| Need a z-wave switch to control outlets. Posted: 26 Oct 2020 04:11 PM PDT Hi all. I need to hook up a z-wave light switch that is meant to control only receptacles. Trimming into the box is a single run of electrical wire white, black and ground. Thanks [link] [comments] | ||
| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 07:24 PM PDT | ||
| Advice on recording studio LED strip light setup Posted: 26 Oct 2020 10:25 AM PDT Hi r/HomeAutomation, I have a space to create my ideal recording studio setup, and I want to add some LED strips to make my desk and acoustic panels look a little cooler. I have a simple mixing desk that I want to make look like this and four free-standing acoustic panels I want to make look like this (they have their own legs and aren't wall mounted). Additional desires/questions below:
My initial googling has left me a little confused, and everything I could buy seems like major overkill for what I want. I would of course be thrilled with any specific recommendations, but I was hoping to at least get feedback on my idea and find out if it's a reasonably simple setup. Thank you! [link] [comments] | ||
| Need help with smart switch wiring Posted: 26 Oct 2020 12:50 PM PDT I am having a tough time getting my Kasa 3-way switch working properly. I have two three-way Kasa 210 switches. I only have power in one electrical box, which is the same box to my light. To make this work, I run power from my main box down to the second box, which only leaves 1 traveller to return. Otherwise the second switch will have no power. Wiring Diagram : https://imgur.com/a/s8RuE4j Switch :https://www.kasasmart.com/us/products/smart-switches/kasa-smart-wi-fi-light-switch-3-way-kit-hs210 Any help would be appreciated. I had a local electrician look at this (I dont think they knew what they were doing honestly.. They told me I need to buy new switches (GE where you only need to send comms on the travelers). With this current setup it mostly works, however, I cannot turn off the light from the second switch. [link] [comments] | ||
| Looking for a smart bulb for bedroom Posted: 26 Oct 2020 12:49 PM PDT I'm looking for 1 or 2 smart bulbs that are dimmable, tunable white, and also works with Apple HomeKit without a hub. I can't seem to find one that checks all three boxes. The only one I found is the LIFX "White to Warm" but it seems to be sold out. [link] [comments] | ||
| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 09:17 AM PDT New construction home with 3 separate HVACs (1 for each story of 3 story home). Leaning towards Ecobee 3's that I will integrate into Home Assistant. Question: Does it matter where you place the actual wall mount device? Meaning, I have a storage room on the third floor with most of the mechanicals, tankless (vented) water heaters, server rack, electrical panel, etc. Could I put all of the wall mount thermostats in there? And then place the wireless temperature sensors for each on their respective floors? Or do the wall units themselves have temp sensors that makes this impossible? I realize this would mean someone would have to go all the way up to the third floor to change the temp, but I plan to automate for the most part, or they could pull out their phone. I wouldn't want someone other than my wife or I to mess with the temp settings anyway (and we'll have app control). Anyone know the answer to this, or have done something similar by placing all thermostats in a centralized/remote location? OR even better, tell me why this is a terrible idea! TIA [link] [comments] | ||
| LED ceiling lights are buzzing after installing lutron caseta wall dimmer switch Posted: 26 Oct 2020 01:43 PM PDT
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| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 01:25 PM PDT My wife and I are building a new house and would like to turn it into a smart home in the future. We're looking at security based automations mainly such as door locks, garage door, maybe cameras, etc.). Should we be trying to wire any portion of the house differently or making any special requests during the build phase that may save us time and money down the road? [link] [comments] | ||
| In search of a *very* smart power supply. Posted: 26 Oct 2020 05:08 PM PDT So, unfortunately - we have to reboot our cellular based AT&T modem frequently. And when i say frequently a i mean like 4-5 times a day. Why do we have to reboot it? Because we've noticed that once it's been rebooted - our internet works pretty darn well. (We are able to stream things & listen to internet radio) We live in the country & satellite is the only option. Unless you are blessed enough to have a mother who described her country living & the AT&T representative hooked her up with this cellular modem that needs rebooting often. I can ditch the modem whenever i like. I believe the cellular contract has been fulfilled. But unless i want to pay $60-$80 per month for internet through a satellite company - this is what i have. NOW, onto the question. I purchased a smart power strip that i can turn off when when the internet is crawling. So i plugged in the cellular modem to this power strip, removed its battery & thought i was the coolest kid around for my idea..... .....UNTIL i realized - that when i turn off the power strip - and the modem dies - i can not turn the modem back on! So, does there exist a smart outlet or power strip that i can buy that has a feature that will let me set an on & off timer? Maybe with a 1-3 second delay? Push a button on my phone, the modem dies. 1-3 seconds later, the outlet the modem is on automatically turns back on? I feel like an idiot with the manner I'm which I've handled this so far..... I'm hoping you brilliant folks can help me dig myself out of this digital hole. [link] [comments] | ||
| Smart Switches... Direct Wireless Connection or Hub-based ones? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 04:31 PM PDT Doing a small home expansion, and wanting to do some smart wall switches. Finally doing some research and trying to decide if I should go for ones that connect directly to the router without a hub, or ones that go to a hub. The advantage of going the hub route is that we are in a hella old house, so (from what I understand) I would be able to swap some smart switches with some of our existing switches because the hub ones don't require a neutral wire...which NONE of our existing wall wiring has. The advantage with the direct connect ones is that they seem easier and less to buy. Thoughts? Would love your input! (if you do recommend going to hub-connected route, would love any recommendations. Was planning to get the Gosund ones if I do direct connect because I already have a few of those smart outlets, so I can keep it in one app) [link] [comments] | ||
| Any tips and tricks for a noob? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 08:47 AM PDT Ok so I recently got into the whole smart lighting shtick. Using a Phillips Hue bridge and alexa it's pretty fun. I was told that using a zigbee attachment, I can turn dumb lights into smart ones and should work no problem. I purchased some basic led lights and was planning to connect the zigbee hgzb-01a to them, connect to the hue bridge and use alexa as voice control. Connection was straightforward and not a problem. It was found by the HUe bridge, connected and all good. Only issue is that alexa cannot recognize the light. The light cannot be dimmed or anything just turned on and off via hue app or if i tell alexa to turn off all hue lights. I'm assuming since the light has its own board which can dim and turn on/off, It must be interfering with the zigbee and hue app. Is there some way to remove the control board and just have the zigbee? I guess Id need to fit some kind of transformer. Any tips would be appreciated [link] [comments] | ||
| Rare configuration – How can I replace this configuration with a smart plug? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 01:15 AM PDT I replaced all the switches in my house with wifi smart switches, however I have one switch which shares a cover plate with a plug, like this: https://www.myknobs.com/amr935tdw.html I can't find a smart switch with that configuration. Does anyone have any advice? I don't know, for example, if the mounting holes in the wall are standardized, or if the cover plate openings are standardized. Assuming the switch and plug are separate units inside the wall, could I just buy a standard smart switch, and use the existing cover plate and mounting holes? Or if they're one piece inside the wall, could I buy a standard double plug, and a standard switch, and use the same plate + holes? Any advice would be much appreciated. Region is USA by the way. //Thanks for reading [link] [comments] | ||
| New house-smart lock suggestions for non primary doors? Posted: 26 Oct 2020 12:18 PM PDT New house, we have 5(!!!) doors that all have deadbolts and knob locks to enter the house. We installed a Yale Assure SL on the front door with a Ring and have it all hooked up to Google Home along with all other smart devices. I really don't want to spend $200 on every single deadbolt but I want to ditch my keys entirely with the pin pad while having peace of mind that I can lock and track everything from my phone as needed. Any suggestions on cheaper pin pad smart locks for non-primary doors that I can hook up with my set? [link] [comments] | ||
| Advice - Want accurate power monitor for smart plug calibration Posted: 26 Oct 2020 08:29 AM PDT I finally got a set of monitoring smart plugs that aren't locked in with the newest Tuya firmware.... I have flashed one to ESPHome and need to calibrate it. The chinese knock-off kill-a-watt style device I own appears to be rather inaccurate (at least voltages are off compared to my fluke multimeter) and I'm looking for advice on what others are using that are known to be well calibrated out of the box. I'm considering a clamp-on True RMS meter or another kill-a-watt style device. As always though...trying to go relatively low cost. Best well-known calibrated device for lowest cost. [link] [comments] | ||
| Posted: 26 Oct 2020 07:41 AM PDT I just bought a house and am diving into smart lighting and home automation for the first time. I've been digging deep into a few areas and despite my best Googling, I haven't been able to find confirmation on something. I intend to replace most of my switches into smart switches. I have many 3-way and 4-way light circuits in the house. I also would like some color-changing for a few rooms in the house as a novelty to use infrequently. Most of the lights downstairs are BR30 or BR40 (I can't tell) recessed floodlights. The previous owner left behind a Sengled hub. I know there are a few hacks to get smart switches to gracefully control smart bulbs, but I'm leery of jumping off the deep end into z-wave and innoveli red's right now. If I were to take some of my Kasa non-dimmer smart switches and connect them to a Sengled BR30 color-changing bulb, could I use it just like a regular bulb? I read that sometimes the issue is that when you have a dimmer switch, it does funky things with a smart bulb. If I were to use a non-dimmer though, and only dim, if I want, on the bulb itself, could I get the best of both worlds in terms of being able to change the color sometimes? I understand that the bulb would be offline if and when I use the switch. What I want to do is this: - Use light as if it's a dumb bulb with a smart switch 95% of the time. - 5% of the time, I want to turn on the light, and then use voice control to change its color. I read that Sengled bulbs retain their last color temperature and attempt to power on when given electricity. Am I missing something? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
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