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    Wednesday, November 25, 2020

    Home Unlabelled Home Automation Recommendations for RGB lighting for a Christmas tree?

    Home Automation Recommendations for RGB lighting for a Christmas tree?

    November 25, 2020

    Home Automation Recommendations for RGB lighting for a Christmas tree?

    Recommendations for RGB lighting for a Christmas tree?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 06:47 PM PST

    I have my house setup with Home Assistant but looking for something easy with an app or remote so the kids can have some fun with it. Nothing too crazy but some animations would be nice.

    submitted by /u/NoShftShck16
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    How I my normal(dumb) washing machine announces it is completed through Alexa

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 11:49 AM PST

    My washing machine is in the basement and I do not always hear the chime when it finishes. I was able to have Alexa say "The washing machine has completed" when the cycle finishes. This is how I did it. I would love feedback if anyone has a cleaner solution.

    1. I had a smart plug. I used a higher W plug (1800W, 15A Plug) because I was unsure of the power draw the machine would use. However, I think I could have used the normal smart plug (1200W, 10A plug) because during my monitoring the power draw does not appear to get that high. Someone please correct me on this, if you know more.
    2. These plugs use the "Smart Life" app which has a feature for "Energy Monitoring".
      1. (Android) In the main home screen on the app hit "smart" at the bottom.
      2. Then hit the "+" in the top right corner to create a smart condition.
      3. Select "when device status changes"
      4. Select your plug
      5. Select what you want to monitor. In my case I used "Power".
      6. Select the condition. In my example, I said "=0W". However, I think this is not exactly right and currently doing a little more testing. I figured, when the cycle finishes it won't draw more power. However, I have found that it does drop to 0 but then goes up to 3.8 and back to zero, and repeats this. I think I will test out "<4W".
      7. Hit Next to set up a task. I do 2 things. Firstly, I send notification. This sends me a message to my phone that the washer is done. For most of us, this is probably good enough... However I wanted Alexa to announce so I, secondly, (and here where the hacky part starts) I tell the app to shut off the plug as part of this trigger.... Simply put, when the plug uses 0 W, text me and then shut off the plug.
    3. In IFTTT, I set up an applet. This app triggers when the (smart life) plug turns off. When that triggers, I use sendAlexaActionByMkzense(https://mkzense.com/iftttrigger) to run a routine in the Alexa App on my phone.
      1. Then, go into your Alexa app on your phone. You will need to enable the Skill "IFTTTrigger". This will create 3 "Smart Home Devices". I named one of them "washing machine". A youtube video for how to set this up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMr6ZrHia2Q https://mkzense.com/iftttrigger
      2. Go back to IFTTT to select the correct trigger to use with the sendAlexaActionByMkzense app.
      3. Create a new routine in the Alexa app.
        1. Name it whatever you want.
        2. When this happens - Select Smart home, and then select your trigger created.
        3. Add Action - Select "Alexa Says" and type in what you want her to say. I went with "Your washing machine has completed."
        4. (optional last step) - I am still trying to clean this up, but I also added an action to turn the plug back on. However, since my current trigger is set off when the plug = 0 W, it seems to be fluctuating between 4 and 0. It appears to be in a loop lol. I am think I may just turn not run this step and let the plug stay off. I can just hit the button when I do a load of laundry.

    Any feedback would be great! Otherwise enjoy!

    submitted by /u/Fbomb_11
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    Lidl has released Zigbee 3.0 certified smart home gateway/hub and devices

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 03:33 AM PST

    Lidl (the German international discount supermarket chain) has just released a Zigbee 3.0 certified smart home gateway/hub and many Zigbee 3.0 devices under their Silvercrest brand with low prices.

    https://www.news1.news/2020/11/lidl-opens-the-attack-on-the-established-order-now-steps-into-smarthome.html

    Looks like they might be OEM or rebranded versions of Tuya products but Lidl has still gone through the process to getting them certified under their own named brands.

    https://zigbeealliance.org/zigbee_products/?product_type=certified_product&se=lidl

    https://zigbeealliance.org/zigbee_products/page/1/?product_type=certified_product&se=lidl

    https://zigbeealliance.org/zigbee_products/page/2/?product_type=certified_product&se=lidl

    Sounds as if these will be sold in Lidl stores from next week in most countries in Europe if not sooner.

    https://www.lidl.se/smart-home

    https://www.lidl.dk/smart-home

    https://www.lidl.nl/smart-home

    submitted by /u/Gamester17
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    I want to move away from ring for my cameras, what else is out there?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 11:05 AM PST

    I have two flood light camera and a doorbell camera from ring. Like the product but this sidewalk announcement was enough for me to leave them. What other home security systems are out there that you folks recommend? Are there any that's easy to install as ring and as user friendly or close to user friendly? Thanks.

    submitted by /u/Zeta_Crossfire
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    Monitoring Electric Dryer - Looking to simplify. (240V/30A "smart plug"???)

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 12:52 PM PST

    Greetings fellow Automators.

    Short Version: I need what's essentially a Smart Plug that would work for an electric dryer. Circuit is 240V/30A. It needs to be WiFi-enabled, support power use monitoring, and ideally have some sort of REST API I can interface with.

    Looooong Version: Our story begins with teenagers that forget they put a load of laundry in the washer and promptly forget they did so for 2-3 days. By that time, of course, there's funk in the air, and the clothes need to be rewashed.

    I had an awesome solution involving a Wemo smart plug that monitored energy use and IFTTT (please, don't make this an IFTTT-hate thread), which fired off a message to a Telegram Group Chat that all of us in the house are subscribed to. Then Wemo had to go and "improve" things, after which, IFTTT never worked again.

    One of the guys who works on my team suggested the Etekcity plugs from Amazon, knowing they also supported IFTTT. Unfortunately, their IFTTT support doesn't include triggers based on power usage, like the old Wemo did. So, naturally, me & that guy spent some time with Postman and the source code to the VeSync python API as well as the Homebridge module, figuring out how to login to the API, then figuring out how to read out just the info for a specific device, and blammo, my code was born.

    Unfortunately, the dryer isn't as easy. We've got an electric dryer. I could swap for gas and then use the same code I've already written for the washer, but dropping $1k on a new dryer just to get notifications doesn't seem like the smartest use of our $$. So, for the time being at least, I'm stuck with the electric dryer. It's the older 3-pin plug on a 240V/30A breaker.

    I saw folks playing around with Arduinos and CT clamps. I got myself a Huzzah32, loaded up Micropython, and was reading from the ADC-enabled GPIO pins relatively quickly. Unfortunately, I couldn't make sense out of the readings I was getting and eventually just gave up on that. I ended up swapping out for a Raspberry Pi connected to an 801s vibration sensor that had both Analog and Digital outputs. I'm using the digital output, since I don't really care how much the dryer is vibrating - I care *that* it's vibrating. The solution spans 2 project boxes - 1 on the wall that houses the Pi, another that just has the sensor, which is on the back of the dryer. More code and it's working. The code was finicky to get going. The code is ugly (Hey, I'm not a real programmer, I just pretend to be one on teh Interwebs) and literally takes thousands of averaged readings to work out if the dryer is really on, or just got bumped somehow.

    Anyhow, back to the point. I'd like a solution that doesn't involve multiple boxes, adding compute power to my laundry room, and can be interfaced with remotely via a REST API. Anyone know of such a beast? My budget is up to $100, though I'm reasonably flexible on that, as I just pulled that number out of thin air.

    submitted by /u/thejcostom
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    Smart Gate solution

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 08:14 PM PST

    I've been researching options for a smart gate solution, but can't seem to find anything that fits the needs:

    I have a fenced property with a motorized gate and want to add some smarts:

    • external keypad that is programmable from the internet. Use case is to be able to add a new code for a renter for a week, then delete the code, all remotely.
    • push to call functionality (voip of course) so it acts as a doorbell -relay control via an app or API (so I can open the gate to let a delivery in)
    • any kind of integration with a camera so I can grab a frame from a camera when the talk button is pushed (camera is unifi wired g3 camera) -Poe powered would be bonus points to simplify wiring and power requirements -outdoor rated gear and hardened since this will be mounted on a pole outside the gate.

    These capabilities all exist for doorbells and smart-locks; but not in components I can put together for a gate. Anyone come up with a solution like this?

    One idea is to wire an actual smart doorbell and a wife access point down by the gate and use a few apps to accomplish this. No IP programmable keypad solution to a relay seems to exist.

    submitted by /u/muzach9
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    Lutron RA2 Select Wireless Repeater not connecting - halp

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 02:16 PM PST

    My google-fu skills are coming up short. I'm setting up a RA2 Select system. I have a main repeater and three switches connected. There's a fourth switch thats farther away than the others that isn't connecting so I got a wireless repeater.

    In the app, I choose add new device and then it tells me to plug it in (LED comes on solid white) and hold the button for 10 seconds. I did that at multiple locations (even two feet away from the main repeater) and still nada. No change in LEDs. It just sits on that page of the app. Setup guide doesn't say anything about troubleshooting. I can't find a single post anywhere online of anyone having the same issue.

    Any thoughts?

    submitted by /u/Kit4242
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    What to do if u cant hook up a nuetral wire for a switch?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 11:20 PM PST

    I need to hook up a nuetral wire for a switch but I don't have a nuetral wire nor am i able to hire an electrician to hook one up.Is there a way i can plug something into a wall outlet to the light switch or.....?

    submitted by /u/furby-noodle-soup
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    Honeywell Z-Wave Dimmer Switch Buzzing

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 10:39 PM PST

    I bought the 2 pack of Honeywell Z-Wave dimmers from Costco and noticed that the switches themselves buzz, though it is only audible if I am inches away. They also only buzz while dimmed though and completely go away when the switch is either 100% on or 100% off. Is this considered normal behavior or is it a safety hazard?

    submitted by /u/B_Shoe
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    Avoiding single points of failure?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 10:09 PM PST

    I am going to be building out a smart home so I've been following the posts here to get up to speed. The one about Amazon smart plugs being down because Amazon web being down had me wondering - how can you design, or what do you need to watch out for, to avoid being held hostage because something is down?

    I would like to say, excluding the case of power being down of course, but "no". I mean that's important too if, say, your smoke detector doesn't work because of a blackout.

    Another is, if a company goes out of business, will you be SOL and having to replace your device? I considered this when I bought my sprinkler controller 15 years ago and none of the established companies were in the game yet.

    Marketing glosses only tout the good. What are the caveats you've come across with your devices?

    submitted by /u/lljc00
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    Recommendation for under bed motion activated light which i could also connect to Alexa or with a dedicated application.

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 10:08 PM PST

    I am looking to get a simple motion activated LED strip to install under my bed however I want something which i can then link to Alexa.

    The idea is to be able to use the light from my phone as well as with the sensors.

    submitted by /u/crickypop
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    How would I wire in a Samotech SM308 to this switch?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 12:21 PM PST

    Gym lighting

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 09:55 AM PST

    I have a gym in the house with the most god awful lighting in it I dread even going down there. I'm thinking of installing 4 cans down there to either put Hue can lights or LifX bulbs. Would there a be a benefit of one over the other aside from aesthetics?

    submitted by /u/Coolingritu
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    Recommendation for vaccum cleaner in budget which can be used locally and integrate with HA.

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 04:55 PM PST

    Is there one available with this? I want to buy during black Friday hoping there will be some good deals.

    I mainly what to integrate with HA and avoid cloud if possible.

    Thank you in advance!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

    submitted by /u/youmeiknow
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    Magic Home Discovery it - apple remote

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 07:33 PM PST

    I just discovered that my apple remote controls my magic home lights via ir. :)

    submitted by /u/tcypher
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    Convert Brivis NC1 to Smart Panel

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 06:06 PM PST

    Does anyone have any affordable recommendations on how to convert a Brivis NC1 Climate Control Panel to a smart panel? It's hardwired so the usual IR devices won't work.

    submitted by /u/Shifti_Boi
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    Turning on Netatmo Thermostat via another tempature sensor?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 05:19 PM PST

    Hi!

    I just got a netatmo thermostat and it works awesome, however because I just replaced my 2 wire already wired up thermostat with it, the temp sensor is in the hall which is warmer than the room which we are in most of the time.
    We have a netatmo healthy home coach in the room meassure tempature, and I was wondering if it was possible to link the two somehow either via HomeKit or somekind of rapsberry solution.
    Or should I just balance it out by setting it higher in the hall and that would be the easiest?

    Anybody have any experience with this?
    Thanks,
    sen

    submitted by /u/sieer
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    Is Nest the best, or should I switch to ecobee? New house has 3 separate HVAC systems...

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 08:23 AM PST

    Moving to a new house and the new HVAC set up is a bit more widespread and unique. Basically, here is what I am dealing with to make it smart:

    • 3 zone hot water baseboard main floor
    • 1 zone hot water baseboard 2nd floor
    • separate central air duct AC 2nd floor (different thermostat)
    • mini split system heat/cool main floor (same condenser as central air, separate controls with remote)

    Let's disregard the mini splits as I will look into sensibo for controlling those if I even think it's worth it

    I most likely need to install a common wire

    Main question is, are my 2 Nest 3rd gens running of SmartThings still the best option given my situation?

    I am considering ecobee as it seems there's an alternate solution to the common wire, and there's the option for Apple HomeKit.

    My priorities are Alexa control and will continue to use SmartThings if needed, but since I am moving I am trying to take the fresh start opportunity to have HomeKit integration where it fits.

    submitted by /u/DrapeSack
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    Home Assistant Android Companion App - Sensors & Notifications (Video Tutorial)

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 10:38 AM PST

    Home Assistant Android Companion App - Sensors & Notifications (Video Tutorial)

    The Home Assistant Companion App for Android was recently updated and it now supports some very interesting features in form of sensors and different notifications. Let's see how we can use these Android sensors in automations and how to enable Home Assistant Android notifications.

    You will only need a device with Android 5.0 or greater and recent Home Assistant (0.104+) version.

    Let's start this.

    The Video 🔴 🎥 https://youtu.be/pTa-SCWXMSQ

    Home Assistant Android Companion App - Sensors & Notifications (Video Tutorial)

    If you prefer to read, this is the full Article ✍️📜 https://peyanski.com/home-assistant-android-companion-app/

    Cheers,

    Kiril

    submitted by /u/KPeyanski
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    Shelly 2.5 on single fuse or two fuses?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 12:48 PM PST

    I just got a Shelly 2.5 (https://shelly.cloud/products/shelly-25-smart-home-automation-relay/) and I plan on using it to control a light switch and a fan in a two-gang box. Right now the light and fan are controlled by two rocker switches. After taking the face plate off, I found out that the light switch is on a separate fuse from the fan (meaning if I turn off the fuse for the light switch, the fan can still work, I have to flip a separate fuse to turn the fan off).

    So the question is, can the Shelly 2.5 work on 2 separate fuses? One fuse to control the light and another fuse to control fan. Or is it a better Idea to purchase two Shelly 1 devices and use a single Shelly 1 for the light and a separate Shelly 1 for the fan?

    submitted by /u/Risley
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    Anyone else’s Amazon smart plug down?

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 04:26 PM PST

    For the last few hours it is not connecting to the internet and is blinking red while saying "device is unresponsive" in the app.

    Not sure if the issue is just me, or related to the amazon web outage?

    submitted by /u/Spenro
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    Lutron QS Serena vs Somfy Sonesse 40

    Posted: 25 Nov 2020 12:26 PM PST

    I'm getting some motorised roller blinds for my extension. I've got the option of Lutron Serena Triathlon blinds at £3k or somfy sonesse 40 blinds at £1k

    What am I missing as currently there isn't much between them.

    Lutron are known for product quality. Slightly quieter on the blind but not sure if they are justifiable at 3x the price.

    Any insights anyone else has would be appreciated.

    submitted by /u/YachtSinker
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