The TP Link ones should. I imagine they'll mostly use WiFi though (which has pros and cons; distance from router being an issue but on the flip side, can connect to range extenders) and need internet connectivity to function at all though. The perks of the Hue system with the Hub is that you can get switches (with watch batteries in, that're portable if you want them to be) and the Hub enables use when the internet goes down.
how smart has your home gone?
- Thread starter utajoker
- Start date
Caporegime
Tbh the bulbs and router are in the same room, so should be sufficient
So I'm guessing I don't need the TP Link app?
Caporegime
Cool, thanks!
Just had a double check, I don't quite get TP Links strategy but there appears to be Tapo and Kasa smart home devices. I have ended up with both inadvertently but might be one to watch before you get too deep in the eco-system. It means I have a Tapo app for 2 plugs and 2 cameras, and then the Kasa app for 2 other plugs. It's all hidden from me through Alexa so who knows what that's all about!
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Jul 2007
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- 5,392
Anyone using the hue sensor?
Annoyingly for me that wants a dumb control method (eg wired sensors) this provides the best solution to what I want to achieve.
Garden path with lights on a Hi-Lo sensor (on low when dark) possibly with a timer so off at midnight.
PIR at both ends that when senses brings the lights up to full.
I know there are all in one lights that does that but problem has been finding a solution.
Individual sensors can be wired together to create this but worry that a dimmer won't like the sudden full load of the PIR.
I bought a couple of all in one sensors, they output 0-10v dim control bought a transformer but even on lowest dim setting lights are ridiculously bright. Also because of the dim output needed an LED transformer and sourced 24v dimmable e27s - which are rare. To then power the units and lights need something like 7cores, so not ideal - oversite on my part.
So going back to hue for the annoyance of yet another app and yet another internet bridge...
Can the sensors be hard wired? How long do batteries last?
Do each hue bulb help expand the network? I've got concerns WiFi will struggle with the distance.
Annoyingly for me that wants a dumb control method (eg wired sensors) this provides the best solution to what I want to achieve.
Garden path with lights on a Hi-Lo sensor (on low when dark) possibly with a timer so off at midnight.
PIR at both ends that when senses brings the lights up to full.
I know there are all in one lights that does that but problem has been finding a solution.
Individual sensors can be wired together to create this but worry that a dimmer won't like the sudden full load of the PIR.
I bought a couple of all in one sensors, they output 0-10v dim control bought a transformer but even on lowest dim setting lights are ridiculously bright. Also because of the dim output needed an LED transformer and sourced 24v dimmable e27s - which are rare. To then power the units and lights need something like 7cores, so not ideal - oversite on my part.
So going back to hue for the annoyance of yet another app and yet another internet bridge...
Can the sensors be hard wired? How long do batteries last?
Do each hue bulb help expand the network? I've got concerns WiFi will struggle with the distance.
The hue sensors can't be hard wired - although i'm not really sure what you get from hard wiring them? Batteries last a while, i've had one in the hallway for probably 3-4 years and it's down to 62%. I'm sure the external motion sensors would be similar.
Also the bulbs aren't wifi, if you're using a hub then it'll be zigbee.
It's not clear from your post exactly what you're trying to do.
These days there's not much difference between them. Visual aspects and price really, oh and i guess whether you'd prefer to say "Alexa" or "Hey Google".
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Jul 2007
- Posts
- 5,392
Hard wire so avoid changing batteries all the time, but that's promising.
Lighting path wise I want;
Long garden path with PIR at each end.
Lights come on a low dim dusk to dawn (optional is this low dim turns off at a preset time)
PIR at either end brings up lighting to 100%, times out to low dim.
I bought a couple of all in one sensors but not happy with the low dim level, I have to use LV bulbs, and overlooked how many cores for powering and signal they would require.
HUE may provide the solution. I know you said it uses ZigBee but WiFi doesn't reach the furthest sensor placement, if that's any indication ?
Soldato
Hi all,
All being well, we're going to be moving into a new (to us) house in ~3 weeks or so. Already getting ahead of myself, I'm looking at what can be made smart.
First one is the car gate - the gate is ~10m from the house, and currently has a "Beninca" automation system, and from speaking to current owner is triggered by a GSM sim card (ie you call the gate to open it), or by an RF button. The two garage doors are the same.
There doesn't appear to be any camera at all, and for me, this seems rather silly - you can't see who is at the gate without leaving the house, so i'd rather have a "ring" type system where when someone approaches the gate / presses the button, i get a notification on my phone that shows me a video of what's at the gate, and I can then just press a button on the screen to open it (or tell them to go away
)
Ring appear to have made something called an "Access Controller Pro", but I think it might be discontinued?
https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038092272-Ring-Access-Controller-Pro-Information
Has anyone done something similar with either this or other kit?
I have gravitated towards ring as I know a few people with it and it seems to "just work", but given i have literally no other kit I'm open to other suggestions.
.
Edit: meant to say I'd want it to integrate into a CCTV and alarm system more broadly too, which is why ring was attractive
All being well, we're going to be moving into a new (to us) house in ~3 weeks or so. Already getting ahead of myself, I'm looking at what can be made smart.
First one is the car gate - the gate is ~10m from the house, and currently has a "Beninca" automation system, and from speaking to current owner is triggered by a GSM sim card (ie you call the gate to open it), or by an RF button. The two garage doors are the same.
There doesn't appear to be any camera at all, and for me, this seems rather silly - you can't see who is at the gate without leaving the house, so i'd rather have a "ring" type system where when someone approaches the gate / presses the button, i get a notification on my phone that shows me a video of what's at the gate, and I can then just press a button on the screen to open it (or tell them to go away
)Ring appear to have made something called an "Access Controller Pro", but I think it might be discontinued?
https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038092272-Ring-Access-Controller-Pro-Information
Has anyone done something similar with either this or other kit?
I have gravitated towards ring as I know a few people with it and it seems to "just work", but given i have literally no other kit I'm open to other suggestions.
.
Edit: meant to say I'd want it to integrate into a CCTV and alarm system more broadly too, which is why ring was attractive
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I want to have a switch on my desk to turn on/off a smart (Gosund) plug behind it. Ideally via just an Alexa Routine?
Seems Hue Buttons can't do this, unless controlling one of their own Smart Plugs.
Flic can but then you've got to get the whole hub etc which is expensive.
So is there a simple smart button that can fire off an Alexa Routine? Why don't Amazon have their own version of Flic?
Seems Hue Buttons can't do this, unless controlling one of their own Smart Plugs.
Flic can but then you've got to get the whole hub etc which is expensive.
So is there a simple smart button that can fire off an Alexa Routine? Why don't Amazon have their own version of Flic?
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There are plenty of smart buttons out there, the problem you have is that a) you'll need some sort of hub to communicate with them, and b) some device to manage the automation. Although I don't have anything Alexa-based, I'm doubtful Alexa would be able to trigger the automation because its a rather basic device that is heavily integrated with amazons own smart devices.
For my setup, I've got some xiaomi aqara zigbee buttons (about £7 each), a conbee2 zigbee receiver (I think that was about £30-35), and then HA installed on a rpi4 (I'd already purchased for other projects, and HA runs on most things so won't count this device in the cost). HA has a very powerful automation setup where you set a trigger (1 button click, 2 button clicks etc), then conditions if required (only run during the daytime), and finally the action - toggle smart Plug.
Well, if we take a one off case, say a smart plug behind my desk which I want to turn on/off with a smart button on my desk?
Hue
Given I've already got Hue all I'd need to have is a Hue Button (£18) and a Hue Smart Plug (£22) = £40
And as the Hue Smart plug appears within Alexa Routines, it can be controlled from there (or from Hue) for voice command or schedules etc.
Flic
About £150-200 for the hub and four switches. But that means yet ANOTHER hub. I already have Hue and Blink and Somfy ones.
BUT
I have FOUR Gosund smart plugs already, which I'd like to control with buttons... So Flic would be the only way to do that!
If Only
If only Amazon had Flic like buttons for £30 a pop which worked within the Echo infostructure
Answer?
Looks like the best solution is the Flic one, because at least that gives me four automation buttons which are completely independent and can just fire off Alexa Routines. Sighs! At expense!
Well, if we take a one off case, say a smart plug behind my desk which I want to turn on/off with a smart button on my desk?
Hue
Given I've already got Hue all I'd need to have is a Hue Button (£18) and a Hue Smart Plug (£22) = £40
And as the Hue Smart plug appears within Alexa Routines, it can be controlled from there (or from Hue) for voice command or schedules etc.
Flic
About £150-200 for the hub and four switches. But that means yet ANOTHER hub. I already have Hue and Blink and Somfy ones.
BUT
I have FOUR Gosund smart plugs already, which I'd like to control with buttons... So Flic would be the only way to do that!
If Only
If only Amazon had Flic like buttons for £30 a pop which worked within the Echo infostructure
Answer?
Looks like the best solution is the Flic one, because at least that gives me four automation buttons which are completely independent and can just fire off Alexa Routines. Sighs! At expense!
You're falling into the trap of paying way-over-the-odds for a device that can be had much cheaper for ease of use/setup. If that's what you want, then it's upto you, it'll just cost you a pretty penny.
If you enjoy a bit of tinkering, you could add the gosund plugs to HA, and with a zigbee gateway and some zigbee buttons use that to run some automations. Hue is also zigbee based, so if you wanted to do away with the hub, then you can add all the bulbs/buttons to HA. Somfy i think uses zwave, so you'd either need to keep that hub, or buy another gateway to add to HA. I assume Blink is WiFi due to the video stream it has to sync back to the hub, so you won't be able to get rid of that.
The other trap you'll fall into by keep buying off-the-shelf products is that you'll need hubs for each manufacturer-specific device that you add to your home. It also makes controlling them all a royal PITA. The beauty of HA is that i can control everything from a single app, i don't need to open one app to switch some lights on, and open a second app to turn a plug socket off, and then a third app to tilt my blinds etc etc.
Well, if we take a one off case, say a smart plug behind my desk which I want to turn on/off with a smart button on my desk?
Hue
Given I've already got Hue all I'd need to have is a Hue Button (£18) and a Hue Smart Plug (£22) = £40
And as the Hue Smart plug appears within Alexa Routines, it can be controlled from there (or from Hue) for voice command or schedules etc.
Flic
About £150-200 for the hub and four switches. But that means yet ANOTHER hub. I already have Hue and Blink and Somfy ones.
BUT
I have FOUR Gosund smart plugs already, which I'd like to control with buttons... So Flic would be the only way to do that!
If Only
If only Amazon had Flic like buttons for £30 a pop which worked within the Echo infostructure
Answer?
Looks like the best solution is the Flic one, because at least that gives me four automation buttons which are completely independent and can just fire off Alexa Routines. Sighs! At expense!
In fact it looks like Amazon did have some buttons in the past: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Echo-Buttons-Alexa-Echo-Gadget-Alexa/dp/B072C4KCQH
Although not sure if that's a discontinued product.
Couple of thoughts?
1) With HA, don't you need a PC on 24/7? I'm not keen on that personally.
2) With HA, surely there's a fair amount of config and setting up which is done far more seemlessly and easily within the dedicated apps? ie: I'm sure it's easier to set up the Hue scenes to flick through on my Hue Dimmer Switch within the Hue App, than it would be within HA? And then to control the lights, surely opening up the Hue Android app gives a better interface than the HA android app?
3) You praise using one app to control different things, but is that necessarily a quicker and more friendly thing? ie: If I want to control my lights (on my phone), I open up my dedicated light app. If I want to control my smart plugs (on my phone), I open up my dedicated plug app. I've not seen the HA android app, but would it give as quick and comprehensive control as simply opening up a dedicated app for the purpose required?
My analogy would be, sometimes specialised tools give a more convenient and efficient outcome than a Swiss Army Knife? (If not more expensive too)
1) you would do yes, but most people will run it on a raspberry pi so running costs would be £5-10 a year.
2) Yes I'd agree with your first statements. It's quite a learning curve to start with, but once you're familiar with config/setup then it's much easier. As for easier to control/better interface, that's down to the individual to decide on layout/how the lights are controlled.
3) Yes definitely more quicker than opening up individual apps. You could set up buttons for lights and sockets on the same page if needed.
Where it also comes into its element is being able to integrate various manufacturers. I.e. You've bought gosund now, but next year when you decide you want more smart plugs, they may no longer exist, or you'll find a better deal on another brand. All adding to the nightmare of having to open up separate apps.
Your analogy is fair. I guess the best way I can sell it is...
A) It's inevitable that you'll buy more and more smart home tech, and it will become tedious having manufacturer specific apps to control separate devices.
B) HA is completely open source, so you'll never get cornered/blackmailed into paying to use it. Have a look at the stories about Wink from a couple of years ago, where users had purchased the device and smart components, and Wink blackmailed their users into paying a monthly fee or the devices would become bricked.