how smart has your home gone?

andy_mk3 · 12 Aug 2022 at 10:49

chrcoluk said:
Just smart bulb in my bedroom.

I was going to expand until what I discovered.

I assumed the bulb would be wifi network only, it was advertised as a wifi bulb. But the only thing wifi about it is it uses that connection type to connect to the internet, I couldnt control it until I had setup an account on some china based server. It can only be controlled via the app if online on the internet. As its done via a server, it also phones home a lot when idle. I didnt bother to setup the echo device I purchased.

I looked into proper wifi only or bluetooth bulbs and seems they much more expensive.

As @LuckyBenski said above you want some ZigBee devices, all my smart home bulbs, switches and sensors are ZigBee connected to a Conbee II, all local control with low power usage and full control

Semple said:
Been using these for about a year. I've got a custom 3D printed mount that attaches to a light switch to give access to the physical switch behind it.

Ah nice. You have a link to it at all? Might be handy in future.

Terminal_Boy said:
Something to do with their not having been tested to any recognised safety standard by an accredited testing agency?

Aqara sell lots of other stuff in the UK, and these are battery powered ZigBee devices not mains powered.

chrcoluk · 12 Aug 2022 at 19:58

andy_mk3 said:
As @LuckyBenski said above you want some ZigBee devices, all my smart home bulbs, switches and sensors are ZigBee connected to a Conbee II, all local control with low power usage and full control

Ah nice. You have a link to it at all? Might be handy in future.

Aqara sell lots of other stuff in the UK, and these are battery powered ZigBee devices not mains powered.

Looks pretty neat actually will invest in this, thanks.

andy_mk3 · 12 Aug 2022 at 22:25

chrcoluk said:
Looks pretty neat actually will invest in this, thanks.

Zigbee2Mqtt is awesome for this in Home Assistant. I can even do firmware updates on my Philips Hue bulbs still without using any Philips hub, app or software of any kind.

Currently up to 53 Zigbee devices.

NeilF · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:20

Hue question - So with the last two power cuts we've had, when the power returns not only have all the Hue lights come back on, but some (a 5m light strip) even had it's colour altered/reset.

I believe all my lights are set to "Power On" of "Power loss recovery" which surely is designed to simply return them back to their state when the powercut happed? But it's not doing that

What on earth is the "Last On" setting then?

andy_mk3 · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:24

NeilF said:
Hue question - So with the last two power cuts we've had, when the power returns not only have all the Hue lights come back on, but some (a 5m light strip) even had it's colour altered/reset.

I believe all my lights are set to "Power On" of "Power loss recovery" which surely is designed to simply return them back to their state when the powercut happed? But it's not doing that

What on earth is the "Last On" setting then?

The power on setting should do exactly that, restore whichever state you set after a power loss. Mine seem to work fine so not sure what is going on with yours. Might be worth changing the settings and trying it to see if it responds any differently.

NeilF · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:25

andy_mk3 said:
The power on setting should do exactly that, restore whichever state you set after a power loss. Mine seem to work fine so not sure what is going on with yours. Might be worth changing the settings and trying it to see if it responds any differently.

They are all set to "Power Loss Recovery", this results in seeming all Hue bulbs, light strips, smart plugs all turning ON and some even changing colour after a power cut.

Should they all be set to "Last On" instead?

andy_mk3 · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:30

Power loss recovery setting should set it back to the last known state, whether it was on or off.

NeilF · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:33

andy_mk3 said:
Power loss recovery setting should set it back to the last known state, whether it was on or off.

It's not... All the bulbs are turning on. Hue smart plugs are on. Strips are on and even changing colour.

andy_mk3 · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:34

Like I said, change the setting and see if it responds to that. Then change it back to power loss again and see what happens.

NeilF · 1 Sep 2022 at 16:40

andy_mk3 said:
Like I said, change the setting and see if it responds to that. Then change it back to power loss again and see what happens.

"responds to that" is tricky as we're talking about power cuts...

Still can't work out what the difference between the "Power Loss Recovery" and "Last on" setting is suppose to be?

Note: The smart plugs only have the "Power Loss Recovery" option.

NeilF · 1 Sep 2022 at 17:29

andy_mk3 said:
Like I said, change the setting and see if it responds to that. Then change it back to power loss again and see what happens.

BIZARRE!

So I went thru a number of devices (the three smart plugs, the light strip, and about half a dozen of my 20+ bulbs) and changed their "Power On" setting away from "Power Loss Recovery" and then went back into them and returned them to "Power Loss Recovery".

We've just had ANOTHER POWER cut and every bulb, switch and strip returned to their setting as expected this time... Obviously even the ones I hadn't gone into and altered.

Bizarre! I'm also wondering if the nature/duration/bad luck of the power cut can affect if Hue returns the devices back to their previous setting correctly?

andy_mk3 · 1 Sep 2022 at 17:32

NeilF said:
"responds to that" is tricky as we're talking about power cuts...

Still can't work out what the difference between the "Power Loss Recovery" and "Last on" setting is suppose to be?

Note: The smart plugs only have the "Power Loss Recovery" option.

You can still turn the lights off at the wall to replicate the issue though.

NeilF said:
BIZARRE!

So I went thru a number of devices (the three smart plugs, the light strip, and about half a dozen of my 20+ bulbs) and changed their "Power On" setting away from "Power Loss Recovery" and then went back into them and returned them to "Power Loss Recovery".

We've just had ANOTHER POWER cut and every bulb, switch and strip returned to their setting as expected this time... Obviously even the ones I hadn't gone into and altered.

Bizarre! I'm also wondering if the nature/duration/bad luck of the power cut can affect if Hue returns the devices back to their previous setting correctly?

Strange. How long was the power cut? It takes a couple of seconds for them to fully power down due to residual power in capacitors.

NeilF · 1 Sep 2022 at 17:39

andy_mk3 said:
You can still turn the lights off at the wall to replicate the issue though.

Strange. How long was the power cut? It takes a couple of seconds for them to fully power down due to residual power in capacitors.

All my main bulbs are hard wired in. ie: Not power switch. I'd need to turn them off at the fuse box. And none of that replicates the hub/wifi going down as per a proper powercut.

The two powercuts today have both been several minutes+.

the shadow · 1 Sep 2022 at 19:25

arknor · 2 Sep 2022 at 00:08

Lights behinds TV etc seem kinda pointless.... put LEDS behind my monitor that flash in tune to audio and I don't even notice they are there when I'm watching the screen

jpaul · 2 Sep 2022 at 08:20

coloured lights yes - but basic bias lighting V
it's like driving at night if you look directly at headlights it's tiring and more importantly you can't then see the detail during the dark scenes (from your expensive oled)

jpaul said:
Anyway, if you are not watching TV in the dark -
( could not find the % of people that do but this is interesting How Bad Is It for Your Eyes to Watch Television in the Dark? )
then LCD dissenters should see a decent IPS screen, where the rhetoric halo/bleed/contrast/viewing-angle are not a problem .... it's a good job for LG that they have not

NeilF · 2 Sep 2022 at 09:32

So three more power cuts over last night. Each one lasting several minutes. At the end of each one, all my Hue bulbs/devices (strips & plugs) were turned on and with all colour reset. ie: Every single bulb and strip was (reset) to a warm white colour.

So over the course of about 7 power cuts in the last 24hrs, 6 left all my Hue devices on/reset. And just one time, the Hue bulbs/unit were left set to the previous setting (which is obviously what I have them set to do).

It's ridiculous that a power cut leaves every Hue unit turned on/reset

matt100 · 2 Sep 2022 at 11:29

Ok I can't not ask..

1) How on earth have you wound up with hardwired bulbs? I have half a mind thats illegal but I may be wrong.
2) What the hell is going on with your power? I think I've had maybe 1 or 2 in the last 5 years, not per day?

the shadow · 4 Sep 2022 at 08:11

jpaul · 5 Sep 2022 at 12:50

bias tv lighting....

after reading up about bias / behind tv , lighting benefits - now looking for a high CRI 6500K/D50 dimmable (smart or dumb+dimmer) bulb could be mount behind tv,
currently always have an uplighter on in living room, but this could make tv watching a bit more involved/cosy.

What are the proven benefits of bias lighting?
1. Reduces or eliminates eye strain and viewing fatigue in dark viewing conditions.
2. Eliminates image contamination due to reflections, haze and glare on the screen from conventional room lighting.
3. Enhances perceived black levels, contrast ratio, and picture detail by enabling dark adapted viewing.
4. Preserves correct color perception of the video image by the viewer.
5. ~~Prolongs monitor phosphor life (phosphors are used in CRTs, plasmas, LCDs with CCF or white LED back lighting) by enabling dark room viewing and lowering of screen brightness requirements.~~
6. Provides a low level of illumination in the room for movement and peripheral activities.