I made my home a smart home with automatic lights, door locks, Google/Amazon voice, Harmony Hub, etc. "De-smarting" the house turned into a nightmare when it was time to leave. Removing my account from my thermostat resulted in a factory reset and I had to have it re-setup the day before closing because it stopped working (I had an older house that required some device customization). The internet had been cancelled so I couldn't de-link my Lutron lights anymore so I ended up taking the bridge with me.

Just wanted to throw that out there for people who don't intend to stay in their house forever. Think about how you'll de-smart it when setting things up in the beginning, and make sure your home network is still active when it's time to remove a bridge.

I've been watching a few YouTube videos recently and noticed that a lot of them are focused on reviewing products rather than talking about what is being automated.

Which got me thinking - 1). What top (3?) things would you like to automate but haven't and 2). What top (3?) things would you like to automate but can't (yet).

Here's my top 3 for each:

1). Would like to automate but haven't....

- Alarm house when we leave. Easy to do as I would like to automate our existing alarm system (using Konnected) but the family still want a manual keypad - the only ones I can find are US based so need to sort shipping.

- Open garage when I get home (or on request). We've got an old school garage (lift to open). I would like to automate opening and locking of the garage.

- Be notified when someone arrives at home. Just haven't yet got around to getting one. Interested in the new Aqara G4 but no RTSP feed or connection to Home Assistant.

2). Would like to automate but can't (yet)....

- Monitor our LPG use. We get our gas via a tank in our garden. It doesn't appear that I can automate monitoring the use of that tank from the research I've done.

- Create a food list when we throw something away (or get close to being empty on products) I'd like to be able to create an online shopping list.

- Be notified when plants / vegetables need watering. Well perhaps not strictly can't - I expect it is possible, just haven't yet investigated.

Would love to hear yours....

So I am buying a new house and want to monitor energy consumption, what do you guys recommend I do / buy ?

Over the past couple of years I've bought Calex Smart bulbs, Calex camera's and 'TCP Smart' plugs.

It all works ok but I recently switched from BT to Virgin for internet and, of course, everything is cloud and everything stopped working.

Are there any guides anywhere which will take someone through setting up an in-house home automation setup which does not use cloud based services? Not talking about 'Here, read this 20 page document on ZigBee and then watch this 40 min video on top 5 smart cameras'. I don't want to be a smart home expert.

I have Alexa in most rooms but am happy to put another solution alongside it. I have a few spare laptops which can be repurposed to drive the solution. I'm happy to sell my current smart plugs, bulbs and camera and get something which will talk to an in-house system.

So what I am looking for is:

What software/server do I have locally to run a smart home?

What plugs do I use? Am I able to reflash the equipment I already have? I think Calex and TCP Smart use 'Tuya', does this mean anything?

What camera's can I get which do not need a cloud service to work? What is the best DVR software these days? (I had camera's years ago which you just put in their IP address and could see the feed. I also had some cheap software that I could give the IP address to and it would record and alert me. This was over 10 years ago. We have gone backwards!)

I'm configuring wmbusmeters (https://github.com/wmbusmeters) with a im871a (https://wireless-solutions.de/products/m-bus/im871a-usb/) to use a Multical21 (https://www.kamstrup.com/en-en/water-solutions/meters-devices/meters/multical-21) from Kamtrup.

Im running version 1.12.0-12-g0297e7c of wmbusmeters.

I've have set the config-file and KEM-file and I'm getting data and it's decrypted. Everything looks good but I get inconsistent amount of data. Sometimes I get data several times a minute and sometimes once every 4 hours.

The collector and the water meter is a few meters away from each other, behind a wall.

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Screenshot of stats

The only thing I can think of is the different modes. Right now its in C2 mode. Should I change the mode or is it something else?

I would like to add additional in-wall manual switch for a light, but that in-wall socket does not have wiring to the light in question. So I need to use something that can replace the wire. Can someone suggest what to use.

Per the title, whenever I return home, I have to open the app in order to get the “Auto Unlock” to trigger. Doesn’t matter if I wait 3-5 minutes. I have location set to Always and Background Refresh turned on (iOS).

Any ideas?

Thanks so much

Hi guys, total technology noob here.

I am leaving my apartment for an extended period of time and I want to buy a security camera to monitor it.

However, I have no idea where or what to look for. I will be out of the country and i’d like to have access of live footage at any point. I dont know if wifi is an issue (i live in a student accommodation so we all use the same wifi). What do you guys recommend?

Thanks! :)

So I have many Phillips Hue bulbs in my entertainment room in my basement. I also have a few Phillips Wiz bulbs in that area as well (for ambient lighting). All of these bulbs are controlled by switches, as any light is. The issue is that my wife and kids like to use switches to turn the lights on and off. Obviously if the switch is in the off position I can’t have Alexa turn it on either via voice or preprogrammed routines. Also if the lights are on but someone (usually me) turns them off using voice commands the next person to try to turn them on (my non tech savvy wife and kids) will most likely use the light switch first. This will actually end up shutting the lights off and now they wont respond to voice commands so I’ll hear yelling from the basement “ALEXA!!! LIGHTS ON!!”

So what’s the best way to solve this issue? I’m guessing some sort of smart switch that will still respond to voice commands regardless of switch position. And then just route voice commands through that switch. Any ideas?

I want to set up a dimmable light for my bedroom (no fixed lighting fixtures, just floor lamps).

I was originally looking for dimmable outlets (I have a number of dumb outlets in the room I could swap out), but I cannot for the life of me find one. So I started looking for bulbs (which I would prefer to avoid but if that's the only option then so be it), but they aren't exactly easy to find either.

Is there somewhere I should be looking? I have a z-wave mesh in my house already, so I'd prefer to stick to that.

I currently have a 2 in 1 double rocker style switch that I wanted to replace. Unfortunately, my dumb ass bought a single pole on/off style Caseta switch without thinking. I'm going to install this and lose one of the loads but wondering if anyone has any suggestions for smart switches that work like the dual rocker 2 in 1?

Hi, could anyone point me in the direction of repeating signals sent over RJ11? Have a Steamist 150 controller with easy access to where it terminates at the generator. Trying to figure out how to “record” on command so I could have it pre-heat as part of another automation.

The physical connection is an RJ11 jack. Thanks!

Here’s my dilemma. I use HomeKit and was going to buy a new fan but all HomeKit fans I saw are 50 plus inches. Wife says that will be too big for bedroom. I’m looking for controllers to put in fan canopy but haven’t found any for HomeKit. I’m also looking for wall switches. The problem with that is that I don’t have a neutral wire and looks like they all need that.

Don’t want to deal with home assistant or the likes.

I do use Aqara so if I can find a work around with them it’s fine. My current thought is to just use a smart light switch to turn it off and on and use smart bulbs to control them separately. So we can turn it on when we walk in room for bed. And we get in bed ask Siri to turn off the lights. We have Phillips Hue bulbs , they remember their last state as power goes on and off so that may work as a workaround.

Any thoughts.

I have a Yale asure zwave 220 lock. It's paired with a ring alarm system. I can lock it by putting in my pin number but then when I put my hand over the keypad it unlocks without a code!

Does anyone know if there is a setting causing this?

I have Home Assistant running. Water pump (450W) that's connected to a water level switch on the water tank—the level switch is a basic toggle switch with two live wires just like a light switch, it will turn the pump when the water level is low and off when high.

Recently, I installed a new irrigation line with Tuya smart valve controller on the irrigation valve. I want the pump to operate as usual and also when the irrigation valve is opened/closed. Currently, I have to manually plug and unplug the water pump to another outlet to override the level switch when I water the plants.

I'm considering using a Sonoff DUALR3. I have created a schematic that shows how I plan to connect the Sonoff DUALR3 to the pump and the water level switch. However, I'm not sure if this is the best solution. I'm open to suggestions on other devices or methods that could achieve my goal more efficiently.

Thank you.

Hello there,

I recently rented an apartment with Somfy Smoove wall mounted switches to control the shutters. The previous tenant didn't leave any instructions, nor does the landlord.

Sometimes they just have a red light on and I "reload" the switch by holding the up and down buttons simultaneously. But what's driving me crazy is that after 1+ month they started to open/close automatically during the night! The timing seems random to me, but it is very annoying and I now have only one option—to shut it down with the kill switch every night.

I can see that the system is behaving incorrectly, but I can't find any reliable instructions for my model and I can't fix it myself.

Do you have any ideas on how to set it up properly?

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https://preview.redd.it/ixxvyuuuk2qa1.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=3aecb3318590a826ec55f161173e71d79882c8be

I live in a prewar apartment building where the locks are attached to the door, not built into it. I received a eufy lock as a gift and would like to use it or exchange for a more appropriate lock. Any thoughts on if this lock is compatible?

https://us.eufy.com/products/t8520

Hi there!

I'm interested in replacing my three way light switches with switches that have no state. Meaning that when someone presses up on the switch to turn the light on, the switch bounces back to a centre neutral position. Lots of smart switches work this way, but I'm hoping to find something cheaper than those. Does such a product exist?

Thanks!

I have multiple mobile app remote controls for things like my LG TV, Apple TV, Zidoo Media Player, Sonos Soundbar etc.

Anyway to combine or have then grouped better? Physically I could get a harmony remote control but looking to group these via a master app if possible.

Don’t know how to make the app function work without me there to physically press the remote start button every time, including between washer/dryer cycles, and arbitrarily choose whether to press the buttons right in front of me or on the app.

Is there at least a way to ensure that it can complete both washing and drying cycles without needing somebody there, in the middle, to be physically present at the washer to press the button?