Smart Home

[dionysus]

Just curious if anyone has a smart home.
I got a place with my mother and I've been trying to simplify her life. I can dance around some tech but noone would accuse me of being exactly savvy or millenially current

Been looking at a few things and not sure really the route to go or the best avenues to take. We've androids and google home (mini/assistant) and so while I can install and access the apps she can voice activate anything by screaming at her phone or the mini.

So not sure if I go bulbs and hub which allow her to turn on/off/dim lights without her getting up ex for living room and kitchen and bathroom at night, basement stairs that have overhead lights

Or go with hubless wifi outlets that connect to items such as lamps, the fireplace etc.

Or maybe there's some magical all-in-one I havent heard of.

Thoughts?

 

[Playford7]

Smart heating is a good thing. I’ve got that and works a treat.
Set the radiators to come on about 30m before I’m home, or set them to off when I’m about to leave, hive I use.
Also got Apple TV etc.. all gimmicky products and not all that helpful, but hive I like.

 

[robby811]

I got only a Smart Phone may be it can help you out for calls

 

[dionysus]

Smart heating is a good thing. I’ve got that and works a treat.
Set the radiators to come on about 30m before I’m home, or set them to off when I’m about to leave, hive I use.
Also got Apple TV etc.. all gimmicky products and not all that helpful, but hive I like.

cheers. we actually have 4 electric fireplaces for the home - pricey(ish) up front cost - but theyve pretty much already paid themselves off in what we had in heating bills, by only heating the rooms we need and timers to warm rooms before bed until we wake

 

[MaltesePlayer]

Depends on your budget and possible options..

Personally I role with the Philips Hue which connects via a hub, a bit pricey but the non colour ones are still dim-able and bright enough to blind a person that looks at them

They connect via google assistant / their own app (which u can set to switch on after sun down when it catches you entering it's geolocation) and you can even set them to switch on from outside while driving home..

Voice assistant is quite accurate and they regularly update them with better features They also have different kinds of bulbs or even fully fledged lamps

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[paul7388]

I already have a kind of smart home. I can turn the lights on , tidy the house , turn tv kettle washing machine etc. on all by voice activation. In fact just about anything can get done like that,

All i do is sit on my ass and shout to the missus gonna do whatever it is i want done.

Shit just realised my house is more like 18th century than 21st

 

[dionysus]

lol, well, i spent a few hrs and figured on the route ill take as a starter (ill upgrade f i own).
Not quite going paul's route

since mom has enough issues answering the cell, never mind any synched devices, im getting her a dozen bulbs that work off a remote - no hub, no assistant, bit old school, but still 'new school' for her. Theyve different colours, moods, dimmer etc but itll be good for xmas and and deck/summer as well. And so she can get up and down stairs and and in the middle of the night and trigger deck light from the drive. Timers too.
And for me, a few smart bulbs for the main areas for the google assistant - next year, a few smart plugs that run off the same app for tv, kettle, fireplaces etc.

 

[robby811]

@paul7388 dont even has a smartphone he is using

 

[dionysus]

 

[robby811]

hahahah

 

[NeverLucky]

Smart Home/Automation are certainly interesting, however the problem i personally see is that too many devices will end up vulnerable.
If someone can control my light - well thats no biggie. However, i wouldn't trust a 5€ chinese smart outlet (they are out there) and plug bigger appliances into those -- because they will probably not be very secure from the get go and i doubt they'll be receiving security updates at all.

The Hue lights do look like a great option for lights, however im not quite willing to pay the price currently asked and will wait it out until they become cheaper and you dont go broke trying to replace one bulb .

Dont get me wrong, i like the Idea for light/smart heating... just not sure i would want to use it for anything else at this moment.

 

[robby811]

Smart Home/Automation are certainly interesting, however the problem i personally see is that too many devices will end up vulnerable.
If someone can control my light - well thats no biggie. However, i wouldn't trust a 5€ chinese smart outlet (they are out there) and plug bigger appliances into those -- because they will probably not be very secure from the get go and i doubt they'll be receiving security updates at all.

The Hue lights do look like a great option for lights, however im not quite willing to pay the price currently asked and will wait it out until they become cheaper and you dont go broke trying to replace one bulb .

Dont get me wrong, i like the Idea for light/smart heating... just not sure i would want to use it for anything else at this moment.

I control your cats meow

 

[dunover]

I need the 'smart missus' app where she gets the kettle on when my car is detected within 2 minutes of the house by GPS, the heating cannot be set to more than 19c and the TV box can only play back the crap TV she records when it doesn't detect my presence within the house. If it detects her yapping for more than 10secs the smoke alarm shrieks to shut her up.

 

[goatwack]

I'm not best qualified to give advice on this, I live in a dumb home, along with all its contents and residents

Though tell a lie, sometimes if the grill on our cooker keeps cutting out I'll shout at it until it (eventually) stays lit