Home automation

[Niximus]

I have been playing around with setting up some home automation and was interested if anyone else had something set up and what they were using?

I'm just getting started so my setup is fairly simple at the moment.

The centre of my system is a Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant.
I then have a Xiaomi Aqara Gateway that connects to some wireless switches, a sensor on my front door, and a temp/humidity sensor in the lounge.
I also have 6 RGBW Yeelights (3 in the lounge, 2 in the bar and 1 in the bedroom).
I have Home Assistant configured to connect with IFTTT (If This Then That), which opens up a ton of options for information going each way such as an event sending me an alert, or a trigger in the world sending instructions back to Home Assistant.

As far as things I have it set to do.
In the lounge I have a 2 button wireless switch. The left button toggles the lounge lights on and off, the right button sets them to a low blue light, good for watching TV, and both together sets them to full brightness white.
Similarly in the bedroom, I have a single button wireless switch. Pressing it once toggles the light on and off, double pressing it sets the light to a low level red light, good for 'romance' , and holding it down sets it to full brightness white.

I can control things with Google Home via IFTTT, but the round trip for the information introduces a slight delay. I want to get Home Assistant listening to Google Home directly, though it is fairly complicated so might be a project for another time.

 

[spenze]

I have a remote control for the TV.

Not even being a dick here, that is it.

 

[MRB37]

I bought one of those robot vacuum cleaners that buzzes around the house every couple of days. Still need to vacuum manually once a week or so, but it at least keeps the place looking better, especially since I only have carpet in the two bedrooms.

Raspberry Pi's are great gadgets though. I have one that I turned into a console emulator with all the old school NES/SNS/Megadrive games on it. Can do a lot with them if you take the time to set them up.

 

[MarcusP2]

I have a couple of Phillips Hue lights, that is all. They are good gadgets though, especially when travelling for work I can flick the lights on and off at various times.

 

[Niximus]

I bought one of those robot vacuum cleaners that buzzes around the house every couple of days. Still need to vacuum manually once a week or so, but it at least keeps the place looking better, especially since I only have carpet in the two bedrooms.

Raspberry Pi's are great gadgets though. I have one that I turned into a console emulator with all the old school NES/SNS/Megadrive games on it. Can do a lot with them if you take the time to set them up.

I'd like to get a robot vacuum soon. With a shedding dog we have to vacuum quite a bit to keep on top of it, would be great to have one that does it itself. I was thinking of tying it in with some presence sensors so that if it is midday and no-one is home it will go and do its thing.

I just got a couple of wi-fi power switches I'll set up when I get home tonight. One will go on the Pi itself as I've found that sometimes a hard reset is needed and it'll be good to do that remotely. The other will go on the fan in the bedroom as we sleep with that on at night. The plan there would be to set up a command with Google Home, something like "Hey Google, goodnight" and it automatically turns on the fan and sets the bedroom light to dim.

 

[mistylake]

I’ve got a couple of Wemo led bulbs.
I’m in a rental and I can dim the lights without asking the owner to put in dimmers. I have them turn on and off automatically in the morning because I’m lazy and set them for away mode they turn on and off so it looks like I’m home.

Also I recently got a washer/dryer combo. Chuck everything in when I go to work pack em in the wardrobe when I get home. Sweet.

 

[Niximus]

I’ve got a couple of Wemo led bulbs.
I’m in a rental and I can dim the lights without asking the owner to put in dimmers. I have them turn on and off automatically in the morning because I’m lazy and set them for away mode they turn on and off so it looks like I’m home.

Also I recently got a washer/dryer combo. Chuck everything in when I go to work pack em in the wardrobe when I get home. Sweet.

I'm up to 19 Yeelights now, can control them individually or in groups from anywhere. Have some scripts to change all internal lights at once.

 

[Rusty Crow]

OK Google tell the silly old bastard to go to bed...

 

[AFC3000]

I have been playing around with setting up some home automation and was interested if anyone else had something set up and what they were using?

I'm just getting started so my setup is fairly simple at the moment.

The centre of my system is a Raspberry Pi running Home Assistant.
I then have a Xiaomi Aqara Gateway that connects to some wireless switches, a sensor on my front door, and a temp/humidity sensor in the lounge.
I also have 6 RGBW Yeelights (3 in the lounge, 2 in the bar and 1 in the bedroom).
I have Home Assistant configured to connect with IFTTT (If This Then That), which opens up a ton of options for information going each way such as an event sending me an alert, or a trigger in the world sending instructions back to Home Assistant.

As far as things I have it set to do.
In the lounge I have a 2 button wireless switch. The left button toggles the lounge lights on and off, the right button sets them to a low blue light, good for watching TV, and both together sets them to full brightness white.
Similarly in the bedroom, I have a single button wireless switch. Pressing it once toggles the light on and off, double pressing it sets the light to a low level red light, good for 'romance' , and holding it down sets it to full brightness white.

I can control things with Google Home via IFTTT, but the round trip for the information introduces a slight delay. I want to get Home Assistant listening to Google Home directly, though it is fairly complicated so might be a project for another time.

I've only got a Google Home, couple of Lifx bulbs and Chromecast/Chromecast Audio/Android TV all going through Google Home.

Have an RF blaster on wifi that controls the aircon from my phone but will need something like Home Assistant to get it all working together.

I like having the ability to ask google to wake me up in the morning, or turn the lights off after getting into bed. "Hey Google, listen to X on the bedroom speakers" is good for some music or a podcast in the morning without getting up.

Will likely expand in the coming months and go for the Xiaomi stuff for sensors, are you using there button? (definitely times when the Google Home just won't turn the lights off because it doesn't want to recognise my voice) and the Xiaomi all works with Hass.io?

 

[Niximus]

I've only got a Google Home, couple of Lifx bulbs and Chromecast/Chromecast Audio/Android TV all going through Google Home.

Have an RF blaster on wifi that controls the aircon from my phone but will need something like Home Assistant to get it all working together.

I like having the ability to ask google to wake me up in the morning, or turn the lights off after getting into bed. "Hey Google, listen to X on the bedroom speakers" is good for some music or a podcast in the morning without getting up.

Will likely expand in the coming months and go for the Xiaomi stuff for sensors, are you using there button? (definitely times when the Google Home just won't turn the lights off because it doesn't want to recognise my voice) and the Xiaomi all works with Hass.io?

Yep, I have a couple of types of Xiaomi buttons.

The small round button - https://www.gearbest.com/smart-light-bulb/pp_257679.html
I have these my the light switch in most rooms. They have three modes (press, double press and long press). I typically have press as on/off, double to set a low light (usually red or blue), and long press to return to bright white.

I also have the 2 button one - https://www.gearbest.com/alarm-systems/pp_610095.html
An example use for this is near my passage the left button turns the passage lights on/off, right button for the front and back entrances, and both together for the front and back entrances plus the kitchen.

To have the lights set up with the buttons though, I have to have the Mi Home server set to Mainland China instead of Singapore. The China server doesn't support Google Home so I can't directly control the lights with it. I get around that by setting up scripts in Hass.io and then using Google Home commands to trigger them via IFTTT. It introduces a slight delay but works. You can link Google Home directly to Home Assistant but I haven't got around to that yet as it seems pretty complicated.

Using IFTTT also allows me to have buttons on my phone to execute whatever script I like.

 

[AFC3000]

Yep, I have a couple of types of Xiaomi buttons.

The small round button - https://www.gearbest.com/smart-light-bulb/pp_257679.html
I have these my the light switch in most rooms. They have three modes (press, double press and long press). I typically have press as on/off, double to set a low light (usually red or blue), and long press to return to bright white.

I also have the 2 button one - https://www.gearbest.com/alarm-systems/pp_610095.html
An example use for this is near my passage the left button turns the passage lights on/off, right button for the front and back entrances, and both together for the front and back entrances plus the kitchen.

To have the lights set up with the buttons though, I have to have the Mi Home server set to Mainland China instead of Singapore. The China server doesn't support Google Home so I can't directly control the lights with it. I get around that by setting up scripts in Hass.io and then using Google Home commands to trigger them via IFTTT. It introduces a slight delay but works. You can link Google Home directly to Home Assistant but I haven't got around to that yet as it seems pretty complicated.

Using IFTTT also allows me to have buttons on my phone to execute whatever script I like.

Thanks for those links, I will start with the Xiaomi stuff, I hadn't paid attention to what they were doing with the buttons, but will look into it further. Voice is great, but when Google asks you to repeat the the same thing 3 times it can get a little tiring.

I think for me it's going to be a couple of sensors just to fade some lights up a little when motion is detected at night.

Your power switch on the Pi has got me thinking one on the router, because because that gets annoying. We've also got a garden fountain that has to be turned on from the shed which would be a great candidate for some automation.

I've been keeping an eye on it all for a couple of years, hoping a product would come along and combine everything on one simple device (with enough customization) but it's not quite there, specially if you want to mix and match some of the more affordable products.

I'm sure once I'm done setting up Home Assistant on the Raspberry Pi and getting it all working (most of the time), it would take me a long time ever save that much time, but if you do enjoy the puzzle of putting it all together the results are pretty cool.

 

[Niximus]

Thanks for those links, I will start with the Xiaomi stuff, I hadn't paid attention to what they were doing with the buttons, but will look into it further. Voice is great, but when Google asks you to repeat the the same thing 3 times it can get a little tiring.

I think for me it's going to be a couple of sensors just to fade some lights up a little when motion is detected at night.

Your power switch on the Pi has got me thinking one on the router, because because that gets annoying. We've also got a garden fountain that has to be turned on from the shed which would be a great candidate for some automation.

I've been keeping an eye on it all for a couple of years, hoping a product would come along and combine everything on one simple device (with enough customization) but it's not quite there, specially if you want to mix and match some of the more affordable products.

I'm sure once I'm done setting up Home Assistant on the Raspberry Pi and getting it all working (most of the time), it would take me a long time ever save that much time, but if you do enjoy the puzzle of putting it all together the results are pretty cool.

I should have mentioned too that they buttons (and sensors - I have door and temp/humidity) all link to the Xiaomi Gateway and that is auto-detected when on the same network as the Home Assistant. - https://www.gearbest.com/living-appliances/pp_344667.html

A switch on the router would be good, but would need to be different to the TP-Link ones I have. They allow you to send on/off signals, but not a restart so you'd be able to turn it off, which would power off the router and kill the internet so you couldn't turn it back on.

 

[AFC3000]

I should have mentioned too that they buttons (and sensors - I have door and temp/humidity) all link to the Xiaomi Gateway and that is auto-detected when on the same network as the Home Assistant. - https://www.gearbest.com/living-appliances/pp_344667.html

A switch on the router would be good, but would need to be different to the TP-Link ones I have. They allow you to send on/off signals, but not a restart so you'd be able to turn it off, which would power off the router and kill the internet so you couldn't turn it back on.

I didn't think that one through!

Out of interest, can you specifically tell it to turn off and remain off or does it just toggle?

I'm thinking for example, in summer I turn my aircon on via phone just before I head home, but I don't actually know if it's on or off because the remote I've cloned just has one button that toggles on and off.

If the plugs actually go on and off, I could do that step first.

 

[Niximus]

You can do either.

The switch links with its own app which shows you the state of it and allows you to toggle.

When you set it up in Home Assistant you can call 3 different services for it:
switch.turn_off
switch.turn_on
switch.toggle

So yeah, you could send a specific ON signal.
Here's what the switches look like for me in Home Assistant (and you can access this on Mobile).

So the HA plug is on and the fan is off. they can be toggled on here. I have placed them into a group which is what the switch at the top is for, I can switch the whole group on or off at once.



Same goes for my lighting. I can turn on the Interior Lights Group all at once if I want.

You can change the colour/brightness from Home Assistant too - or set an effect like making them all flash like a police light.

 

[AFC3000]

You can do either.

The switch links with its own app which shows you the state of it and allows you to toggle.

When you set it up in Home Assistant you can call 3 different services for it:
switch.turn_off
switch.turn_on
switch.toggle

So yeah, you could send a specific ON signal.
Here's what the switches look like for me in Home Assistant (and you can access this on Mobile).

So the HA plug is on and the fan is off. they can be toggled on here. I have placed them into a group which is what the switch at the top is for, I can switch the whole group on or off at once.



Same goes for my lighting. I can turn on the Interior Lights Group all at once if I want.


You can change the colour/brightness from Home Assistant too - or set an effect like making them all flash like a police light.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, motivated me to set Hass.io up in a virtual machine to learn it before getting a Raspberry Pi and a few more bits and pieces.

So far have found my devices and added the ones it didn't.

Time to jump on Youtube or other tutorials to learn a bit more!

 

[1970crow]

Yep, I have a couple of types of Xiaomi buttons.

The small round button - https://www.gearbest.com/smart-light-bulb/pp_257679.html
I have these my the light switch in most rooms. They have three modes (press, double press and long press). I typically have press as on/off, double to set a low light (usually red or blue), and long press to return to bright white.

I also have the 2 button one - https://www.gearbest.com/alarm-systems/pp_610095.html
An example use for this is near my passage the left button turns the passage lights on/off, right button for the front and back entrances, and both together for the front and back entrances plus the kitchen.

To have the lights set up with the buttons though, I have to have the Mi Home server set to Mainland China instead of Singapore. The China server doesn't support Google Home so I can't directly control the lights with it. I get around that by setting up scripts in Hass.io and then using Google Home commands to trigger them via IFTTT. It introduces a slight delay but works. You can link Google Home directly to Home Assistant but I haven't got around to that yet as it seems pretty complicated.

Using IFTTT also allows me to have buttons on my phone to execute whatever script I like.

Rudimentary question, but do these systems require a device to be inserted behind existing light switches or is it replacement of the switch in it's entirety. I guess it's the same question for fan switches, wall plugs, a/c's etc.

 

[Niximus]

Rudimentary question, but do these systems require a device to be inserted behind existing light switches or is it replacement of the switch in it's entirety. I guess it's the same question for fan switches, wall plugs, a/c's etc.

The light switches stay on permanently and then the wireless switches tell the globes themselves to switch on/off etc.

For the fan, it's a smart plug that goes into the socket and then the fan plugs into it. The physical switch stays on permanently and it's the smart plug that controls whether the fan gets power or not.

 

[1970crow]

The light switches stay on permanently and then the wireless switches tell the globes themselves to switch on/off etc.

For the fan, it's a smart plug that goes into the socket and then the fan plugs into it. The physical switch stays on permanently and it's the smart plug that controls whether the fan gets power or not.

So for wall plug equipment there's an adaptor that receives the home system signal and for light switches, it's the light bulb itself?

 

[Niximus]

So for wall plug equipment there's an adaptor that receives the home system signal and for light switches, it's the light bulb itself?

Yeah, essentially.

1) For my bedroom fan I have one of these - https://www.tp-link.com/au/products/details/cat-5258_HS100.html
That's the smart plug that goes into the wall that you then plug your device into. When you set that plug up, you connect it to your home wi-fi and it is controllable over the network in a number of ways.

2) These are the light globes I use - https://www.gearbest.com/smart-lighting/pp_361555.html
In the same way, when you set them up you connect them to your wi-fi and can control them remotely, the physical switch giving power to the socket stays on.

3) I have a Xiaomi gateway as well. https://www.gearbest.com/living-appliances/pp_344667.html
That is the central hub for my wireless switches and buttons, as well as some door and temperature sensors.

4) I then have a Raspberry Pi - https://raspberry.piaustralia.com.au/raspberry-pi-3-model-b
that is running an open source software called Home Assistant - https://www.home-assistant.io/

5) And then I have a few Google Home minis around the house.

6) I also make use of a website called If This Then That (IFTTT.com) where you can set up triggers and actions and link together various platforms.

For most things that I do at home, I can make it happen in multiple ways using a combination of the above. For example, I can turn my lights on/off
- Via the Yeelight App on my phone
- Via a button widget I have put on my phone screen so I don't need to open an app even
- Via a voice command to Google Home
- Via the Xiaomi 'Mi Home' app on my phone
- Via the Home Assistant interface wither on my phone, or PC, or
- Via wireless buttons stuck the the wall in various spots around my house.

 

[1970crow]

Yeah, essentially.

1) For my bedroom fan I have one of these - https://www.tp-link.com/au/products/details/cat-5258_HS100.html
That's the smart plug that goes into the wall that you then plug your device into. When you set that plug up, you connect it to your home wi-fi and it is controllable over the network in a number of ways.

2) These are the light globes I use - https://www.gearbest.com/smart-lighting/pp_361555.html
In the same way, when you set them up you connect them to your wi-fi and can control them remotely, the physical switch giving power to the socket stays on.

3) I have a Xiaomi gateway as well. https://www.gearbest.com/living-appliances/pp_344667.html
That is the central hub for my wireless switches and buttons, as well as some door and temperature sensors.

4) I then have a Raspberry Pi - https://raspberry.piaustralia.com.au/raspberry-pi-3-model-b
that is running an open source software called Home Assistant - https://www.home-assistant.io/

5) And then I have a few Google Home minis around the house.

6) I also make use of a website called If This Then That (IFTTT.com) where you can set up triggers and actions and link together various platforms.

For most things that I do at home, I can make it happen in multiple ways using a combination of the above. For example, I can turn my lights on/off
- Via the Yeelight App on my phone
- Via a button widget I have put on my phone screen so I don't need to open an app even
- Via a voice command to Google Home
- Via the Xiaomi 'Mi Home' app on my phone
- Via the Home Assistant interface wither on my phone, or PC, or
- Via wireless buttons stuck the the wall in various spots around my house.

Bloody hell, thanks for that. The only reason that I'm looking at this smart home control stuff is that after waking up to the intruder in our bedroom in the early hours of Tuesday morning, I've been researching security stuff. Specifically the alerts when doors or windows open. What then comes up when looking at these is that they integrated with various smart home systems. I don't think I need one necessarily, the security side is the primary goal, but I definitely didn't want to end up regretting the security equipment not being able to integrate if I ended up going down that track.

Thanks for all that, it's really helpful.