@suzithewitch
I love your sense of humor and subscribed for that alone :) When I started automating my home, I did one thing right and one thing wrong. First, I used the "sigh" method of automation. What made my husband or son (or me) sigh? I remember my first one was my husband (who had bad knees) would sigh in frustration when he sat down, got all comfortable, had a cat in his lap, and realized he forgot to turn on the fan. So, I created an automation that when he sat down in his chair, the fan would turn on. My son would feel terrible when he would do the trash at night but then forget to close the garage door. So, I created an automation that would close the garage door after a certain time. These automations worked great and were invisible to the family. They didn't have to remember a certain phrase with Alexa. They didn't have to change their routine in any way to accommodate the house. Just live your life and the house worked for you. The thing I did wrong was not getting buy in from my family. In my defense, it never occurred to me that they wouldn't love home automation. When my son heard the garage door close, he didn't think, "Ah, the house is taking care of me". What he heard was, "I forgot the garage door! AGAIN!" So now, when I hear a sigh of frustration, I ask my son what he thinks. Does he want an automation? If so, how would he like it to work? Since doing that, he's even approached me with automation ideas!
@chrishenry6104
Hi Jimmy, I use Home Assistant as well. I get up early for work which in Winter is before sunrise and I have an aquarium in my room. When I turn the light on this wakes the fish and I did not want to influence their circadian rhythms by then switching off the light and leaving, so my automation is as follows. - If it is a work day, gradually fade the lights up and start to indicate by colour going whiter closer to my departure time. - Leave the lights on, this is enough to side illuminate my aquarium and the fish start their day, - 45 minutes after Sunrise, the curtain will open to allow natural light in. - 60 minutes after Sunrise, the internal lighting will go out.
@armadillito
I reckon the real value in smart home automation is making optimal use of passive heat gain and loss to maintain a comfortable temperature with minimal energy use. Automated blinds or even air vents networked with brightness and temperature sensors and perhaps weather forecasting could go a long way.
@Thejakegee
I am in this ship. I am comfortable with the automations. I helped a neighbor get his up, and I realized that we have a lot of work to do to help the public understand.
@xiaowong6651
2:05 I control the TV and the lights with the IR-blaster in my phone. It takes a little getting used to but the ability to make buttons you use often larger slightly reduces the initial convenience problems. Of course you won't get that feeling that buttons give you (both sensing what button your finger is on and feedback).
@KevinBourgeois
Found this video while looking for ideas for other Smart Home automations. Glad to see my own trip down the rabbit hole is similar to others. Started with some Arlo smart cameras and a Nest Thermostat. Then added a Gen 1 Google Assistant speaker. Then was off to the races as they say. Now just about every outlet, light switch and fan in my home is smart. Once you start it's really hard to stop. Recently added Home Assistant as when my GF moved in I needed to also support Apple/HomeKit. Had that same issue and needed to force compatibility as you say. HomeBridge is great for that too. When we eventually sell this home it will be hard to leave so much of this hardware behind. But looking forward to Matter and hopefully my next Smart Home will be easier and deployed smarter. Also really like what you did with the blinds may look into adding something similar.
@2k_the_producer
I see that home assistant brings them all together in Apple home, but can you say “hey siri” or “hey Alexa” or “hey google” to any device and it will control the devices? My whole problem is getting google and Alexa to voice command the same devices, without setting it up x2 in each
@ChrisVisserDev
I started with Homey Pro as my main smart ecosystem. Incredible experience. Recommend to both techies and non-techies
@Siticmon
the intro is spot on happening to me lmao, i bought a fan because i was hot and before i know it i'm buying a new lamp because i really want a smart light bulb in it, then i find out i could get a really cheap temp sensor, then i'm thinking i'll connect it all to google home so i need a hub.. god damnit what a time to be alive
@TheRiehlThing42
Great video, thank you! I'm starting out small, just bedroom and bathroom speakers, and adding lights next. I have a ceiling fan, and that will be something to look at, unless just leave it on all day.
@teddmented
My finger can turn a light on and off. No connectivity or adaptability issues to deal with. Also, my hand can open and close blinds. Instead of opening my app and pressing a button with my finger, I just use my hand and move 10 feet to the blind.
@VilleGentil
Simple and effective — love it.
@elpinktomate
Where did you get the hexagonal wall lamp? can you share the link? looks great! and great video too!
@TheodoreRaven
You have a real knack for explaining things clearly. Keep it up!
@8Arachne8
Awesome video, appreciate the honest look. Slowly getting started myself. Apparently I need to Home Assistant and need to spend some time tinkering.
@ThomasGoor
Thanks for the video. Good idea with doing a room at a time. I've definitely jumped down the HA wormhole / rabbit-hole and I'm loving it! Setting up my Home Office to go into YouTube filming mode is my next step. I had a raspberry Pi laying around and an ikea Zigbee hub. I'm going to buy a Zigbee / Z-wave / whatever is the best and cheapest! I'm thinking building some WLEDs + ESP32's for the bedroom, Kitchen and Living room will be straight after I setup the office.
@MckensyLong
"Where here to spend hundreds of hours now, to save minutes later..." The most honest smart home review.
@yaroslav_holub
"Significant other to wake up" - made me smile. Great video finally properly explaining how it works. The humor injected into the video makes it more enjoyable to watch and easier to understand.
@everrrabadan
I love this video! Saving it to my future smart house playlist
@SuitedFlame