Hey all, we’re moving into a new place soon and I want to start making it a smart home. I have some experience with wifi-based smart bulbs from TP-Link Kasa and a ring camera, but that’s about it. I need to update the switches in the house anyway, so I figure that’s a good place to start.
A few details:
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The house was built in the early 60s, so I’m guessing no neutral wires. (It doesn’t look like most of the switches have been updated since it was built)
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All the bedrooms have overhead fans with just a single switch controlling them. Is there any way to use smart tech to control the fan and light separately? This isn’t a huge priority, but would be nice even if it’s in the distant future.
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I use Google Home
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While I consider myself probably technical enough to figure out and set up something like Homeassistant, complex automation is not my goal (right now). Voice command and remote command via smartphone is the primary concern.
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I have no hubs/thread border router right now.
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I’d very much prefer something that will last / something that I won’t need to update or replace after a few years. (I’m not very familiar with the longevity of the software running some of these smart home options. I’ve had a couple Kasa bulbs for over 5 years, but I’m not sure if that’s common or not.)
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I think there are a lot of unknown unknowns for me. This is an area of tech I just haven’t kept up with.
I’m just a bit lost, and with reddit gone I’m not sure what to trust. Any guidance on where to start would be very appreciated!
IMO the way to go is to slowly transition, and avoid systems, hardware and softwares that depends on the cloud as much as possible. If you can, try to stick to one open standard and don’t deviate unless you have absolutely no choice.
You should be able to disconnect the Internet and control everything locally on your home wireless network. If you can’t, then you don’t own it.
Sure, you can make some automation rely on some weather services (OpenWeatherMap), but you could go one step further and deploy your own weather station on your property (ie: attached to the shed, etc). That way even if the Internet goes out, you can still automate based on local data.
Avoiding the cloud is a good tip. It’s weird to trigger a device then have that communication bounce around to different servers only to come back just to turn on a light bulb a few feet away. If one of those companies goes under or decides to shutdown the service your device is probably useless. If the internet is down so is your light bulb.