Can You Do Any Better? [Smart Apartment]

activ8newbs on 12/12/2019 - 15:34

Hi Ozb,

I've got a small 50 sqm, 1 bedroom, apartment. Usually I'm quite averse to smart tech because I find that it's expensive, and only marginally practical. But I picked up a couple of Powerboards from Aldi for $20 each (on clearance and less than 3 in stock, so I didn't post on Ozb). They're a 3 socket power board, with smart home capability.

In true Ozb fashion "buy now, regret later", I purchased them without a use. Recently, I realised that I can probbaly use them in the apartment for my smart home. Here's what I've got - tell me if you suggest/recommend otherwise.

1) Inside the roof, plug the existing Downlights, into the 3 x Port PowerBoards, to make the apartment have smart lighting throughout. Setup a routine to turn the lights off when I say "Ok google, I'm leaving" and turn them on when I say Ok google I'm home.

2) Xiaomi robovac to vacuum and mop the place

3) Fingerprint reader smart doorlock (if/when strata approves)…does anyone have experience with this?

4) Smart blinds mechanism for curtains (Seeking recommendations on inexpensive smart blind mechanism)

Don't need a smart kettle for coffee as we don't drink coffee, but we do have a (smart) Scale [xiaomi].

We've also got 3 lifx bulbs in the living room for ambience when watching movies on the chromecast.

Additionally, have a few GHM for music around the house (will sync them so they can play music in stereo around the apartment.

Is there anything else you suggest that you would add/remove before I start putting this all together? Any use for sensors or Hubs? Any use for thermostat/nest in an apartment with 2 x Split System air conds (one air cond in each space)?

Oh, also have a smart plug for electric blankets (for winter) in case we get paranoid that we forgot to turn off the electric blanket whilst at work.

Thx

Home & Garden

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2019 - 15:43
    +7

    Inside the roof, plug the existing Downlights, into the 3 x Port PowerBoards…

    I need someone qualified to back me up/refute this. I have been told using power plugs in a non accessible cavity (roof space included) is not up to code.

    • activ8newbs on 12/12/2019 - 15:52

      Hmm interesting point…I didn't think of this…

      Anyone to confirm?

      • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2019 - 16:10
        +4

        PS. I do it too because a roof cavity isn't as "inaccessible" as numpties make it out to be. Fantastic storage space if people know not to load the plaster.

    • geek001 on 12/12/2019 - 17:08

      I have seen electricians run power points to a plasterboard cavity that is really small. To change the downlight, you just need to reach into the downlight hole, plug it in and put the downlight back. Does that count as non-accessible?

      • [Deactivated] on 12/12/2019 - 18:52

        I don't make the rules. I break them.

      • timthetoolman on 12/12/2019 - 19:15

        They're not power points but plugs ran off a lighting cable to plug the downlight in. Very common now and then anyone can change their light.

      • brad1-8tsi on 13/12/2019 - 08:04
        +1

        They are surface mount plugs and not a powerboard.

  • Room Temperature on 12/12/2019 - 15:49

    Nope.

  • 0FoxGiven on 12/12/2019 - 16:07
    +2

    I daresay I do a bit better

    • I too have Lifx Downlights in my Living room, Dining room and Bedroom. I like Lifx cuz its needs no hub of its own to operate and can change colors and brightness without needing another dumb dimmer switch
    • Turn on/off my tv with Alexa
    • My Mitsubishi Electric ducted reverse cycle air conditioning also works with Alexa and I control my heating and cooling at home with voice commands. Also turn on the AC remotely when I'm 10 min away from home on hot/cold days.
    • Air Conditioning does dry out the air a bit so I use a Smart diffuser as a humidifier at nights with my "Goodnight" routine; which turns on my diffuser (which automatically turns off after 3 hours), turns off the lights and plays white noise on my smart speaker
    • My appliances that draw on vampire power are connected to Xiaomi smart plugs which power off when I activate my home alarm system (Just a basic Xiaomi Gateway paired with motion sensors). Activating my alarm also, powers ON my robo vaccum that has a routine to clean up the place starting at noon on weekdays.
    • This bonus one is not really a "Smart home" thingy but I timed my Heat Pump water heater to start heating around noon time when my Solar panels are generating max power. I also run my washing machine at around this time.
    • dcep on 12/12/2019 - 16:34

      My Mitsubishi Electric ducted reverse cycle air conditioning also works with Alexa

      was it retrofit or came ready featured ?

      • 0FoxGiven on 12/12/2019 - 16:43

        Alexa Integration was not a feature when I got it. It had a packaged/ready featured wifi control unit which allowed for control via mobile app. Alexa support was rolled lout about 2 months after I got it.

  • spackbace on 12/12/2019 - 16:14
    • Smart lights in the bedrooms, my daughters have coloured ones and they like it colour cycling as a nightlight. I like the different brightness/whiteness in the bedroom depending on what I'm doing
    • GHM and GH (with another GHM still in it's box)
    • Xbox set up to operate via GH commands
    • TV turns on/off from GH using a Blackbean
    • Smart power switch for the iron (about to get one for the Christmas Tree)

    • Chromecast on bedroom tv

    • Used to use the blackbean for the a/c at the last house, can't use it on current ducted system :(

    • Robo vacuum is on the shopping list

  • Muzeeb on 12/12/2019 - 16:49

    I've got a small 50 sqm

    Whaaaat! My 2 cars enjoy more space than this in their garage.

    • mbck on 12/12/2019 - 17:54

      It's not the size, it's how you use it

  • spiff on 12/12/2019 - 16:53

    Allowing Google Assistant to invade my privacy to control:
    Brilliant smart downlights
    Brilliant outdoor security light
    Brilliant strip light
    Sonos Beam for GA microphone
    Control Roborock
    TP Link smart outlet for bug zapper
    Turn on and off TV with voice through Vodafone TV
    Google Nest Wifi router and 2 points to provide wifi coverage, provide speaker capability and GA microphones
    Waiting for bean orders to arrive to control 3 aircons

  • geek001 on 12/12/2019 - 17:12

    I run Home Assistant off a repurposed Android TV box. Much snappier compared to my RPI3 and only cost me less than $40. HA requires you to learn YAML to configure it, but it is pretty cool. I have products from Broadlink, Xiaomi and Sonoff running off the same interface.

  • wordplay on 12/12/2019 - 19:46
    +3

    I yell at my kids to do most of this stuff.

  • Clear on 12/12/2019 - 21:02

    I've got a DJ Roomba going with a speaker strapped on my Xiaomi vac if that counts ;)

    One of the smarter things I have is sensors in place to notify me if the garage door has been left open. Another is a DIY remote controlled car with a camera ontop so I can drive it around remotely and see what's happening. Usually results in my cats attacking the car and trying to eat its tyres.

    I also have one of those smart LG InstaView fridges where you knock on the screen to see what's inside. It has a companion phone app that'll tell me the when the door isn't closed properly and less importantly allow the temperature/freeze and odour settings to be changed. Unfortunately Home Assistant integration with that is very much a WIP as LG don't want to provide official APIs.

    • try2bhelpful on 13/12/2019 - 06:51

      Will have to investigate the garage door sensor thing, our’s bounces occasionally. We, also, have a remote car drone that the cats love to play with. The footage is hilarious and the wheels are soft so the cats aren’t hurt if they get in the way; we do slow down when we see them in the camera. We also attached a string at the back that the drone drags around to give the cats more to chase. I’ve been thinking of a suitable all terrain remote vehicle to be able to look under the house, anybody got some ideas?

  • Euphemistic on 13/12/2019 - 07:05

    Sounds like a nightmare to me. Technology hat is mound to go wrong more often than not. At least a light switch and a key lock works guaranteed every time.

    • PlasticSpaceman on 13/12/2019 - 07:54
      +1

      Well…. hands up those who have lost a key or know someone who has and have been locked out of their house. We're going away for a few days, and the house/Dog sitter turned up last night. Gave her a unique six digit number for her to access the house. If she forgets it (unlikely as it's her birthday), she can just call me and I can unlock the door remotely. :-)

      • brad1-8tsi on 13/12/2019 - 08:07
        +1

        what lock is this? I want.

        • PlasticSpaceman on 13/12/2019 - 09:47
          +1

          Basically it's this: https://www.bunnings.com.au/lockwood-keyless-digital-deadbol… (https://www.lockweb.com.au/en/lockwood-products/keyless-entry/lockwood-keyless-digital-deadbolt/….. quick hunt found the zigbee version here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Yale-Assure-Touchscreen-Deadbolt-Y…). You can get three versions, one is stand alone, one has a Zwave module, and one has a Zigbee module. I have the version with a Zwave module as a few years ago I converted my home automation system to use that. Now I'd probably go Zigbee (as used by Hue and Smartthings). It wasn't cheap but I chose this because it has a good name, is well supported (also sold as Yale or Assa Abloy depending on country), it is very solid, keypads tend to be more reliable than fingerprint readers (in particular when exposed to the outdoors), and it has a physical key as backup just in case - although we could also come in via the garage if the lock ever failed.

          Runs off four AA batteries that (for us, with multiple uses per day) easily last over 6 months before it starts warning about the batteries being low and needing to be replaced. Can use rechargeable, only issue the drop in power towards the end can be rapid so you end up needing to replace them more frequently just to be safe.

      • try2bhelpful on 13/12/2019 - 09:00

        Does it have a manual over ride key? We have a Samsung, electronic, and my concern is if it fails, completely, I would like a manual over ride. We have the battery points but technology will fail, eventually; including manual locks. I’ve certainly broken keys in locks before now.

      • Euphemistic on 13/12/2019 - 10:14

        Yeah. I’m sure it’s great when it works. The number of times things just stop working, or I can’t access the settings with pc or phones just annoys me. Then what about the systems that have security flaws allow hackers access to your system?

        • try2bhelpful on 13/12/2019 - 10:43

          This is why I’m a tad wary of remote locks but, given most of the highly secure places do tend to work off these sort of locks, I think a local one is, probably, OK. With ours, you need to enter the codes directly into to the lock on the inside having put in the master PIN. We, also, have ours on the front door, inside a physically locked porch gate. The best part is you can remove access to anyone, at anytime, so if you get rid of the cleaning lady you don’t need to worry if she’s copied the keys.

        • PlasticSpaceman on 13/12/2019 - 11:59

          Which is why I went with a good quality unit, and Zwave - more expensive, but have not had a single issue with it over the past few years since I installed it. With all of the home automation stuff I've done, this one has been a huge hit with the entire family. As for security flaws - well, fair point but if someone wanted to break into our house I expect they would use the brick through the window technique, rather than trying to a) hack my 17+ random character/number/symbol password and/or b) hack the S2 AES encryption on the Zwave network. Previously we had lost track of all the spare keys we had for the house, including ones hidden outside 'just in case' so frankly all that was an even greater risk.

          • try2bhelpful on 13/12/2019 - 17:46

            @PlasticSpaceman: Our Samsung has a great feature where you can program your MYKI cards into the unit as identification. I haven’t seen this option on any of the current ones.

            • PlasticSpaceman on 13/12/2019 - 20:42

              @try2bhelpful: That is pretty neat, but I didn't bother with rfid as it still requires a physical object, plus our kids keep losing their Myki cards anyway. :-)

  • blawler05 on 13/12/2019 - 09:41

    Home Assistant on a Rasberry Pi
    Replaced the light switches with Smart Switches
    Build a controller - Sensor from Arduino for my garage door

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