Smart House - Home Automation Thread

[BigFatMeanie]

I've tried both OpenHab and HomeAssistant. I prefer OpenHab at the moment but my setup is pretty similar to Ted's.

I haven't done smart door locks yet but they're on my "to-research" list. The Dude is right about them being expensive - much more than one would think they should be worth.

EDIT: On the hardware side I run OpenHab on a Raspberry PI and use the Nortek Z-wave/Zigbee controller:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJ826F8/

[Uncle Ted]

I've tried both OpenHab and HomeAssistant. I prefer OpenHab at the moment but my setup is pretty similar to Ted's.

I haven't done smart door locks yet but they're on my "to-research" list. The Dude is right about them being expensive - much more than one would think they should be worth.

EDIT: On the hardware side I run OpenHab on a Raspberry PI and use the Nortek Z-wave/Zigbee controller:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GJ826F8/

I briefly looked at OpenHab but was turned off by the fact it is written in Java. Just a personal bias instilled into me from a previous employer.

I started out using a Rasp Pi but switched to thin client hardware for more “horsepower”. I guess I could have just spun up a VM on my FreeNas box but I already have a few VMs running on it and didn’t want my home automation to go offline every time I the FreeNas box was reboot or when my young son is messing with his game VM servers.

I don’t do Zigbee since it uses the same spectrum as WiFi and I don’t want the interference (I need all the bandwidth I can get!). Z-wave uses frequencies down in the 900 MHz (that stuff like the old cordless telephones and baby monitors used). The downside to z-wave is it is limited to like 254 devices but I still have plenty of room in its address space for more things.

I really don’t like Wi-Fi based devices for a couple of reasons. First, I need that Wi-Fi bandwidth for my mobile devices. I don’t need a bunch of IoT devices participating in broadcast storms especially using the poorly written IP stacks the usually have. Second, Wi-Fi based devices require more energy. This isn’t important for devices that are wired into the house wiring but for devices that run off batteries. For example I have some z-wave motion detectors that have a small Li ion battery. The batteries in these will last for a couple of years. If these were Wi-Fi based the battery life would be measured in months.

As for door locks I haven’t looked at them too much and don’t have any currently. If someone needs to, say, drop off something I just open the garage door for them (via MyQ which is integrated nicely into the Home Assistant interface/app).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jeff Lebowski]

I really don’t like Wi-Fi based devices for a couple of reasons. First, I need that Wi-Fi bandwidth for my mobile devices. I don’t need a bunch of IoT devices participating in broadcast storms especially using the poorly written IP stacks the usually have. Second, Wi-Fi based devices require more energy. This isn’t important for devices that are wired into the house wiring but for devices that run off batteries. For example I have some z-wave motion detectors that have a small Li ion battery. The batteries in these will last for a couple of years. If these were Wi-Fi based the battery life would be measured in months.

As for door locks I haven’t looked at them too much and don’t have any currently. If someone needs to, say, drop off something I just open the garage door for them (via MyQ which is integrated nicely into the Home Assistant interface/app).

OK, this makes a lot of sense. I have been looking at smart deadbolts. This is the top-rated one:

https://august.com/products/august-wifi-smart-lock

It costs a fortune ($250 each!) and it uses wifi. Reviews say the battery life is terrible - people reporting 1-2 months. This one is a lot cheaper ($100):

https://wyze.com/wyzelock.html

But it comes in two parts. There is a bluetooth wifi bridge that you plug in to an adjacent outlet - the lock communicates with it using wifi. I couldn't imagine why you would want to bother with two parts, but now it makes sense: battery life. Sure enough, the batteries last six months on this version.

[Uncle Ted]

This one is a lot cheaper ($100):

https://wyze.com/wyzelock.html

But it comes in two parts. There is a bluetooth wifi bridge that you plug in to an adjacent outlet - the lock communicates with it using wifi. I couldn't imagine why you would want to bother with two parts, but now it makes sense: battery life. Sure enough, the batteries last six months on this version.

Yeah, if these guys did this right they will be using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to communicate to the lock from the wifi bridge. The range is short for BLE. That design makes a lot of sense for battery life. Of course, with a lock most of the energy will be used rotating the lock mechanism. Like with most good things be sure to use plenty of lube; silicone lubricant is your friend. Mechanical engineers need to design better, low energy locks.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yeah, if these guys did this right they will be using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to communicate to the lock from the wifi bridge. The range is short for BLE. That design makes a lot of sense for battery life. Of course, with a lock most of the energy will be used rotating the lock mechanism. Like with most good things be sure to use plenty of lube; silicone lubricant is your friend. Mechanical engineers need to design better, low energy locks.

Sorry, I think I typed that incorrectly. The bridge communicates with the lock using Bluetooth and then with your home network using Wi-Fi.

My deadbolts slide like silk.

[Bo Diddley]

My deadbolts slide like silk.

Uh...

[Now who’s the dean?]

OK, this makes a lot of sense. I have been looking at smart deadbolts. This is the top-rated one:

https://august.com/products/august-wifi-smart-lock

It costs a fortune ($250 each!) and it uses wifi. Reviews say the battery life is terrible - people reporting 1-2 months. This one is a lot cheaper ($100):

https://wyze.com/wyzelock.html

But it comes in two parts. There is a bluetooth wifi bridge that you plug in to an adjacent outlet - the lock communicates with it using wifi. I couldn't imagine why you would want to bother with two parts, but now it makes sense: battery life. Sure enough, the batteries last six months on this version.

We have been happy with the wyze fwiw, but we only have it on the door in the garage. I don’t trust any of them enough to put one on my front door. Batteries haven’t needed to be replaced about 10 months in. We almost never open or close the lock electronically and don’t use the positional sensor so they last quite a bit longer. Having the separate bridge has never bothered me.


**And I don’t agree with that in the workplace**

[Moliere]

OK, this makes a lot of sense. I have been looking at smart deadbolts. This is the top-rated one:

https://august.com/products/august-wifi-smart-lock

It costs a fortune ($250 each!) and it uses wifi. Reviews say the battery life is terrible - people reporting 1-2 months. This one is a lot cheaper ($100):

https://wyze.com/wyzelock.html

But it comes in two parts. There is a bluetooth wifi bridge that you plug in to an adjacent outlet - the lock communicates with it using wifi. I couldn't imagine why you would want to bother with two parts, but now it makes sense: battery life. Sure enough, the batteries last six months on this version.

I looked at these and others for quite a while and never got comfortable enough with them to pull the trigger. I ended up getting a cheap lock with a numeric pad. It has an auto lock feature where it'll lock itself after a certain amount of time. I just change the pin every once in a while to keep it so that all the buttons are getting used. I don't trust the wifi locks enough and I also didn't like the battery life reviews.

Of all the smart devices I have, I'd say the Ring doorbell and ecobee thermostat controls are the ones that have really paid off. I especially like the ecobees remote sensors. With two A/C /heater units (upstairs and downstairs) they allow for much better control, espeically at night when doors are closed.

[BigFatMeanie]

I briefly looked at OpenHab but was turned off by the fact it is written in Java. Just a personal bias instilled into me from a previous employer.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I understand how you feel. I have a personal bias against PHP. When I helped The Dude out with this site a recently I was cringing about the PHP stuff. PHP is the spawn of hell.

Interestingly, being written in Java was what initially attracted me to OpenHab. OpenHab supports RS232 scripting so you can write runtime code for it in Jython or Groovy if you want. I liked HomeAssistant, I have an HA image and config on an SD card that I can swap in and out for OpenHab at will if I want to play with HA. I think HA has the potential to be great if they can ever figure out their object model. Right now it's a big mess. The object model in OpenHab seemed much cleaner and simpler to me and I just felt more comfortable with it.

But they're both changing and evolving constantly so who knows what they'll look like in another 5 years.

[Pelado]

An I the only one on this interwebs who is not interested in having a smarthome?

[Uncle Ted]

I would love to add more home automation, but our house is 30 years old and we don't have the neutral wires to our switches so everything is more complicated.

Some other smart switches that don't require neutral:

Shelly 1L - Shelly switches are popular with the home automation hobbyists because they are inexpensive and can be re-flashed with custom firmware. https://shelly.cloud/products/shelly...omation-relay/ The1L switches seem hard to find, however.

inovelli - I have some of this companies switches and they make some pretty good stuff. Started by some UMich guys. I have actually chatted with the CEO and CTO a couple of times and they sent me a nice hat for sending them some feedback on one of their designs. I noticed their "Black" and "Red" series switches/dimmers don't require neutral. Their stuff is pricy but z-wave based and nice. https://inovelli.com/products/switches/


Lutron Caseta Dimmers - Very pricy and I don't know much about them.

[smokymountainrain]

An I the only one on this interwebs who is not interested in having a smarthome?

no.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Some other smart switches that don't require neutral:

Shelly 1L - Shelly switches are popular with the home automation hobbyists because they are inexpensive and can be re-flashed with custom firmware. https://shelly.cloud/products/shelly...omation-relay/ The1L switches seem hard to find, however.

inovelli - I have some of this companies switches and they make some pretty good stuff. Started by some UMich guys. I have actually chatted with the CEO and CTO a couple of times and they sent me a nice hat for sending them some feedback on one of their designs. I noticed their "Black" and "Red" series switches/dimmers don't require neutral. Their stuff is pricy but z-wave based and nice. https://inovelli.com/products/switches/


Lutron Caseta Dimmers - Very pricy and I don't know much about them.

Whoa. Very intrigued by that Shelly device. Thank you for the links.