Alright Nerdery...I need help with Smart Home / Smart Switches

2,100 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by aTm2004
Joseph Parrish
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AG
So I've got some smart home stuff in my house already. It started with my realtor giving me ecobee thermostats. The house already had a ring doorbell installed. Then I got a Nest camera to yell at my dog when she got on the couch. I had trouble getting copies of keys that worked in my locks, so I got the Yale locks through Nest. I'm starting to like being able to check on things at home from my phone, so now I'm thinking about adding smart switches to my house to be able to control the lights.

I know about smart bulbs, but I don't think I'll ever really want to control each individual one (maybe I'll make an exception with a lamp or two later). I'm ok with the current grouping by switches. I recently changed out all of the bulbs in my house to dimmable LEDs where they were previously incandescent. I'm not looking to automate any lights, but I'd like the option to turn them on/off or dim them.

What are some good smart switches that work with Google Home or Amazon's Alexa? I don't currently have either. I'm not big on talking to my devices. I only say 'Hey Siri' when I can't find my phone. I'd like the possibility of being compatible with both Google Home or Alexa if I decide to go that route later though. What hubs do you like for making things easier on your wifi? What smart home app is your favorite for consolidating most of your smart devices?


Pman17
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AG
I started with HomeKit but Apple wanted things their way with how to set up smart home devices, so not a lot of products were produced to work with Apple.
With how cheap Amazon is with their smart devices and their drive for Alexa compatible devices, I went to Amazon.
The app I use is the Alexa app, but it can be difficult to navigate. It's also kinda hard to avoid using your voice and I don't like using my voice either so through Alexa all of my devices are on timers so there's no need to touch anything as all the lights come on at certain times of the day and everything shuts down at midnight. Even things that are potential fire hazards like wax melt lamps are on amazon approved smart plugs that kill at midnight if we forget.
The best lights are Phillips Hue because of the hub and it works with any setup whether your a Google House, Apple house or Amazon house.
My thermostat is Ecobee. Security system is Ring owned by amazon). Central hub is the Echo Show. Wifi is the Eero (owned by amazon) which auto detects Amazon devices for easy setup. Smart plugs are some Chinese brand but I get 3 for $20 and they are Alexa Approved.
IMO the best is Amazon.

The only things I wish I had that google hub has is Google Photos and YouTube TV. The show only has Hulu TV.
swagfan
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Lutron Caseta is what you're looking for here. They are far and away the best switches and work with pretty much everything.

I've installed them in 2 houses and they come highly recommended.
DeLaHonta
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AG
Don't Lutron Caseta switches require a separate Lutron hub and their own app? For me, if it can't connect to my Samsung SmartThings hub or directly to my Echo, I don't buy it, because I don't want 5 different hubs lying around.

The Echo Plus has a built-in Zigbee radio, so ZigBee switches should be able to connect directly to it. Leviton and GE (among others) make ZigBee switches that you don't have to download a separate app or have a separate hub for.
09AggieJC
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AG
have 4 of these
https://smile.amazon.com/Kasa-Smart-Light-Switch-TP-Link/dp/B01EZV35QU/ref=sxin_4_ac_d_rm?ac_md=0-0-a2FzYSBzbWFydCBzd2l0Y2g%3D-ac_d_rm&crid=1OJC1RXKP6TY1&cv_ct_cx=kasa+smart+switch&keywords=kasa+smart+switch&pd_rd_i=B01EZV35QU&pd_rd_r=ee3156b6-9c76-418a-ab7c-d0d3cd4289bd&pd_rd_w=RdxAc&pd_rd_wg=ei8Yy&pf_rd_p=6d29ef56-fc35-411a-8a8e-7114f01518f7&pf_rd_r=ERX8DZHN8PPE77W7JBQZ&psc=1&qid=1578969528&sprefix=kas%2Caps%2C176
Duncan Idaho
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I like kasa for light switches...they are t too expensive and I want a somewhat na.e brand for something that goes in the wall.

And as a bonus their outlets can be had for around $15. And they have light bulbs of you want that.

Hue lights are the king of lights for a reason but they are pricey and you have to train the house to stay away from the light switches.
Joseph Parrish
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AG
I bought a bunch of the ecosmart bulbs. They seemed to be the most available at Home Depot. I'm not sure if they are compatible with Lutron Caseta. I might just have to try it out and see.

I checked the Lutron website for compatibility of the bulbs, and they don't show up on that list. Maybe it's not compatible, or maybe the list just hasn't been updated.
swagfan
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Yeah not all of my bulbs are listed but they work just fine. Of note, that took some level of trial and error as I have also bought some that were dimmable but they made a buzzing noise. Easy returns so it was whatever until I found what worked. I think folks have said ecosmart have generally done well, philips have also been mentioned as generally being fine. This house I did mostly Philips bulbs.

Saw the other question and yes it does require it's own hub, but in all my stuff (at about 10 "things" now), it's the only hub I have had to get. I'm not entirely sure how people have so many hubs, but it hasn't been a concern for me so far.

The only thing I don't like about Caseta is the cost, but the reliability, design, and integration makes it worth it.
OldArmyBrent
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AG
Tuya based switches on Amazon are a steal. Martin Jerry makes good ones, but there are a ton of options. Just be sure to set them up through the Tuya or Smart Life app instead of the branded app from the manufacturer. That way you have them all in one app no matter what switch you're trying to use from your phone or through the Echo or Google Home.
aTm2004
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AG
First off, run everything through a smart hub like a Samsung Smartthings or Wink. You can add in Alexa/Google to it for voice commands to turn on/off lights, execute scenes, etc.

This is my set up that I posted about a year ago.

Quote:

I currently run the following through a Smartthings hub:

- Skybell HD doorbell
- 2 Wifi Bulbs in a couple of lamps that are commonly used
- Ecobee thermostats for upstairs and downstairs
- Kwikset wifi deadbolts on back door and garage door (detached)
- Zooz wifi switches. I went with these over the GE due to my house having a lot of 3 and 4-way switches and these do not require an add-on switch like the GE does. Cut my expense in half. Currently only have a dimmer installed on the front porch due to me not being able to figure out the 3-way installation. My brother is an electrician and will eventually make it over to do everything.

I currently have my wife and I's phones set up as location sensors that trigger certain actions as both of us leave and enter my defined geofence. Depending on the time of the day, lights will come on or go off and doors will lock/unlock. I have scenes set up for practically everything (arrival, vacation, goodnight, upstairs away, etc). All of these are also set up to be used via Alexa (Alexa, I'm going to bed, etc).

Future plans include:
- Finally installing all of my switches
- Motion sensors on the landing upstairs to trigger front porch to illuminate to 100% so my kids can see if they're coming downstairs at night. The front porch light lights up the foyer a decent amount so I have that switch set to dim to 10% at a certain time so it isn't so lit up inside. It goes to 100% currently if the doorbell senses motion between a defined time.
- Looking at Arlo Pro cameras an will do something with those

If you browse the smartthings forum, you'll find all sorts of "apps" created that you have to go to GitHub to get it to work on the hub. I did a Vacation Manager through this that will turn lights on/off as if people are here.
I have all of my switches installed and pretty much everything up and running. I have some Arlo Pro 2s that I need to get around to installing, and I'll be about complete. I may add a multipurpose sensor to the garage door so it'll trigger many of the actions I have so we're not draining our phone batteries being a presence sensor. Just need to see how I'll trigger the "away" mode outside of just setting a time.

I get alerts when my doors are unlocked and which code is used. I was also able to remotely add a code for our cleaning ladies so they don't know ours or have a key. If/when they are no longer coming to clean, I'll erase the code from my phone and they can't get in.

With the hub, you can trigger a lot of ITTT to happen, such as if one of my cameras catch motion at night, then it will turn on lights I assign to hopefully scare off the perp. It can be different lights for different cameras (back camera turns on back patio and living room, etc). I mentioned possibly getting a multipurpose sensor for the garage door. Outside of what I mainly want it for, I can set it up to notify me if the garage door is open past a certain time or if mode changes from "home" to "away," which would allow me to close the door remotely. I have a MyQ opener, so I can check remotely and close it, but I don't always look and a reminder would be nice, especially if I thought I closed it.

I talked about the apps, and there are several great ones that take the hub to a different level. There's one called Ecobee Suite Manager, which takes what you can do with the Ecobee to another level (triggering mode changes earlier, sensors, etc). I also run a lighting one for my outdoor lights so I don't have to remember to turn them on or off or reprogram a programmable one as the days shorten/lengthen.

It's great, especially for my wife and with 3 kids, to be able to come home at night and the doors unlock, the AC/heat is running, and lights are on so we're not walking into a dark house. And like you, it's great to be able to check in from time-to-time to make sure things are good.
txyaloo
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AG
I wouldn't buy Wink. It's a dead platform, but I agree on running through a hub of some sort. Hubitat runs everything local so your "smart" house still works if the internet is down for some reason. SmartThings runs a lot of stuff in the cloud and IME has some noticeable lag on automations.

OP needs to check his wiring to make sure he has neutrals in the wall at his light switches. If he doesn't, his options are going to be very limited. I've had to deal with this in my house and it's a huge pain.
txyaloo
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AG
Duncan Idaho said:

I like kasa for light switches...they are t too expensive and I want a somewhat na.e brand for something that goes in the wall.

And as a bonus their outlets can be had for around $15. And they have light bulbs of you want that.

Hue lights are the king of lights for a reason but they are pricey and you have to train the house to stay away from the light switches.
You can easily get away from the switch issue and still use Hue. Zooz and some other manufacturers allow you to decouple the physical switch from the light. Instead of cutting power to the fixture, the switch acts only to call a scene on your smart hub. I use this in a few locations with Hue bulbs. When you push the switch, it tells Hue to turn off the bulbs. Basically works the same as the Hue button, but looks like a standard light switch. I use it in my kitchen to turn on the overhead cans, over sink light, under cabinets, and fan light from one switch vs having to walk to 4 separate switches all across the kitchen. It's super handy.
saw em off
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Just make sure you lock that stuff down with strong passwords and such. IoTs are horrible with security.
aggiec05
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AG
This! Ideally you segment your smart home on a "guest" network on your router. The more you can lock it off from the rest of the house the better.
Joseph Parrish
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AG
So I went with Lutron Caseta. I've replaced most of the switches in my house. Some of them were a little bit more of a pain in the ass when it came to the wiring, but I've got it all working so far.

I haven't pulled the trigger on an Amazon Echo, Google Home, or an Apple Homepod. Everything pretty much already works in Apple Homekit. Siri is a little inconsistent, but controls through the app work just fine right now.

Has anybody used multiple hubs or bridges? The Lutron Caseta switches come with a bridge, and I may add Phillips Hue or a few other smart bulbs to go in my lamps. Anybody have any issues running both?
SF2004
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AG
My advice... build everything around Amazon, Google, or Apple Homekit. These three companies are invested in their product lines and you run a much lower chance of them just dropping support for something your whole house is fitted with. With their footprint in the market the hardware manufacturers (switches, etc) have a large incentive to make sure they would with these three and stay working.

I personally chose home kit as it is baked into the OS/Hardware and Apple at least pretends to say they care about privacy.

Avoid mixing and matching as much as possible. All this does is lead to different updates breaking crap working together. Even worse if you choose open source as those things are constant projects and never "completed". One company updates something and breaks compatibility with another companies product. You will be stuck end an endless cycle of waiting.

Lastly, there is a reason that true home automation solutions cost thousands of dollars and companies specialize in it (Control4, etc). Most of the DIY stuff is garbage and works poorly.

Joseph Parrish
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AG
SF2004 said:

Lastly, there is a reason that true home automation solutions cost thousands of dollars and companies specialize in it (Control4, etc). Most of the DIY stuff is garbage and works poorly.


I'm really just trying to get the lights and lamps setup for now. I actually think I've done a damn good job with installing the switches myself. Def not garbage. They work well.

If I decide to try to rope in a lot of other things, I'd probably get some expert help. Wall switches and bulbs are probably good enough for me.

I'm not trying to go all-in on the Jetsons or anything.
aTm2004
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AG
Quote:

Lastly, there is a reason that true home automation solutions cost thousands of dollars and companies specialize in it (Control4, etc). Most of the DIY stuff is garbage and works poorly.
Dunno man, my $80 Smartthings Hub, Zooz switches, Ecobee thermostats and smartthings apps from their online community works pretty well. Telling Alexa to do something or just doing something on my phone seems easy enough. Not really sure what those companies can offer that I can't do here, unless you're talking Bill Gates' house type ****, but not many on TA have that kind of coin.

Quote:

The house was outfitted with fiber optic cables and each room has its own touch pad to control lighting, music, and temperature. (Wink now makes similar products for $200). "First thing, as you come in, you'll be presented with an electronic pin to clip to your clothes. This pin will connect you to the electronic services of the house," Gates wrote in The Road Ahead. "The electronic pin you wear will tell the house who and where you are, and the house will use this information to try to meet and even anticipate your needs all as unobtrusively as possible."
aTm2004
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AG
You and I are probably alike. My main reasons for doing home automations are/were:

1. I don't want my wife and kids coming home to a dark house. Being able to change modes as we turn on our street so lights come on after dusk and the ACs kick on was the primary reason. In the highly unlikely scenario of thugs being in the house, it gives them time to GTFO as well so we don't interrupt them and risk something bad happening.
2. Help save money on our AC running when we're not here. Ecobee's default is 2 hours of no activity detected before it switches to "away" settings and you can't go any lower than 2 hours. That's 2 hours of Texas heat keeping the AC ($$) running. A smartthings app lets me cut that time down to whatever I want. I have mine currently set to 10 minutes out of the geofence. It allows for a quick trip to the gas station or something and not have the modes change.
3. I love my wife but she has yet to figure out that the same switch that turns on a light also turns it off. I can't tell you how many times we have the kids to bed and are watching TV, then she walks into the kitchen to grab something and leaves the light on. If I ask her to turn it off, well, you married guys know how that goes. And I got tired of getting up and doing it. Now, I just have to tell Alexa to do it.
ExPLK
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AG
Go with Alexa for your home hub. If you haven't read up on Amazon Sidewalk, you should take a look as it is the way things are moving and Amazon is leading the way in the low-power, low-cost, low-bandwidth arena.

Also, TP-Link devices (like light switches) work incredibly well, are reasonably priced and work with Alexa without the need for a separate hub. I would strongly recommend them.

Further, Brilliant light switches operate as a home hub driver (similar to Control 4) for guests who need a touch screen to manage home automation. It allows guests to use the touch screen to turn on music, lights, electrical outlets and more, if they don't know the Alexa voice commands. Brilliant switches work seamlessly with TP-Link switches and Alexa making it a solid combination.

BTW - I have all of the above running my smart home and they work flawlessly together.
ontheedge
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We have been using Belkin Wemo plugs and switches for years and with Echo Dot for the past year. We have been very happy with the setup. Works for us.
Ragoo
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AG
We have a control4 switch. It is pretty awesome.
Joseph Parrish
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AG
What's the best way to add more space to my router for another hub? My Lutron smart bridge is already connected, might get a Phillips Hue for some fo the lamps. I don't have any more free spots in my modem. Will a splitter work?
txyaloo
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AG
Joseph Parrish said:

What's the best way to add more space to my router for another hub? My Lutron smart bridge is already connected, might get a Phillips Hue for some fo the lamps. I don't have any more free spots in my modem. Will a splitter work?
You need a switch. They come in any number of port sizes. I'd get at least a 10 port so you have plenty of room for expansion
aTm2004
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AG
Joseph Parrish said:

What's the best way to add more space to my router for another hub? My Lutron smart bridge is already connected, might get a Phillips Hue for some fo the lamps. I don't have any more free spots in my modem. Will a splitter work?

TP-Link 16 Port Switch Gigabit | Ethernet Network Switch | Shielded Ports | Fanless | Desktop | Sturdy Metal | Traffic Optimization | Unmanaged (TL-SG116) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GR9S6FN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Q7HnEbZY6ZJS8
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