May I just say how I love the playful quips between you and @PaulHibbert. Please never stop, unless they get mean, we are all lovers in the smart home realm... Robots are the fighters.
The Lutron switches I decided on based on this channel is the best upgrade I’ve done to my home automation, cost almost $2k to do all of them but well worth it.
I am in the same boat. After our move to the new home I was going through my automation device boxes and realized I practically double paid between Zooz and TPLink basically being $10-15/device more expensive than the Lutron switches overall. Couldn’t be happier. This channel is also the reason I invested in Lutron.
@@BroncoPatriot I built my house in 2008 with a central upb system that was getting outdated. In my setup I only had 1 or 2 scene switches per room that controlled sometimes 5-6 switches that were all wired hidden away in closets so the programmable 4 button remotes I can make scene switches were huge for me. These switches have been rock solid though and integrate so easily with Alexa and other devices.
Same here.... I originally was forced into the Lutron boat since I didn't have neutral wires in the majority of my light switches. I haven't had a single hiccup using them over the last 6 years. Only wished they had come out with the new rocker dimmer model earlier, since the older design is a little harder to operate if you are walking by and just reaching out for the switch.
This is arguably One of your top 3 most useful & must-see videos on RUclips, you save us effort and money and helped us to know more about the best smart devices' functions dependencies and when to go cheap, and e when to look for an expensive option sometimes is much suitable solution. Besides, this video is a goldmine, YOU DESERVE to be at THE TOP SPOT in the smart home industry, I really enjoyed every second watching it. I never thought of myself like omeone who could enjoy watching a guy bragging about how a simple smart home setup can be like this, amazing and highly organized. I have one request tho, if we can see more of you since you opened second youtube channel
Appreciate your overview and suggestions. The only one I disagreed on was the Lutron Caseta. Our last home had a mix of TPLink switches and Zooz zwave switches. Nothing but issues with both. Since moving to our new home I invested in Lutron and couldn’t be happier. 100% reliable, never have issues with integration into HA and finally VERY fast response time from either the switch, app or HA. Just my $0.02 if you are starting from scratch this is guaranteed to get lots of wifey points.
I'm the dedicated tech installer for both my family and extended family. I've installed nothing but Kasa switches since 2016. They're a little slower than Lutron, but I've had no issues with them at all, and I've installed hundreds of them at this point. They're 95% of the functionality for less than a third of the cost.
@@SolixTanaka yeah that wasn’t my experience. They kept dropping off my Eero Pro mesh and HA doesn’t like TPLink/Kasa devices dropping off. They never seem to reconnect.
I personally use Kasa switches since there were the nicest option when I was installing them (Caseta switches look ugly af and just feel way too mushy for an expensive product). They're in metal boxes and I've had no issue whatsoever. I do plan on switching them out once matter enabled ones come out though for local control. The current switches I'm looking at aren't local control, so im hoping they get updated.
I really love having a Tailwind iQ3 smart garage door, It automatically opens/closes once your car is within a user set distance. It also auto closes your door if its left open. Its compatible with most garage door opens on the market.
Tailwind smart garage door is super underrated, especially if you have an Android phone like a Pixel. Their android app can open/close the garage door automatically as you approach/leave the home in your car. I don't know why they don't have more exposure.
Yup, and it has a wired door sensor built into it so that it's 100% reliable at knowing whether the door is open or closed. Plus, no MyQ subscription fees if you want to enable integrations.
Reed your production quality is top-notch, Great job! I really wish I would have stuck with the same brand of products if I could have so I would have less apps, because I use a lot.
@@DIYtechie From what I have seen it is not fully "consumer ready", but I have seen great progress recently. Once it reaches that point, I might have to try it out.
@@TechWithBrett I’m afraid it will never reach that point before all the main features are already available on the main stream platforms. But for the time being it is cool to have the features and dashboards other platforms can only dream about. I love Home Assistant.
4:04 I’m totally with you on getting a robovac that can map out your house. I have a standard one that just bounces around and trust me, its like babysitting with how much you have to make sure it doesn’t run over something that it shouldn’t be around. Thats definitely my next move
The wifi thing is one of those "no simple answer" problems to me. eg you want some smart lights, tell someone not savvy to get a hue - moderate cost, very easy to use. I don't recommend mesh systems with wireless backhaul to solve congestion/interference/reliability issues. Coverage of a large house on a spacious block it might be set and forget. Unifi I believe gives you the best result for $$. If you're tech savvy you can purchase a couple of cost effective AP's, run ethernet backhaul and host your own Console on a VM or docker and IMHO (and country) get better than an off the shelf mesh for the $$ - but I can't recommend this to a non tech savvy friend. ISP routers are often fine - for just routing (not wifi) - so no need for a dream machine.
2:29 - IMHO, Third Reality Motion Sensors and Buttons are quite good (7:30 - although I agree that you may want to splurge on going higher end with the buttons). I use Sonoff Contact Sensors for doors/windows inside the house and Yolink contact sensors when I need the distance. I've noticed that the Yolink contact sensors doesn't seem to be as reliable when it's competing with other nearby 2.4Ghz devices. 6:38 - Big agree here. We went with an Ecobee Smart Premium (largely based on your video that discussed the air quality sensor), we've already saved so much on our gas costs and just use space heaters for the AZ winter (yes, I'm in the mountains north of your area). The amount of electricity that our solar power generates on a winter day with decent sun is enough to power 3 space heaters that we turn on periodically (two of which are based on temperature sensors nearby and comparing those with the set temperature of the thermostat, so that the space heaters will turn on more frequently during the day, while the furnace will take priority at night). 7:08 - I did go cheap on my first smart plugs, but I use mine primarily to control heaters/toaster oven/coffee maker and you will want to make sure it's 15amp rated. I do this because I have an automation that if the coffee maker is using greater than 1a of current, the smart plugs that are connected to space heaters will turn off (if they're already on, because turning off smart plugs when they're not drawing power causes one of my space heaters to reset back to 95 degrees). Reed, this is a solid video as always and definitely a big help for those starting out or those who are looking to expand their smart home (which is everyone since they're as addicting as tattoos).
Hey Reed I'd love a video about the technology from your old house. What did you take/leave and why, and how you transferred anything you left to the new owner's accounts
I have over 15 Wemo outlets. We love them. They do sometimes have trouble getting setup properly. But resetting them a few times (changing name each time) until they work seems to be the work around. Once running they do great for us.
That final scene was hilarious. My hue bulbs work flawlessly most of the time but for some reason on Wednesday morning the Wake Up routine failed in the bedroom yet worked perfectly the following day. Who knows why this randomness happens ?!
Great video. I agree with everything except the garage openers. Just use an aqara sensor and a Shelly 1 connected to a regular garage opener. All my Shelly works flawlessly.
With the roller blinds fella, you can get plastic trim for the sides that the guides the blind as it goes down but the important part is that it stops the light coming through so it fully blacks out the room
Oh the Zigbee!! I've got a bunch of hue bulbs and I have been happy with them - they just work. Same with a couple of hue motion sensors that I use to monitor light levels and turn on my zwave controlled strip lights.
I would go for the cheapest possible garage door opener that has a non-proprietary simple button control on the inside then add a zigbee/z-wave/homekit/matter garage kit / relay control.. myQ requires a cloud service and may charge a fee for basic features down the road.
Good video Reed! I laughed on the bathroom button segment. It's embarrassing when those automations fail. I've been in that situation a few times as well. 😊
If you run home assistant you need to mess with custom Lutron buttons. Hack those picos and 4 scene Lutron buttons to do any automations you want. It’s fantastic.
For the cameras, having local storage is a very nice thing to have. Significantly less risk of a cloud based attacker getting access to your video streams.
Great video Reed. I agree Wemo sucks. It's hard to say that because those are what got me started. I've since switched to sonoff zigbee and tasmota devices! I've also followed in your footsteps and recently switched all my switches and outlets over to Home Assistant and I'm now ready to unplug my Smarrthings hub after almost 7 years!
More of this kind of video please, lots of great information, ah and the Paul Hibbert segment was good fun (it just WORKS! so to speak). Thank you! I've had mixed results with some expensive and some cheap sensors and I suspect it has a lot to do with environment. I have an Aqara Zigbee button in the mancave (same room as the coordinator) which has worked flawlessly. 100% of presses register. However I also have two in the kitchen which has 13 Zigbee GU10 bulbs and they've both been hit and miss almost every day. My Hue motion sensors (no hub, just de-conz) have been flawless for years..until last weekend when they all went offline and needed resetting. Nothing changed, no devices turned off. "The lights aren't coming on again". Nightmare.
I upgraded my Tesla and now it works with my garage door. When I leave it closes and when I come back it opens. Pretty sexy. My favorite smart home thing is my watch, I tell it to clean the floor and my robot cleans the section on command. And you are right, roborock is really good. The next logical step is a robot that can empty and fill the water from a water/drain connection. Then I can just let it go til it needs scheduled maintenance. I look forward to the new robot lawn mowers coming out soon.
One thing of note is that even though UniFi cameras are expensive, you are not limited by the number of cameras you can put on their NVR. Also, the software is free as well as all updates to the software that runs on the NVR. The software is what makes the UniFi camera system so great. So the price of the cameras is what allows them to make really great software. Sort of how Apple does it with their computers. You pay a premium on the computer but you never pay for updates to the software for the life of the computer. Same thing with the UniFi stuff. Oh, and their is no subscription fess EVER for any of the UniFi cameras, unlike some of the other camera manufacturers.
I still think that UniFi cameras are way overprice by today standard. I'm a new Reolink user since 2020. I currently use 8 cameras from Reolink (RLC-820a). Each camera cost 1/5 of the price of the Unifi G4 Pro. In another words, the reolink cameras have to failed and be replaced 40 times to reach the initial cost of 8 UniFi G4 Pro cameras. I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't have a problem with any of the 8 Reolink cameras yet. Reolink still have firmware update for the NVR and cameras since 2020. I have to agree with Smart Home Solver, The hook up and Lifehackster on that. The image quality is about the same. If only it was 5 time better. I heard Unifi software is better but since no one in my family find reolink software difficult to operate even my 10 yrs son (windows client, mobile app or nvr itself), I don't see this as a problem. I have changed 3 different security camera system in the last 15 years not because they broke down or don't work anymore but because that technology have change so much over the year, from resolution (1280x720 8fps, 1920x1080 12fps, 3840x2160 25fps) to new feature. All 3 systems combined is still cheaper then Unifi.
Thanks to videos like this, and my resistance to jumping into a new technology before I research it thoroughly, I've avoided buying mistakes. I'm nowhere near as automated as you, but I never will be. My goals are different. Again, thanks for the work and for this roundup.
Lutron, lutron, lutron. Best investment, no smart bulbs, just smart fixtures. If you move, just take them with... go cheap with striplights, kinda fun to make and connect your own as well.
Great insights Reed. I typically buy 1 or 2 of something and if it is not reliable I dump it. Nice to see you spell out what has worked for y’all. Loved the trailer😊
we bought a house last year and it has those same fans and remotes like yours, I just installed a bond bridge this weekend and didnt even know my fan light could dim or even get brighter lol
Good general tips. Maybe should also mention about whether it is cloud based or purely local controlled. Many of us, including myself are only interested in local control. If the device can't be flashed with 3rd party open-source firmware like Tasmota or ESPHome, won't touch it. Having a command to control something in my home first go out to someone else's computer and then return back, no thanks.
I would go with Aruba Instant-On access points. They don't need the controller and are super reliable. They are the cheaper version of the enterprise grade meant for businesses.
The problem with some of the consumer mesh (re: google) are lack of options for custom networking options such as custom NAT, firewall policies are usually a pain, and other shortcomings that are meant for true CONSUMERS rather than prosumers. Great video though.
As an Australian and pensioner (I am 70) we live in the Oceania region of the world. In former life, I was a System Analyst/Software Engineer. We are heavily influenced by Chinese Smart Home devices DIRECT. Australian Hardware, Electrical and Electronic Smart devices are influenced by Tuya and are built to CE Australian electrical standards. As well the Chinese Earth based electrical system is identical only is plug and socket it upside down. Now my smart consists of Chinese based products and Australian inbuilt Tuya compatible and limited Aqara and Xiaomi use that all work with Alexa and Google voice control. Direct imported Tuya products from China are in the mix. For example it cost under $300 when every light switch (CE compliant) with touch glass was installed with Smart Home WIFI control. Alexa voice control in turning any of 40 lights in this home take in less then 1 second to respond. I use Tuya sensors. These identified and interact very fast with Alexa and Goggle routines. The 13 cam were $45 each and follow me and detect movement. The outside POE network METAL cameras are also Tuya and cost $55. All work on Alexa shows and Google. All are rock solid even with rare electrical black outs. The total cost of these Tuya products are exceptionally low. Add to this IR RF bridges a USB version costs RF / IR is $17 and other IR bridges are $12, the size of large button. Voice control via SCENE TAP OR AUTOMATION ROCK SOLID. Lets not forget Smart Irrigation, Strip light, Upright RGB light bars, Smart AC Plugs, AC automation, Zigbee, BT Mesh Hubs, 2 Xiaomi AX6000 Router (covers whole house and control over 100 WIFI smart devices) - so that one heck of loading and demand. The most important aspects: They all work and self heal if power is removed. Yes there are other options and I am using them all including HA. You know the best part: Practical things like tank water levels, robot controlled lawn mower and powerful Robotic vacuums. They are the fun and do make retirement so much easier and safer. All up my total estimate for all this would not exceed $3,000. Maybe I'll start a web site for those who cannot afford much. Some of the stuff mentioned by you is far too expensive for even standard US based income users. And Yes I am aware of those scary monster servers of China and trojan internet monsters waiting to steal, pounce, chew and snoop on your home. That all aside - HA is getting pretty darn impressive. I have had five devices FAIL, the rest were excellent and worked beyond expectations. This idea that cheap is not good is simply not always true. Yes there is junk out there but you do a sample of them first, and test and test before you might order 20 of them for under $10. Now will I see this post or will it be removed? Best Wishes.
Unifi has some great wireless cameras if you haven't checked those out. All of mine are the $99 G4 Instant. Love them. The G3 ones were $30, but they got bumped up to $79 recently.
Thanks for another great video. I am having success using most of the items you recommended. For doorbell and camera outdoor, I went with ring as I already had and cannot justify spending as I am happy with what they do and reliability. My biggest frustration is Home Assistant. As someone still learning this is my biggest challenge. But I do see the potential and will eventually overcome. Finally, love the @PaulHibbert reference. I do have my Mr Sockey mug and I will have to break down and get the book.
An automation I didn't see.. the same way you're use your bathroom exhaust fan use it with the kitchen absorbent.. stick a humidity sensor on top and when you are boiling or cooking something turn on the absorbent.. sorry for my English if they are wrong, hope you get the idea..
Made the mistake buying Wemo when I first started too. At least they have a password these days. I always think when watching home tours ‘did they make any compromises for if/when they move house?’. For example I have a google nest thermostat and doorbell, not because I thought they were the best but because the new homeowner is likely to have a google account already. I could do much better myself using Home Assistant and Zigbee radiator controls/temperature sensors.
You made a comment in a video I saw recently that WeMo switches were crap. I can certainly agree that I have had my fill of frustration with the several that I have. What would you recommend for my next wall switch?
I'm still trying to decide if I want to invest in Lutron Caseta switches. I have been using a couple of Kasa switches for a few weeks now and haven't had any problems but I'm also not doing a lot with it since most of my lights are Hue based. I don't really need all that many smart switches so Caseta costs wouldn't be TOO bad but it is still expensive. I'll probably stick with Kasa switches and update the other 3 that I want to upgrade sooner rather than later. As far as my cheap MyQ attachment goes, I have had 100% dependability on it. I have never had a time when it showed the wrong status or didn't receive both the open and close notifications. My assumption is that the dependability depends a lot on how well your WiFi signal reaches your garage.
I’m done with battery contact sensors. I’m about to put in old school wired contact sensors, bring them into my IQ4 alarm panel, then send them to Hubitat. No more batteries, and will only need a single sensor on each door/window, and I can have them both in my alarm and HE system.
I have some kasa products and they are great. The switches work, however, the construction is much lower quality than my home seer or ge z wave stuff. I have the myq hub and it has worked well, but before I put an access point in the garage it was not nearly as good. I have a detached garage with a covered walkway, climbing through there was terrible. I really enjoyed the vid and mostly agree with your recs.
Love your videos Reed. You're one of the reasons I got into home automation, because you show practical uses for smart tech and differentiate between price points. I'd like to use the Aqara devices but I couldn't get the Aqara M1S to connect so I returned it. But they have so many different great products like the smart buttons and motion sensors and door sensors, so I was disappointed. I use Tuya devices and the hub works fine, but it's a little slow to respond with Alexa so that's why I wanted a ZigBee hub and devices.
Great info, I feel your pain on questionable purchase's. Only thing that is waste of money (IMO) are the smart thermostats. set it and forget it, don't touch it. Almost all modern ones let you set a schedule. Personally I never have understood what the big deal is. Does anyone really have a need to change it so much that it needs to be smart? Now if you own a big "O" you tube money house like you do, where you have "zones" Maybe, just maybe I could splurge on one. ( Visualize my sarcastic grin) :)
When I found out MyQ isn't compatible with ANYTHING, I was pretty disappointed. I'm curious if you have it integrated into your other smart home stuff, and how you did it. I have Smartthings, but last I knew, the Groovy partial solution went away and there isn't anything to replace it. I was pretty surprised to see you bought one again. Isn't there something more smart home friendly out there?
I use IFTTT recipe for geofencing. When I leave the area my one of my MyQ garage doors closes. I also mkZense as a trigger for MyQ with IFTTT to tell my Echos to say the someone is at Garage Door 1 or 2. You can set up mkZense for free for up to 3 triggers. To me the biggest miss is Echo Shows cannot see the MyQ garage door cameras.
I am still looking for good smart lamps. They should be white-tunable and have a CRI of 90 or more. I have tried normal LED lamps and even expensive Hue, but in my experience, light with a CRI of 80 doesn't really look good and often pale and dull, even with a color temperature of less than 2700K. Currently I go with light bulbs from Ikea and the new version of Wiz. They work great and the light looks more natural. But I haven't found good light stripes with a high CRI, except really expensive versions (20€/m) without any driver. As for smart thermostats, I almost regret that I've already spent money on them. Next winter, the heating will run through, even at night. My house is well insulated and it costs more energy to heat a cooled room again than to keep it at a constant temperature.
5:54 (timestamp) Is this Home Assistant? I have Ring Security Cameras as well as a Ring video doorbell. Does this work well with Home Assistant or the software you are using (if so, what is it called?). This video was a goldmine for me and helped me so much!
Can you think of any automation for the pet cat to stop annoy you and you want him out of the room, perhaps a food feeder is other room, and then door would shut
interesting about the MY Q hub. Ive been using it for a few years now and haven't had any issues. The app does decide to throw in the towel from time to time .. but that's about it. I use google assistant through Android Auto in my car anyway then . Also have an NFC tag on my visor as a backup. when i arrive home, I just use the craftsman remote hung up on the garage wall to close the garage door behind me
You should be comparing night footage between cameras, they all look the same during the day but in low light some cameras can even give you full colour video
as much as I want to love aqara products, if you use it on other hubs like home assistant, its a massive headache to get this devices working reliably. 90% most of the time theyre routing is sooo bad that I ended up just buying a cheaper tuya zigbee motion sensor and that works very reliable. after all aqara is famous of not getting the nearby zigbee routers and try connecting directly to coordinator or routers that is nearby the coordinator.
Hi Reed,great video 👍🏻👍🏻. I wouldn’t go cheap on a smart plug, I read a review on Amazon about a Meross smart plug that went faulty, when the person opened up the plug they found a 10A relay inside instead of a 16A relay (soc,et outlets are rated to 13A in the uk. I only use them to switch light loads like for E.g. trailing sockets, Christmas lights., slow cooker, my CPAP machine, bedroom pedestal fan which I have set up on a routine which utilises the temperature sensor in the Echo. When the room goes above 25 Deg C the fan will come on. The cameras are ok not great but good.
Anyone have a recommendation for a smart outdoor gate lock? I'm horrible with keeping up with my keys and smart locks enabled my bad habit of loosing them.
I subscribe to the "no cloud" line of thinking, so getting cheaper stuff is usually a no go. But it's worth it to me for the peace of mine that another eufy isn't happening
When you gonna review the 75w and 100w equivalent hue bulbs I just noticed at Home Depot. I have the 60w for longest time and love them especially in my coach lanterns outside home. But really curious on the higher output ones for review now!!
Thanks for the video - I am just starting to research Smart Home stuff and this really helps! You showed a bunch of hub options in this episode, which is where I am stuck. It seems you run everything through Apple Homekit, but is it worth me starting with an Apple hub as well?
Looking to get some more smart switches due to remodeling. I love the Kasa light switch ! Currently my smart home is based in the “Smart Life” app. If I were to use the Kasa smart lights I would need to switch to the “Smart Things” app. Any thoughts on if the switch would be worth it? I have almost 20 smart devices I would have to rebuy. I have tried moving over my devices from Smart Life to Smart Things but hadn’t had success as just the automations (not devices) move over. My question in short is smart things the best centralized system for multiple smart devices?
Where do YOU spend or save money in your smart home? 💸
Also don't forget to subscribe! bit.ly/3joO1dZ
For video cameras Ring, Blink and Dlink are the most reliable. For lights- Hue, Lifx and Wiz. I find Alexa as a more dependable and wiser smart hub.
Local API or I don't buy!
Im saving my pennies for Matter+thread stuff (out of beta).
On the video doorbell i decided to get a ring pro 2
Please add a summary chart at the end of video, it will be helpful.
May I just say how I love the playful quips between you and @PaulHibbert. Please never stop, unless they get mean, we are all lovers in the smart home realm... Robots are the fighters.
All of Paul's Robots end up dead because he kills them with sugar.
this video is GOLD for us who are just buying new homes and are looking for pro tips on making it smart, thanks!
The Lutron switches I decided on based on this channel is the best upgrade I’ve done to my home automation, cost almost $2k to do all of them but well worth it.
I am in the same boat. After our move to the new home I was going through my automation device boxes and realized I practically double paid between Zooz and TPLink basically being $10-15/device more expensive than the Lutron switches overall. Couldn’t be happier. This channel is also the reason I invested in Lutron.
@@BroncoPatriot I built my house in 2008 with a central upb system that was getting outdated. In my setup I only had 1 or 2 scene switches per room that controlled sometimes 5-6 switches that were all wired hidden away in closets so the programmable 4 button remotes I can make scene switches were huge for me. These switches have been rock solid though and integrate so easily with Alexa and other devices.
Same here.... I originally was forced into the Lutron boat since I didn't have neutral wires in the majority of my light switches. I haven't had a single hiccup using them over the last 6 years. Only wished they had come out with the new rocker dimmer model earlier, since the older design is a little harder to operate if you are walking by and just reaching out for the switch.
Are they compatible with matter ?
@@Gabriel-vi7nl HA handles that for ya.
This is arguably One of your top 3 most useful & must-see videos on RUclips, you save us effort and money and helped us to know more about the best smart devices' functions dependencies and when to go cheap, and e when to look for an expensive option sometimes is much suitable solution.
Besides, this video is a goldmine, YOU DESERVE to be at THE TOP SPOT in the smart home industry, I really enjoyed every second watching it.
I never thought of myself like omeone who could enjoy watching a guy bragging about how a simple smart home setup can be like this, amazing and highly organized.
I have one request tho, if we can see more of you since you opened second youtube channel
Appreciate your overview and suggestions. The only one I disagreed on was the Lutron Caseta. Our last home had a mix of TPLink switches and Zooz zwave switches. Nothing but issues with both. Since moving to our new home I invested in Lutron and couldn’t be happier. 100% reliable, never have issues with integration into HA and finally VERY fast response time from either the switch, app or HA. Just my $0.02 if you are starting from scratch this is guaranteed to get lots of wifey points.
I'm the dedicated tech installer for both my family and extended family. I've installed nothing but Kasa switches since 2016. They're a little slower than Lutron, but I've had no issues with them at all, and I've installed hundreds of them at this point. They're 95% of the functionality for less than a third of the cost.
@@SolixTanaka yeah that wasn’t my experience. They kept dropping off my Eero Pro mesh and HA doesn’t like TPLink/Kasa devices dropping off. They never seem to reconnect.
I personally use Kasa switches since there were the nicest option when I was installing them (Caseta switches look ugly af and just feel way too mushy for an expensive product). They're in metal boxes and I've had no issue whatsoever. I do plan on switching them out once matter enabled ones come out though for local control. The current switches I'm looking at aren't local control, so im hoping they get updated.
Yeah I love my Kasa TPlink switches, they’ve been rock solid and I think they look nice too
I really love having a Tailwind iQ3 smart garage door, It automatically opens/closes once your car is within a user set distance. It also auto closes your door if its left open. Its compatible with most garage door opens on the market.
Tailwind smart garage door is super underrated, especially if you have an Android phone like a Pixel. Their android app can open/close the garage door automatically as you approach/leave the home in your car. I don't know why they don't have more exposure.
Yup, and it has a wired door sensor built into it so that it's 100% reliable at knowing whether the door is open or closed. Plus, no MyQ subscription fees if you want to enable integrations.
What happens if you're just parking real quick in your driveway?
@@chrisvldz it will open, and then close after I drive away or after some (configurable) time.
Reed your production quality is top-notch, Great job! I really wish I would have stuck with the same brand of products if I could have so I would have less apps, because I use a lot.
Hey Brett! Why don’t you use a hub like Home Assistant? One fully customisable app for everything - and the best automations.
@@DIYtechie From what I have seen it is not fully "consumer ready", but I have seen great progress recently. Once it reaches that point, I might have to try it out.
@@TechWithBrett I’m afraid it will never reach that point before all the main features are already available on the main stream platforms.
But for the time being it is cool to have the features and dashboards other platforms can only dream about. I love Home Assistant.
Hi Brett! I sent an email to you and I am waiting for the reply.
The Paul Hibbert at the end was the best!!!!!
I have 6 Wemo light switches and dimmers in my house. They work flawlessly!
Works with HomeKit Google and Alexa all at the same time in the same home.
4:04 I’m totally with you on getting a robovac that can map out your house. I have a standard one that just bounces around and trust me, its like babysitting with how much you have to make sure it doesn’t run over something that it shouldn’t be around. Thats definitely my next move
The wifi thing is one of those "no simple answer" problems to me. eg you want some smart lights, tell someone not savvy to get a hue - moderate cost, very easy to use.
I don't recommend mesh systems with wireless backhaul to solve congestion/interference/reliability issues. Coverage of a large house on a spacious block it might be set and forget.
Unifi I believe gives you the best result for $$. If you're tech savvy you can purchase a couple of cost effective AP's, run ethernet backhaul and host your own Console on a VM or docker and IMHO (and country) get better than an off the shelf mesh for the $$ - but I can't recommend this to a non tech savvy friend. ISP routers are often fine - for just routing (not wifi) - so no need for a dream machine.
2:29 - IMHO, Third Reality Motion Sensors and Buttons are quite good (7:30 - although I agree that you may want to splurge on going higher end with the buttons). I use Sonoff Contact Sensors for doors/windows inside the house and Yolink contact sensors when I need the distance. I've noticed that the Yolink contact sensors doesn't seem to be as reliable when it's competing with other nearby 2.4Ghz devices.
6:38 - Big agree here. We went with an Ecobee Smart Premium (largely based on your video that discussed the air quality sensor), we've already saved so much on our gas costs and just use space heaters for the AZ winter (yes, I'm in the mountains north of your area). The amount of electricity that our solar power generates on a winter day with decent sun is enough to power 3 space heaters that we turn on periodically (two of which are based on temperature sensors nearby and comparing those with the set temperature of the thermostat, so that the space heaters will turn on more frequently during the day, while the furnace will take priority at night).
7:08 - I did go cheap on my first smart plugs, but I use mine primarily to control heaters/toaster oven/coffee maker and you will want to make sure it's 15amp rated. I do this because I have an automation that if the coffee maker is using greater than 1a of current, the smart plugs that are connected to space heaters will turn off (if they're already on, because turning off smart plugs when they're not drawing power causes one of my space heaters to reset back to 95 degrees).
Reed, this is a solid video as always and definitely a big help for those starting out or those who are looking to expand their smart home (which is everyone since they're as addicting as tattoos).
Hey Reed I'd love a video about the technology from your old house. What did you take/leave and why, and how you transferred anything you left to the new owner's accounts
Your house is amazing dude!
Kasa switches have been great! Just bought some Aqara sensors and hub, so far I love them.
Guess I need to buy Paul's book! Seems wife approved!
What a great video, Reed! I have enjoyed Aqara, great price and work exceptionally well. I enjoyed the pacing and flow of your video as well!
I have over 15 Wemo outlets. We love them. They do sometimes have trouble getting setup properly. But resetting them a few times (changing name each time) until they work seems to be the work around. Once running they do great for us.
2:30 what a cool effect!
Thanks! That was a fun one to do.
That final scene was hilarious. My hue bulbs work flawlessly most of the time but for some reason on Wednesday morning the Wake Up routine failed in the bedroom yet worked perfectly the following day. Who knows why this randomness happens ?!
Hello from UK, love your videos man !! Moving to my new house soon and I can't wait to start playing with smart things your videos are very helpful 👍👍
I just upgrade to home assistant and you gave me a lot of ideas, continue your work, it is amazing!
This might be your best video yet! Loved it!!
Great video. I agree with everything except the garage openers. Just use an aqara sensor and a Shelly 1 connected to a regular garage opener. All my Shelly works flawlessly.
With the roller blinds fella, you can get plastic trim for the sides that the guides the blind as it goes down but the important part is that it stops the light coming through so it fully blacks out the room
Oh the Zigbee!! I've got a bunch of hue bulbs and I have been happy with them - they just work. Same with a couple of hue motion sensors that I use to monitor light levels and turn on my zwave controlled strip lights.
Nice, a fellow Paul Hibbert connoisseur.
They do just work don't they?
I would go for the cheapest possible garage door opener that has a non-proprietary simple button control on the inside then add a zigbee/z-wave/homekit/matter garage kit / relay control.. myQ requires a cloud service and may charge a fee for basic features down the road.
Good video Reed! I laughed on the bathroom button segment. It's embarrassing when those automations fail. I've been in that situation a few times as well. 😊
If you run home assistant you need to mess with custom Lutron buttons. Hack those picos and 4 scene Lutron buttons to do any automations you want. It’s fantastic.
Yes, @SmartHomeSolver and @PaulHibbert are helpful and fun to watch!
Great video Reed! Just moved into a new place and needed some ideas
For the cameras, having local storage is a very nice thing to have. Significantly less risk of a cloud based attacker getting access to your video streams.
I love the last part seeing the collaboration with @Paul Hibbert supporting my countrymen :D
I think 2023 might be the year I get some smart shades
Do it! So many good options now.
Great video Reed. I agree Wemo sucks. It's hard to say that because those are what got me started. I've since switched to sonoff zigbee and tasmota devices! I've also followed in your footsteps and recently switched all my switches and outlets over to Home Assistant and I'm now ready to unplug my Smarrthings hub after almost 7 years!
More of this kind of video please, lots of great information, ah and the Paul Hibbert segment was good fun (it just WORKS! so to speak). Thank you!
I've had mixed results with some expensive and some cheap sensors and I suspect it has a lot to do with environment. I have an Aqara Zigbee button in the mancave (same room as the coordinator) which has worked flawlessly. 100% of presses register. However I also have two in the kitchen which has 13 Zigbee GU10 bulbs and they've both been hit and miss almost every day. My Hue motion sensors (no hub, just de-conz) have been flawless for years..until last weekend when they all went offline and needed resetting. Nothing changed, no devices turned off. "The lights aren't coming on again". Nightmare.
I upgraded my Tesla and now it works with my garage door. When I leave it closes and when I come back it opens. Pretty sexy. My favorite smart home thing is my watch, I tell it to clean the floor and my robot cleans the section on command. And you are right, roborock is really good. The next logical step is a robot that can empty and fill the water from a water/drain connection. Then I can just let it go til it needs scheduled maintenance.
I look forward to the new robot lawn mowers coming out soon.
One thing of note is that even though UniFi cameras are expensive, you are not limited by the number of cameras you can put on their NVR. Also, the software is free as well as all updates to the software that runs on the NVR. The software is what makes the UniFi camera system so great. So the price of the cameras is what allows them to make really great software. Sort of how Apple does it with their computers. You pay a premium on the computer but you never pay for updates to the software for the life of the computer. Same thing with the UniFi stuff. Oh, and their is no subscription fess EVER for any of the UniFi cameras, unlike some of the other camera manufacturers.
I still think that UniFi cameras are way overprice by today standard. I'm a new Reolink user since 2020. I currently use 8 cameras from Reolink (RLC-820a). Each camera cost 1/5 of the price of the Unifi G4 Pro. In another words, the reolink cameras have to failed and be replaced 40 times to reach the initial cost of 8 UniFi G4 Pro cameras. I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't have a problem with any of the 8 Reolink cameras yet. Reolink still have firmware update for the NVR and cameras since 2020. I have to agree with Smart Home Solver, The hook up and Lifehackster on that. The image quality is about the same. If only it was 5 time better. I heard Unifi software is better but since no one in my family find reolink software difficult to operate even my 10 yrs son (windows client, mobile app or nvr itself), I don't see this as a problem.
I have changed 3 different security camera system in the last 15 years not because they broke down or don't work anymore but because that technology have change so much over the year, from resolution (1280x720 8fps, 1920x1080 12fps, 3840x2160 25fps) to new feature. All 3 systems combined is still cheaper then Unifi.
Can you do a full training video on Home Assistant please?
Thanks to videos like this, and my resistance to jumping into a new technology before I research it thoroughly, I've avoided buying mistakes. I'm nowhere near as automated as you, but I never will be. My goals are different. Again, thanks for the work and for this roundup.
Ally had better watch out or Neesha might get jealous and bring out the red eyes! Thank you Reed, great summation!
Lutron, lutron, lutron. Best investment, no smart bulbs, just smart fixtures. If you move, just take them with... go cheap with striplights, kinda fun to make and connect your own as well.
Great insights Reed. I typically buy 1 or 2 of something and if it is not reliable I dump it. Nice to see you spell out what has worked for y’all. Loved the trailer😊
The iLife Shinebot does a good job and actually mops the floor
we bought a house last year and it has those same fans and remotes like yours, I just installed a bond bridge this weekend and didnt even know my fan light could dim or even get brighter lol
At 3:20, oh yes I know the feeling. So glad I went with Gigabit for my home network.
Good general tips. Maybe should also mention about whether it is cloud based or purely local controlled. Many of us, including myself are only interested in local control. If the device can't be flashed with 3rd party open-source firmware like Tasmota or ESPHome, won't touch it. Having a command to control something in my home first go out to someone else's computer and then return back, no thanks.
I would go with Aruba Instant-On access points. They don't need the controller and are super reliable. They are the cheaper version of the enterprise grade meant for businesses.
We don’t have a neutral wire. I’ve been using Philips hue switches that are wireless. Works great. But you might have a suggestion.
Honestly I spent money on a Tailwind Iq3 after the Chamberlain ones, and it was 100% worth it!
The problem with some of the consumer mesh (re: google) are lack of options for custom networking options such as custom NAT, firewall policies are usually a pain, and other shortcomings that are meant for true CONSUMERS rather than prosumers. Great video though.
So is ring your go to door sensors? Do they work with smartthings? If not what do you recommend that does work with smartthings
Our Roborock is one of the best purchases we ever made, especially since our house is wood throughout.
As an Australian and pensioner (I am 70) we live in the Oceania region of the world. In former life, I was a System Analyst/Software Engineer. We are heavily influenced by Chinese Smart Home devices DIRECT. Australian Hardware, Electrical and Electronic Smart devices are influenced by Tuya and are built to CE Australian electrical standards. As well the Chinese Earth based electrical system is identical only is plug and socket it upside down. Now my smart consists of Chinese based products and Australian inbuilt Tuya compatible and limited Aqara and Xiaomi use that all work with Alexa and Google voice control. Direct imported Tuya products from China are in the mix. For example it cost under $300 when every light switch (CE compliant) with touch glass was installed with Smart Home WIFI control. Alexa voice control in turning any of 40 lights in this home take in less then 1 second to respond. I use Tuya sensors. These identified and interact very fast with Alexa and Goggle routines. The 13 cam were $45 each and follow me and detect movement. The outside POE network METAL cameras are also Tuya and cost $55. All work on Alexa shows and Google. All are rock solid even with rare electrical black outs. The total cost of these Tuya products are exceptionally low. Add to this IR RF bridges a USB version costs RF / IR is $17 and other IR bridges are $12, the size of large button. Voice control via SCENE TAP OR AUTOMATION ROCK SOLID. Lets not forget Smart Irrigation, Strip light, Upright RGB light bars, Smart AC Plugs, AC automation, Zigbee, BT Mesh Hubs, 2 Xiaomi AX6000 Router (covers whole house and control over 100 WIFI smart devices) - so that one heck of loading and demand. The most important aspects: They all work and self heal if power is removed. Yes there are other options and I am using them all including HA. You know the best part: Practical things like tank water levels, robot controlled lawn mower and powerful Robotic vacuums. They are the fun and do make retirement so much easier and safer. All up my total estimate for all this would not exceed $3,000. Maybe I'll start a web site for those who cannot afford much. Some of the stuff mentioned by you is far too expensive for even standard US based income users. And Yes I am aware of those scary monster servers of China and trojan internet monsters waiting to steal, pounce, chew and snoop on your home. That all aside - HA is getting pretty darn impressive. I have had five devices FAIL, the rest were excellent and worked beyond expectations. This idea that cheap is not good is simply not always true. Yes there is junk out there but you do a sample of them first, and test and test before you might order 20 of them for under $10. Now will I see this post or will it be removed? Best Wishes.
Unifi has some great wireless cameras if you haven't checked those out. All of mine are the $99 G4 Instant. Love them. The G3 ones were $30, but they got bumped up to $79 recently.
Thanks for another great video. I am having success using most of the items you recommended. For doorbell and camera outdoor, I went with ring as I already had and cannot justify spending as I am happy with what they do and reliability. My biggest frustration is Home Assistant. As someone still learning this is my biggest challenge. But I do see the potential and will eventually overcome. Finally, love the @PaulHibbert reference. I do have my Mr Sockey mug and I will have to break down and get the book.
An automation I didn't see.. the same way you're use your bathroom exhaust fan use it with the kitchen absorbent.. stick a humidity sensor on top and when you are boiling or cooking something turn on the absorbent.. sorry for my English if they are wrong, hope you get the idea..
I invested in Wemo many years ago by purchasing quite a few of them. I’m currently in the process of changing them all over to Kasa!
Made the mistake buying Wemo when I first started too. At least they have a password these days. I always think when watching home tours ‘did they make any compromises for if/when they move house?’. For example I have a google nest thermostat and doorbell, not because I thought they were the best but because the new homeowner is likely to have a google account already. I could do much better myself using Home Assistant and Zigbee radiator controls/temperature sensors.
"It says Mom because she only wants mom to help her" rofl! I'm dying! lol
Awesome 👌 I also switched my lights to Philips Hue to save my marriage 🤣
You made a comment in a video I saw recently that WeMo switches were crap. I can certainly agree that I have had my fill of frustration with the several that I have. What would you recommend for my next wall switch?
I'm still trying to decide if I want to invest in Lutron Caseta switches. I have been using a couple of Kasa switches for a few weeks now and haven't had any problems but I'm also not doing a lot with it since most of my lights are Hue based. I don't really need all that many smart switches so Caseta costs wouldn't be TOO bad but it is still expensive. I'll probably stick with Kasa switches and update the other 3 that I want to upgrade sooner rather than later.
As far as my cheap MyQ attachment goes, I have had 100% dependability on it. I have never had a time when it showed the wrong status or didn't receive both the open and close notifications. My assumption is that the dependability depends a lot on how well your WiFi signal reaches your garage.
I’m done with battery contact sensors. I’m about to put in old school wired contact sensors, bring them into my IQ4 alarm panel, then send them to Hubitat. No more batteries, and will only need a single sensor on each door/window, and I can have them both in my alarm and HE system.
I have some kasa products and they are great. The switches work, however, the construction is much lower quality than my home seer or ge z wave stuff. I have the myq hub and it has worked well, but before I put an access point in the garage it was not nearly as good. I have a detached garage with a covered walkway, climbing through there was terrible.
I really enjoyed the vid and mostly agree with your recs.
Sweet video! If something can last the Arizona summer (in the garage) that should receive a special award lol
What did you use for structured wiring? Was it cat 5e, cat 6 or 6a? Did you run speaker wire as well?
tHIS WAS THE BEST VIDEO EVRER I HAVE A LOT OF THINGS YOU SHOWED IN THE VID
Love your videos Reed. You're one of the reasons I got into home automation, because you show practical uses for smart tech and differentiate between price points. I'd like to use the Aqara devices but I couldn't get the Aqara M1S to connect so I returned it. But they have so many different great products like the smart buttons and motion sensors and door sensors, so I was disappointed. I use Tuya devices and the hub works fine, but it's a little slow to respond with Alexa so that's why I wanted a ZigBee hub and devices.
I have been using calex lights and they are fantastic I have five now as I am trying to build a smart home.
Great info, I feel your pain on questionable purchase's. Only thing that is waste of money (IMO) are the smart thermostats. set it and forget it, don't touch it. Almost all modern ones let you set a schedule. Personally I never have understood what the big deal is. Does anyone really have a need to change it so much that it needs to be smart? Now if you own a big "O" you tube money house like you do, where you have "zones" Maybe, just maybe I could splurge on one. ( Visualize my sarcastic grin) :)
4:30 diy is a good option for led strips, rather than kits you can choose both the type of strip and controller
Lol, one of the best ending skits you've done!
When I found out MyQ isn't compatible with ANYTHING, I was pretty disappointed. I'm curious if you have it integrated into your other smart home stuff, and how you did it. I have Smartthings, but last I knew, the Groovy partial solution went away and there isn't anything to replace it. I was pretty surprised to see you bought one again. Isn't there something more smart home friendly out there?
I use IFTTT recipe for geofencing. When I leave the area my one of my MyQ garage doors closes. I also mkZense as a trigger for MyQ with IFTTT to tell my Echos to say the someone is at Garage Door 1 or 2. You can set up mkZense for free for up to 3 triggers. To me the biggest miss is Echo Shows cannot see the MyQ garage door cameras.
I am still looking for good smart lamps. They should be white-tunable and have a CRI of 90 or more. I have tried normal LED lamps and even expensive Hue, but in my experience, light with a CRI of 80 doesn't really look good and often pale and dull, even with a color temperature of less than 2700K.
Currently I go with light bulbs from Ikea and the new version of Wiz. They work great and the light looks more natural. But I haven't found good light stripes with a high CRI, except really expensive versions (20€/m) without any driver.
As for smart thermostats, I almost regret that I've already spent money on them. Next winter, the heating will run through, even at night. My house is well insulated and it costs more energy to heat a cooled room again than to keep it at a constant temperature.
Best smart home video i have watched this year.
Do you have a video on everything you need to know about Aqura?
What are your thoughts on the Aqara light switches?
He will only reply on the first comments on his latest video
5:54 (timestamp) Is this Home Assistant? I have Ring Security Cameras as well as a Ring video doorbell. Does this work well with Home Assistant or the software you are using (if so, what is it called?). This video was a goldmine for me and helped me so much!
Glad I stayed for the otro. Oh the zigbee!!!
Can you think of any automation for the pet cat to stop annoy you and you want him out of the room, perhaps a food feeder is other room, and then door would shut
Is that a battery powerbank for the Echo I see there? I've been considering getting one of those, what brand is that/can you recomend a good brand?
interesting about the MY Q hub. Ive been using it for a few years now and haven't had any issues. The app does decide to throw in the towel from time to time .. but that's about it. I use google assistant through Android Auto in my car anyway then . Also have an NFC tag on my visor as a backup. when i arrive home, I just use the craftsman remote hung up on the garage wall to close the garage door behind me
You should be comparing night footage between cameras, they all look the same during the day but in low light some cameras can even give you full colour video
Brilliant video! Loved the ending 😂
as much as I want to love aqara products, if you use it on other hubs like home assistant, its a massive headache to get this devices working reliably. 90% most of the time theyre routing is sooo bad that I ended up just buying a cheaper tuya zigbee motion sensor and that works very reliable.
after all aqara is famous of not getting the nearby zigbee routers and try connecting directly to coordinator or routers that is nearby the coordinator.
I've been using Ikea's new hub with their smart bulbs for the last few months and they've been working perfectly so far.
..he said, that those small remotes are problematic.
..i bought it too,..as my entry into this world...i hope they ll be good
For devices that are plugged in or require power, I'm curious if a UL certification is important to you?
Hi Reed,great video 👍🏻👍🏻. I wouldn’t go cheap on a smart plug, I read a review on Amazon about a Meross smart plug that went faulty, when the person opened up the plug they found a 10A relay inside instead of a 16A relay (soc,et outlets are rated to 13A in the uk. I only use them to switch light loads like for E.g. trailing sockets, Christmas lights., slow cooker, my CPAP machine, bedroom pedestal fan which I have set up on a routine which utilises the temperature sensor in the Echo. When the room goes above 25 Deg C the fan will come on. The cameras are ok not great but good.
Isn't it a IKEA Symfonisk Lamp in the background? Which bulb are you using for it, because it looks like a color gradient. 😮
Anyone have a recommendation for a smart outdoor gate lock? I'm horrible with keeping up with my keys and smart locks enabled my bad habit of loosing them.
I'm happy with the meross garage door opener, also works w/ my apple watch.
I subscribe to the "no cloud" line of thinking, so getting cheaper stuff is usually a no go. But it's worth it to me for the peace of mine that another eufy isn't happening
You mention don’t cheap out on a video doorbell but you didn’t mention what kind you have. What make/model is it?
Love the ending!
Haha funny corporate agreed, Paul Hibbert 😂, thanks Reed and his wife for the video 👍
Does your smart vacuum trigger your house alarm when your not home?
When you gonna review the 75w and 100w equivalent hue bulbs I just noticed at Home Depot. I have the 60w for longest time and love them especially in my coach lanterns outside home. But really curious on the higher output ones for review now!!
Thanks for the video - I am just starting to research Smart Home stuff and this really helps! You showed a bunch of hub options in this episode, which is where I am stuck. It seems you run everything through Apple Homekit, but is it worth me starting with an Apple hub as well?
IT JUST WORKS!!!!!
Looking to get some more smart switches due to remodeling. I love the Kasa light switch ! Currently my smart home is based in the “Smart Life” app. If I were to use the Kasa smart lights I would need to switch to the “Smart Things” app. Any thoughts on if the switch would be worth it?
I have almost 20 smart devices I would have to rebuy.
I have tried moving over my devices from Smart Life to Smart Things but hadn’t had success as just the automations (not devices) move over.
My question in short is smart things the best centralized system for multiple smart devices?