Home Automation

I'm looking for a smart DC fan controller to drive a 24vdc blower fan for my smoker..

There's plenty of on/off relays and physical dial boards that I can find but I want to be able to have HASS vary the speed based on a separate ZigBee temperature sensor.

Anyone have any ideas?

No-one seems to have asked this question before... They all seem to be ceiling fan related... :/

Hi all, I have a sliding gate at my house. It works via a key fob. I'd like to make it smart. I can see some modules on line but I don't know how to find out which cables are what. I attach some pictures. Help appreciated, thank you.

I have an amp outside connected to some speakers. Right now I control it via Bluetooth from my phone and use Spotify to play the music. I’d love if there was a way to integrate Alexa or another helper so the kids can request songs when I’m not home. Is this feasible? Looking for cheap solutions ideally. My amp can take RCA audio in or Bluetooth.

I asked bard to tell me how to wire the Shelly relay in a 3-way configuration. If this bypasses the relay, how can it trigger the light remotely??

To keep both switches active in a 3-way switch configuration, you'll need to wire the Shelly 1L relay differently than described in the previous answer. Instead of connecting the traveler wires to the SW1 and SW2 terminals, you'll connect them to the L and O terminals, respectively. This will effectively bypass the Shelly relay, leaving both switches in control of the light fixture.

Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Turn off the power to the circuit at the breaker panel.

2. Identify the two 3-way switches. These are the switches that control the same light fixture.

3. Remove the covers from the two 3-way switches.

4. Identify the common wire. This is the wire that is always hot, even when the switch is off. It is usually black or red.

5. Identify the traveler wires. These are the wires that connect the two 3-way switches. They are usually black, red, or white.

6. Disconnect the traveler wires from the existing switches.

7. Connect the Shelly 1L relay to the wires as follows:

• The common wire to the L terminal on the Shelly relay.
• One of the traveler wires to the L terminal on the Shelly relay.
• The other traveler wire to the O terminal on the Shelly relay.
• The load wire to the load wire of the existing switch.

8. Secure all of the connections with wire nuts.

9. Wrap the connections with electrical tape.

10. Reinstall the covers on the two 3-way switches.

11. Turn on the power to the circuit at the breaker panel.

With this configuration, both switches will remain active, and the Shelly 1L relay will not interfere with their operation. You can still use the Shelly relay to remotely control the light fixture or to automate its operation based on schedules or triggers.

Hello,

I have recently gone down to rabbit hole of upgrading fixtures around my house to work with HomeKit.

I have replaced all my electric baseboard thermostats with Mysa V2, which meets my needs.

There is one remaining thermostat in my house, which turns the gas fireplace on via electric pilot.

This thermostat control has never acted as temperature regulation. It seems to function as a on/off switch. I turn the “heat up”, to turn the fireplace on, and turn the “heat down” to turn the fireplace off. It has never automatically turned on or off based on setting, as a baseboard heater would.

I’ve included pictures of the wiring behind the thermostat. The thermostat connects to a line, and a load wire. There also appears to be a neutral wire as well as a ground wire in the housing.

My baseboard heater thermostats also had a red wire in the housing, which was previously unused but was required when I upgraded to the Mysa thermostats. This fireplace housing does not have that red wire.

My question is, can I replace this thermostat with a smart switch? I am okay with it not acting as a thermostat, as it never has. I can automate it to operate based off of triggers of other thermostats. Alternatively, if I have to use another Mysa thermostat for this fireplace, will doing to allow it to function as a true thermostat rather than a switch, and is that even possible given there is no red wire?

I hope I have explained this sufficiently. Thanks in advance for your help.

Hello! I recently bought a strand of twinkly multi color lights and I love them. The effects are great and easily adaptable. However, I can't figure out how to automate different saved effects to turn on and off throughout the day. For example, I also have Philips Hue lights and they are set to come on in a warm color at sunset and fade to blue at 10pm. I would love to have the twinkly lights do something similar. Currently, I use the Philips Hue app to control the automations. The only other home control device I have used is Google home. Neither of these will work for this application. So, any suggestions on a new app/automation platform that can perform this simple task?

Seems such a obvious use case but no one seems to be making them other than the odd few no-name brands I see on AliExpress et al.

Something in the format of a downlight, perhaps?

I'd like to switch on/off my Ezviz camera via google home. Also, I'd like to set and away/home automation that allows to remove/set sleep mode based on geofenncing for all people in the home. Is that at all possible? Tried but couldn't do it.

Also, I need more cameras and was thinking to get other Ezvizs so all are of the same brand BUT I am a bit unsure now that I can see that I cannot control (eg switch on/off, put to sleep) my Ezviz camera via Google Home and that I cannot find a decent way to allow home/away modes for multiple users using geofencing.

Thanks for your advice!

I've done some reading on no-nrutral switches, but several of the posts have been from a few years ago. As were nearly in 2024 are there any newer options or recommendations?

Some requirements:

• On/off and Dimmer switches
• Manageable or no minimum wattage (to avoid having to add additional hardware)
• Ease of use and "normal"-ish appearance

I have some devices that work with GH and some that work with HK. I was going to have both apps open at the same time, but GH doesn't support multitasking on the iPad. So that led me to try to find an app that combines the two platforms into one view, but I haven't been able to. Any suggestions?

I am building a new house and I am trying to prewire as much as possible. If price was not an object what would you pre-wire?

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Currently, I have my house being set up for Lutron RA2 lights

Putting 18/2 for speakers in each rooms

One cat5e by each room for a tablet/intercom

Cat5e for cameras

22/2 for Door/window contacts by all exterior doors and windows

smurftube by every room (where the intercom is for future growth).

18/2 by windows where I may want power shades.

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What else am I missing?

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Thank you

I admittedly don’t know much about home automation so please bear with me. I’m in search of the best option for me and my wife to be able to control access to our kids TV’s and game consoles. My wife and I both have modern iPhones and our home WiFi is a Google WiFi mesh router system. We also have a few Alexa pods. I’m thinking of getting some kind of smart plug that the tvs and consoles plug into that we can access via app to setup time slots where they are allowed to play games and watch TV. In addition I want to be able to have a kill switch where I can shut them down if they aren’t behaving. I hear a little about homelink and have searched Amazon for smart plugs but the info is all a bit daunting. Do I need to buy a special hub of some type? How does it all work? Can I just buy smart plugs that are home link compliant? Admittedly confused here.

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My goal was to create a seamless and intuitive system with interconnected lighting, climate, entertainment, and security that could be managed through voice commands or a central app. I wanted the room to respond to our presence, adjust to our preferred settings, as well as predict some of our needs based on the time of day.

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The core of the system is a central hub that connects all the smart devices. I opted for a Raspberry Pi running home assistant, as it seemed like a good combination of flexibility and a robust support community.

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For lighting, I chose smart bulbs and LED strips with changing color/brightness. Climate control was entrusted to a smart thermostat that learned our schedule and preferences. Entertainment-wise, I set up smart speakers and a TV that can cast content from a phone/tablet.

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For security, I installed smart locks and cameras. I asked the tech guy to make sure these are integrated with the central hub for coordinated actions, e.g., turning on the light when night motion is detected.

I ran into some compatibility issues between different brands and protocols, which took some trial and error to plow through. At the moment, I'm working on the smart irrigation system for our garden. It's a bit tricky with all the unpredictable weather we've been having. Trying to wrap my head around soil moisture sensors and weather forecasting APIs.

Any suggestions? thanks

I have this LED strip and power adapter (see links). It's currently "smart" through an Ikea Trådfri plug.

However, I would like the ability to control the brightness as well. A store near me has Gledopto 5 in 1 in stock, which I've looked into. I s it going to work with my stuff? Do any of you have experience with it, are you satisfied? If not that one, can you recommend another?

Strip https://www.valostore.se/sv/produkt/led_slinga_purestrip_high_cri/HS2979-1?ADS-PROF-MID&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAvJarBhA1EiwAGgZl0N4eipK4F1ZnwTLzsWz624CRAYgFo_ZkFdGy6ORFbKoZsQXi3Fsz2hoC3DkQAvD_BwE

Power supply

https://www.valostore.se/sv/produkt/transformator_12v_ledslinga

Hello there!
As I fix up my home, I am looking for a smart smoke detector that is able to alert me if I'm outside my home. But here's the catch: I also want to be altered when I'm inside my home, on a different floor than the detector. That's means that the detectors need to communicate together. If one goes off, all of them will alert the household. It seems that every smart detector is inept in this regard.

Are there any detectors that can serial connect and alert me outside of my home?

Here’s one that is driving me nuts…. Lady wants switched lights to go on for a minute if a thermal camera detects a human, but only if the house security system is armed.

Hikvision IP cam Digital watchdog Spectrum Residio TotalConnect2 Lutron Homeworks with ConnectHub

I have considered using HA,RTI,IFTTT and some of the native API toolkits in each device. What is the simplest, most reliable transport and translation scenario you can think of?

I’m not sure this is the place to ask, but I don’t know where else to turn.

I’m looking for a “digital frame” I believe, but I’m not looking for something that I can continuously update/add to. Really, I’m looking for a picture frame that I can upload 100ish photos to, and have those photos just cycle forever.

The giftee I need this for is not only not tech savvy, but is also quite tech averse. Unfortunately I’m not crafty enough for scrapbooking so this is my best idea.

Does this item exist? Is digital frame the wrong term?

Thank you!

Hello Z-Wave community,

I have a Z-Wave switch in my basement (GE Enbrighten ZW4008) controlling Neons. Recently, I added two more Z-Wave switches to control the same Neons in different areas. However, the association isn't working as I would have expected (my bad).

Key details:

• All switches are on the same Z-Wave network via a Vera controller.
• Only line and neutral wires are available, no travelers.
• I attempted 'group associations' through Vera, but the additional switches don't work this way; they don't control the Neons.
• One of the additional switches is also a GE Enbrighten ZW4008, while the other is an Ultrapro ZW4008, both made by JASCO. I'm unsure about the compatibility and any potential differences between these two models.

So, I reverted to making the extra two switches work with a scene (through the controller), but there is too much lag. I've read about auxiliary switches (add-ons) for three-way setups. Can anyone provide guidance on achieving multi-switch control without travelers? I see GE add-ons, but they show a traveler wire, and nowhere do they mention that they work with some kind of association (without a traveler). If GE switch is not the solution, I don't mind buying other brands if necessary.

Note: The switches are not on the same breaker box; I'm not sure if this is relevant.

Any insights, experiences, or product recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you

Claude

Hello all! I am new to home automation (both the sub and the concept) and just installed Yale assure 2 keypad locks on my front and back door. They’re the versions that have a backup physical key, connect to the app via WiFi I suppose, and also have Bluetooth capabilities?

Front door works great. Yay!

Back door worked for 12 hours, and now the keypad won’t work. The lock will open via the app, but when I punch either the Yale button to lock the door, or my code in to unlock the door, the lock starts to beep. No lights light up on the keypad, but it just keeps beeping! It eventually stops when I use the app to unlock the door.

Yale customer support is useless. So I am coming here - what do you think could be the issue? I’ve tried factory resetting but I don’t think that’ll do anything. I’m bummed since these weren’t cheap, and j was excited to be able to leave my house without carrying keys!

Does anyone here know of any efforts to give local control to their devices. Where I live internet outages are frequent and I'd love to integrate these sensors with my local homeassistant instance and still have them work when the internet is offline. I'd be ok even building something to act as my own DIY hub if that is a possibility.

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My Current Smart Lock

I decided to replace the deadbolt on my front door and purchased a U-Bolt Pro Wifi. It turned out to be absolute garbage. Fingerprint reader works 20% of the time, Apple Watch app works 20% of the time, geofencing doesn't work, support absolutely the worst they even admit the features I am using only work 30% of the time.

Here is what I am looking for:

1. Name brand company with U.S. Support
2. Extended warranty option up to 3 years
3. Remote programming/temporary access codes
4. Apple Siri support
5. Long battery life (minimum 6 months)
6. Keypad on front of door

Optional:

1. NFC support (I know ultraloq plans on releasing one in a month but I want to stay away from this
   company)

2. Mechanical key not necessary but a nice option

3. Geofencing or Auto-unlock based on Smartphone location

I don't know much about Z-wave. My understanding is its very low bandwidth and consequently consumes very little energy (doesn't run down batteries). So I am not against a Z wave lock with a hub that connects to my home Wifi as long as I can control with Siri.

Any assistance with this spec would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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I bought a bunch of cheap smart switches over the last few weeks and was wondering if anyone has managed to get these to work on a 12 volt dc system rather than the 100-265v ac system they are designed for?

Or, if there is one, can point me in the direction of a tutorial that might shed some light on this idea?

The router I have is a 9 volt in and the LED lights i have are already hacked or designed to run at 12v.

The "brains" of the switches appear to have a 3.3 vdc input so I think it shouldn't be too hard, right?

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My in ceiling speakers are wired with a 4 wire phoenix connector. Many of the amps I see like Sonos don’t even have this connector on the back. How can I power these in ceiling speakers?