Hello Smart Home enthusiasts! I want to pick your brain!
Some of us have just started — maybe you’ve made your first room smart so the light turns on when someone enters. Others already have dozens of devices all over the house and a ton of experience to share.
Friends often ask me, after seeing and experiencing our home, how to best design, plan, set up, and run a Smart Home. From my own experience, I know you can make plenty of mistakes along the way — and not only waste money, but maybe also end up with an angry wife who’s had enough of the lights turning off while she’s still in the shower .
So here’s my question: if you wanted to make your entire home smart from top to bottom, how would you go about it? What questions should you answer first? What points must a good Smart Home concept include?
Please share your thoughts and ideas — I’m planning to compile them into a document and make it available for everyone, to make getting started with a professional Smart Home easier for all of us.
Thanks for your input!
And always remember: If your car is smarter than your house… you’re driving into the future while living in the past!
@RudyK Hi, I too, having a wife and young daughter, have experimented with a few scenes and automations to make everything easy and safe to use. For example, in the bathroom, a motion sensor turns the lights on as soon as someone is detected. After three minutes without movement, the lights dim to 50%, and after another two minutes, they turn off completely. For the shower issue, I solved it by creating a scene and automation using the Aqara W100. Pressing the button once activates shower mode, which deactivates the motion sensor and keeps the lights on. Pressing the same button twice restores everything. And everyone at home is happy. Everything is connected to the Aqara Hub M3, P2 motion sensor, and an Aqara W100 thermostat.
I hope I’ve given you something interesting.
I think you need to make the common items smart to begin with. What I mean by that is Instead of remotes or buttons, you need to make wall switches & electrical outlets smart. Non-tech people are used to light switches and outlets. They don’t need to know all the additional smart stuff these items allow for.
Also, I wish I had Ethernet run to every room. I have a good mesh WiFi network, but Ethernet is faster and allows for more options.
True, but not everyone is ready to change every light switch in every room. Sometimes it seems easier to use wireless remote controls that can be configured to turn off individual lights, individual rooms, or multiple rooms, as well as the rest of the house.
Others already have dozens of devices all over the house and a ton of experience to share.
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