Hello everyone, I wanted to share my experiences with my smart home setup and some of the challenges I’ve encountered along the way. I’ve been using a combination of Fibaro Dimmer 2, Sonos speakers, and Kodi media center to create a seamless entertainment experience in my living room. However, I’ve run into some issues with setting up automation rules for the Fibaro Dimmer 2. Specifically, while turning the lights on and off works perfectly, I haven’t been able to get the dimming feature to work as intended. I’ve tried various commands like sendCommand(50) and sendCommand("50"), but none seem to adjust the brightness smoothly. If anyone has successfully implemented a similar rule, I’d love to hear how you did it!
Another topic I wanted to touch on is the search for truly screwless wall plates for my Meross smart switches. I’ve been impressed with Meross’ sleek design, but finding matching wall plates that are both screwless and multi-gang compatible has been a bit of a challenge. If anyone has recommendations or tips on where to find these, I’d greatly appreciate it!
On a lighter note, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the convenience of controlling my Sonos speakers with a remote. Being able to adjust the volume without having to pull out my phone has made movie nights and music sessions much more enjoyable. It’s amazing how these small enhancements can really elevate the smart home experience.
I’m also considering expanding my smart home ecosystem by adding some Zigbee outdoor motion sensors. I’ve been using Zigbee devices exclusively so far, but I’ve noticed that many outdoor sensors aren’t available on the Zigbee network. This has made me wonder if I should integrate some Z-Wave devices into my setup, especially since I’d like to add an August Pro lock in the future. I’d love to hear others’ experiences with mixing Zigbee and Z-Wave devices—has anyone found this combination to be seamless or problematic?
Lastly, I’ve been experimenting with creating custom integrations for my water consumption data using a REST API. It’s been a bit of a learning curve, but seeing the sensors populate in Home Assistant has been incredibly rewarding. I’m still working on getting the integration page to display everything correctly, but I’m hopeful I’ll crack it soon!
Smart home technology is truly fascinating, and I’m excited to continue exploring and improving my setup. If anyone has advice, tips, or shared their own experiences, I’d be happy to hear from you! Thanks for reading, and happy tinkering! 