A lot of people start their smart home journey the way I did, by buying maybe one or two devices… typically a light bulb. That is sensible if you’re wanting to understand the concept of using apps to control your environment. It’s not a bad approach.
However, it misses the point of smart homes, which is to have a home that responds to YOU. Probably the most important device at the core of the smart home is the sensor. The sensor gives your smart home the capacity to understand the environment it is managing and respond appropriately. Choose that device, choose a protocol that works ubiquitously and go for quality over any other criterion.
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@chris83 Totally agree with your take here—starting with a bulb is a nice “on-ramp,” but sensors are what turn a setup from remote-controlled into actually smart. Once the home can sense motion, doors/windows, light level, temperature/humidity, etc., you can build automations that feel natural instead of manual.
That’s also why automation (“If… then…”) ends up being the real core: when a specific condition is met, other devices react automatically—like triggering a camera or pushing an alert when a door/window sensor opens. This information comes from community discussions and user experience summaries and may vary by environment. Please verify carefully. Here’s the related reference: 【（公开）自动化与APP相关配置 Q:什么是自动化？】
If you’re up for sharing: what sensors did you start with (motion, door/window, temp/humidity), and what’s the first “must-have” automation you’d recommend to someone new?
Ikea’s humidity sensor connected to a ceiling extractor fan in the bathroom has been great but the motion detector sensor in various rooms in the house have been a game changer. A lot of time based automations will now only be fired if a specific person is in the room which has meant a ton of activations are avoided.
I agree with you, but I also think having at least one smart light with some sensors is the easiest way to start learning how automations work. This sensor triggers? Light flashes. Other sensor triggers? Light turns this color. I would encourage people to get at least one bulb with your sensors when starting because you can quickly “see” the results of your work and not just see a list of sensor information. I started with sensors before bulbs and it quickly became, “Cool, I now know if my door is closed…what do I do about it?”
I agree 100%… it was what I meant to say but worded it badly… so you’ve fixed it!