Home Automation, Amazon Alexa/Echo devices, etc???

[Melensdad]

Anyone use any of these home automation tools like Apple HomeHub, Amazon Alexa, etc?

I just ordered some Amazon Echo devices for Christmas gifts. Picked up some "smart lights" and smart switches so I can turn on the flood lights outside, dim the inside lights, etc all from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy.

The lovely Mrs_Bob has been wanting some sort of remote dimming device for our living room lights while we watch TV. I looked at a bunch of stuff, different brands, ended up buying Amazon Echo devices for various rooms, smart flood lights, smart traditional looking bulbs, and a handful of smart switches for installing into the walls to control some of our outdoor lights. Also got a camera with audio for the front door.

NONE of it is installed. SOME of it arrived today. SOME is still in transit. Probably won't get most of it up and running until the new year. This will be a Christmas gift package of stuff. I'm hoping it all works and is fairly easy to use.

What are your experiences with any of this stuff? I resisted for a long time. I used to have some X-10 stuff that worked pretty well, but was cumbersome to use for complex programs. I'm tired of replacing cheaply made Chinese lamp timers that work for a couple months and then crap out. And having voice control, with some of these smart devices seems like a pretty nifty bonus.

Not planing to use a "smart thermostat" at this point but that might be a future toy?

 

[jpr62902]

Anyone use any of these home automation tools like Apple HomeHub, Amazon Alexa, etc?

I just ordered some Amazon Echo devices for Christmas gifts. Picked up some "smart lights" and smart switches so I can turn on the flood lights outside, dim the inside lights, etc all from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy.

The lovely Mrs_Bob has been wanting some sort of remote dimming device for our living room lights while we watch TV. I looked at a bunch of stuff, different brands, ended up buying Amazon Echo devices for various rooms, smart flood lights, smart traditional looking bulbs, and a handful of smart switches for installing into the walls to control some of our outdoor lights. Also got a camera with audio for the front door.

NONE of it is installed. SOME of it arrived today. SOME is still in transit. Probably won't get most of it up and running until the new year. This will be a Christmas gift package of stuff. I'm hoping it all works and is fairly easy to use.

What are your experiences with any of this stuff? I resisted for a long time. I used to have some X-10 stuff that worked pretty well, but was cumbersome to use for complex programs. I'm tired of replacing cheaply made Chinese lamp timers that work for a couple months and then crap out. And having voice control, with some of these smart devices seems like a pretty nifty bonus.

Not planing to use a "smart thermostat" at this point but that might be a future toy?

We've had multiple Echo devices for years and they work pretty well. One neat feature is you can play music throuhgout the house over all of the devices (as in, play the same stuff throughout the house). Great for parties. We use the TP-Link\KASA stuff - plugs, bulbs and light switches. They're especially great for programming when you're out of town for extended periods. Cost effective, too. They also sync well with the Amazon tech. I'm not a techie, so if I can set this stuff up, anyone can.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

We have no real use for another electronic gadget in the house. We rarely if ever have music playing in the house. Turning on the tv? My thumb still works good enough to press buttons on a remote. And I still know how to flip a light switch. Until they come out with a useful gadget that can clean the house, feed the dogs, Shovel the driveway and cook supper, I'll stick with what has worked for years.

 

[Melensdad]

. . . And I still know how to flip a light switch. . .

This has generally been my thought.

But we watch TV in the living room, which is a larger sunken level room. Light switches on one side of the room are up a couple steps. The other side of the room the switches are behind the Christmas Tree. No way to dim the lights either. We have the lights on 3 different circuits, fireplace spots, front wall spots excluding fireplace and rear wall spots. Plus several lamps around the room. Total of 16 bulbs in that room. And 10' tall windows with power shades. Depending on the position of the sun, time of day, time of year, we use different lighting and vary the window shade position.

Alexa/Echo will let us automate all those, and let us dim the bulbs too. Plus it will let me turn on the flood lights, front porch/driveway lights, etc etc etc

 

[bczoom]

Don't you have a young'in in the house for doing little things (like we were the remote control for the TV when we were kids).
Are all your switches/lights currently dimmable?

 

[tiredretired]

All that stuff is nice and it certainly is tailored to a group of folks. As for me, I got troubles with that damn Xfinity voice remote.

 

[Melensdad]

Don't you have a young'in in the house for doing little things (like we were the remote control for the TV when we were kids).
Are all your switches/lights currently dimmable?

He is 2.5 years old, too short to reach the switches.
And no, the lights are not currently dimmable.

 

[Melensdad]

All that stuff is nice and it certainly is tailored to a group of folks. As for me, I got troubles with that damn Xfinity voice remote.

Honestly this is the problem with technology. It works well for some, not for others. That is exactly what I am worried about.

 

[bczoom]

He is 2.5 years old, too short to reach the switches.
And no, the lights are not currently dimmable.

May need to get your big ladder out to make sure the bulbs are dimmable before installing a dimmer switch. If they're not already LED bulbs, might as well put those in while you're up there.

 

[Melensdad]

May need to get your big ladder out to make sure the bulbs are dimmable before installing a dimmer switch. If they're not already LED bulbs, might as well put those in while you're up there.

Actually I’m installing smart bulbs in all 12 recessed lights and all the lamp lights in the living room.

 

[FrancSevin]

Automation my house is simple.

The wife programs the service devices.

It responds to voice commands but not always with her intended results

"Franc, cook dinner!"

" Franc take out the trash"

"Franc, the furnace doesn't work"

"Franc the toilet in the main bathroom is plugged"

"Franc please put the curtains up in the bedroom" NO! not like that, like this!"

"Franc, I don't like that channel, please change it."

The system seems to work for her,,,mostly.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Automation my house is simple.

The wife programs the service devices.

It responds to voice commands but not always with her intended results

"Franc, cook dinner!"

" Franc take out the trash"

"Franc, the furnace doesn't work"

"Franc the toilet in the main bathroom is plugged"

"Franc please put the curtains up in the bedroom" NO! not like that, like this!"

"Franc, I don't like that channel, please change it."

The system seems to work for her,,,mostly.

So she has a franc 2000? 🤣 🤣 🤣

 

[Melensdad]

Amazon has been busy shipping me lots of "smart" devices. And they had a sale on some items.

I'm actually shipping back the unopened Amazon Dot (speaker ball) that I originally ordered. Price is roughly $30. For $70 I can get an Amazon Echo 8 (8" video screen, plus audio speaker, shows calendar, weather, etc on the screen) plus it comes with a free Amazon Echo 5 video device. So an audio only device is roughly $30 but audio/video devices cost $35 each when you choose the "get 1 free" option. Hmmm???

For an extra $5 I'll take the audio/video option. In fact I ordered 3 of them. So that gives me 6 controllers to scatter about the house.

Also picked up a couple cases of "smart bulbs" for a couple different rooms. 1 outdoor day/night color video camera with motion detection. And a handful of smart switches to activate some entire light circuits around the house, outdoor floods, etc. If it all works reasonably well then I'll expand the system. Most of what I ordered is GE CYNC branded stuff. From what I gather the various different brands are supposed to work together well, but I am hedging my bets and trying to mostly stay within 1 brand, hoping that compatibility and connectivity will be easier.

But honestly I doubt I'll get to actually install the camera or the light switches until after the holidays. The bulbs, for the most part, should go in pretty quickly, except those in the main living room where a ladder and advanced gymnastics are needed to access some of those recessed fixtures.

 

[Melensdad]

Set up some of the Amazon Echo devices and 4 of the GE CYNC smart bulbs yesterday.

Initial reaction was to throw all the stuff out the window. But after a 2nd attempt it all started working and now I'm kinda hooked on the convenience. Melen is with us for a long weekend and she is habitually turning on lights and leaving them on. Now, from the comfort of my EZ chair I can turn off those lights in the unoccupied rooms. I have more stuff on order.

I can't quite figure out how to set up schedules for lights for when we are out of town and other occasions, but I'm sure I'll get that all figured out soon enough.

I do have to switch my wifi router to 2.4 gigahertz from the current 5gz setting to control some things like cameras. That may be a bit of a pain in the ass as I'll also have to reconnect all the TV sets and other devices. But that will be a 1 time event, probably done on a day when the lovely Mrs_Bob is out of the house so she can't hear all my swearing and screaming.

 

[bczoom]

I do have to switch my wifi router to 2.4 gigahertz from the current 5gz setting to control some things like cameras.

Why? I can't think of a router that doesn't support both at the same time. We have 2 routers + 2 or 3 extenders and they all support both modes.

 

[Melensdad]

Why? I can't think of a router that doesn't support both at the same time. We have 2 routers + 2 or 3 extenders and they all support both modes.

I dunno, but mine doesn't seem to do that! I remember when I set mine up I had a choice.

 

[bczoom]

Time for a new router? I have one router plugged into the incoming cable/internet box. A second (newer) router is plugged into the first router via the uplink port. There's quite a difference in speed as well.

 

[Melensdad]

Just ordered a new one. The exiting router was way better than the one it replaced. This one looks even better, and it covers more area, so I might be able to reach out the the swimming pool with its range???

And it is supposed to work seamlessly with Alexa because it is an Amazon product. So I'm trying to make my life as idiot proof as possible . . . because as all married men know, we are idiots.

 

[bczoom]

This one looks even better, and it covers more area, so I might be able to reach out the the swimming pool with its range???

That'll depend somewhat on the router location. Mine is under my desk but I can connect from 200-300' away. On a good day, I can connect to our other house's router which is almost 500' away.

 

[Melensdad]

The light bulbs I got for my wife for Christmas are the new G.E. "CYNC" bulbs. Install them and they automatically connect to Alexa/Echo.

Stopped into LOWE'S today for some lumber for a project I'm starting and they were DISCONTINUING several different styles of "smart" bulbs. Got some "C by G.E." which are the 1st generation of GE smart bulbs. Got some FEIT brand stuff. Got some CREE brand stuff. Literally bought ALL the inventory they had on several styles, walked out with about 30 bulbs, average price was about $3.75 each. The newer generation bulbs were in the $12 to $20 range.

None of these new bulbs will work on my network. Probably because I have my router set up for 5ghz. Figured the "C by G.E." would work, but they can't be detected. Ditto the other stuff.

I'm just waiting for the new dual band Eero 6+ routers to show up. Not going to bother trying to get these bulbs to work. Installed a bunch of them. Some work as standard bulbs, some flicker in their connection mode. So for now we will live with that. Amazon's new router should arrive in 2 days. The lights I replaced are in pain in the butt locations. We just won't use them for a couple days.

 

[chowderman]

if your router does not simultaneously do dual band - it's definitely time for a new router.
go for the "wifi6" aka ax version - dual band, best throughput, etc etc.
on our home network - very noticeable performance improvement seen on 5G

edited to correct "ax"

 

[Melensdad]

Already ordered one of the Eero 6+ Mesh routers. Scheduled to arrive Wednesday.

 

[Melensdad]

Did a "device reset" on the 2 new "C by GE" light bulbs and got those working in a table lamp. So that is now automated.

I also figured out that if you stick with 1 brand that does make life easier. Each brand seems to have its own "app" that needs to be used for the brand specific items. So now I have at least 3 different brands in the house because LOWE'S was closing out various brands of products. I did buy all their old GE stuff. But also bought 2 other brands because they didn't have enough old GE stuff in the bulb types I needed.

So I complicated my life while trying to make it simple. But I'd also rather pay $3 than $15 for a light bulb. So there is a serious economic trade off. I literally saved $10 per bulb times roughly 35 bulbs. So the need for a few more apps is probably not the worst problem I'll encounter since I can still afford food (despite the Biden economy) plaguing all of us.

I can't figure out how to group some things together or set schedules yet. Something like "vacation mode" or similar where the lights work as if they are on timers. Clearly it is possible, I just don't have it figured out yet. And perhaps it is easily possible but it is a series of simple stand-alone programs rather than 1 multi-command program with multiple times, for multiple devices.

I also figured out that it is MUCH easier to program some of these things on the COMPUTER than it is to do it in the APP or on an Echo device.

 

[chowderman]

....MUCH easier to program some of these things on the COMPUTER
oh yeah, in spades.
same with "forums"
same with GPS stuff - a lot more obtuse on a 3" screen than a 12-14-17" computer "app"

 

[Melensdad]

New eero 6+ MESH system is installed and working great. I had to reconnect all my ECHO control boxes to the new network. Also the ROKU boxes for the streaming. And the phones. And the computers. And the tablets. But all the "smart" lights that were previously installed and connected to the old network seamlessly auto-connected to the new network without needing new passwords, network connections, etc.

Then I added in a bunch more smart lights. Automated the dinette. Most of the kitchen, still have a few more to go, but 3 over the sink and 3 over the breakfast bar. Another table lamp in the living room. 2 night table lamps in the bedroom.

Figured out how to control both bulbs in the same lamp at the same time, which was not as intuitive as you would think, but pretty simple once you figure it out.

Set up several "groups" so I can control the breakfast bar separately from the sink, or I can control all of them at the same time.

Set up a smart outlet to control a fan.

Now the lovely Mrs_Bob will need to learn all the names of all these devices/groups or she will be stumbling around in the dark.

 

[bczoom]

New eero 6+ MESH system is installed and working great.

How's the range? Can you reach the swimming pool and garage(s)?

 

[Melensdad]

No way it would reach the far garage, that is too much to ask. Unsure about the pool. Snow is melting out there today. Maybe I'll get there to see. But it does a nice job in all corners of the house.

 

[bczoom]

How far away is your far garage? Does it have electric? My cell phone struggles to connect to the home router when I'm at the far buildings (a couple hundred feet away). I put a range extender in a building that's about 150' from the home router. I then connect my phone to that range extender so I can get farther away.

 

[Melensdad]

150 feet from the wall of the house to the closest wall of the far garage.

I've looked into range extenders, really for the rare moments of need, I can't justify even a modest cost.

I have been scouring the local big box stores cleaning them out of their old model/clearance Feit, Cree and Cync bulbs. I don't want to add another brand/app. And I already have the apps for those 3 brands. And all 3 seem to work well with my system and Alexa. So I'll stick with what I know. The old models have software updates to turn them into new models!!! So I pay 35-cents on the dollar for the old style packages.

 

[Melensdad]

So it seems that Alexa only works when you have a solid internet connection. My house is in a rural area, there is no cable or other high speed service available out here. I have a wide-area Wi-Fi provider that is reasonably reliable but has glitches. Tonight we have very spotty service. When it cuts out then Alexa doesn't work. Seems to me that the devices should have some actual storage at the local level, but clearly they don't and all the device and group data is held in a cloud server somewhere.

The light switches are the default so it is not like the 'smart' bulbs let you down, but rather the Alexa device is the shortcoming. I assume that "Google Assistant" and "Apple Home" work the same way, but I don't know that for fact. I do know that X-10, which is an old home automation protocol, did not require any internet connection; that seems like a better system in many ways, but was far more cumbersome to use in other ways.