Home Automation Thread (Smart Home 101)

• MisterYokai [TS] on 13 Nov 18 @ 04:18 AM #

  I've tried searching for this topic but didn't find any.
  
  So here we go..
  
  Trying to find a community/forum to post but tingin ko dito sa TPC I might have a good chance getting input from brilliant minds :)
  
  Currently we are a group of 3 based in Gulf region (IT infrastructure director, building/facility manager and yours truly) trying to break into home/office automation.
  
  Anyone have personal experience implementing home automation solution? Which platform?
  
  Javascript expert? Check Node-Red let me(pm) know what you think?
  
  For us we got these to start with, and hopefully get into a minimum viable product.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Although home automation still to emerge in our beloved country, figured it will real soon, so let's use this board to chat for anyone interested and get the ball rolling. Shoot...

• IceT on 07 Dec 18 @ 10:53 AM #

  Whats you setup? How is it going? Ive got the broadlink rm pro too and sonoff light switches. Waiting for my echo dots to be delivered. What are you planning to do with the pi? Homeassistant?

• groundzerored on 07 Dec 18 @ 02:15 PM #

  i was working on the same few months back. echo, pi to control mechanical and ssd relay and switches. i did have a working proto for simple home automation but suddenly lost interest. bookmarking this thread baka sipagin ulit

• IceT on 07 Dec 18 @ 09:39 PM #

  I've already gotten the sonoff light switches installed but I haven't used it yet (under renovation yung condo). I've been using the broadlink rm pro and that thing can already do a lot of things for me. I'm using the broadlink rm pro to turn on and off my aircon, TV and android tv box. Setup was very easy, almost plug and play lang. Problem lang with the sonoff and the broadlink is they need the internet to work. I know the sonoffs can be flashed with custom firmware but I'm just too busy to play with it. Here is a link with my light switches.
  
  <click here for link>

• MisterYokai [TS] on 10 Dec 18 @ 07:44 PM #

  @IceT
  That's great, my personal setup (studio) also relies on broadlink for controlling dumb devices (infrared/rf)
  
  My current setup like this, it's working very well for me, saves time and electricity, add to that the fun and amazement of our guests;
  
  1. Camera facing the studio door, configured for security and motion detector to turn hallway lights
  2. Phone connect to router automatically send signal to turn on main lights, starts cooling the house and prepare chilled water
  3. A set of Alexa and Google Routines to jump start combination of devices and set the lighting mood using trigger words like "Cinema On", "Game On", etc.
  4. Google Home amd Amazon Alexa acts as voice input, Apple iPad as manual input
  
  There's a couple of logic applied as well, such as if motion detected but it's not someone from family, it will turn off the light after a set interval,
  and also for lighting and lighting mood, it depends on the time, if it's morning then obviously light shouldn't change. Then If everyone leave, turns off everything.
  
  Regarding sonoff,
  Mukhang ok din yan boss, likewise I've researched regarding flasing it with tasmota but went buying known brands because I need a product with good server with reliable IFTTT support
  
  Tama sir one of the problem is internet reliability dyan satin, add mo pa power shortage from time to time, two of the biggest hurdles for smart home to penetrate our country
  
  So to answer the last question, Pi and Home Assistant should solve the internet reliability part, it will act as hub connecting everything via LAN instead of cloud. We'll drop IFTTT and other third party service, build the logic within the hub.
  
  From today, resume ko na ulet ung project, let see, hopefully I'll encounter more enthusiasts as we go.. :)
  
  -- edited by MisterYokai on Dec 10 2018, 07:45 PM

• smbl on 14 May 19 @ 08:22 AM #

  So to answer the last question, Pi and Home Assistant should solve the internet reliability part, it will act as hub connecting everything via LAN instead of cloud. We'll drop IFTTT and other third party service, build the logic within the hub

  
  
  Pwede pala yun? Am interested in that. Hassle kse pag nawawala minsan ang internet. Can you point us in the right direction for that?
  
  I use Amazon echo and some dots. With a few smart bulbs, sonoff basic connected to electric fans, some sonoff slamphers and a smart power strip to turn on the tv, skycable box and media player.

• jojitb on 14 May 19 @ 08:41 PM #

  
  
  
  here is a sample of what you can do with smart switches and a raspberry pi running home assistant.
  
  all my sonoff switches are running tasmota for 100% local control, no cloud needed. installation of the switches (especially for lights) is a pain because they need a neutral/return line.
  
  several other-brand switches however are still using Tuya/Smartlife because I use my google home mini to control them.
  
  If you want to start in this expensive hobby, buy several sonoff s31 (with energy monitoring). Very fulfilling hehe. But still so much to learn
  
  -- edited by jojitb on May 14 2019, 08:42 PM

• smbl on 17 May 19 @ 02:26 AM #

  Started reading a bit about that. Need to invest time to learn and setup Home Assistant. Medyo ma trabaho, tsaka na muna siguro hehe. Thanks for the info.
  
  Nice discussion din on reddit re HA vs. Smartthings.

• Bravoexo on 09 Sep 19 @ 02:28 PM #

  Just started doing smart home automation at home
  
  Using 3 Amazon Echo Dots
  - mostly used for drop-in and announcements (like an intercomm)
  - control all the rest of the smart devices
  
  4 Teckin RGB smart bulbs.
  4 Teckin smart plugs.
  
  I still have and Echo connect to setup so we can answer landline in coming calls, and 4 more plugs that will go to tv's around the house.

• sephy on 25 Oct 19 @ 01:20 PM #

  Need pa pla ng neutral para mapagana ung sonoff... Matrabaho ba un mga sir

• polka on 28 Aug 22 @ 07:25 AM #

  Need pa pla ng neutral para mapagana ung sonoff... Matrabaho ba un mga sir

  
  
  newer iteration of smart switches now a days works without neutral line you might want to need to add a capacitor doon sa switch kung yung naka salpak na ilaw sa switch is below 10watts. I think these modern switches takes advantage of capacitive coupling, so even if the switch is off, there's a miniscule amount of power still passing through the circuit but only in range of milliwatt, and given that these switches are now operating at ridiculous low power, I can see these modern IoT switches takes advantage of that.

• tanager75 on 29 Nov 22 @ 11:33 AM #

  Mga guys ask ko lang kung saan pde magpurchase ng 2 gang smart socket locally? TIA
  
  -- edited by tanager75 on Nov 28 2022, 07:36 PM
• Post deleted #12435330

• polka on 11 Dec 22 @ 03:59 PM #

  ^ you can easily find one in hardware stores in SM but beware that all of them are wifi based and requires cloud to work, aka Tuya based devices.
  
  you might wanna spin that shopee/lazada app and buy a zigbee based devices instead dahil bihira lang meron mag benta ng non-wifi based IoT device dito sa pinas.