Smart homes

[Oblivion Knight]

It feels like home technology has reached, or is surpassing the infamous 'future' scene from the film Back to the Future Part II.

We can control lights, heating, and even security with the touch of a button on a mobile app, or voice control. Have you invested into 'smart' technology?

I must admit, we're quite behind the times and the only modern home technology we have is the Ring doorbell (previously discussed) and a rather old Alexa that we've only recently started using.



Now we just need the food hydrator to become a reality..

 

[EvilResourceEvilResource has been verified]

Despite being very much into programming and various forms of technology, I've never been into the whole gadget revolution. My smart phone is over 6 years old, I've only ever owned a small number of mobiles in my life and I'm not someone who needlessly upgrades it every year. The only smart devices I have around the house are an Alexa (purely for music) and a Hive thermostat, which I consider a genuine enhancement to the house rather than a cheap gimmick. Don't get me wrong, I see the benefits of many smart devices, the doorbell being one of them, which if I didn't work from home I'd probably definitely have bought, and I do have an eye on a few other things relating to security. But I also see a lot of ones that are more of an excuse for people to "show off" rather than them being things that generally improve life.

I'm also glad in a way that my home isn't littered with fully integrated smart devices, as I imagine the extra electricity needed to power these things would have been an undesirable "bump" (even if it's a small bump) of fuel prices in this cost of living crisis.

 

[Uncrowned Guard]

Most smart stuff isn't very convenient to me. Light switches are super easy to use and simple, so the idea of moving that to my phone which I now need to carry on myself and unlock, open an app, etc. to do the same task is meh. Connecting them to voice assistants is kind of nice, but again 99% of the time when I am turning a light on or off is when I enter or leave a room (where the switch is).

Ya, that is just one example, but it really fits so many other items. Our basement dehumidifier is "smart" and it would allow me to do all sorts of cool stuff like geofencing and basing it off the weather, but umm... I'd rather just set it to a number and let it do its job. Thermostats are about the only item I might geofence or use some smart system to set up, but none have really blown me away.

For myself, the only "smart" items I use are Google's Nest smoke detectors as they self-test their alarms and batteries, notify my phone anywhere I am if they go off, and allow me to open up the app and ensure all are running fine with good batteries. These have been a great improvement for me and decreased the workload around the house. So I can fully support them. I have also switched anything that needs a timed outlet to a smart outlet as dealing with timers is much easier in an app. Otherwise, the only other smart item I am looking at is a smart doorbell and they seem nice, but we already have a security camera system that includes cameras looking at both doors, so it isn't high on my list.

It just seems like the vast majority of smart items are more expensive, require internet, and don't actually benefit the user in meaningful ways. Now, for people that go all in with stuff like OpenHab to program their home for the fun and challenge of it, I'm all for it, but much more as a hobby than a life-effective thing.

 

[jamesyfx]

I was in the right place at the right time when it came to the smart home boom.

I was trained on how to set up all the different product ranges and also got heavy discount on them all.

So... I've got quite a lot of it in my home

I've got Google Assistant speakers in 5 different rooms, Philips Hue lighting in most rooms, a Hive thermostat, and a bunch of plug adapters that make normal appliances controllable.

I've set it all up so I just ask to turn on the fireplace or specific lights.

I used to have it set up so that the lights went out when I left, and then came back on when I got home.. followed by a speaker telling me the days news.

... THAT was taking it too far. I think.

 

[apathy]

I only have a couple of smart devices (outside my phone)

• Philips hue lights
• Philips hue plugs
• Govee lights (cheaper alternative to philips hue)
• LG air conditioner

the Hue plugs have a bunch of other non-Hue lights plugged into them (like fairy lights), i have them all bound to a bash script so I can toggle them all on & off at once from my keyboard

 

[Oblivion Knight]

I added an Alexa to my original post, I kinda forgot about that irritating woman..
(it's not even funny how much she ignores me sometimes! )

My smart phone is over 6 years old, I've only ever owned a small number of mobiles in my life and I'm not someone who needlessly upgrades it every year.

I'm much the same with mobile phones.. I've been sporting my Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro for over 3 years now. I did look at potential upgrades in the previous black friday sale, and decided against it on the basis of not really getting much more phone for the money!

 

[jamesyfx]

I used to be that guy that got an upgrade every year.. but now it is actually pointless to do that. The only thing you're getting better is arguably the camera, and to be honest most camera stuff can be improved in software anyway. So..

... Don't do it people. Stick with your phone until it dies.