In deference to Louis Armstrong “You like dimmer and I like switch Dimmer, switch, Switch, dimmer. Let’s turn the whole thing off” That thing we use to control our lights - is it a switch or a dimmer? “Hey Robert, check out the cool smart switches I want to install” “You mean ‘smart dimmers’, right?” “Dimmers, switches, whatever!” Unfortunately, many people call everything a switch, even if it technically it is a dimmer. Does it matter? I’ll argue it does and you need to know why to be successful with your smart home lighting projects. Switch or Dimmer? I think we can all agree on what a light switch is and what it does. Simply put - An electro-mechanical device that controls the flow of electricity to a light bulb or fixture. Switch it on and the light turns on. Switch it off, and the light turns off. Switches are easily to visualize. A pair of wires mechanically attached to a lever or similar device that brings the wires together (switch on) or separates them physically (switch off). Dimmers, on the other hand, are more mysterious. A rotary dial, lever, or other physical device that somehow adjusts the light level of a bulb or lamp. We don’t know how they work. Do they turn the electricity “up or down” somehow? Are they adjusting voltage, current, amperage, wattage, or some other thing that only electricians (or electrical engineers) understand? Early dimmers, used in theater and stage lighting, were massive coils …
Control Systems
HomePod Mini puts HomeKit Bluetooth range within reach
The Bluetooth range conundrum Bluetooth low energy (BLE) smart home devices can make outfitting your smart home easier but they have a range problem. BLE is low power, so a small battery can power many wireless devices. Your bluetooth motion detectors, door or window sensors, water leak detectors, temperature probes, air quality monitors, physical buttons or dimmers, and many other convenient devices will not need frequent battery changes. Sensors put the “smart” into smart home. Truly automated actions require events or triggers to initiate them. The plethora of BLE sensors provides a rich set of building blocks to choose amongst. But BLE has a big problem - a relatively short bluetooth range when used indoors. There’s a lot of “it depends” waffling, even from the chip manufacturers themselves. It is common to only get good communication within 5 to 15 feet depending on physical layout and building materials. When using personal devices such as BLE headphones or earbuds, the range is not a problem. Most of your BLE devices communicate with your smartphone directly. The smart home poses a big problem - sensors need to work as a system, not just near your smartphone. Apple HomeKit hidden BLE repeaters Apple HomeKit has a workaround that has existed since 2017. With a HomeKit Hub in your smart home setup, the hub can act as a BLE range extender or repeater. Any HomeKit BLE certified devices close to the HomeKit Hub will communicate …
HomeKit hub is Apple’s HomePod Mini secret
Apple HomeKit basics Apple’s HomeKit hub smart home system, using the Apple Home app, is one of several popular solutions for controlling and automating devices in our home. HomeKit has several key advantages. Apple promotes the protection of our privacy and security for HomeKit devices. One of the other benefits is the ability to start small and grow incrementally. We can purchase a single HomeKit certified smart plug, smart bulb, or other accessory and have a working system. The software to install, setup, and use the device is built into every iPhone and iPad. The Apple Home app is straightforward to use and covers all the basics. Hub or hubless? This setup doesn’t require a special hub device or bridge to operate, so it is often called a “hubless” automation system and not having to buy that $50, $100, or even $500 hub is a strong selling point. But this is misleading! Many of the capabilities of HomeKit to truly automate and not just control the devices in your home require a hub device. The hub is a separate computer that must be turned on 24 x 7 x 365. The hub runs scheduling and automation software where the magic happens. If you want a light to turn on or off at a certain time, have a motion sensor turn on the lights when you walk up to your front door, or do any other combination of tasks automatically will require a hub. A hub also provides secure remote access from outside your home. Want to manually turn on the heat or adjust …
SmartPlug Innovation?
Everything that can be Invented has been Invented Attributed to Charles H. Duell, the Commissioner of US patent office in 1899, this apocryphal quote seems apropos to the ubiquitous smart plug. Every introductory blog, video, or online article about starting a smart home seems to start with smart plugs. Is there really anyone left in the modern world that /doesn’t/ have their coffee maker automatically turning on with a swipe on their mobile phone or a command to their voice tube in the kitchen? Smartplugs are available from just about every major home automation device company and tons of smaller ones you may never had heard of. Online shopping or offline browsing the brick and mortar aisles of Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and even Ikea will turn up a selection of these “must have” gadgets. (My apologies to my European and Asian friends for name-dropping only US big box retail store names). Perhaps not surprising, but innovation in smart plugs seemed to grind to a halt. I’ve used a variety of different products and they all are pretty similar. Compared to security systems, video cameras, and even multi-room audio systems, smartplugs are downright pedestrian. And Now For Something Different I just completed testing a new smart plug and I’m very impressed. This product is not just a me-to device vying for my attention with a low price, well-known brand name, or just gimmicky useless bell and whistles. Instead of competing head-on with all the …
Can You Solve SmartHome Automation Challenges With A Proxy?
Proxy-Powered Home Automation The dictionary defines the word proxy as “the authority to represent someone else” which is close to what it means in software programming too. In a nutshell, a proxy is when one thing stands in for another. You manipulate one thing, and the results are applied to the second. You might think of it as a mirror image or a clone; that’s another way to describe the important concept of two things that are kept in lock-step synchronization with each other. One of the most powerful techniques to solving home automation problems is the use of a proxy device. This is both a basic and an advanced technique and there are many different ways it can be used. I realize this may not be applicable to everyone, and you may never want to implement an advanced proxy solution yourself, but it worthwhile to understand the basic concepts and why it can be useful. The Basics: At Some Level, Everything Is A Proxy I don’t want to play semantic games, but many aspects of a smart home system use proxies without us even thinking about it. A great example is the common motion detector. You might have a few of these that are part of a self-contained simple device like an outdoor floodlight or part of a large smart home system. A dumb or regular floodlight works with a manual switch. Switch it on - the lights turns on, switch it off, the light turns off. With a motion detector, the floodlight turns on or off automatically as the sensor …
Did You Hear The One About Goldilocks and The Three Remotes?
With No Apologies To The Three BearsIn the famous children’s fairy tale, Goldilocks proclaims “This chair is too small” and “This chair is too big” before declaring “This chair is just right”. As I looked over the latest crop of new remote controls at the CEDIA Expo conference in Denver, I couldn’t help thinking the same thing. “This remote control is too limited”, “This remote control is too advanced”, or “This remote control is just right”! Which one is right for me and my clients? But then it hit me - I work with a wide range of clients, and none of them would agree which one was which. There really isn’t a single right solution; every person, every home, and every need is different. The right solution for one person is completely the wrong solution for another. Even the right solution might be too expensive, so choosing an alternate becomes the pragmatic, if not optimal choice. Beauty, Or The Right Choice, Is In The Eye Of The BeholderThree systems caught my attention and are worthy of consideration by anyone looking for a better remote control. It is totally up to you to decide which one, if any, is right for you. Full disclosure - I have already narrowed my choice down to these three systems and have been working with them. I have tested all of them extensively to understand their capabilities and have installed all of them (or earlier versions) for some of my clients. Each of the three companies were happy to show their “new and …
Secrets Of Voice Controlled Lighting
The Challenge with Big Lighting Systems Having recently completed a major project for a client (installing a lighting automation system with a large number of dimmers and switches), I was confronted with figuring out an optimal configuration for voice control options. Sure it’s exciting to work on a large multi-room installation but when you get into a system of this size, there are a lot of things that you can’t ignore or sweep under the rug. There’s several key “lessons learned” and tips from different aspects of this particular installation, but I want to focus on voice control - it’s one of my favorite features and very popular with the explosion in smart speakers from Amazon, Google, and Apple. The challenge is as follows: With so many rooms and individual lights / light fixtures, how do you architect a voice control solution that preserves simplicity and ease-of-use? Voice control is very convenient, but lacks the physical, tactile and visual feedback we expect to guide our interactions. If you have worked with voice control, even in a single room, you probably know that naming all the lights and keeping things straight can be a real problem. Current voice control technology is fairly primitive and requires strict or structured voice commands and a lot of memorization to identify the correct room and desired light. Divide And Conquer The first thing I did was to set the right objectives. Since this project has other means of lighting control, the …
Caavo Control Center Universal Remote Control – This One’s A Game Changer
New Product Quick LookA break with tradition, this week I’m going to highlight a new product that I have been testing. This will be a quick look, not a full evaluation or analysis. I usually don’t like to write product reviews. The Internet, and YouTube especially, is full of reviews, demos, and product overviews that you don’t need in successful attempts to mine clicks for cash. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the patience to watch someone unpack a product, and then twirl it around showing me all the physical connections and accessories while they mutter on about how it is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I know how to read! Data sheets or spec sheets give me all the same information a lot quicker. But as I was chatting online with some of my peers, I realized that not everyone is plugged in to knowing the ’latest and greatest’ products that have appeared, especially when they are more specialized and not mass-market devices like smartphones or tablets. And even my techie integrator friends were not aware of some of the unusual features in this particular new product. For Your ConsiderationNo, I’m not producing an indie movie and asking for your Oscar nomination. I want to introduce you to a new AV remote control that has some very innovative capabilities. Please understand this is a preliminary “first look”. YMMV, as they say, so do your own homework to determine whether this will work for you. What Is This Thing?The product that …
Back To Basics: DIY 3-Way Lights
Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? With apologies to Rod Stewart, this week I am not writing about cool new gadgets or control systems. I’m going back to basics to describe one of the most common smart home projects. This solves a real problem and is easy to implement. A great starter DIY first project or a nice add-on to your existing home automation. What is a 3-Way Light? By definition, a 3-way light, is where you have more than one switch controlling a light. The typical example is a hallway or staircase where you want to be able to control the light from either end of the hallway or from either floor of the staircase. Electricians have solved this problem for years using a wiring scheme involving a third wire, often called a traveller, which runs between two light switches connected to the same light fixture. If you have two switches that control one light, then you have a 3-way light installation. Note that this is completely different from older 3-way bulbs. Usually installed in a table or desk lamp, a 3-way bulb has two filaments inside and special wiring in the bulb base and the light bulb socket giving you three different light levels. Most 3-way bulbs have been phased out with the wider use of dimmers and modern LED lighting, but many are still installed. Trivia tip: Because of the unique wiring in 3-way lights, you cannot rely on “On” being “Up” and “Off” being “Down” on the switch paddle. Depending upon how each switch was last …
Out With The Old; In With The New
Spring has Sprung! Now that we have swung full speed into Spring, it’s time to plan for re-planting the smart home garden of controllers, devices, and appliances. Every Spring I take an inventory of where things stand, what needs to be fixed or changed, and what I would like to do. It’s not necessary to change your home automation equipment frequently, but once a year it is worth a look. Technology improves, prices change (usually downward), and new capabilities that were not even a glimmer in your eye become feasible. You don’t have to wait for an actual sale to upgrade or grow your smart home. With careful selection of products and planned upgrades and migrations in a timely fashion you will save lots of money in the long run. I know it may be cheesy, but the adage “time is money” also applies. If you speed up your home network and automate more functions in your home, you can give yourself the luxury of more time for other things and we all know time is the most precious commodity. Is Your Crystal Ball Rusty? A video doorbell? Nobody was even thinking about that before they were created. An industrial grade mesh Wi-Fi network for great coverage everywhere in your home that doesn’t cost thousands of dollars? Nobody knew that was coming. A control system built into your smart phone and free with an operating system upgrade? Nobody saw Apple HomeKit or Google Home Assistant coming before it did! Not All Fun And Games It’s not all exciting new tech (or toys) to …