Here are some helpful links for python automation:

General:

https://github.com/jpgercc/PyAuto

https://github.com/hastagAB/Awesome-Python-Scripts

Others:

https://github.com/Skuxblan/Outlook-account-creator

https://github.com/luisgc93/stock_reminder_bot

https://github.com/manojnaidu619/AlphaVantage-Action-Bot

I have a zone called 'Table' that contains three lamps, two of which are Philips Hue Colour Ambience while the third is Philips Hue White Ambience.

Five standard Hue scenes called Energise, Concentrate, Read, Relax, and Rest have been copied into the Table zone, All of these scenes simply use white light at different colour temperatures and brightness levels.

If I tap on those scene names in the app, the three lamps over the table change their colour temperature and brightness accordingly. Energise, Concentrate, and Read are set to 100%, Relax at 56%, and Rest at 35%.

However, trying the same things via Alexa is less successful.

• The commands "Turn Table to Energise" and "Turn Table to Concentrate", are are met with the response “I don’t know how to set Table to that setting”
• The command "Turn Table to Rest" is often rejected in the same manner, but when it is accepted I get 75% brightness (brighter than designed) and the two colour lamps are set to red!
• The command "Turn Table to Read" works, but at 75% brightness (dimmer than designed)
• The command "Turn Table to Relax" works, but at 75% brightness (brighter than designed)

Is there any cure for this madness?

I'm in the process of designing smart lighting / automation for my house which is stripped back to brick and being completely rewired.

I've mapped out the house and planned a total of 32 lighting circuits. A number of these are 2-way controlled. I'd like all circuits to be dimmable, because why not.

My original thinking was to use these conventional but momentary light switches, and put Shelly Dimmers in the back boxes.

However that felt a bit odd using retrofit wifi devices when I have the opportunity to do things "properly".

My electrician suggested running all lighting circuits and switch wiring back to a central distribution point, and putting the relays there.

If I'm doing that, I figured it'd be more sensible to use the Shelly Pro Dimmer 2, but since they're 2 channel I'd need 16 of them on a DIN rail. That also means 16 ethernet connections, so basically adding a 24 port ethernet switch just for the Shellys. Or I'd run them over WiFi I suppose but that seems daft when I have 16 of them in a line all right next to my router / patch panel and main home switch.

Is there something more suitable? I did look at KNX but ruled it out as the costs are 3-4x anything else.

For information, I have a floor to ceiling cabinet available in terms of space for centralised equipment, the lighting won't be crazy in terms of power draw (LED spots, strips etc), and I'm planning on use Home Assistant for control.

Hi everyone! I recently bought a Shelly Dimmer 2 to test with a dimmable Philips vintage LED light bulb (7.3W). Here’s my setup:

Setup Details

• Bulb: Philips dimmable vintage LED (7.3W)

• Wiring from Wall:

• Live wire (L)

• Neutral wire (N)

• Ground wire (G)

• Switch: Basic push-button (like a doorbell, with L and COM)

Wiring Configuration

I followed Shelly’s recommended wiring setup (with a neutral wire):

1. Wall live wire (L) -> L on Shelly (second L terminal)
2. Wall neutral wire (N) -> Split to both N and O terminals on Shelly
3. First L terminal on Shelly -> L on switch
4. SW1 on Shelly -> COM on switch

Issue

Everything works, but the light bulb doesn’t reach full brightness, even though the device is set to 100%. I confirmed the bulb can go brighter by testing it separately. The Shelly is in “basic mode” (not connected to WiFi) and accessed directly via its IP (192.168.33.1).

Troubleshooting

When I try calibrating the device, the following happens:

1. Calibration starts, but the web interface freezes at 0%.
2. The bulb begins flickering.
3. The device enters a reboot loop (the red LED turns off, then back on).

Question

Any ideas on why calibration fails or how I can get the bulb to reach full brightness? Thanks for any advice!

I have about 169ft of white vinyl fence I would like to put lighting on in my backyard and I’m having trouble finding gear that looks good to go on the fence that can also be hooked up either via and-wave wall plug or is smart-capable.

We currently have string lights around our porch so I’d like to use different lights around the fence. What do yall use?

In my use the lighting system is through relay stations that are operated with wired 24V push buttons. The relay stations is Jung as in the picture I attach here. It is very much KNX-like from wiring perspective, but it isn’t KNX, it is dumb. I am exploring how I can make this system smarter and add to home automation. I can’t use wall switches like Shelly’s as there is no space at the push buttons and to some buttons, 32 wires are involved (for 16 switches). Going KNX route means upgrading wall switches and the relays to KNW compatible ones, and this would be 20kEUR++ investment if I have it installed. Not what I am looking for. Right now I have have some Hue lamps that I can dim to set colors of, and the way it works is that I push the lights on, and then push or dial on a hue switch to get the desired effect. Not really clean and simple either. I also ‘ want to break this whole system as if I ever move, it should still be able to easily revert to a dumb system. Did any deal with a similar situation and setup, and what solutions did you consider or implement? Any tips are welcome.

I bought a Cecotec dehumidifier.
I'm new to home automation, I'm quite old school, don't like cloud, proprietary apps, assistants, shady permissions and such. I'd just like to setup things on my LAN and then maybe VPN from outside...

This dehumidifier says to be wifi but putting it in "setup mode" it appears to my PC as a discoverable Bluetooth device, nothing new on the network.

official cecotec app has many weird permissions, some people says it works with tuya.

opinions on this? Should I just use the shady app?
is there a Tuya version I can just use locally without accounts and such?

Hi, ive been using TP Link Kasa (North America), they arnt bad, but are WiFi and find they have a high lag when one switch needs to turn something else on. This worked well as we replaced light switches using the existing light.

I am re-doing a room and need a curtain controller, well this led me down the rabbit hole to here, and seems most like the hubitat controller, ive had a quick read and it appears to be a totally on-premise controller (using local internal web server via its own IP address), like the sounds of this, so is this the only controller do that?

Hello Fellow Homeautomaters,

I'm gearing up to enhance my home with the latest in home automation technology and could really use your technical insights. I'm particularly interested in understanding the hardware and software that have worked best for you. Any information/expertise would be invaluable for me in the journey

1. Devices and Systems: What hardware (sensors, hubs, controllers) and software (apps, platforms) have you found most effective? Any particular brands, models, or open-source solutions that stand out in terms of reliability and performance?
2. Integration and Interoperability: How have you tackled the integration of various devices and systems? Which platforms (e.g., Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, HomeKit, SmartThings) have you found most effective for ensuring interoperability across different products?
3. Success Stories: Could you share any detailed case studies or examples of your smart home setups? I'm particularly interested in learning about the architecture, implementation process, and any challenges you overcame. Visual aids (diagrams, screenshots, videos) would be awesome!
4. Pitfalls and Challenges: What technical issues have you encountered during your home automation journey? Any specific problems with device compatibility, network security, or system stability? How did you resolve them?
5. Best Practices and Tips: From your experience, what are the best practices for designing and maintaining a smart home? Any recommendations for ensuring robust network security, optimizing system performance, or future-proofing your setup?
6. Favorite Features: What advanced features or functionalities do you find most beneficial in your smart home environment? For example, adaptive lighting, energy monitoring, voice control integration, automation routines, etc.

I'm eager to dive into this project and would greatly appreciate your detailed technical advice. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge and experiences!

I am completely new to home automation and was drawn in by looking for time-controlled powerplugs. Well, to my surprise wifi controlled sockets and strips seem to be affordable even for me, at prices around 30-50€ per socket, or power strip. I found myself even considering a smart lightbulb.

I live in germany, a very small flat, would need a few sockets and a power strip, plus one lightbulb (perhaps).

Now, so far I found Tapo and Antela, but since I never used any before, which system would be more suited for me? What can you tell me about your experience with these? How do their apps look?

Thanks for any info.

I'm trying to avoid smoking on weekdays before 7pm. I'm looking for a padlock which would unlock on this predetermined schedule, without having to reset the times. It should support being open on weekends but having a schedule during the week.

I'm looking to pay less than $100, and preferably less than $50.

What's available for these criteria?

I’ve had a wink hub for several years, and much as I hate to admit it I’ve been paying their $5 fee for far too long. A few of my smart devices have become disconnected or failed in the last few months and I’m ready to re-wire everything so that it all just works again.

I’m wondering what I should replace my Wink hub with. I have a few zigbee and a few z-wave devices so I think having compatibility is important. But I haven’t really looked at the smart home market in a few years so I don’t really know what improvements have been made or what’s the easiest thing to do now.

Advice?

I would like to control triathlon shades with a vantage keypad/system. I think savant is the only way to bridge the systems in this way. Anyone have a better way?

I just got the aforementioned device. Sadly it is not much better than the cheap X-sense or AEGISLINK link junk and likely comes out of the same factory.

It says it is Alexa compatible, yet there is no Kiddie category in Alexa and it doesn't recognize it on its own. But that is OK.

When you go to set it up in Google Home. it takes you to https://kidde-remotelync.com/ with some stuff in the URI and tells you to login. Assumably the same password you use to login the app. It says bad email/password. I can change my password in the app, and attempt to use that password, same message. I also noticed that during the email verification process during setup, it uses the same link, which also says bad password.

Kidde support of course says to try a different browser ( you can't with Google home linking), or that I don't know my password, which clearly I do because I can changing it using the old password successfully and using the new password to login to the app

Hey everyone! A few of my smoke alarms are starting to go (house is 11 years old) so I thought I should upgrade. I mostly use apple devices but do have a google hub and nest thermostats. I am ideally looking for

• wired and battery powered
• zwave (heard this was more reliable for cortical)
• can get alerts in HA app, low battery, alarm going off etc
• currently have kiddie i12060a’s
• I don’t have any zwave devices so a bridge I can use that’s powerful (have about 4500 sq ft on 3 floors inc basement)

Do smart dimmers and lights need to be from the same brand, or will dimmer lights from any brand work?

Is there a smart switch that has two switches to fit into a single gang back box?

Similar to this:

https://www.electricaltechnology.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Double-Switch-Combo-Device-of-2-Single-Pole-Switches.png

I'm not sure what I'm planning to get from this post but I thought it was weird. I have some GE Z-wave switches. They are getting kind of old (some aren't Z-wave Plus) and have failed.

After I turned off and on a breaker to do some electrical work, my porch light GE switch wouldn't turn back on. It just had the blue blinking light of death, not responsive in Home Assistant, and not responsive manually. I figured the switch was kaput.

I have dragged my feet ordering a new switch because we have uplights on our house so it's not like it's pitch black on our porch.

Fast forward to yesterday and I was out with my kid when my wife texted me, "When did you fix the porch light? Thank you!"

I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind to play it off like I'm some kind of hero by fixing the light. But lying isn't really my bag.

But at the end of the day, I have no idea why it all of a sudden decided to work. Reminds me of a CRT TV I had in college that wouldn't turn on after a power surge. I, once again, procrastinated on getting rid of it. A couple months later it randomly turned on and worked ever since.

I would like to replace this switch that controls 3 lights, 2 one way and one 3 way. I still want 3 physical switches and would prefer dimmable although not essential. This is the start of my home automation and will be using Google home. I'd like to stick with a single 'ecosystem' from a big company. Also, will I have to replace the other switch that controls the 3 way light?

At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot and being featured on r/oopsthatsdeadly, I want to power some lights outside from inside.

Reason is that there is no power socket outside, solar is not an option in the winter (what sun?) and the previous owners of the house seems to have made a small hole in the upper corner of the door frame already.

Now that hole can fit a cable through it, but not the plug ends. So if I buy an extension cable like this, cut it in half to feed it through that hole and then fix it again will that work just like a regular extension cord or are these "special" wires somehow (or is it just a bad idea)?

https://www.innr.com/en/product/outdoor-extension-cable/

I am trying to plan out my first attempt at a home automation system, mostly for tinkering and learning purposes. My intention is to incorporate few systems of moderate/higher complexity versus the many devices of low complexity that I often see home automation (i.e. Home Assistant) geared towards.

I am primarily interested in several data points on my HVAC system and energy monitoring data from my electrical circuits. I don't anticipate much involvement of smart outlets, smart bulbs, Alexa, or such small devices.

I am looking for something a bit more visually appealing than the simple rectangles I've seen for Home Assistant. Not to be overly fancy, but I would like a semblance of an actual graphic.

Coming from commercial automation, I am familiar with several visualization platforms on that domain. I have pasted a few examples below. I understand these are commercial examples, unrealistic for anything residential, but this is the basic idea I'm looking for. This particular platform is Javascript based and can be heavily customized for any appearance. Not only does it host simple visual graphic snippets and show data points but can also display trend data and provide navigational links.

I would like to have a home page, which can link to my HVAC system and my electrical system, respectively. From there, I'd like to be able to view trends and change setpoints. That sort of thing. Ultimately, I would like this displayed on a tablet that I can mount to a wall.

I'm not sure what options/platforms might be available for this on the home automation side. I'm just not familiar with this field. Is this something that perhaps would be done via Node-Red (with some add-on) or another platform?

Also, out of curiosity, is anyone using Ignition Maker at home?

Thanks in advance

https://preview.redd.it/oegp34bhgszd1.png?width=1302&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d300eb0e651e54ff7c9230aef7f006a19d4f4d1

https://preview.redd.it/j7iu9b2rhszd1.png?width=1071&format=png&auto=webp&s=4faef207aa8ded6aeaad71f1213d8a91425b5c9e

Anyone have a decent idea of the best way to setup a non-janky-looking status light (thinking an LED 'puck' light maybe) for two doors such that when both are closed = green, either is open = red? Need to prevent pets from getting to certain areas (outside mostly). I don't care about the actual locking mechanism, it's "airlock" by name only- just want contact open/close sensors.

Here's what I want (I have about 50 devices):

• Local and remote control of my devices
• Web access to my system, not just phone app (not everything has to be an app! Long live the open web)
• Thread and Matter
• Reliable hardware that mostly works out of the box under $200. I messed around with HomeAssistant on my Raspberry Pi and it was fine but a little more work than I wanted to get going.
• Ethernet connectivity
• Lots of tinkering options, but not an exclusive focus on having to bespoke every little thing
• Compatibility with Google Home for voice (I don't want to make this proprietary, I'm deep in Android's system and it's fine for me)
• Plays nice with Tasker
• Open source
• A robust community for figuring out challenges
• No subscriptions

Most of my current devices are Zigbee, with a ZWave here and there and a few early Matter devices. I have a long term goal of switching to Thread.

Hi everyone,

On Android, I can use Tasker to set up a profile where scanning an NFC tag launches MyQ, and Tasker automatically clicks the button to open/close the garage door (with a plugin). On my wife's iPhone, Automation allows scanning an NFC tag and opening MyQ, but there seems to be no way to click the button to open/close the garage door. Any suggestions?

I bought a bunch of these Ecosmart zigbee bulbs several years ago when they were on clearance at Home Depot. They’ve worked great with my Hubitat and seem to last longer than brands I’m more familiar with. I’m almost out and I’m out of touch with the preferred light bulb deals. Anything I should be looking for on a BF sale?

Very new to this all and wanted to have an ambilights setup for my tv. It's an Amazon Fire TV and I'd mostly be watching stuff through the built in apps like Netflix. I've been following the below tutorial to do set up my own dynamic backlight but I've just realised that it will only work if I have a PlayStation or fire stick (which I didn't want to do). Is there anyway around this without buying a fire stick? I want to use the smart tv without having to open another device. If there's a way to capture the output of the tv onto the capture card, that would be very helpful but I've no idea if that kind of thing exists. The tutorial: https://youtu.be/J26oYlKyq7Q?si=eTLzcbqoT6f37U2C

i live in a big home so where i have my gateway and devices are on the bottom floor where i also have the device i want to activate but the button I want to pair is at the top floor (still on the same WiFi just out of reach from the gateway) how do I solve this? get another gateway to the top floor? so that when I press the button the signal goes to the top floor gateway, thought the wifi down to the bottom floor Gateway and triggers the device? is that it?

(In my case its a heater in my bathroom i want to have torn on for 30 min before im going to shower)

If you also automated your Christmas/season lights and decorations I'm interested in how you did it!

I also did it by retrofitting existing decorations and using,for example battery-to-USB adapters and smart infrared transmitters.

My story can be find here https://vdbrink.github.io/projects/automate_christmas_decorations

Hi all

So I am about to move into my own home. I have rented for years so I can now add some smart home jazz I have not been able to previously.

I am at stage of deciding what products/platforms to commit to long term so do not have compatibility issues or that may become a money pit.

I am a die hard IPhone user so I think it may prove a better choice to opt for Apple HomeKit but I am also a long term Spotify user and have heard there are compatibility issues with these?

I am an electrician by trade so will be adding additional lighting which will be dimmable and colour changeable and that I can set different lighting scenes that are voice enabled. Would I be limited to Phillips Hue if opted for Apple HomeKit? Their products are quite expensive.

I will be hardwiring speakers in each room and would like to be able to play music via these rather than via speaker provided by Apple and only play music in certain rooms if decide to rather than whole property. I would like the music to be played via voice command and via Spotify if possible? This is a biggy for me so advice on this would be appreciated.

I will also be installing smart heating (probably Nest) again I would like to voice enable this.

Any advice and considerations I need to make would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks