5 lessons learned while making my home a Smart home
My journey in the exciting world of smart homes started one year ago. Initially, I simply wanted to be able to control my KNX-based covers directly in my Apple Home mobile app. But I ended up doing so much more.
I learned that it is not necessary – and it probably does not make much sense either – to spend a lot of money on complex and old style home automation platforms. Anyone powered by curiosity and some DIY instincts can transform his home into a smart home.
How? Simply by taking advantage of one of the many home assistant platforms available.
1. It is all about automations
I discovered that the reason why home assistant platforms are great is not because they allow people to control smart devices from their smartphones – even if, you will agree with me, it is actually pretty cool for showing off with friends – but because they allow to forget completely about smart devices. Such devices are called smart because they can act autonomously without any inputs from humans. And this is why I think automations are the real breakthrough in the home assistant ecosystems.
Once it becomes possible to remotely control smart devices, the next natural step is to automate their functioning and behaviour.
Automations are actions that can be automatically run accordingly to particular triggers and only when specific conditions are met.
Why should I be the one rolling up the window covers every morning and back down during night time? Why should you? 🤔
Wouldn’t it be great if, when leaving our home, all lights were to autonomously switch off and maybe back on when we get home again?
2. When automations work, it’s great
We could easily live without automations – actually, we have been doing so until now and no one ever complained.
I believe this is something we can decide to be lazy about: let someone – or actually something – else worry about covers and lights. Once working, automations are definitely something we can be proud about – at least privately. It will be difficult going back to living without them.
The feeling experienced the first time a smart device activates autonomouosly is incredible. And, at least for me, the feeling keeps coming back.
It is your home. It is you logic. And it will evolve and adapt to personal habits and preferences.
3. IoT means freedom
The advent of IoT devices means freedom of choice.
Any needs can be satisfied by multiple devices of different branding and relying on a variety of technologies. The need to commit to a single platform for controlling the whole house is now outdated.
Completely different smart devices can now be used together in order to create automations. It does not matter what is the underlying technology. What is really important is picking a platform that support the majority of them. Bluetooth, WiFi, REST, MQTT, ZigBee, KNX – and these are just some names popping up in my head: why should we pick one and later be stuck with it?
4. It’s not just you
You may think you are the only one trying to make your home smarter. But it’s not true.
There are online communities packed with people doing – or trying to do – the exact same thing. And this is why you will always have support and help when needed. It’s going to provided by people you have never met. They are simply so passionate that they are willing to help others.
And who knows. You may find out that your are willing to help others as well while sharing your experiences and your solutions.
This is how communities grow. And this is why they are so great.
5. You can have it exactly the way you want to use it
It often happens that a smart home can be controlled with more that one mobile application – this is due to the tons of smart device providers on the market. And I know of lots of people who have created rich and really beautiful interfaces allowing to catch at a glance and manage the status of their homes.
Such views are really cool, but I myself have decided the only way I am going to control my home is via the Home app – and, when possibile, via Siri – while the logic of all automations remains in my home assistant platform. It does not matter whether it is a smart relay, a smart vacuum, a smart light – the list could go on for quite a while, while repeating the word smart. I like to control and access everything in a single and useful place.
How I am managing it? All details for getting started are available here.
There are so many options in between. It is possible to have all of them or only some of them. It is just a matter of finding the right balance. This is what is called flexibility.
So, where did my journey bring me?
I did start working with covers but I ended up making smart also some of the lights, the ventilation system, the alarm system, the vacuum and the heating/cooling system. In addition to this, I installed various sensors for monitoring the environment status. Temperature, humidity and co2: these are all values that can be accessed and used for piloting automations.
Who knows what will be next. I am as much eager to improve the logic and options of what is already there as to add new integrations while opening to new possibilities.
