Smart Home and Home Automation

Discussion

I'm curious if you are using any smart home devices. What are you using and what is your experience?

I have a mixture of Windows and Apple products. I decided about seven years ago to go all in on Apple HomeKit. I looked at other solutions like Google Home, Alexa, Insteon, and Smart Things. I liked the security aspect that HomeKit offered and did not want any company collecting any data on me. I like to tinker but I didn't want to spend too much time troubleshooting.

I have the following:

  • 3 Hue 60W White and Color bulbs

  • 2 Hue 75W White bulbs

  • 1 Hue Signe Gradient floor lamp (Used my Lenovo Rewards points to pay for half of it)

  • 4 Lutron Caseta wall switches

  • Yale Assure Lock

  • Meross Smart Garage Door Opener

  • 2 Wemo smart outlets

  • Abode Iota security system

  • 3 Apple HomePod Mini

  • 3 Apple TV (2 - 4K 3rd Gen & 1 - HD 4th Gen)

PROS

  • When I walk to the front door, I just tell Siri to unlock my door.

  • I tell Siri to open or close the garage door. (I park outside so I lock my garage door opener in the glovebox)

  • Turning on or off lights via Siri. I can turn on a group of lights to a certain setting. i.e. I use "Night Light" and my hallway lights and kitchen lights turn on at 15% power

  • When someone comes to my door, I can see who they are from my iPhone, iPad, or TV. It can even tell me who they are, using facial recognition from the photos in my photos library.

  • As I'm putting the baby in the crib, I just tell Siri to turn on the white noise and dim the lights.

CONS

  • The Wemo smart plugs are most problematic. Sometimes they lose connection and I need to reset them.

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