News, information and reviews for smart home enthusiasts. Learn about zwave, smart switches and other smart home devices. We regularly review new products and provide detailed how to segments with each review.
I'm just wondering why you didn't connect the thermostat wire straight to the LED connectors on the strips. It would have saved on connectors under the cabinet. Thanks
Used the TP link POE injector and various POE USB C converters( 2A and 3A), but none worked for Echo Hub. Got insufficient power message. For Echo Hub what worked was using Male/Female USB Breakout Board to 4 Pin Screw Terminal Block Connector. I extended the wire between these terminals and used the Echo Hub white cord(usb c). This allowed me to run the extension from the ceiling(attic) to the wall mount location. You need to connect all 4 terminals to the extension wire and the Echo hub will power up fine. If you connect only the power terminal on the breakout terminal block, you will get an insufficient power sign on Echo Hub.
True, but I looked into it and there is really no harm in using them outside if they are in a dry location like under an awning. The face of the hue downlight is also splash rated. The only real downside is you might void the warranty, but everyone I’ve seen hasn’t had any issues with them going bad outdoors
Love the Hue Slim Downlights. Yes, they are expensive... but they're also super very really nice. I installed them in a few places in my home and automated some on/off stuff and some pretty scenes. Very pleased with their performance over the past couple of years. Nice video, always enjoy your self-depreciating humor and wit. Haha
I love how you included the mistakes you made. One, it makes it less harsh on us who makes mistakes or projects that take longer than what it seems like a lot of professional channels get the first time. Two, it also helps to learn if we were like “why couldn’t you have done ___”, and save us time from doing that way.
Thanks! I watch a lot of tutorials from pros, and while they do a good job, they don’t always warn you of the beginners pratfalls. My goal is to help you decide if you should DIY as much as how to DIY.
New DIYer here - could you explain the reason why you have to connect the 18/6 wire from the controller to another 18/6 via wire nuts instead of just directly connecting that wire to the solderless connector / LED strip?
Yep. The reason is that I ran multiple wire to the different strips. So instead of connecting them all together in the controller, I connect them together first with a wire connector, then run a single wire from that to the controller. Hope that helps.
If there’s an 18/6 coming from the controller, wouldn’t those be the only wires that need to be connected to the LED strip? Correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like you’re extending the LED strip with an 18/6 wire and using that extension to wire nut the 18/6 coming from the controller. Would it be feasible to just run the 18/6 from the controller directly into the LED solderless connector?
This was a decent, useful summary, but the title is entirely wrong and misleading. There are many other technologies you could use to do the project ideas you mentioned, including LoRa, 433 MHz devices, ZigBee, etc.
WOW! All those controllers and wire nuts? Appreciate all your hard work but this looks amateur to me. Why could you not use the same plug as the microwave? I just cannot see the need for more than 2 controllers. I would actually only need one. I would also solder all the wires with small heat shrink tubing. Neat, easy and takes very little space. So easy to run wires up and over. You took an easy job and complicated the hell out of it. I suppose one could use this video of what NOT to do..
Separate controller for the top, middle and floor levels so I can control them independently. If you are good at soldering, that is a great option, but for those of us who aren’t, the flip connectors are a God send.
I would like to hear more about the soft water level detector with a leak detection. If you do a video on that or if you already have send a link, that would be great.
I had the literal robot 4. It works quite well so long as you do the monthly maintenance. I used the otter packs because my cat wouldn’t use it if it smelled funny. However, because the detritus is removed minutes after it’s released and contained in a drawer below it did an impressive job of controlling the smell. So well we were able to have it in the kitchen next to the coffee maker on the floor.
I thought a smart switch made the most sense with smart LED bulbs? A dumb switch would kill the power to the smart bulb which is no good, a smart switch is essentially a controller managing the flow of power, right? Very useful in a middle-of-the-night trip to the bathroom and just want to use a switch and not have to rely on my phone or asking Alexa.
I want to follow your design and materials, except upgrade to a five color, white white LED strip, using instead BTF-LIGHTING RGBCCT 5 Colors in 1 LED 5050SMD RGBWW. Like you, want to use the Hue system, can I use the same controller? According to Amazon’s recommendation, BTF-LIGHTING 5in1 LM052 Tuya Zigbee3.0 LED Controller Supports five colors and is compatible with Phillips Hue system too.
Glad to see that it works woth those services. Not a fan of the workaround method, would perfer some type of integration for access into hubitat. Ill have to check the community for that i guess, but i feel like i sid that before and it was a no.
I'm about to start a project using your video as a guide. (lighting some very dark garage cabinets) Out of curiosity, how many LEDs were you able to power from one of these power bricks? I think ideally I will be running about 1.2 16.4ft spindles of the LEDs. (20% more than one spindle) I could live with shorter runs if I have to. (more wire/less LEDs) But, if there is some evidence that there is some headroom on the power brick, I wouldn't mind buying another spindle of the LEDs if I'm not going to overload it. Did you ever use more than 16.4ft on one of your runs?
Good video Pete! I have no idea what Lockly was thinking with that door sensor, especially when they already offer an invisible one for their Vision model. Luckily, my door is black, so the black contact sensor blends in. Otherwise, I would’ve been trying to splice wires together to use the invisible sensor I already have.
Our significant others buy things like pillows and candles and curtains and placemats... and it's... for the home. I buy my smarthome gadgets... that "for the home" too! :-)
so after totaling up the smart home since it's inception (nov 2015 till present) I've had approx. 193 devices and the total came out to around $12,100. didn't include any smart appliances or networking or Tv's/AV equipment.
Robotic pool cleaners are much better. In addition to extending the pool filter cleaning interval, your pool pump/motor will run much more efficiently. When I was using a suction side cleaner my pump was pumping significantly less water (gpm) with the suction side cleaner attached. My skimmer would lose much of its effectiveness also. Robotic cleaner is the way to go, Cordless or corded.
OMG, please stop using AC... I hate it (inefficient, dangerous, etc...) :) Star/BUS DC systems with central control (KNX/CAT5-6-X) And no switches, just buttons with led indicators to synchronize their status when you control them from multiple points.
The smoke detectors in the video are the type with a single connector. If you remove the mounting plate from the ceiling by you’ll see where the wires from the connector connect with the circuit and that’s where you install the dc signal sensor
Great and timely tip. I have smoke detectors wired throughout my house. I also added two z-wave smoke detectors to my Ring monitored security. However, I had to yank them both because they both kept blaring false alarms several times, which triggered Ring, which then almost sent the fire department. They were too unreliable. This looks like a good way to get some smart functionality without accidentally calling the cops!
Interesting. Think I will pull a 14/3 from my basement to the mech room and install this. I have always wanted to intercept the signal for things to do when a fire is detected. send a phone alert, shut off the furnace, unlock all doors.
You can get wireless smoke detectors that communicate without hard wiring, and which can interface with one hard-wired detector. I think you could use those and connect this to the one hardwired detector without needing to hard wire detectors thruout your home. The one hard-wired could be connected to a plug and plugged into an outlet - you aren't really using it as a detector as much as "a place to connect the signal sensor."
Great idea….so do we need to. Do every detector or just one of them if they are all connected so to speak? It looks like one would do it. Also, I tried that water softener setup you mentioned on the live stream, and it went off perfectly today at a suitable time…..added my salt and we are back in business. I use a lot of your ideas and they are very helpful. Thanks for all these videos!
Awesome! Yep, you only need only need one sensor for your whole house. It works great. And I’m glad you like the softener idea. I love easy solutions like that
