Affiliate links to Smart Home Tech that I have used and had great success with:
Kara Light Switch: https://amzn.to/40PwC1V
Hue motion sensor: https://amzn.to/3Vl1OVO
Hue bulbs: https://amzn.to/3AFS1Qv
Lutron Switches (requires hub): https://amzn.to/3HrhIIa
Aqara Temperature and Humidity Sensor (requires hub): https://amzn.to/3oSelDO
Tapo Smart Plug: https://amzn.to/4295JqN

Affiliate links to YouTube equipment I use:
Sony a7siii: https://go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8i/
Sony A7c: https://go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8k/
MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14-inch: https://go.magik.ly/ml/1qb83/
Mac Studio: https://go.magik.ly/ml/1qb8o/

Timestamp:
0:00 Introduction
1:00 p.m. What is the objective?
1:50 What needs to be automated?
2:40 What devices do we need?
5:53 Smart home standards
7:53 Smart home ecosystem
10:23 a.m. Home assistant
12:21 p.m. Conclusion

Let's talk about what I learned while trying to make this house smart, this includes all the things I would do differently with everything I know now. That's the idea, making things more convenient and making me worry less, which you're about to see from me, actually comes with a lot of inconvenience.

We will need a way to control the ceiling fan, the 3 lights and the blinds. We also need something that can tell when someone is in the room, and a way to know how hot or cold it is in that room. So, what devices are available to perform these tasks? If you're trying to control lights, you have smart bulbs, smart plugs, and smart switches. Each has its own pros and cons and you really need to determine for yourself which is best to use for your situation. As for the ceiling fan, I'm going to use a smart switch because I don't care about fan speed and the fan will only stay on medium power anyway when I turn it on. The hardest part now was finding devices for the blinds. I had to buy these Aqara E1 drivers, to smartify and motorize these existing blinds.

To solve the remaining elements we will have to use sensors. These are the “eyes” of your smart home. These can be used by your smart home to understand what is happening in your home and can be used in your home automations. And sometimes you can find multipurpose sensors that have multiple sensors built in. Like the one I have here. The Philips Hue Motion Sensor has a motion, illuminance and temperature sensor all integrated into this single device.

The main smart home ecosystems are Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home or Homekit. You need to be careful when using one because you need to be on the lookout to see if your specific ecosystem is supported by the device or hub that controls all of these devices. So it takes a bit of research to make sure you have the right device. These systems don't communicate with each other and you find yourself stuck in a situation where multiple devices only work on one platform but not the other. So my solution for a while was just to use both Google Home and Apple Home and use them for different things.

Home Assistant is a tool that lets you consolidate just about all your smart home devices and more, like your NAS, into one place. And from there, it can behave like your smart home, allowing you to control all your devices in the Home Assistant app, or then send all your devices back to your smart home ecosystem of choice, even if they were not initially supported by this ecosystem. See that TP-link motion controlled light switch? It is not compatible with Apple Home, but with Home Assistant controlling it, it can be used in Apple Home. Home Assistant also has very robust automations that allow you to do really complex tasks. The level of customization Home Assistant offers is fantastic. That being said, it also has its own issues, some integrations with Home Assistant aren't very good and don't work as expected. Home Assistant also requires being a bit technical to fully configure, and because the automations are so robust, it's easy to make a mistake that leads to unintended consequences, like lights turning on randomly at midnight, causing when your partner wakes up. So if you are willing to put in the time, it can definitely improve your smart home and make it much better, provided you are aware of its limitations.

So here is a summary of all my advice. Research what you're buying, make sure they're compatible with whatever you're using now and in the near future, use third-party platforms like Home Assistant to further consolidate what you need and force compatibility for them. devices that are not compatible with your smart home ecosystem and use it to control all automations in one place. And move forward one piece at a time to keep the end goal in sight.

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