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You don’t want a remote-controlled smart (actually: dumb) home. You want a fully local solution, then you can add remote, internet-dependent functionality like
by Semaphor 5y ago
You don’t want a remote-controlled smart (actually: dumb) home. You want a fully local solution, then you can add remote, internet-dependent functionality like alexa to it. That way your primary mode of control will always work.
- luma 5y agoAgreed. I'll add to that a healthy application of the Principle of Least Astonishment. If you have a light, there should be an obvious light switch nearby that turns the light on and off, and does so even if your home automation system is offline for whatever reason. "Smart" devices should, wherever possible, function as dumb devices if for whatever reason they can't be smart. There are a whole lot of devices that simply become bricks.
- mikepurvis 5y ago"An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience."
- wlesieutre 5y agoI know it’s a joke but if the failure mode is “brakes don’t work” on an escalator full of people, it is much worse than stairs
- mikepurvis 5y agoVery true— I would definitely imagine that escalator brakes are a thing that fail closed in the absence of power, but clearly there are failure modes (probably a rare confluence of multiple concurrent failures) where this kind of thing can happen, such as that incident in Rome in 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1SjQfwLieU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1SjQfwLieU
- wlesieutre 5y agoAnother in China in 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADb57ysvCbU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADb57ysvCbU https://coconuts.co/hongkong/news/engineer-gets-2-months-in-jail-following-escalator-incident/ https://coconuts.co/hongkong/news/engineer-gets-2-months-in-... (misleading URL, actually suspended sentence) Rather that than an falling elevator, but it still doesn't look fun
- khimaros 5y agoRhasspy is an easy to use open source, fully offline, suite for this with wake word detection and integration with home assistant.
- rkeene2 5y agoI've never understood the desire to control systems by speaking to them in code words. Speaking monopolizes a shared channel, requires diverting your conversation, and is really slow. For practically anything that involves using code words to tell the computer what to do there are better input methods, like physical switches, or purely automated. This is slightly off-topic, but in your opinion what are some of the reasons people prefer to use voice input with code words over the other options ?
- zentiggr 5y agoIf I'm curled up comfortably with my SO, and don't want to take ten minutes of unwinding, doing whatever, then tucking back up together...
- rkeene2 5y agoIt seems like in that case a remote control could be placed nearby -- are you also using voice activated code words to control the television ?
- toyg 5y agoThis is how the Honeywell stuff seems to work, at least for my thermostat. As long as there is some local wifi, thermostat and controlling unit will work, even if you cannot contact them from the internet.
- h4waii 5y agoWhat happens if power goes out, the units stop working if WiFi isn't on a UPS? This would definitely be a problem in cold climates where a dead furnace could lead to frozen and burst pipes.
- toyg 5y agoThe unit is event-driven, so no, you would just lose the ability to change its current programming. Regardless, it can be bypassed on the actual boiler heater, it's just a thermostat. It's a decent set of compromises, definitely better than anything going "no internet, no service".
- Semaphor 5y agoIn my case: No power would mean I have nothing to control anyway. The only reason my local network is down would be my power down. That happened twice in the last 16 years.
- helsinkiandrew 5y agoAnd get some motion detectors. Your lights should come on when someone enters the room and the light is below a threshold. I usually hit the off switch by the door when I leave, otherwise if no one is present the lack of movement will dim and then turn the lights off. It's 2021 people!
- JoshTriplett 5y agoMotion detection is not presence detection. I still want the light even if I'm sitting still, such as reading a book or using a computer.
- helsinkiandrew 5y agoWe use the motion detection to turn on lights and usually turn off manually. I've set up ours to remain on until a fair amount of inactivity. In two years it's only turned off once whilst we were watching a movie.
- 8note 5y agoDo you not move when you're asleep?
- helsinkiandrew 5y agoDon't use the motion detection/automatic in bedrooms.
- nsm 5y agoAgreed. I've been really happy with Ikea's Tradfri line. It's all on Zigbee, works without internet and doesn't need an "Ikea account". However lights and blinds only for now, plus they have perpetual shortages.