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I feel that the vast majority home automation tech got the whole thing backwards. They start with "we can do this" and then "let's see what we can bolt it on".

I feel that the vast majority home automation tech got the whole thing backwards. They start with "we can do this" and then "let's see what we can bolt it on". Instead, they should've started with small things like being able to toggle every existing switch from your phone. Let lazy people be lazy efficiently. Now that has a mass appeal and would've led to a better adoption. Once this is in place, then you can build on it - dimmers, hues, scheduled and presence lighting/heating, etc. Once this is done, accepted and integrated in everyday life, move to more advanced gadgetry.

detaro 5y ago
"Traditional" home automation tech does exactly that angle. Turns out "upgrade every existing switch" does not have the mass-appeal over a lot cheaper "replace one thing, do a bunch of things with thing" offerings. Most people need to have the latter before they get the appetite to invest in the former. As annoying as they are, "smart" plugs/bulbs are a lot easier and cheaper to deploy in many cases. It's an interesting balance IMHO. If you can control everything you can build a lot on top, but even just being able to control a few things might already provide you a lot of benefit.
nouveaux 5y ago
"toggle every existing switch from your phone" Home automation is not intuitive. It turns out that toggling every existing switch from your phone is not an ideal goal. Pulling out your phone to use your home automation gets annoying fast. The best home automation is a system that works without intervention. A good analogy is a digital thermostat vs a traditional analog one. A digital thermostat has the ability to change temperature targets depending on time of day and day of the week. The best type of switches are the ones that work without intervention. The most common is the sunset porch lights and the sunrise alarm clocks. Other good ones are humidity sensors that trigger bathroom fans, TV/stereo/console that turns on when you pick up your game controller, floor lights that trigger only at night when it senses movement, lights that change color temperature and lumens depending on time of day, etc.
- Tyr42 5y ago
  Speaking of that last thing, what's the best way to implement different brightnesses based on time in HA's yaml? I could do a bunch of ifs in each automation but there might be a better way?
  - function_seven 5y ago
    I use https://github.com/basnijholt/adaptive-lighting/ https://github.com/basnijholt/adaptive-lighting/ in my config.
    - nouveaux 5y ago
      +1 to adaptive lighting. Also if you need a wake up/sunrise light: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/wake-up-light-alarm-with-sunrise-effect/255193 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/wake-up-light-alarm-wi...
- huhtenberg 5y ago
  > Pulling out your phone to use your home automation gets annoying fast. What I meant, if it wasn't clear, is to have this as an option. In addition to what's already in place.

detaro 5y ago

"Traditional" home automation tech does exactly that angle. Turns out "upgrade every existing switch" does not have the mass-appeal over a lot cheaper "replace one thing, do a bunch of things with thing" offerings. Most people need to have the latter before they get the appetite to invest in the former. As annoying as they are, "smart" plugs/bulbs are a lot easier and cheaper to deploy in many cases. It's an interesting balance IMHO. If you can control everything you can build a lot on top, but even just being able to control a few things might already provide you a lot of benefit.

nouveaux 5y ago

"toggle every existing switch from your phone" Home automation is not intuitive. It turns out that toggling every existing switch from your phone is not an ideal goal. Pulling out your phone to use your home automation gets annoying fast. The best home automation is a system that works without intervention. A good analogy is a digital thermostat vs a traditional analog one. A digital thermostat has the ability to change temperature targets depending on time of day and day of the week. The best type of switches are the ones that work without intervention. The most common is the sunset porch lights and the sunrise alarm clocks. Other good ones are humidity sensors that trigger bathroom fans, TV/stereo/console that turns on when you pick up your game controller, floor lights that trigger only at night when it senses movement, lights that change color temperature and lumens depending on time of day, etc.

Tyr42 5y ago
Speaking of that last thing, what's the best way to implement different brightnesses based on time in HA's yaml? I could do a bunch of ifs in each automation but there might be a better way?
- function_seven 5y ago
  I use https://github.com/basnijholt/adaptive-lighting/ https://github.com/basnijholt/adaptive-lighting/ in my config.
  - nouveaux 5y ago
    +1 to adaptive lighting. Also if you need a wake up/sunrise light: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/wake-up-light-alarm-with-sunrise-effect/255193 https://community.home-assistant.io/t/wake-up-light-alarm-wi...
huhtenberg 5y ago
> Pulling out your phone to use your home automation gets annoying fast. What I meant, if it wasn't clear, is to have this as an option. In addition to what's already in place.