I was a vehement believer in the “Internet of Shit” as devices with wireless capabilities were sweeping into the home. It seemed like, and is, a bad idea to just add whatever crap device to your wireless network in the hopes that it will do a trivial thing. This goes from lightbulbs to water shutoff valves, and everything in-between.
That changed a few years ago, and I’ve come around to using _some_ IoT devices in the home. The current extent of this is lights and power switches. Nothing crazy. What I’d like to go over is what, how, why, and who. The start was simple, and then sped up, then got fun. It went from one vendor to four, but all work within one system, which is the most important part of the whole arrangement. I chose to have one master system that would control everything, and it is not HomeAssistant.
I stand by the statement that Apple’s stance on device security, and security in general, is a result of their not being able to do literally anything on the web. This was an important pivot, and it’s why I eventually came to respect Apple for a few reasons. There are issues with the company’s polices, but they hold the line in most cases, and bend to good policy when they’re wrong. It was only when Apple really got their HomeKit system solidly in place did I figure I’d try some home automation and devices.
The biggest reason I went with Home. is that the core principle of the system is that it can work without talking outside of the network. No secondary apps should be necessary to add and use the core functionality of a device. A lightbulb, wall switch, camera, or any other device can be added and configured without downloading an app from the manufacturer. This requirement means that fewer Apple Home devices are out there than Alexa or Google, but it also means that when those device manufacturers abandon them, or disappear completely, the devices are still useful.
Because of this standalone model, you must have a device that manages everything. Until recently, it was possible to do this with one of three device types. An iPhone can not be a hub, but an iPad, HomePod, or AppleTV 3rd generation or newer can be. I had an iPad available, so I used it for the task to figure out whether or not IoT was something I wanted to keep using.
I started with some WeMo smart plugs. They are cheap and easy to get, and are frequently found used for half their normal retail cost of $30. An update to their firmware meant that they could be used with Apple Home, if they were an early version, but with some complications that I may get in to. These did require some fiddling, and getting the WeMo app, but that wasn’t something I felt uncomfortable doing as the brand is one of Belkin’s, and they’re known very well in the industry for making good products and being forward thinking.
Once I went through the laborious process of adding the switches to Home, which was complicated because these older WeMo devices didn’t have the QR code on them, I got to making automations that would do simple things, like turn on two lamps in the living room at 45 minutes before sunset and turn off at night. It was something that Apple had baked into the Home app, and it was just a few changes and selections that made it work. This was all fun and good, and I eventually aded 5 of these switches, plus one bonus from another brand, which are still present in the house doing normal things, but interestingly they don’t need to turn on lights anymore.
I don’t remember when I got the first HomePod mini, but I figured that the newish device would be a good replacement for using the iPad, and I wanted to add a speaker to the home for simple functionality. I added it to the kitchen area, then added another to the bedroom, and a third to a basement area. I found it fun to cluster these together and play music throughout the house, but it’s a feature that a person will likely do once and never again…but they can. HomePod being a hub is a good thing, because the devices get OS updates and features get added behind the scenes, all managed in the Home app’s settings.
Lights may have come next, when I looked and found some LIFX bulbs to try. Home compatibility was a must, and they came with little cards to scan to easily add them to Home. I put these in the bedroom area to free up one of the switches and then realized that I could ask Siri to change the brightness of the bulbs. It honestly hadn’t occurred to me previously because the lights were controlled by switches, not the bulb itself. I changed a few scenes so that when the bedroom lights went on they weren’t at full brightness, but perhaps %60-70.
A big change came when a local decided that they’d had enough of their Hue system. A hub and what ended up being over 20 bulbs was mine for a price that I could not turn down. This did introduce another app to the mix, but I was again confident that Philips, one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world, would do me right. The difference between the LIFX bulbs and the Hue bulbs is that Philips uses a hub, which connects to the network, and is a bridge between the two systems. The core change is that bulbs communicate over a different network, not using the normal wireless channels, meaning that network congestion isn’t an issue. The person I got the system from found out very quickly that 20+ bulbs using their home wireless was a problem. But it wasn’t mine.
The Hue app is pretty good, and I was able to very quickly and easily set up rooms and get them added to Home. This changed the game throughout the house, from the porch to a closet under the stairs. Sure, I now leave all of these light switches on and there’s more power usage, but the Hue bulbs use a minuscule amount of power per light. These bulbs were only the normal sized, normal temperature, with no colors or any other fancy features. On, off, and level. That was all easy to configure and set up first in the Hue app, but then fine tune in the Home app. Once again I would set up things in an app, but then could leave it closed for months at a time.
Later on I decided to add some first-generation HomePods to the system, for their use simply as audio in the living room. They were supremely over built in many ways, and very serviceable if they failed, but also very easy to find used at reasonable prices. Amusingly the first two that I was able to get were the white, then black, so I have a salt and pepper set. I kept meaning to get another white one, but I’ve kinda settled into the set I have. I was able to easily pair them together for AirPlay from phones, tablets, and computers. It’s something that I use many times a week, and sometimes per day.
With one of the HomePods I got an iDevices switch with an integrated light, which has been kind of fun to use. It also helped to get its app, as the very early ones like WeMo didn’t have the QR code for setup. I now use it as part of the hifi system for my amplifier, and it does a great job.
While at a local reseller of items I got an LED strip, which was really very fun to set up and use. Two meters of RGB lights in Home is pretty simple, and I know it can do more fun things in the manufacturer’s app, but I really only need it’s more basic functions. Colors and brightness are the core uses for me, but I did have some more fun when another batch of devices came along later.
A very good friend was moving from a Philips system to other pastures and offered me a very valuable trove of items to spruce up the home. Four RGB bulbs, two of the ambient bulbs, two wall switches, a multi switch, and another LED strip were shipped to me. I had a bit of thought and put these in the most used placed, where I’m at either daily or weekly, and where a different color or tone or hue would be a good thing. The living room once again got its bulbs switched out, and now it can be very interesting in there. Same with the bedroom, and the studio. That’s where the second LED strip went, and it makes a fun accent to the vibe I’ve created.
One of the reasons for using the Hue app outside of the Home experience is that it offers several dynamic scene options for RGB. For example, I have the LED strip in the studio set to emulate a fireplace, so it’s very red, with yellow and orange flickering. I can also have a similar effect with the other RGB or ambient, temperature-changing bulbs. It really did add spice to some rooms.
So, what’s next? I’m not sure. I’ve only just recently mounted those two wall switches. They have on, off, and two dimming buttons. We decided on locations to put them and this has brought down the calls to Siri a bit, but that’s fine. Sometimes a manual switch is just easier and more reliable than a speaker either hearing or comprehending what you’re asking. It seems like it’s come around full circle, but sometimes that’s the process.
At this point I’m satisfied with what we have set up. I think that more accent lights, such as the ones from Nanoleaf, would be fun to add in the office space. I’ve avoided things like in-wall switches because this house has very thick copper wiring and my delves into the walls previously have led to a lot of sore fingers and cursing. Add to that the complete mystery of how the breaker box is zoned, and, well, remotes it is.
There are few things that I’d change, but the biggest is that Home was able to incorporate some of the more niche features of something like the light strip and bulb’s RGB color scenes, like the fireplace. I understand why they don’t, because those are vendor-specific, but I’m hoping that one day Home will add such things. We’ll see what happens.
