X10 and Homekit

[Alasdair Lawrance]

I'm thinking of starting to use Homekit, and I wonder if anyone has any suggestions about how to proceed, with an eye on cost

I've been using X10 for some years, but it doesn't play nice with LEDs and can't be remote controlled elegantly.

Any comments warmly received, in particular a recommended 'starter kit', or what to watch out for.

Alasdair Lawrance

Don’t blame me, I voted Remain.

[Benjamin Stanley]

Hey Alasdair,

It's a great question. I would ask one back - What do you want to control and how?

I'm pretty much a 'google home' house here, control through the Nest hubs and nest hub max is a nicer experience for me with the visual feedback and on-screen buttons for lights, volumes, heating, cameras etc. I also love having my digital photos on display. Along with those as the control screens I'm using…

Philips Hue lights,

Sonos speakers (CD library on a NAS, I stream via Spotify and integration here could be better)

Nuheat thermostats

Nest cameras

I've also played a bit with Hubitat - a no cloud in-home private solution. It's nice and works well with loads of kit and very well supported, but is a bit techier to work with. It does the zigbee and z-wave dance so will work with most existing kit. 

I'm hopeful the new working together stuff will make things a bit easier. 

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/05/11/apple-smart-home-matter-connectivity-standard/

[Robert Sharl]

Hi Ben, Alasdair,

I thought I’d contribute my much smaller, Apple-centric set up, which is still developing. I’m also looking to add a few more things into the mix as the standards open up.

I’ve had the Apple TV since forever, so it made sense to get things that worked with HomeKit. My first purchase was a second-hand Hue hub, along with a couple of bulbs. Since then I’ve moved most of the lights in the house to Hue, mostly just the straightforward dimmer bulbs and a few that allow for colour temperature adjustment (great for tv viewing and relaxing). Check CEX for second-hand, and Amazon does good value two-packs of bulbs.

I’ve also added an Eve HomeKit compatible plug to my TV which means I can just turn it on and off without using the remote—I only ever really watch things via the Apple TV in any case (with the very occasional Blu-Ray)—and it stays on the same input (I use a surround sound AV receiver to switch input from Apple TV to Blu-Ray if needed).

I’ve got two original HomePods in my dining room/home office set up as a pair, and a couple of HomePods Mini similarly configured in my bedroom. In the front room the 5.1 surround speakers work as Airplay targets via the Apple TV.

HomeKit works very well, setting these things into scenes (bedtime, good night, etc) and I’ve got a few automations to turn things on and off (sunset, leaving the house) and to confuse my neighbours when I’m away.

I’m looking to get a Hue motion sensor and a couple of the new dimmer switches, though if I started today I might actually opt for wired-in HomeKit compatible light switches, rather than bulbs.

I’m tempted too by a HomeKit door lock, and I’d love automatic blinds!

Looking forward to hearing more set-ups and suggestions.

Robert

Sent from my iPad

On 17 May 2021, at 09:07, 'Benjamin Stanley' via MMUG Chat <mmug...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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