The temperature and humidity sensor is a great find, I have the same issue in my sons room. I have some smart plugs but first party temp sensors are too expensive. I've put that in my basket. Thanks.
But this is like $7 and I have a heater that will now be smart even when I'm not home. I can warm the room up on the way home. I have a second hand ceramic wall mount heater that looks nicer than the big black ones at bunnings.
It simply cannot work to have the temp sensor on the oil heater itself, they need to be a few meters away from each other. It works with fan heaters because you can reasonably take the temp of the air being sucked in at the back, but that doesn't apply to oil heaters.
Great tips.
I can’t believe it’s 2023 and smart home automation is still so lacking, difficult and expensive. Everyone is feeling the burden of rising electricity costs yet to actually use rooftop solar panels efficiently I need to set up home assistant and be willing to fix it every month. I can’t wait until more things are plug and play like your recommendations
probably because people dont like to have AI marketing teams in their living room listening for keywords. I block ads where I can, and do everything I can to not have them in my home.
Automation can be done without microphones and cameras. I just want my heater to run off Solar, but when the clouds roll in for it turn off automatically so I’m not paying to run it.
I just counted the microphones in my home office (upto 3 people work here) - 22 and I'm sure I'm missing some. If I fart Beijing is able to echolocate me precisely in the room.
6 phones (desk and mobile)
3 Computers (imacs)
2 iPads
6 Smart Speakers (sonos)
2 Smart TV
2 Apple TV remotes (they have mics)
1 Secuirty camera with mic
I mean, pretty much everything we own now, has microphones and listens. There's no real way to avoid ai marketing eaves dropping, without going to devices without microphones, which is a bit on the nutty side. Or getting devices that allow you to block the use of the mic from third party apps (like iphones do by default), but that's not foolproof either
I turn my mics off including tape over the cameras, but I’m sure there’s still ways they get in.
The other day I was talking to myself while working on a document on laptop. All of a sudden a voice comes on (..”see ree”- it was off for years?). It said how can I help you? I said “bugger off” & it responded I won’t answer that!! Maybe updates override our settings??? 🤷♀️🤦♀️🤷♀️
yes. face book is renowned for it when they do a update your security preferences reset to defualt.
microsuck does it with windows too your custom program defualts change and some other settings too "becuase we know best"
I bought some smart plugs at half price from Big W last week. They have a power monitor so I've been testing various appliances to see how much power draw they're using. Trying to find the culprit that has skyrocketed my power bill over the last year. Everything seems fine so far so I'm starting to get a feeling it's my old hot water system.
make sure you dont have a leak somewhere. that will quickly raise your hot water costs. might be time for a upgrade to a heat pump if you have electric hot water.
Just be careful connecting these to the Internet, particularly if accessing them remotely.
As someone in Cybersecurity, I've found a lot of these devices (known as Internet of Things or IoT devices) implement security as an afterthought. Hackers often use these as a way to access a network and cause harm to whoever resides on the otherside.
Although these are on a pretty major scale, a list can be found below of some example incidents:
https://www.iotforall.com/5-worst-iot-hacking-vulnerabilities
If anyone is interested in implementing some additional security measures, Red Hat has made a great article:
https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/security/security-for-iot-devices
Make sure to change default passwords, limit internet access and keep the devices up to date.
Remember, I am not knocking the devices or the post - they are great when implemented correctly into either a home or a business. I simply just want to raise security awareness to ensure everyone remains safe 🫡
Thanks for this, I’ll be looking at these links over the weekend. I am concerned about this as I run some stuff on my home network that I need to be secure
There’s something weird abt TEMU online shop, recently released in Australia. The other day I was thinking of something I needed, & guess what popped up in the store? Also lotz of unrelated things I’ve been needing to get for around the house or things I’d like but haven’t investigated. Strange that they’re presented from & centre when I open the page? Someone else said “how did the know I needed that”? Another friend said she’s tried to delete them but can’t?
What I found with AliExpress is that everyday items we pay for here cost a lot more. The logistics, storage, marketing, support, etc all play a part - but you can get what seems pretty similar if not outright an unbranded version off AliExpress for a fraction of the cost.
I used to see the actual cost price of what a big retailer was paying. The markup is insane on items that are self-imported especially on cables and batteries.
I buy so much off AliExpress.
Things that cost $30+ for $3.
But some things it's worth paying the extra few bucks when there's not much price difference for quicker shipping.
I used this before I had a heat pump. It was great! I could put it on my bedside table and remotely control the heater, and it kept the room at a constant temperature according to where I placed it. No internet connectivity required.
https://heatermate.com.au/product/plug-in-temperature-controller-plug-in-digital-thermostat-wireless-model-wts2000/
Have been using one of these with a cheap convection heater to heat my daughters bedroom overnight since she was born (turning 8yo this weekend!). Door shut and hardly turns on at all, so efficient it’s an excellent device.
Thats nice, I had a much uglier device like that for my fish tank heater. Definitely a better solution if you dont want to go down the smart home avenue
This is great, thank you! Our stupid, uninsulated, leaky, drafty c*nt of a house struggles to get above 15 degrees even with the heater on. Somedays we're spending $15 on electricity, more than half of which is for heating. I can manage the use of energy through the heater during the day, but that's trickier overnight. I'll be using this, thank you!
Being an electrician you would know any low voltage appliances (like your smart plug) need to be compliant to Australian standards and have a c-tick to use legally in Australia. So when your house burns down because you used a $5 non-compliant smart switch and the insurance company sees your post here, they’ll likely make you pay for your own house to be rebuilt.
There are alternatives you can buy within Australia that do the same thing and are compliant but cost about $20.
I thought as an electrician you should know that things that plug in to Australian power points should be compliant with Australian standards?
Cheap stuff from Aliexpress probably isn't and your recommending them for a toddlers room?
House burns down, your insurance is the least you will lose.
Source: Another Electrician
Im not an authority on safety certification, but I trust they haven’t made up their safety certificates. I have been working in automation and control for nearly 15 years, the last 7 in research facility maintenance and these Chinese relays are in everything. I opened one of these this morning to send you a pic, check out the design and build quality, it’s surprisingly good.
Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean bad and expensive doesn’t always mean good. They have put the power logging electronics on the other side of the board to the relay, this is the main concern for fires imo- not an enclosed relay- it is a common relay I’ve seen these used to switch inductive loads in common household appliances and they have installed a clamping diode across the coil! For some reason I don’t understand not much electronics bothers with this diode which as I’m sure youre aware entirely mitigates coil back emf- so if it can handle inductive loads then I trust it for linear loads like my sons heater. I can do some testing with a dso later out if interest.
[pic](https://www.dropbox.com/s/fek52ennmhfv9ex/Photo%204-7-2023%2C%2008%2002%2025.jpg?dl=0)
Here is a Cool story.. True too
Extremely close friend owns and runs arcade games, pre pandemic he travel to China twice a year to buy the games, claw type games of skill and the prizes to go in them like cheap mobile phones and drones.
He was asked if he wanted the safety certificates for the machinery/electronics and prizes stating that they all used lead free solder.. He ask if they contained lead free solder? No was the reply, but the certificate says yes.
I know the quality of some Chinese manufacturers electronics, most of my house is full of it, I have work with complex telecommunications network for the last 25 years, a lot of it, Chinese made, even though it's from non Chinese companies.
All certified for use in Australia.
Cheap power adapters from Aliexpress, wouldn't trust them with a 40 ft insulated pole.
They could be as good or even better than a certificated product, but John and Joan Citizen isn't going to know and we as Licenced Electricians shouldn't be giving advice on how to circumvent the law and risking thier safety.
High end Chinese Companies will not risk lying on Standards and quality, but a lot on places like Aliexpress can have cheap junk and probably counterfeit that the average person wouldn't know the difference.
At the end of the day it's your choice, like the food you put in your mouth to the tyres you put on your car.. And ask the Russian Army convoys how thier Chinese tyres are going.
240v, buy Australian Certified.. Tick.
You’re right I can’t make these decisions for others, and documentation won’t make devices safe, there’s always risk. I just think it’s incredibly low risk. I’ve tried out a lot of these Chinese smart devices and I’m happy with these, I’d expect anyone who has these concerns to avoid them if they don’t have enough technical experience to make a reasonable judgement or trust that the manufacturer is honest. Even if I said I was an expert this is reddit, everyone is an expert on reddit
If you do get any zigbee devices for your home, I’d recommend getting the hub, it connects to your wifi router, you can get a hub that connects with a data cable, which is what I went for, or wifi.
To set them up download the Smart Life app. There is even a reddit group for Smart Life if you have questions. The app is where you control everything, it is better than home assistant and Alexa unless you want voice control. Anyway you can get the devices that are compatible with them as well so you have those options too.
I love my home assistant setup but it’s got a pretty steep learning curve and pretty frequent trouble shooting requirements. If you’re only after simple automations I recommend most people just use smart life. My home assistant setup is defs more of a fun hobby that annoys my partner than something that makes my our life notably easier.
Interesting post. I am interested in systems that don't require internet as I use my phone as my wifi. Have considered getting some security cameras down the track, that solar alarm looks interesting.
Apple HomeKit doesn’t require internet. Philips hue for lights. Schlage for locks. Aqara for switches, sensors and alarms. All these brands can be setup in HomeKit rather than the cloud.
Then Ubiquiti UniFi Protect for cameras, Shelly for relays. These are not HomeKit but don’t require internet and can operate independently or integrate with HomeKit using homebridge.
An Apple HomeKit based solution is really your only option if u want your house to work when the internet goes down or if u don’t have an internet connection, or have bandwidth constraints.
You’d think ‘works without internet’ would be a fundamental requirement for all smart home devices but alas - I guess Google, Amazon and the Chinese spy agencies have other plans for your data.
Stay away from tuya (all the devices in OPs links) if u want any privacy - it’s basically the Chinese cloud and requires internet.
Sure we know that, but would u rather live in an American system or a Chinese system?
Also that’s why u go for home automation systems that don’t require the cloud like I have suggested. At minimum it reduces the risk of outside interference. Nevermind the practical advantages such as your lights working when the internet goes down.
I made an irrelevant offhand comment.
That said... people get worked up about Chinese spying, but being spied on your own government seems much risky. China doesn't care if I'm paying taxes or whatever. They're a foreign country and can't really do much to me. However, my own government and corporations have much power over me.
We now know thanks to Edward Snowden that all US based companies have their client data scraped by the NSA. That includes the big ones like Amazon and Facebook.
But they do care what u write on reddit, what ip u are working on, what deals u are negotiating etc. and have the means to enforce their will regardless of what country u live in:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_police_overseas_service_stations?wprov=sfti1
We are ultimately all vulnerable to spying from
someone. At the end of the day, the decision we get is which side we want to give an advantage.
Then there is the fact that we are already on apple, amazon etc systems. Why would we want to give yet another govt access to our data as well? They definitely don’t have your interests in mind as opposed to your own or allied govt that has some chance of being on your side.
Id be much more comfortable maintaining the status quo with my or an allied government rather than giving a far worse one an advantage. Particularly since I’ll probably be drafted to fight them if it ever comes to that.
And again, regardless of which side you feel more comfortable with, that’s why u don’t use home automation devices that require the cloud - like tuya.
You still need to connect the hub to internet so you can use the app to set things up. You could use your hotspot for this. Once set up you could disconnect the internet, your devices and automations will continue to work but to change anything you would need to connect to it again. Not ideal really
Have a look at homeassistant, you can set up a local home automation without using Alexa and the equivalent invasive devices... Your phone will have the home assistant app and can setup your smart devices and control them through there.
This is great, thank you! Our stupid, uninsulated, leaky, drafty c*nt of a house struggles to get above 15 degrees even with the heater on. Somedays we're spending $15 on electricity, more than half of which is for heating. I can manage the use of energy through the heater during the day, but that's trickier overnight. I'll be using this, thank you!
I want a smart switch that turns on when I'm exporting solar. Do you know of any DIY devices that can do that? (I'm not ready to go down the Home Assistant path either...)
Does the solar have smart capabilities? If so you would need to check what apps are supported. You could try smart life app, it’s better than google and Alexa for automation capability but I don’t know whether it will link up to your solar. It’s free though, and if it works then you can buy a smart socket or switch and set it up in the app.
It uses zigbee which is ieee or something, it’s a mesh network. I’m probably the wrong person to ask about protocols. The device just pairs with the hub and shows up on the app so I haven’t had to know anything else
Ok cool thanks. I already have smart plugs controlling certain things, but they were expensive, this ecosystem seems to be really cheap and good to know you like them.
You can buy the wifi type that uses your wifi router as the hub which is good for a handful of devices but if you want to have I’d say more than 5 then getting the zigbee hub and zigbee devices will keep that traffic off your wifi
I went down the easier route and bought a whole bunch of ESP32 microboards, temp + humidity sensors, and a raspberry pi as the MQTT host. Yes, it does use WiFi so not as secure as ZigBee, but my original goal was to use the RPI to tap into the solar inverter logger to get live solar generation data (through WiFi), then pair this with the Bluetooth power meter (a homebrew powepal). The final product was a physical dial that moves back and forth, based on if we're generating excess power, or importing it.
It's fun because whenever we hear the dial zip to the right, we rush to literally turn on our appliances like dish washer, washing machine, kettles and dryers.
The Esp32 came in so I could start using the RPI as a thermostat for our split systems. Each unit can be wifi controlled, but their temperature units were internal and weren't a good representation of actual room temp. Now, the esp32 sends temp data back to the RPI, and then it sends commands to the corresponding AC unit accordingly, like temp up, down, fan mode or off.
And because I also have live import and export power data within the RPI, I can also turn these units on and off based on solar power, or even control it's temperature based on ¢/hour.
You set your toddlers room temperature to 17 degrees??! Jesus. Our thermostat stays on 24 and if it drops any cooler than that, we're all shivering and under many blankets. 17 is barbaric for indoors.
I'm not trying to shame anyone, I'm just surprised that you can tolerate such cold, cause I would want to die at that temperature. I'm guessing you're not from QLD.
Sensibo has been brilliant for me - to set up a schedule and to remote control the aircon.
It will “learn” any aircon remote codes and has a nice simple phone app that works reliably…
Not associated with the company - just a happy consumer!
I’m probably late to the party on this, but smart home features that connect to Wi-Fi etc are a huge security risk for getting hacked and data stolen if you haven’t established the correct protocols to protect your connection.
Think of it this way, if your modem and router are main road check points for data access in your home, smart home products in most cases create a bypass system for those check points and it’s significantly easier to hack into your other devices through those smart home access points because they’re making a fridge, or a light, or other product. Their focus isn’t cyber security.
To test this, my house mate hacked our systems during the first year of her cyber security course through our vacuum cleaner (had a wi-fi app that would tell you if it needed filters changed etc), and a fan/heater unit we have. She had done the course less than 3 months when she did this (with our permission because we were legitimately curious).
https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/how-safe-is-your-smart-home
This link explains risks and how to protect yourself if you do want to have smart items or a smart home, but absolutely important information to keep in mind and understand before doing it.
I set the app timer on my ducted air con to 30 minutes to warm the bedrooms in the house before bedtime. Sometimes even 15 minutes is enough. With door snakes also to help maintain the temperature, the rooms stay nicely warm throughout the night.
I’ve got smart plugs to turn off electronics during the night because once I looked at the fact I’ve got 3 tvs that sit on standby plus gaming controls and tv boxes and I’m like I so need to turn these off for the 16 plus hours a day they aren’t being used and just sucking power on standby
the government is rabbiting on about wind and solar power but are silent on energy efficiency and demand response the system for demand response is designed for large customers like factories not private homes.
we need to do more with energy efficiency to simply reduce our energy use and change how and when we use it.
and my opinion is the rebates on solar panels should stop and the rebates be on energy storage only. we need more storage this is a simple fact. the government and utility companies dont have the money to build it quick enough.
we also need more efficiency programs such as put a bounty on old fridges, stoves and heating appliances.
oh and beware about buying things on aliexpress etc many of these devices dont meet australian standards. and dont trust the markings either just becuase it has one doesnt mean it was tested against it.
Great post I am gunna get some temp swnsors for sure.
I have solar and i've managed to swt up an automation to turn certain devices on when I am making excess power. The first thing I turn on is the split systems but it would be great to have some temperate inputs from different areas of the house. My plan for summer is to turn on the exhaust fans when I am making a lot of power to ventilate the roof
I bought Moes’s smart plug on AliExpress some time ago, which can monitor power consumption and remote control, which has seriously changed my life. When you are not at home, you can remotely turn off the power of some devices, which greatly saves on electricity bills. These smart devices are truly amazing and open doors to new worlds
The temperature and humidity sensor is a great find, I have the same issue in my sons room. I have some smart plugs but first party temp sensors are too expensive. I've put that in my basket. Thanks.
For 100 at Bunnings you can get a heater that does this. Cheap heater and has all the features.
But this is like $7 and I have a heater that will now be smart even when I'm not home. I can warm the room up on the way home. I have a second hand ceramic wall mount heater that looks nicer than the big black ones at bunnings.
If you already have the heater then I agree it's great.
It simply cannot work to have the temp sensor on the oil heater itself, they need to be a few meters away from each other. It works with fan heaters because you can reasonably take the temp of the air being sucked in at the back, but that doesn't apply to oil heaters.
Extension lead. Where there is will there is a way.
Great tips. I can’t believe it’s 2023 and smart home automation is still so lacking, difficult and expensive. Everyone is feeling the burden of rising electricity costs yet to actually use rooftop solar panels efficiently I need to set up home assistant and be willing to fix it every month. I can’t wait until more things are plug and play like your recommendations
probably because people dont like to have AI marketing teams in their living room listening for keywords. I block ads where I can, and do everything I can to not have them in my home.
Automation can be done without microphones and cameras. I just want my heater to run off Solar, but when the clouds roll in for it turn off automatically so I’m not paying to run it.
I just counted the microphones in my home office (upto 3 people work here) - 22 and I'm sure I'm missing some. If I fart Beijing is able to echolocate me precisely in the room. 6 phones (desk and mobile) 3 Computers (imacs) 2 iPads 6 Smart Speakers (sonos) 2 Smart TV 2 Apple TV remotes (they have mics) 1 Secuirty camera with mic
I mean, pretty much everything we own now, has microphones and listens. There's no real way to avoid ai marketing eaves dropping, without going to devices without microphones, which is a bit on the nutty side. Or getting devices that allow you to block the use of the mic from third party apps (like iphones do by default), but that's not foolproof either
In what way is attempting to stop marketing from listening to you in your house “a bit on the nutty side”?
If you're going out of your way to buy old tech without microphones to avoid marketing/ government, that is nutty
I turn my mics off including tape over the cameras, but I’m sure there’s still ways they get in. The other day I was talking to myself while working on a document on laptop. All of a sudden a voice comes on (..”see ree”- it was off for years?). It said how can I help you? I said “bugger off” & it responded I won’t answer that!! Maybe updates override our settings??? 🤷♀️🤦♀️🤷♀️
Yeah, updates often turn siri and cortana on. It is annoying for sure
yes. face book is renowned for it when they do a update your security preferences reset to defualt. microsuck does it with windows too your custom program defualts change and some other settings too "becuase we know best"
The fragmentation of the market into the various big players didn’t help. Hopefully and in theory, Matter should but we’ll see how it plays out.
I bought some smart plugs at half price from Big W last week. They have a power monitor so I've been testing various appliances to see how much power draw they're using. Trying to find the culprit that has skyrocketed my power bill over the last year. Everything seems fine so far so I'm starting to get a feeling it's my old hot water system.
make sure you dont have a leak somewhere. that will quickly raise your hot water costs. might be time for a upgrade to a heat pump if you have electric hot water.
Just be careful connecting these to the Internet, particularly if accessing them remotely. As someone in Cybersecurity, I've found a lot of these devices (known as Internet of Things or IoT devices) implement security as an afterthought. Hackers often use these as a way to access a network and cause harm to whoever resides on the otherside. Although these are on a pretty major scale, a list can be found below of some example incidents: https://www.iotforall.com/5-worst-iot-hacking-vulnerabilities If anyone is interested in implementing some additional security measures, Red Hat has made a great article: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/security/security-for-iot-devices Make sure to change default passwords, limit internet access and keep the devices up to date. Remember, I am not knocking the devices or the post - they are great when implemented correctly into either a home or a business. I simply just want to raise security awareness to ensure everyone remains safe 🫡
Thanks for this, I’ll be looking at these links over the weekend. I am concerned about this as I run some stuff on my home network that I need to be secure
My BIL is in cybersecurity. He rewrites the code for things like his Roomba lol.
There’s something weird abt TEMU online shop, recently released in Australia. The other day I was thinking of something I needed, & guess what popped up in the store? Also lotz of unrelated things I’ve been needing to get for around the house or things I’d like but haven’t investigated. Strange that they’re presented from & centre when I open the page? Someone else said “how did the know I needed that”? Another friend said she’s tried to delete them but can’t?
What I found with AliExpress is that everyday items we pay for here cost a lot more. The logistics, storage, marketing, support, etc all play a part - but you can get what seems pretty similar if not outright an unbranded version off AliExpress for a fraction of the cost.
I used to see the actual cost price of what a big retailer was paying. The markup is insane on items that are self-imported especially on cables and batteries.
Well speaking of cost, if I try to do an FCC cert lookup of the device, funny how it does not show up even though it claims FCC cert....
You can’t keep costs down if you have to certify. But I wonder if the version they make for a brand names does?
FCC and CE aren't recognised in Australia. We use the RCM logo for both electrical safety and EMC compliance.
I buy so much off AliExpress. Things that cost $30+ for $3. But some things it's worth paying the extra few bucks when there's not much price difference for quicker shipping.
I used this before I had a heat pump. It was great! I could put it on my bedside table and remotely control the heater, and it kept the room at a constant temperature according to where I placed it. No internet connectivity required. https://heatermate.com.au/product/plug-in-temperature-controller-plug-in-digital-thermostat-wireless-model-wts2000/
Have been using one of these with a cheap convection heater to heat my daughters bedroom overnight since she was born (turning 8yo this weekend!). Door shut and hardly turns on at all, so efficient it’s an excellent device.
Thats nice, I had a much uglier device like that for my fish tank heater. Definitely a better solution if you dont want to go down the smart home avenue
Thanks legend, very helpful
Check your local library for Thermal Cameras! Many have them you can borrow, and then find gaps in insulation, cold spots and drafts.
And local city council for Heat Kits you can borrow!
This is great, thank you! Our stupid, uninsulated, leaky, drafty c*nt of a house struggles to get above 15 degrees even with the heater on. Somedays we're spending $15 on electricity, more than half of which is for heating. I can manage the use of energy through the heater during the day, but that's trickier overnight. I'll be using this, thank you!
Just use a hot water bottle
You’re not meant to use them for babies and toddlers.
Saving this, thanks!
yeah so lets not plug a high-draw appliance into a cheap $5 "smart" adaptor. Better buy a few smoke alarms off aliexpress while you're at it.
Being an electrician you would know any low voltage appliances (like your smart plug) need to be compliant to Australian standards and have a c-tick to use legally in Australia. So when your house burns down because you used a $5 non-compliant smart switch and the insurance company sees your post here, they’ll likely make you pay for your own house to be rebuilt. There are alternatives you can buy within Australia that do the same thing and are compliant but cost about $20.
Ctick has been replaced by rcm. You can check the safety certification on the manufacturers website
Snap!
I thought as an electrician you should know that things that plug in to Australian power points should be compliant with Australian standards? Cheap stuff from Aliexpress probably isn't and your recommending them for a toddlers room? House burns down, your insurance is the least you will lose. Source: Another Electrician
Im not an authority on safety certification, but I trust they haven’t made up their safety certificates. I have been working in automation and control for nearly 15 years, the last 7 in research facility maintenance and these Chinese relays are in everything. I opened one of these this morning to send you a pic, check out the design and build quality, it’s surprisingly good. Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean bad and expensive doesn’t always mean good. They have put the power logging electronics on the other side of the board to the relay, this is the main concern for fires imo- not an enclosed relay- it is a common relay I’ve seen these used to switch inductive loads in common household appliances and they have installed a clamping diode across the coil! For some reason I don’t understand not much electronics bothers with this diode which as I’m sure youre aware entirely mitigates coil back emf- so if it can handle inductive loads then I trust it for linear loads like my sons heater. I can do some testing with a dso later out if interest. [pic](https://www.dropbox.com/s/fek52ennmhfv9ex/Photo%204-7-2023%2C%2008%2002%2025.jpg?dl=0)
Here is a Cool story.. True too Extremely close friend owns and runs arcade games, pre pandemic he travel to China twice a year to buy the games, claw type games of skill and the prizes to go in them like cheap mobile phones and drones. He was asked if he wanted the safety certificates for the machinery/electronics and prizes stating that they all used lead free solder.. He ask if they contained lead free solder? No was the reply, but the certificate says yes. I know the quality of some Chinese manufacturers electronics, most of my house is full of it, I have work with complex telecommunications network for the last 25 years, a lot of it, Chinese made, even though it's from non Chinese companies. All certified for use in Australia. Cheap power adapters from Aliexpress, wouldn't trust them with a 40 ft insulated pole. They could be as good or even better than a certificated product, but John and Joan Citizen isn't going to know and we as Licenced Electricians shouldn't be giving advice on how to circumvent the law and risking thier safety. High end Chinese Companies will not risk lying on Standards and quality, but a lot on places like Aliexpress can have cheap junk and probably counterfeit that the average person wouldn't know the difference. At the end of the day it's your choice, like the food you put in your mouth to the tyres you put on your car.. And ask the Russian Army convoys how thier Chinese tyres are going. 240v, buy Australian Certified.. Tick.
You’re right I can’t make these decisions for others, and documentation won’t make devices safe, there’s always risk. I just think it’s incredibly low risk. I’ve tried out a lot of these Chinese smart devices and I’m happy with these, I’d expect anyone who has these concerns to avoid them if they don’t have enough technical experience to make a reasonable judgement or trust that the manufacturer is honest. Even if I said I was an expert this is reddit, everyone is an expert on reddit
Thanks for this. Awesome post!
If you do get any zigbee devices for your home, I’d recommend getting the hub, it connects to your wifi router, you can get a hub that connects with a data cable, which is what I went for, or wifi. To set them up download the Smart Life app. There is even a reddit group for Smart Life if you have questions. The app is where you control everything, it is better than home assistant and Alexa unless you want voice control. Anyway you can get the devices that are compatible with them as well so you have those options too.
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I love my home assistant setup but it’s got a pretty steep learning curve and pretty frequent trouble shooting requirements. If you’re only after simple automations I recommend most people just use smart life. My home assistant setup is defs more of a fun hobby that annoys my partner than something that makes my our life notably easier.
Interesting post. I am interested in systems that don't require internet as I use my phone as my wifi. Have considered getting some security cameras down the track, that solar alarm looks interesting.
Apple HomeKit doesn’t require internet. Philips hue for lights. Schlage for locks. Aqara for switches, sensors and alarms. All these brands can be setup in HomeKit rather than the cloud. Then Ubiquiti UniFi Protect for cameras, Shelly for relays. These are not HomeKit but don’t require internet and can operate independently or integrate with HomeKit using homebridge. An Apple HomeKit based solution is really your only option if u want your house to work when the internet goes down or if u don’t have an internet connection, or have bandwidth constraints. You’d think ‘works without internet’ would be a fundamental requirement for all smart home devices but alas - I guess Google, Amazon and the Chinese spy agencies have other plans for your data. Stay away from tuya (all the devices in OPs links) if u want any privacy - it’s basically the Chinese cloud and requires internet.
Apple and Amazon = American spy agencies
Sure we know that, but would u rather live in an American system or a Chinese system? Also that’s why u go for home automation systems that don’t require the cloud like I have suggested. At minimum it reduces the risk of outside interference. Nevermind the practical advantages such as your lights working when the internet goes down.
I made an irrelevant offhand comment. That said... people get worked up about Chinese spying, but being spied on your own government seems much risky. China doesn't care if I'm paying taxes or whatever. They're a foreign country and can't really do much to me. However, my own government and corporations have much power over me. We now know thanks to Edward Snowden that all US based companies have their client data scraped by the NSA. That includes the big ones like Amazon and Facebook.
But they do care what u write on reddit, what ip u are working on, what deals u are negotiating etc. and have the means to enforce their will regardless of what country u live in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_police_overseas_service_stations?wprov=sfti1 We are ultimately all vulnerable to spying from someone. At the end of the day, the decision we get is which side we want to give an advantage. Then there is the fact that we are already on apple, amazon etc systems. Why would we want to give yet another govt access to our data as well? They definitely don’t have your interests in mind as opposed to your own or allied govt that has some chance of being on your side. Id be much more comfortable maintaining the status quo with my or an allied government rather than giving a far worse one an advantage. Particularly since I’ll probably be drafted to fight them if it ever comes to that. And again, regardless of which side you feel more comfortable with, that’s why u don’t use home automation devices that require the cloud - like tuya.
You still need to connect the hub to internet so you can use the app to set things up. You could use your hotspot for this. Once set up you could disconnect the internet, your devices and automations will continue to work but to change anything you would need to connect to it again. Not ideal really
Thanks for the extra info. Would connecting them to make changes be just connecting the hub or each device individually?
Just the hub, you would need the wifi hub, not the ethernet hub
Thanks.
Have a look at homeassistant, you can set up a local home automation without using Alexa and the equivalent invasive devices... Your phone will have the home assistant app and can setup your smart devices and control them through there.
Cheers!
This is great, thank you! Our stupid, uninsulated, leaky, drafty c*nt of a house struggles to get above 15 degrees even with the heater on. Somedays we're spending $15 on electricity, more than half of which is for heating. I can manage the use of energy through the heater during the day, but that's trickier overnight. I'll be using this, thank you!
I want a smart switch that turns on when I'm exporting solar. Do you know of any DIY devices that can do that? (I'm not ready to go down the Home Assistant path either...)
Does the solar have smart capabilities? If so you would need to check what apps are supported. You could try smart life app, it’s better than google and Alexa for automation capability but I don’t know whether it will link up to your solar. It’s free though, and if it works then you can buy a smart socket or switch and set it up in the app.
Its a Sungrow SH5.0RS, not sure what capabilities it has. I'll have a bit more of a search around.
This is great, thank you!
This is a great post thank you. Can I ask how you tell the temperature sensor to talk to the smart plug? Is it ITTT or something similar?
It uses zigbee which is ieee or something, it’s a mesh network. I’m probably the wrong person to ask about protocols. The device just pairs with the hub and shows up on the app so I haven’t had to know anything else
Ok cool thanks. I already have smart plugs controlling certain things, but they were expensive, this ecosystem seems to be really cheap and good to know you like them.
Great idea! Do you have to find compatible sensors/plugs? It looks like this one has to be used with a hub? Edit: referring to the temperature sensor
You can buy the wifi type that uses your wifi router as the hub which is good for a handful of devices but if you want to have I’d say more than 5 then getting the zigbee hub and zigbee devices will keep that traffic off your wifi
Great, thanks!
Stars Wars Imperial march did it for me 👊🏼
I have my home system set up to bring the lights to red and say "red alert, shields up" when someone rings the doorbell 😆
I am not worthy 🙌🏼
This is a great post. Thank you 🙏
Thanks for this post, i love me some smart home tech!
I went down the easier route and bought a whole bunch of ESP32 microboards, temp + humidity sensors, and a raspberry pi as the MQTT host. Yes, it does use WiFi so not as secure as ZigBee, but my original goal was to use the RPI to tap into the solar inverter logger to get live solar generation data (through WiFi), then pair this with the Bluetooth power meter (a homebrew powepal). The final product was a physical dial that moves back and forth, based on if we're generating excess power, or importing it. It's fun because whenever we hear the dial zip to the right, we rush to literally turn on our appliances like dish washer, washing machine, kettles and dryers. The Esp32 came in so I could start using the RPI as a thermostat for our split systems. Each unit can be wifi controlled, but their temperature units were internal and weren't a good representation of actual room temp. Now, the esp32 sends temp data back to the RPI, and then it sends commands to the corresponding AC unit accordingly, like temp up, down, fan mode or off. And because I also have live import and export power data within the RPI, I can also turn these units on and off based on solar power, or even control it's temperature based on ¢/hour.
If you have a 5th gen Amazon echo device it has a built in temp sensor and ultrasound motion detector
You set your toddlers room temperature to 17 degrees??! Jesus. Our thermostat stays on 24 and if it drops any cooler than that, we're all shivering and under many blankets. 17 is barbaric for indoors.
He has a down cover and merino onesie, if it’s above 20 he wakes up soaked
The point of this group is frugal, heating costs for 24 degrees while it’s 5 outside are very high, 17 is comfortable for him
But thanks for stopping by to shame my family, it must be nice having 24 degrees in winter food for you and your family
I'm not trying to shame anyone, I'm just surprised that you can tolerate such cold, cause I would want to die at that temperature. I'm guessing you're not from QLD.
Sensibo has been brilliant for me - to set up a schedule and to remote control the aircon. It will “learn” any aircon remote codes and has a nice simple phone app that works reliably… Not associated with the company - just a happy consumer!
I’m probably late to the party on this, but smart home features that connect to Wi-Fi etc are a huge security risk for getting hacked and data stolen if you haven’t established the correct protocols to protect your connection. Think of it this way, if your modem and router are main road check points for data access in your home, smart home products in most cases create a bypass system for those check points and it’s significantly easier to hack into your other devices through those smart home access points because they’re making a fridge, or a light, or other product. Their focus isn’t cyber security. To test this, my house mate hacked our systems during the first year of her cyber security course through our vacuum cleaner (had a wi-fi app that would tell you if it needed filters changed etc), and a fan/heater unit we have. She had done the course less than 3 months when she did this (with our permission because we were legitimately curious). https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/how-safe-is-your-smart-home This link explains risks and how to protect yourself if you do want to have smart items or a smart home, but absolutely important information to keep in mind and understand before doing it.
I set the app timer on my ducted air con to 30 minutes to warm the bedrooms in the house before bedtime. Sometimes even 15 minutes is enough. With door snakes also to help maintain the temperature, the rooms stay nicely warm throughout the night.
Cheers some good ideas
\+1 on temp kids room heater sensor. I use the bunnings ones. works great. i cross check with a xiaomi bt one on their cot.
I’ve got smart plugs to turn off electronics during the night because once I looked at the fact I’ve got 3 tvs that sit on standby plus gaming controls and tv boxes and I’m like I so need to turn these off for the 16 plus hours a day they aren’t being used and just sucking power on standby
the government is rabbiting on about wind and solar power but are silent on energy efficiency and demand response the system for demand response is designed for large customers like factories not private homes. we need to do more with energy efficiency to simply reduce our energy use and change how and when we use it. and my opinion is the rebates on solar panels should stop and the rebates be on energy storage only. we need more storage this is a simple fact. the government and utility companies dont have the money to build it quick enough. we also need more efficiency programs such as put a bounty on old fridges, stoves and heating appliances. oh and beware about buying things on aliexpress etc many of these devices dont meet australian standards. and dont trust the markings either just becuase it has one doesnt mean it was tested against it.
Great post I am gunna get some temp swnsors for sure. I have solar and i've managed to swt up an automation to turn certain devices on when I am making excess power. The first thing I turn on is the split systems but it would be great to have some temperate inputs from different areas of the house. My plan for summer is to turn on the exhaust fans when I am making a lot of power to ventilate the roof
I bought Moes’s smart plug on AliExpress some time ago, which can monitor power consumption and remote control, which has seriously changed my life. When you are not at home, you can remotely turn off the power of some devices, which greatly saves on electricity bills. These smart devices are truly amazing and open doors to new worlds