How to Easily Connect Siri to Home Assistant

Updated on 7th Sep 2020 13:31 in DIY, Smart, Tutorial

As with most things, Apple has its own protocol for smart homes. Personally, I do not find any of the current hub offerings to be worth purchasing, which is unfortunate because the software is pretty well designed. The Home app on both the Mac and the iPhone are super well integrated with Siri and other Apple services, so it would be really great to be able to connect it to your existing smart home. Lucky for us, with Home Assistant it really is super easy to get your Home Assistant devices into the Home app.

Read More

One of the Most Useful Sensors you Probably Aren't Using

Updated on 6th Sep 2020 16:28 in Smart

Door sensors are some of the most common types of sensor in the home. They are often used to trigger an alarm system as they will detect when a door has been opened, allowing the alarm to understand the potentially bad situation that is playing out. These sensors can be used for much more than just alarm systems though, find out how smart door sensors can make your home smarter here!

Read More

Why is Smart Lighting so Insanely Expensive?

Updated on 4th Sep 2020 19:34 in General, Smart

Many will agree that smart lighting is super convenient, but many will also ask why it is so expensive. The short answer is that it's not! While there are plenty of outrageously priced smart lighting devices out there, there are also many very affordable ways to implement it. First, we'll take a look at why smart bulbs are expensive in the first place and then we will check out various much cheaper alternatives.

Read More

How to Install Home Assistant on the Raspberry Pi Zero Super Easily

Updated on 3rd Sep 2020 19:19 in Home Assistant, Tutorial

Home Assistant is really nifty software that allows anyone to create what is essentially a DIY smart hub, capable of controlling a wide range of devices from practically any standard that exists. One of the issues with this, however, is that a smart hub acts as a home server, coordinating all sorts of events, actions, and of course providing users with an interface to control everything. How do you use the Raspberry Pi Zero to solve this problem? And is it a good solution? Find out here!

Read More

Can you Effectively use Z-Wave Devices Without a Hub?

Updated on 3rd Sep 2020 04:49 in General

Z-Wave devices are robust and remarkable to use in countless situations. One question that might come up is if the use of a Hub is necessary to use Z-Wave devices. Indeed it would be fascinating to be able to have two or more devices communicate with each other directly without the need for extra components. The protocol specifications say that devices can communicate with each other directly, so it should be possible, right?

Read More