How to Pick a Smart Home Camera That You Won't Regret

Updated on 13th Jan 2021 15:25 in General, Smart

Security cameras are a common sight in the modern home. This is partly because of the rise in doorbell cameras primarily fueled by Ring which has since brought many competitors to the industry. The reasons for having a camera at home are usually security-related or just for peace-of-mind. That could mean checking a parcel has arrived safely or verifying that you closed the garage door before leaving the house. Regardless of the reason, there are many options to choose from and making the right decision can feel daunting at first. Let's find out what the best camera for a smart home is.

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3 Awesome Ways to Use Zigbee With HomeKit

Updated on 9th Jan 2021 17:34 in General, Home Assistant, Smart

Zigbee is a wireless communication protocol commonly used in smart homes. One of its many benefits includes that each non-battery-powered node on the network will act as a repeater making your range larger. Apple's HomeKit, on the other hand, is a network communication protocol, meaning it only specifies the commands each device will send and receive. HomeKit can run over WiFi or Bluetooth with most of the ecosystem opting to use WiFi for its longer range. HomeKit devices are cheap and easy to use, while Zigbee devices have higher range potential. Combining both of these technologies in one smart home would provide the best of both worlds, and luckily for us, it's totally possible!

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How to Listen to Music Offline With Smart Speakers

Updated on 7th Jan 2021 17:33 in General, Smart

Smart speakers are quite common now, and as more people start using one, they will have many questions. They may wonder what the features are or how loud the volume can get. Most questions have obvious answers, but here we will see how you can use a smart speaker without an internet connection. You'd think any speaker would work just fine, but things are unfortunately not that simple. We will find out which smart speaker is the best for offline use along with the pros and cons of each!

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12 Smart Home Ideas You Don't Want to Miss Out On

Updated on 5th Jan 2021 01:18 in General, IoT, Smart

Smart homes are the way of the future and implementing smarter devices in your life today can be both a great way to learn about technology. Smart devices aren't just toys, though, they can make common repetitive tasks easier and can even take care of it for you in some cases. Most will agree that smart homes are cool, but many will be hesitant to transform their homes while others may not know where to start. Here are 12 smart home ideas that you can use for inspiration!

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How to Make Complex Automations With AppDaemon Easily

Updated on 2nd Jan 2021 19:18 in DIY, Home Assistant, Tutorial

Home Assistant is an amazing application that provides a way to connect all of your smart devices into a single controller regardless of what protocols they support. Many users encounter a problem after using it for a while because the automations you can create aren't always as powerful as they would like. There has always been the option to use Python by writing your own integration or script, but they are difficult to use just for an automation. Here we will be providing a beginner's introduction to Appdaemon by looking a few examples and explaining how they work. You'll be writing up awesome scripts in no time!

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