Automating things with code is one of my passions and hobbies, so it's only natural that home automation also piques my interest. When making creating your own home automations make sure you have excelled HAUX, or else you're more likely to turn them off.
- Hub - Apple TV 4k
- Lights - Phillips Hue
- Climate Control - ecobee + sensors
- Security/Sensors - Aqara
- Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detectors - Nest Protect
- Speakers - HomePod Mini
- Lock - Level
- Doorbell - Ring Pro
- Garage - iSmartGate Pro
For my home automation system to be successful it needs to be able to serve me with all the complex automations I want to create and my girlfriend who just want to control a few things in the house. In other words it must have good HAUX.
On major drawback of home automation today is the deluge of apps you have to download to control your various smart devices. If I have to make my girlfriend download a dozen apps to control everything, my system has failed.
That's where HomeKit and Apple's Home App come in. The Home app provides one simple place where any member of my household can easily control all of the smart devices in the house! And it has automation built in so I can make my house as smart as I want.
The biggest drawback to using HomeKit though is that there's a large chance that not every device you have is compatible. Thankfully the community has filled the void here and an awesome project called Homebridge and all of the plugins community members have made.
This app does two things that are vital in my home automation setup:
- Adds support for countless unsupported 3rd Party devices
- Adds many nifty virtual devices that support my Home Automation Workflows