I don’t normally post on forums but I thought I would start.
I have been on a short home automation journey and my search for the best HA solution led me to Hassio.
I have been with this for about 3 weeks and so far been able to do very little standard setup as I have always encountered problems or errors. At this stage I have connected 6 google homes and my TV( yes in 3 weeks).
My question is really am I likely to experience the same issues and lack of chat/forum help ( it exists but they make you feel like you’re dumb) I’m quite geeky so not afraid to give it a go but there is giving it a go and spending weeks trouble shooting before being able to buy gear.
So far I have some Meross products ( I can’t see that they are supported but I know they are on IFTTT so that’s s route) and I am looking at going into some bulbs etc.. in addition to this lots of sensors for movement and doors.
How easy is it?
Is it worth the cost to ship to EU?
How much on the cheaper gear works with it ?
What is forum support like?
There was reference to entering code to unsupported devices what is this?
Does it work well with google home ?
I'd say yes it is worth it. The community is very helpful and there are no dumb questions. most everything you can bring that is zwave or zigbee work out of the box. I spent a few years fighting to get smartthings to work. been on HE for a few months and do not regret my choice to adopt HE.
It appears that the Meross products are all WiFi based. So, it is unlikely that you'll see native support within Hubitat for them. As you say, IFTTT is an option, but requires a very reliable internet/cloud connection. In the long run, you might find that you're happier with Zigbee or Z-Wave devices that are natively supported, and do not require an internet connection.
Folks in this forum are extremely helpful and patient with new members. If you're willing to learn and adapt your way of doing things to the "Hubitat way of doing things", you'll be fine.
I think it would be worthwhile to outline what you hope to achieve with home automation and begin the conversation there. Buying devices before you have a plan always results in U-turns,
Hi
You can buy an EU HE on eBay for less than you'd pay importing from US.
HE works with Neo Coolcam and Xiaomi and Fibaro devices and they are cheap in EU.
Google Home works fine and you get TTS (Text To Speech) voices to speak to you on GH speakers whatever you like.
This forum is very responsive - as you can see.
For officially unsupported devices you just search this forum and in most cases you'll find a driver/solution for your device.
Hubitat is a great automation workhorse. At this price there's no competition.
I would like to start of simple. Have more control over my heating. We currently have hive and although the on and off timers are good enough I’m thinking I’d like to take it to the next level to not heat the house when we are no home, and to take into account the outside temp.
I’d like to automate lighting for different times of day, such as evening turn off main lights and turn on lamps. Also my other half has tendency to leave lights on so motion sensors in some areas that turn off lighting automatically.
I always listen to music when I get home so I’d like to be able to get that to play when I come home only if it’s a week day and between certain times.
That’s my starter for 10. Although I plan on viewing these forums to get more ideas.
It is easy to pick up things that seem to solve an immediate want. The problem comes when you want to combine devices to work together. If you rely on cloud based control devices or WiFi devices, it becomes harder to reliably connect those devices.
You have some devices but before you go further I would start drawing out in some detail, the rooms/areas and what you want to control in those areas. You should be able to come up with more of a description of your needs. We can certainly help you figure out how to develop a plan.
Yes, as mentioned above, make a Plan !
e.g. Think about your lighting requirements.
Is it OK to leave the light switches as they are and simply change to "smart" bulbs - knowing that IF someone turns OFF the light switch, the connected "Smart" bulb will lose power and therefore NOT be able to be controlled.
Is it better to leave the bulbs as they are and put a Device "behind" the light switch so you gain another method of control - the switch AND "the controller Device". (such as... Aeotec Z-Wave Micro Smart Dimmer or Goap Qubino Flush Dimmer)
oh and don't be afraid to get the credit card out. You'll soon get hooked.
I’ve still not forgot this, I’m just in the process of getting a decent WiFi network as I’d like my google home devices and other WiFi bits on its own Vlan
Yup! In fact, that's one of the best ways to start. Integrate your Hue bridge with your HE hub and create a couple of simple lighting rules for your lamps and main lights (or just jump right into Rule Manager).
I'll preface that it's well known around here how much I love my Ikea devices. I think the only other person here who loves (or at least has as many) Ikea smart devices as much as I do is @Royski . LOL
With that said, my wife tells me when she wants to go and throws in the "do we need anymore lights or plugs?" as well. I got real lucky with my better half. Granted, it doesn't help that the Charlotte Ikea is only about a 20 minute drive from where we live.
One advantage to Hue bulbs is the ability to set power restore state. If the power goes off or a switch is switched off and back on, hue bulbs can remember their state. Other bulbs on a Hue hub just power on when power is restored. Plain white Hue bulbs can often be found on sale for about the same price as other low cost bulbs. Hue also have updates to the bulbs to add features or improve functionality.
Granted, it doesn't help that the Charlotte Ikea is only about a 20 minute drive from where we live.
