[Official] Home Automation Thread

deodorant

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Hi guys, can help critique / comment a bit on my newbie HA plan?

- I don't anticipate being a power user & my entire computer/phone/watch ecosystem is Apple so I plan on just going HomeKit (thought of also just using Aqara hub but voice commands are important to me).
- I am renovating a 3br+utility resale place (identical to this one) and pretty much redoing the whole house, will probably pay extra for neutral wiring everything and do Aqara H1 switches everywhere.

Entrance/Entrance Corridor
- Aqara a100 or d100 for HomeKey
- Automation idea here is entrance corridor light to come on when I come home / unlock door, plus a motion sensor for whenever I go to the entrance cabinet area (will be where we put all our keys, wallets, cards etc).

Living/Dining
- Aqara G3 Hub, ceiling mounted where it can shoot down the corridor (I need to make sure helper don't anyhow).
- ? G3 has a IR blaster as well so it could theoretically also control the aircons? My concern is that aircon automation seems a level up in complexity cos need to check temperature, humidity, whether anyone is at home and inside living room, whether the balcony door is open, etc etc.
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Undecided whether to buy a cheap iPad to use as the HomeKit hub, or use HomePods and voice control / app control on phone. I am leaning towards iPad and putting it somewhere on the living room wall.
- Still deciding on whether to do Aqara smart curtain / smart rollerblind and hook it up to light sensor (budget concerns, plus if I end up ziptraking then I won't draw/open curtains often).
- ? Master Bedroom balcony we may put zip track motorised blinds, if we do, we're considering to automate it but yet to research what brands/etc integrate into the Aqara/Homekit ecosystem well.
- ? Fans will be hooked up to H1 switches for app/voice control, but as far as I can tell this only works for on/off and not speed / direction.
- ??? For this setup it seems like dimming will be difficult to achieve? My current place (dumb switches but Philips hue bulbs) I do change the dimming & colour temp in the living/dining very often.

Kitchen
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Motion sensor to trigger kitchen counter (under top cabinet) strip

Bedrooms
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Plan to use (wireless) mini switches to turn off/on from study table, bedside table, etc.
- Undecided on whether to buy a HomePod for each room ($$$) or just use the mini switches.
- ? Master Bedroom balcony we may put zip track motorised blinds, if we do, we're considering to automate it but yet to research what brands/etc integrate into the Aqara/Homekit ecosystem well.
- Toddler's room a G2H camera / hub (in this case repeater?)
- ? Fans will be hooked up to H1 switches for app/voice control, but as far as I can tell this only works for on/off and not speed / direction.
- No other automation than this.

Bathrooms
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Motion sensor to trigger the light on automatically below a certain light level (IINM Aqara's one is combined motion + light right?)
 
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katty91

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Hi , i purchased the Moes non-neutral switch (i got no neutral wires pulled for the house). I have got a combination of 2-gang and 3-gang smart switches (for entire house ceiling lights and RF fan), and just normal non-smart switch (for oven and hood, and storeroom ceiling light)

My electrician just did the installation of the switches and i noticed that when the non-smart switch is turned on/off, occasionally there will be flickering of the lights.

any idea what might went wrong? electrician was saying cannot have normal and smart switch in the same household. but he is not that experience in smart switches as he said he only installed once/twice. on top of it, he was pretty skeptical that smart switches will definitely not work without neutral wire pulled but the moes switch surprised him.

item bought:
https://shopee.sg/product/372240703/11109159298
Put a capacitor
 

katty91

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Hi guys, can help critique / comment a bit on my newbie HA plan?

- I don't anticipate being a power user & my entire computer/phone/watch ecosystem is Apple so I plan on just going HomeKit (thought of also just using Aqara hub but voice commands are important to me).
- I am renovating a 3br+utility resale place (identical to this one) and pretty much redoing the whole house, will probably pay extra for neutral wiring everything and do Aqara H1 switches everywhere.

Entrance/Entrance Corridor
- Aqara a100 or d100 for HomeKey
- Automation idea here is entrance corridor light to come on when I come home / unlock door, plus a motion sensor for whenever I go to the entrance cabinet area (will be where we put all our keys, wallets, cards etc).

Living/Dining
- Aqara G3 Hub, ceiling mounted where it can shoot down the corridor (I need to make sure helper don't anyhow).
- ? G3 has a IR blaster as well so it could theoretically also control the aircons? My concern is that aircon automation seems a level up in complexity cos need to check temperature, humidity, whether anyone is at home and inside living room, whether the balcony door is open, etc etc.
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Undecided whether to buy a cheap iPad to use as the HomeKit hub, or use HomePods and voice control / app control on phone. I am leaning towards iPad and putting it somewhere on the living room wall.
- Still deciding on whether to do Aqara smart curtain / smart rollerblind and hook it up to light sensor (budget concerns, plus if I end up ziptraking then I won't draw/open curtains often).
- ? Master Bedroom balcony we may put zip track motorised blinds, if we do, we're considering to automate it but yet to research what brands/etc integrate into the Aqara/Homekit ecosystem well.
- ? Fans will be hooked up to H1 switches for app/voice control, but as far as I can tell this only works for on/off and not speed / direction.
- ??? For this setup it seems like dimming will be difficult to achieve? My current place (dumb switches but Philips hue bulbs) I do change the dimming & colour temp in the living/dining very often.

Kitchen
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Motion sensor to trigger kitchen counter (under top cabinet) strip

Bedrooms
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Plan to use (wireless) mini switches to turn off/on from study table, bedside table, etc.
- Undecided on whether to buy a HomePod for each room ($$$) or just use the mini switches.
- ? Master Bedroom balcony we may put zip track motorised blinds, if we do, we're considering to automate it but yet to research what brands/etc integrate into the Aqara/Homekit ecosystem well.
- Toddler's room a G2H camera / hub (in this case repeater?)
- ? Fans will be hooked up to H1 switches for app/voice control, but as far as I can tell this only works for on/off and not speed / direction.
- No other automation than this.

Bathrooms
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Motion sensor to trigger the light on automatically below a certain light level (IINM Aqara's one is combined motion + light right?)


can go ask the aqara seller on shopee. answered every single of my questions

d100 is better cause fully automatic. for the aircon not realistic to buy their m2 and g3 for that function cause each room would need one given that ir requires line of sight - can go for tuya for ir blaster.
switches can only on off ur fan only. no dimming functions.

im keen to know if anyone tried their newer curtain driver. something I like to add into aqara home
 

airzound

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Put a capacitor
The Moes smart switch apparently say capacitor not required though. If need to install capacitor, install on the smart switch is it? Any links or capacitor to recommend?

my house reno still ongoing, not sure if ask the electrician install capacitor will increase the cost or not.
 

katty91

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The Moes smart switch apparently say capacitor not required though. If need to install capacitor, install on the smart switch is it? Any links or capacitor to recommend?

my house reno still ongoing, not sure if ask the electrician install capacitor will increase the cost or not.
try it out first. get ur installer to buy and do for u
it won’t cost a dollar f
 

Constant

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Hi guys, can help critique / comment a bit on my newbie HA plan?

- I don't anticipate being a power user & my entire computer/phone/watch ecosystem is Apple so I plan on just going HomeKit (thought of also just using Aqara hub but voice commands are important to me).
- I am renovating a 3br+utility resale place (identical to this one) and pretty much redoing the whole house, will probably pay extra for neutral wiring everything and do Aqara H1 switches everywhere.

Entrance/Entrance Corridor
- Aqara a100 or d100 for HomeKey
- Automation idea here is entrance corridor light to come on when I come home / unlock door, plus a motion sensor for whenever I go to the entrance cabinet area (will be where we put all our keys, wallets, cards etc).

Living/Dining
- Aqara G3 Hub, ceiling mounted where it can shoot down the corridor (I need to make sure helper don't anyhow).
- ? G3 has a IR blaster as well so it could theoretically also control the aircons? My concern is that aircon automation seems a level up in complexity cos need to check temperature, humidity, whether anyone is at home and inside living room, whether the balcony door is open, etc etc.
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Undecided whether to buy a cheap iPad to use as the HomeKit hub, or use HomePods and voice control / app control on phone. I am leaning towards iPad and putting it somewhere on the living room wall.
- Still deciding on whether to do Aqara smart curtain / smart rollerblind and hook it up to light sensor (budget concerns, plus if I end up ziptraking then I won't draw/open curtains often).
- ? Master Bedroom balcony we may put zip track motorised blinds, if we do, we're considering to automate it but yet to research what brands/etc integrate into the Aqara/Homekit ecosystem well.
- ? Fans will be hooked up to H1 switches for app/voice control, but as far as I can tell this only works for on/off and not speed / direction.
- ??? For this setup it seems like dimming will be difficult to achieve? My current place (dumb switches but Philips hue bulbs) I do change the dimming & colour temp in the living/dining very often.

Kitchen
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Motion sensor to trigger kitchen counter (under top cabinet) strip

Bedrooms
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Plan to use (wireless) mini switches to turn off/on from study table, bedside table, etc.
- Undecided on whether to buy a HomePod for each room ($$$) or just use the mini switches.
- ? Master Bedroom balcony we may put zip track motorised blinds, if we do, we're considering to automate it but yet to research what brands/etc integrate into the Aqara/Homekit ecosystem well.
- Toddler's room a G2H camera / hub (in this case repeater?)
- ? Fans will be hooked up to H1 switches for app/voice control, but as far as I can tell this only works for on/off and not speed / direction.
- No other automation than this.

Bathrooms
- Lights hooked up to H1 switches
- Motion sensor to trigger the light on automatically below a certain light level (IINM Aqara's one is combined motion + light right?)

Just for your information, iPads can no longer be used as HomeKit hubs starting with iOS 16.
 

jamesco

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Hi, anyone has experience in connecting moes zigbee dimmer with led strip and driver? I tried with a normal 3 pin to dimmer but dont seem to be able to reset... power dont seem to go thru too to light up the led strip.
 

TanKianW

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Wah didn’t know this. OK can save some money liao just use HomePod as hub. Too bad that it’s not sold here officially so gotta grey import and apparently do without the personalised functions 🤷🏻‍♂️

To be honest, you sure you want to go with the Apple Homekit/HomePod route?? Each its own I guess.

Anyway, being an Apple user myself, I also give Homekit/HomePod a pass. It is too restrictive and crippled ecosystem with limited choices/options.

And with your "dream plan".....you sure you don't intend to go "power user"? Half way down the journey you may regret it....​
 
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deodorant

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To be honest, you sure you want to go with the Apple Homekit/HomePod route?? Each its own I guess.

Anyway, being an Apple user myself, I also give Homekit/HomePod a pass. It is too restrictive and crippled ecosystem with limited choices/options.

And with your "dream plan".....you sure you don't intend to go "power user"? Half way down the journey you may regret it....​
I know what you mean, but I browsed your home assistant thread and it really seems super complex and I don’t think I can figure it out within next 2 mths (while also juggling job and reno and toddler etc).

So I figured do homekit first for these basic stuff then in future if I become more into it then only switch to a more powerful ecosystem?
 

Shadowlite

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Hi , i purchased the Moes non-neutral switch (i got no neutral wires pulled for the house). I have got a combination of 2-gang and 3-gang smart switches (for entire house ceiling lights and RF fan), and just normal non-smart switch (for oven and hood, and storeroom ceiling light)

My electrician just did the installation of the switches and i noticed that when the non-smart switch is turned on/off, occasionally there will be flickering of the lights.

any idea what might went wrong? electrician was saying cannot have normal and smart switch in the same household. but he is not that experience in smart switches as he said he only installed once/twice. on top of it, he was pretty skeptical that smart switches will definitely not work without neutral wire pulled but the moes switch surprised him.

item bought:
https://shopee.sg/product/372240703/11109159298

I'm not an electrician, so this is my best guess.

I would guess it's due to when you toggle the non-smart switch, there's a surge in current causing the flickering of the lights.

Not sure if you've seen my previous reply to a member on "neutral vs non-neutral" and capacitors for those non-neutral switches.

Basically when using non-neutral switches, the switch acts like a 'dimmer' and reduces the current to the light such that it doesn't light up, but there's still sufficient current to power the switch.

So it might be due to how your house is wired, such that when you toggle those non-smart switches, there's a surge in current that the MOES switch wasn't able to handle, thus causing the flickering. So a solution would be to put a capacitor at the light so that the surge in current will be handled by the capacitor.
 

airzound

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I'm not an electrician, so this is my best guess.

I would guess it's due to when you toggle the non-smart switch, there's a surge in current causing the flickering of the lights.

Not sure if you've seen my previous reply to a member on "neutral vs non-neutral" and capacitors for those non-neutral switches.

Basically when using non-neutral switches, the switch acts like a 'dimmer' and reduces the current to the light such that it doesn't light up, but there's still sufficient current to power the switch.

So it might be due to how your house is wired, such that when you toggle those non-smart switches, there's a surge in current that the MOES switch wasn't able to handle, thus causing the flickering. So a solution would be to put a capacitor at the light so that the surge in current will be handled by the capacitor.

thanks for your input!!
I have a few ceiling mounted lights (no false ceiling), those cylinder kind. Does it mean I have to install capacitor for each one of them?

how about fan and how about led light strips at kitchen countertop? I remember see it flicker too.

over the weekend I did some light drilling , and the house was flickering like disco!
 

kun1he2

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thanks for your input!!
I have a few ceiling mounted lights (no false ceiling), those cylinder kind. Does it mean I have to install capacitor for each one of them?

how about fan and how about led light strips at kitchen countertop? I remember see it flicker too.

over the weekend I did some light drilling , and the house was flickering like disco!
For ceiling downlights, I'm using older versions of smart switches that seems to have evolved to much smaller size with energy monitoring now too - perhaps they might be small enough to fit above or beside your ceiling lights.

https://www.lazada.sg/products/smat...oogle-homealexa-i2163337950-s12335083757.html
 

Shadowlite

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thanks for your input!!
I have a few ceiling mounted lights (no false ceiling), those cylinder kind. Does it mean I have to install capacitor for each one of them?

how about fan and how about led light strips at kitchen countertop? I remember see it flicker too.

over the weekend I did some light drilling , and the house was flickering like disco!

Wow, sounds bad, not sure if that's supposed to happen, sounds like your house wiring got issue.

I've only heard of light flickering being localized to a circuit, never heard of whole house flickering
 

batniss

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Moes non-netural switch advertised that no capacitors required.

I'd assumed should be just following the instructions to connect the wires based on photo given.
Assuming the installation based on below image is correct, so I open up each switch 1 by 1 to check if it’s installed properly?
moes.jpg
Just put. Capacitor costs less than a dollar.

You will only need to install 1 capacitors on EACH switch (regardless of gangs).

No, you wont need for all of your lights.

If you are still renovating, why not Neutral them up? Best opportunity to get it installed and forget about it despite the costs.

My electrician charges $10 per point to make it neutral.
 
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Shadowlite

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Just put. Capacitor costs less than a dollar.

You will only need to install 1 capacitors on EACH switch (regardless of gangs).

No, you wont need for all of your lights.

If you are still renovating, why not Neutral them up? Best opportunity to get it installed and forget about it despite the costs.

My electrician charges $10 per point to make it neutral.

@airzound Just install the capacitor on the Gang 1 point, that should be the standard.

@batniss , your electrician is nice. My ID charges like $50 per point, in the end I decided not to cause I didn't want to have trunking seen at my place. :ROFLMAO:
 

batniss

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@airzound Just install the capacitor on the Gang 1 point, that should be the standard.

@batniss , your electrician is nice. My ID charges like $50 per point, in the end I decided not to cause I didn't want to have trunking seen at my place. :ROFLMAO:
My electrician hides the neutral together with the live wires. Thus nothing was exposed. No trunks, nothing.
 

airzound

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Just put. Capacitor costs less than a dollar.

You will only need to install 1 capacitors on EACH switch (regardless of gangs).

No, you wont need for all of your lights.

If you are still renovating, why not Neutral them up? Best opportunity to get it installed and forget about it despite the costs.

My electrician charges $10 per point to make it neutral.
At this point can’t pull neutral already. Towards the end stage of reno where lights and fans are up, carpentry are up too.

for my knowledge ah, capacitor should be installed where the switch is at? At least know already the contractor cannot smoke me.
 
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