Smart Home
I love how technology can help improve our lives. A smart home can help simplify your life and provide a more secure home. This page explains much of the hardware we have added to our home over time. With a smart home, you can start small and add more devices over time. Also, see my Smart Home Conveniences & Automations for ideas for some of the things you can do with a smart home.
Last Updated: November 29, 2020
Technology: Z-Wave, Zigbee & WiFi Hubs
You need a hub to get everything to work together. I went with the Samsung SmartThings Smart Home Hub for its versatility, expandability, and integration with other items. Samsung has since discontinued its hubs to focus more on the software platform. Other manufacturers, such as Aeotec, are said to be building hubs that work with the SmartThings platform.
Amazon Echos (but not the Echo Dots) now come with built-in Zigbee hubs. You could go this route for simplicity but lose some of the ability to do more complex routines. For example, at the current time, you cannot use in-wall switches as a trigger for other events, such as turning on lamps in the same room.
The new eero 6 Mesh Wi-Fi System also includes a Zigbee smart home hub. We have the older eero Pro mesh WiFi system. Ours doesn't have a smart home hub, but the WiFi mesh network was a game-changer on the WiFi throughout the house. The eeros come with a base station and remote beacons you can plug in around the home to extend your wifi signal.
You can use a combination of Z-Wave, Zigbee & WiFi if your hub supports them. (The Amazon Echo only supports Zigbee and many WiFi devices)
Z-Wave vs Zigbee vs WiFi
Z-Wave and Zigbee are both mesh networks, which means the more devices you add, the stronger the network becomes. Signals can hop from device to device to get back to the hub. Z-Wave signals can travel a longer distance and are less likely to receive interference from other devices. That being said, today's Z-Wave, Zigbee, and WiFi (when used with a mesh network like the eero) are all good options. Zigbee vs. ZWave: Which Is The Best Choice For Your Smart Home? is a good article that goes into more detail.
Smart Speakers
A key part of a smart home is the smart speakers to help control everything using your voice. You can even set up routines to do multiple things at the same time. See my Smart Home Conveniences & Automations for some of the routines/automations we have setup.
We have an older Echo Plus in the Kitchen and Echo Dots in most of the other rooms. You can create groups to do multi-room audio, and we will make announcements where it will play your message in every room of the house. Depending on the announcement, Amazon will add sound effects like a dinner bell when you say "supper time."
Most of our echos are on the counter or a nightstand, but we also have a couple mounted in the ceiling with a MountGenie Flush Mount 3.
Smart Plugs
The easiest way to start a smart home is with an Amazon Echo and smart plugs. We started with a smart home by purchasing an Echo Dot and Kasa Smart plug bundle on Black Friday.
You simply plug a lamp into the smart plug, and you can control the lamp with Alexa. At first, we thought it was silly to control lights with your voice, but it is very convenient to turn off the lights with your voice once you are in bed.
I've bought some cheaper smart plugs, but the only downside is they don't have integrations with SmartThings. The easiest to use is the Amazon Smart Plug. If you want SmartThings to control WiFi smart plugs, you need to create a virtual switch that Alexa can use as a trigger.
You can also replace your outlets with a smart outlet such as the GE Enbrighten Smart Outlet Receptacles (Z-Wave & Zigbee), but this seems to be a much more expensive option than buying the smart plugs.
Switches & Dimmers
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| GE Smart Home Products by Jasco |
If you are comfortable doing minor electrical wiring, I'd suggest replacing the switches in your home. I like the GE Enbrighten switches and dimmers and have replaced most of our house switches with these. They make Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Wi-fi versions of the switches. The neutral wire is required because they need constant power to act as a repeater and make your Z-Wave and Zigbee networks stronger. The GE Enbrighten products usually come with interchangeable paddles in white and light almond, but other colors of interchangeable paddles are available. Both the GE and Honeywell smart switches are made by Jasco and appear to be very similar.
GE Z-Wave Switches & Dimmers (for use with SmartThings and other Z-Wave hubs)
- GE Enbrigten Z-Wave Plus Smart Light Switch
- GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Smart Light Dimmer
- GE Z-Wave In-Wall Smart Fan Control
- GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Smart Motion Light Switch
- GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Smart Motion Light Dimmer
3-Way Configurations
The GE & Honeywell switches and dimmers can also be used in 3-way wiring when paired with the Add-On Switch, which works with the Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi devices. If you have multiple switches that control the same light, you just need one switch or dimmer and then up to 5 of the add-on switches.
Hidden In-Wall Options That Work With Existing Switches
If you want to use your existing switches, you can install a hidden relay that fits behind your switch and makes your existing switches smart switches. I have several Enerwave Z-Wave Relay modules, and they come in single and dual relay options. Other similar products available that I have not yet tried are Aeotec's hidden Z-Wave switches and dimmers, Hibro's Zigbee Smart Switch, and Sonoff's WiFi Smart Dimmer Switch.
Fan Controls
Light dimmers should not be used to control fans because they can damage the fan motor. We use the GE Z-Wave In-Wall Smart Fan Control and the Ostrich Wi-Fi Ceiling Fan Remote Control Kit to control our ceiling fans.
Light Bulbs
Thermostat
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| Ecobee 4 w/Alexa |
We had one of the first versions of the Nest but decided to go with the Ecobee 4 (there is a newer version available) when we moved to our new house. I decided on the Ecobee because of the integration with SmartThings and the room sensors included with the Ecobee 4. I also thought having Alexa built-in would be convenient, but the Echo Spatial Perception (ESP) does not seem to work as well as the Echo devices. This can cause the Ecobee Alexa to respond when you are closer to another Echo, so I have Alexa disabled on the Ecobee.
Doorbells and Cameras
We have the Ring Video Doorbell 2 on our front door and kitchen door, the Ring Floodlight Camera over our driveway, and the Ring Spotlight Cam Wired in our backyard. The Ring cameras can send notifications to your smartphone when detecting motion, and you can watch the cameras live as well as two-way talk with the person at the door.
Motion Sensors
In addition to using cameras as motion detectors, we have a GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Smart Motion Light Switch in our laundry room and garage. They turn the lights on when motion is detected and then automatically turn off the lights after 5 minutes of no motion.
We don't have any outlets in our upstairs hallway, so we have an Ecolink Z-Wave PIR Motion Detector Pet Immune that turns the lights on in the hallway to 80% during the day and 10% at night. The battery lasts up to five years and is immune to pets' movement as large as 55 lbs.
We also have a GE Enbrighten Z-Wave Plus Portable Smart Motion Sensor, but the Ecolink motion detector has a longer battery life and does a better job detecting motion.
Garage Door Opener
We have the Nexx Garage NXG-100b Smart Wi-Fi Garage Opener on our main garage door and a MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener MYQ-G0301 on our second door. I bought the MyQ since it was compatible with Amazon Key, but we don't really use Amazon Key to have Amazon deliveries placed in our garage. We do prefer the Nexx Garage opener, which has an Apple Watch/iPhone App and can automatically open your garage door when it senses your phone returning home.
Door Locks
We have a breezeway between our kitchen and garage doors, so you have to lock/unlock two doors when leaving or arriving. I installed the Schlage Z-Wave Connect Camelot Touchscreen Deadbolt and have a SmartThings automation that keeps the locks in sync, so when you lock or unlock one door, it does the same to the other door. It is also nice having a keypad, so no one ever gets locked out. Each person can have their own code so you can see when the door is unlocked, and you can give unique codes to guests, cleaners, pet sitters, etc.
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