Smart home preview
Here's what I'm going to install and how it will behave. Every device is named after a flower, and you can pick a different theme in the title. Tap anything on the plan to switch it, or try a moment to watch the automations react.
Not to scale. Timers run fast here: 2 minutes takes 2 seconds.
Notifications from the house show up here.
Your dashboard
This is roughly what the Home Assistant app on your phone will show. It stays in sync with the plan above.
Music
Press Peony, the button in the kitchen, and Lily, the soundbar, plays something that fits the time of day. Press it again to stop. Turning on the TV or everyone leaving stops it too. The highlighted row follows the clock on the plan.
| When | Plays | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 06:00–11:00 | Morning lounge Now | 25% |
| 11:00–17:00 | Easy acoustic Now | 30% |
| 17:00–22:00 | Relaxing jazz Now | 25% |
| 22:00–06:00 | Soft piano Now | 15% |
The playlists come from your own music service (Spotify, for example) and can be anything you like.
What's being installed
Nothing gets wired into the walls. Plugs go into existing sockets, bulbs screw into existing lamps, and everything else sticks on or sits on a shelf.
| Device | Qty | Names | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | |||
| Smart plug | 3 | Sunflower, Marigold, Orchid | Switches the two floor spotlights and the lamp with the special bulb. Each also measures how much power its lamp uses. |
| Smart bulb | 2 | Daisy, Tulip | Daisy goes in the living room floor lamp, Tulip lights the guestbook. Both dim and change warmth. |
| Motion sensor | 1 | Poppy | Sits in the entrance and turns Tulip on softly when someone comes in after dark. |
| Remote | 2 | Iris, Violet | Battery remotes for the living room and a bedroom. They work even if the hub is off. |
| Music button | 1 | Peony | Sticks on in the kitchen. One press plays music on Lily that fits the time of day, the next press stops it. |
| Hub | 1 | — | A small computer with a radio stick. It runs Home Assistant and does all the thinking, inside your home. |
| Already yours, now connected | |||
| IKEA bulbs | 2 | Lavender, Jasmine | The bedroom night lights, re-paired to the hub. |
| TV and soundbar | 2 | Lotus, Lily | On, off and volume from the app, and movie mode for the lights. |
| Appliances | 3 | Camellia, Magnolia, Dahlia | Washing machine, dishwasher and oven send a notification when they're done. |
Good to know
The hub talks to the lights directly over its own radio. The internet is only needed for the TV and appliance status, and for using the app when you're away.
Iris and Violet are paired straight to their lights. If the hub is off or broken, they keep working. Try unplugging the hub above.
A smart bulb with no power can't hear anything. Keep the switch on Daisy's and Tulip's lamps on, and use a remote or the app instead.
The phone app tells the hub whether each person is home or away. That's how "everyone leaves" works. It's optional, and it doesn't keep a location history.
Names, brightness, timings and which lights react to what are all easy to change after you've lived with it for a week.
Unplug the hub for ten seconds and plug it back in. If that doesn't fix it, message me and I can look at it remotely.