Advice Needed Home Setup

Clareman · 24-10-2018 09:23AM

F**k it, I went ahead and cancelled that order because I realised I can get the 2 strips and 2 motion sensors for €157 delivered by the weekend. That's €300 on light bulbs this week that I didn't know I "needed" on Sunday.

wexfordman2 · 24-10-2018 02:56PM

Clareman wrote: »

F**k it, I went ahead and cancelled that order because I realised I can get the 2 strips and 2 motion sensors for €157 delivered by the weekend. That's €300 on light bulbs this week that I didn't know I "needed" on Sunday.

And another one falls into the smart home lobster pot.

Welcome in, make yourself comfortable, you will be here for quite a while.

Clareman · 24-10-2018 05:47PM

wexfordman2 wrote: »

And another one falls into the smart home lobster pot.

Welcome in, make yourself comfortable, you will be here for quite a while.

I was in Harvey Norman today to get something and I spotted they had the Google Home Speaker and Mini in stock, I picked up 1 of each and was walking to the check out with them, I had to put them back, I'm a junkie already :eek:

wexfordman2 · 24-10-2018 05:53PM

Clareman wrote: »

I was in Harvey Norman today to get something and I spotted they had the Google Home Speaker and Mini in stock, I picked up 1 of each and was walking to the check out with them, I had to put them back, I'm a junkie already :eek:

You're just not fully assimilated yet, your time will come, patience!!

Clareman · 24-10-2018 06:11PM

wexfordman2 wrote: »

You're just not fully assimilated yet, your time will come, patience!!

I making a cuppa there and was thinking "I wonder if I could automate this", I'm gone too far down the rabbit hole already I fear

The high horse brigade · 24-10-2018 06:20PM

Clareman wrote: »

I making a cuppa there and was thinking "I wonder if I could automate this", I'm gone too far down the rabbit hole already I fear

In a week you'll have what my wife calls "a list". Mine keeps getting bigger and never ends

Clareman · 24-10-2018 06:30PM

The high horse brigade wrote: »

In a week you'll have what my wife calls "a list". Mine keeps getting bigger and never ends

I'll never be like that, I mean what kind of lunatic could have a list of things that they want to get that they don't need?

Which reminds me I must keep an eye out for good deals on automated

Doorbell Camera
Google Home Speaker
Google Mini
Google Hub
Vacuum cleaner
Kettle
Light switches

It's weird the way that the boards tags is called LIST, it clearly isn't a list......................

wexfordman2 · 24-10-2018 08:48PM

The high horse brigade wrote: »

. Mine keeps getting bigger and never ends

Ooh er missus

Clareman · 26-10-2018 06:05PM

I had to get something out of the attic earlier and found a smart plug that I bought 2 years ago to make it easier turn lights on an off, never used it cause it was awkard to have to go into the app to turn it on and off. I've it setup now to control a lamp in my daughters room and have my 2 daughters setup to use "Ok Google" to control it, this is great fun

Clareman · 03-11-2018 10:45AM

This is great fun, just a quick update from a n00b in this space.

I've Google home setup on my phone and it's working fine, I'm not overly happy with the voice commands yet, often I get search results rather than actions but I'll sort that out. I'll be picking up a Google home speaker and mini in the black Friday sales.

I've 1 plug setup for control, I'm going to use it for Christmas decorations and might pick up a few more, can't see much use for them to be honest.

I've my Philips Hue bridge setup and have 2 strips above the units in the kitchen, Mrs Clareman is very happy with them and the kids loved having a disco with them last night, might pick up another couple of strips if they are on offer again.

I've to change over a few light fittings for E27 to set them up, a friend is going to do that today for me. I've 17 GU10 bulbs in 1 room alone so I won't be going for Hue replacements as I've loads of spare leads, also, I've smaller leds together with the GU10 in some of the fittings.

I'm getting a smart thermostat from Energia, don't know when that'll arrive.

Finally, I'm going to get a Roborock S50 when they are around €350,hopefully around Black Friday, Mrs Clareman can't wait for it.

wexfordman2 · 04-11-2018 12:04AM

Clareman wrote: »

This is great fun, just a quick update from a n00b in this space.

I've Google home setup on my phone and it's working fine, I'm not overly happy with the voice commands yet, often I get search results rather than actions but I'll sort that out. I'll be picking up a Google home speaker and mini in the black Friday sales.

I've 1 plug setup for control, I'm going to use it for Christmas decorations and might pick up a few more, can't see much use for them to be honest.

I've my Philips Hue bridge setup and have 2 strips above the units in the kitchen, Mrs Clareman is very happy with them and the kids loved having a disco with them last night, might pick up another couple of strips if they are on offer again.

I've to change over a few light fittings for E27 to set them up, a friend is going to do that today for me. I've 17 GU10 bulbs in 1 room alone so I won't be going for Hue replacements as I've loads of spare leads, also, I've smaller leds together with the GU10 in some of the fittings.

I'm getting a smart thermostat from Energia, don't know when that'll arrive.

Finally, I'm going to get a Roborock S50 when they are around €350,hopefully around Black Friday, Mrs Clareman can't wait for it.

Does the riborock work with Google assistant ?

Clareman · 04-11-2018 09:45AM

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Does the riborock work with Google assistant ?

I assumed it did going on reviews

sligoblue · 04-11-2018 09:57AM

Op. For doorbell and outdoor cameras, I have ring.com devices, they really are amazing, when we are out of the house/away on holiday, I can see on my iPhone who is at the door/around back of house.

For indoor music system, I have Sonos Play 1 with Alexa speakers, they are phenomenal. I have 2 in kitchen set up for stereo sound, 1 in bedrooms.

Our kids have Bose soundlink revolves in their ensuites, they are water resistant and Bluetooth, sound is fantastic.

All that is needed is good wifi throughout the house, I use a Netgear Orbi mesh wifi extender, we have great wifi in every area of house with no dark spots.

Www.ring.com
Www.sonos.com

kaisersose77 · 04-11-2018 10:03AM

wexfordman2 wrote: »

Does the riborock work with Google assistant ?

Yes, use it myself.

Clareman · 04-11-2018 11:00AM

sligoblue wrote: »

Op. For doorbell and outdoor cameras, I have ring.com devices, they really are amazing, when we are out of the house/away on holiday, I can see on my iPhone who is at the door/around back of house.

For indoor music system, I have Sonos Play 1 with Alexa speakers, they are phenomenal. I have 2 in kitchen set up for stereo sound, 1 in bedrooms.

Our kids have Bose soundlink revolves in their ensuites, they are water resistant and Bluetooth, sound is fantastic.

All that is needed is good wifi throughout the house, I use a Netgear Orbi mesh wifi extender, we have great wifi in every area of house with no dark spots.

Www.ring.com
Www.sonos.com

Thanks for that, I've pretty must decided to go for the Ring 1 doorbell, I can't justify 2.5 times the cost for HD for a doorbell that I'll just be using to tell the neighbour kids to wait.

I had decided to go with the Google Home setup rather than Alexa mainly because I had 2 Nvidia Shields, 1 Chromecast and loads of Android tablets, I've it setup on my phone and to be honest saying "OK Google" to launch it feels wrong, for that reason alone I think I'll go with Alexa, especially as Nvidia seem to be partnering with Amazon now.

wexfordman2 · 04-11-2018 11:50AM

kaisersose77 wrote: »

Yes, use it myself.

Cool, thanks

Stoner · 04-11-2018 01:57PM

Clare man, I've used both

For me they are both good products but I'm happier with nest hello, but its not hands down

I've a couple of Chromecasts and I simply ask Google home to show the nest door bell and cameras on my TV

IFTT is better on ring IMO. However I've found that I have a better connection with nest

Setting it up was difficult as it kept getting pushed through the nest protect, got it sorted in the end.

I've Alexa and Google home. Google home is winning at the moment. My TV has Google assistant now too and Chromecasts are so cheap

I think nest products are very good.

Also my ring door bell suffered some corrosion on the surface and on the contacts.

I had to take it off to clean it. It's on red brick.
If you are putting a ring in I'd tape over the contacts not being used, this worked for me, I just should have done it for all of them

This came down to using my screen as monitors and nest on Chromecast wins here. But I could see why Ring would suit others more.

Clareman · 04-11-2018 09:04PM

I never thought of having both, thinking about it there no reason why not to

bk · 04-11-2018 10:38PM

Clareman wrote: »

I've it setup on my phone and to be honest saying "OK Google" to launch it feels wrong,

You can say "Hey Google" too, I find it easier to say and a bit more natural then "OK Google", which is an extra syllable.

Clareman wrote: »

I never thought of having both, thinking about it there no reason why not to

Yes, I've both, though don't really use the Echo much any more, in my little ones room now. Though when I get a Home Hub, a mini will move in there.

Clareman · 04-11-2018 10:42PM

bk wrote: »

You can say "Hey Google" too, I find it easier to say and a bit more natural then "OK Google", which is an extra syllable.

Yes, I've both, though don't really use the Echo much any more, in my little ones room now. Though when I get a Home Hub, a mini will move in there.

Must start Hey Google to try that out, having the little ones going around saying "Ok Google" is funny but a bit "brand" and American, I'll change to Hey and try that. I'm usually a fan of keeping to 1 brand where possible.

On a side note, I installed 1 of the Hue bulbs in my 6 year old room, she LOVES it, as a treat every night she's going can choose the colour of the light.I moved the dimmer switch in there as well cause it was awful handy, after reading the story, dim the lights and night night.

Clareman · 04-11-2018 10:51PM

On another side note, myactivity.google.com is great at keeping track of everything you do on Google services, listening back to your voice commands is a bit cringe

bk · 04-11-2018 10:52PM

Clareman wrote: »

On a side note, I installed 1 of the Hue bulbs in my 6 year old room, she LOVES it, as a treat every night she's going can choose the colour of the light.I moved the dimmer switch in there as well cause it was awful handy, after reading the story, dim the lights and night night.

She'll probably love Google Home too, mine does, animal sounds, tell us a joke, play music, etc. all great fun.

Clareman · 04-11-2018 10:53PM

bk wrote: »

She'll probably love Google Home too, mine does, animal sounds, tell us a joke, play music, etc. all great fun.

Plan is to get the main speaker and 2 minis, at the moment everything is through my phone, I must setup 1 of the tablets as a portal though, they'd love it, should have done it this week of course when they were off, would have been hours of fun.

bk · 04-11-2018 11:07PM

Clareman wrote: »

Plan is to get the main speaker and 2 minis, at the moment everything is through my phone, I must setup 1 of the tablets as a portal though, they'd love it, should have done it this week of course when they were off, would have been hours of fun.

Yep, the Hue lights and some bluetooth speakers were a massive hit with the kids at Halloween

Clareman · 04-11-2018 11:13PM

bk wrote: »

Yep, the Hue lights and some bluetooth speakers were a massive hit with the kids at Halloween

I was hoping to have the lights in time for Halloween but unfortunately it wasn't to be, I intentionally didn't take the backing off the light strips so I can use them for Christmas lights. I've 1 of the strips on top of the kitchen units (brilliant lights) and 1 behind 1 of the TVs.

That reminds me, I've to add a 1m extension strip and another 3m strip to the "list"

Clareman · 21-02-2020 11:23PM

Clareman wrote: »

Hi all,

I've recently changed electricity supplier and as part of the change I'm getting a Netatmo thermostat, as I already have a couple of Nvidia Shields I'm thinking of going whole hog and setting the house ("normal" 4 bedroom semi) with smart devices, I've a friend going to the States next week for work and he'll pick me up some stuff if it's cheaper and works here.

What I'm thinking is......

Smart Doorbell - With my kids getting older this is a must have, would this Nest Doorbell work over here if I bought it in the states? Would there be another better option for a doorbell? I like the video and 2 way communication. My existing door bell is a standard 1.

Light Switches - Nearly all the light fittings in the hose are (relatively) new so I don't want to replace them, I'd like to have some light switches that I could turn the lights on or off? I'd need 1 3 way, 2 2 ways and a few singles.

Cameras - I'd like to have the ability to keep an eye on the kids as they are out playing either out the front of the house or the back, as the weather is turning this won't be needed till the summer.

Speakers/Controls - With black Friday coming up I assume Amazon will have Echos on offer, I'm thinking 1 "main" speaker and 3 minis around the hose, I'm open to Google or Amazon, don't have a preference either way, all our devices in the house are Android if that makes any difference.

Strip lights - I've a couple of cabinets underneath the stairs (1 for shoes, another of jackets), there's a plug in each, be handy to have lights in there.

Vacuum cleaner - The wife would LOVE 1 of these, downstairs is either tiles or hardwood flooring.

Any advice on what to get and where to get them would be greatly apprecaited.

Sorry for the shameless bump but considering I just came on here at the start of my journey I thought I've share my (expensive expierence) so far...

Smart Doorbell - I have the Nest Doorbell, it's handy but not as useful as I thought it would be, you still have to answer the door

it was handy during the election though

Light Switches - Haven't used these at all, have 2 remote switches for the Hue, never used, only use the app for changing colours or Halloween or Christmas lights, still old school for turning on and off

Cameras - Back garden camera is handy for security but rarely used.

Speakers/Controls - Yeah, I'm a bit of an addict, speaker in every room, groups setup, shared with bluetooth, etc etc Mix of Google Mini, Home and Max, the Max is epic by the way

Strip lights - Very handy for mood lighting

Vacuum cleaner - Best invention EVER, doesn't replace the old vacuum but instead of Mrs Clareman vacuuming 2 or 3 times a day she does it about weekly now, the self mapping option is the best and having the ability to set her off when outside of the house is a great advantage

I've also gotten a couple of Nest Protect Alarms, my old alarms needed replacing (well at least the batteries did) and I may have had a beer or 4 too many and access to Amazon, the path lighting is a great little feature. The Hue sensors are a great addition to the Hue echo system, I've 1 linked to a Hue lamp in the hall which is a great addition as well as over the porch light. I'm replacing my normal bulbs with smart bulbs as the go, my house is all LED anyway so I'm in no panic, I've way too many GU10 bulbs to replace but if I had a spare thousand euro I'd splurge on the colour HUE GU 10s all over the house.

Clareman · 21-02-2020 11:25PM

Clareman wrote: »

Sorry for the shameless bump but considering I just came on here at the start of my journey I thought I've share my (expensive expierence) so far...

Smart Doorbell - I have the Nest Doorbell, it's handy but not as useful as I thought it would be, you still have to answer the door it was handy during the election though

Light Switches - Haven't used these at all, have 2 remote switches for the Hue, never used, only use the app for changing colours or Halloween or Christmas lights, still old school for turning on and off

Cameras - Back garden camera is handy for security but rarely used.

Speakers/Controls - Yeah, I'm a bit of an addict, speaker in every room, groups setup, shared with bluetooth, etc etc Mix of Google Mini, Home and Max, the Max is epic by the way

Strip lights - Very handy for mood lighting

Vacuum cleaner - Best invention EVER, doesn't replace the old vacuum but instead of Mrs Clareman vacuuming 2 or 3 times a day she does it about weekly now, the self mapping option is the best and having the ability to set her off when outside of the house is a great advantage

I've also gotten a couple of Nest Protect Alarms, my old alarms needed replacing (well at least the batteries did) and I may have had a beer or 4 too many and access to Amazon, the path lighting is a great little feature. The Hue sensors are a great addition to the Hue echo system, I've 1 linked to a Hue lamp in the hall which is a great addition as well as over the porch light. I'm replacing my normal bulbs with smart bulbs as the go, my house is all LED anyway so I'm in no panic, I've way too many GU10 bulbs to replace but if I had a spare thousand euro I'd splurge on the colour HUE GU 10s all over the house.

Oops, should have added that I also got a Yale Smart alarm, probably the biggest waste of money I've had, I very rarely set it and haven't installed all the parts yet, a professionally installed alarm would be a lot better

Advice Needed Home Setup

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