Simple stuff.

Henry Ford III · 22-10-2020 1:58pm #1

I'm new to this forum and fairly green.

I have good bb at home and I've I'm putting in smart electric heating (to replace storage rads) that can be programmed by an app. Much better controls and hopefully should keep the bill down. So far so good.

I'd like to be able to control the immersion and outside light remotely too.

Is there a simple and budget reasonable method of doing this?

Clareman · 22-10-2020 2:21pm

For the outside lights, assuming you have them controlled by a switch inside the house the easeist/cheapest way to control them is if you have a neutral wire going to the switch you can just replace the switch with a smart switch, if you don't have a neutral light you could look at something like a Sonoff switch. I think the immersion is a big enough job as there is a lot of power going through that switch but I'm not sure, I looked at it myself briefly but since we got the smart heating in there's no shortage of hot water so no need for the immersion but I can see if you've gone all electric how you'll need something.

Henry Ford III · 22-10-2020 2:30pm

I'm reading you can actually get a smart bulb! Not expensive either.

https://wyze.com/wyze-bulb.html

Clareman · 22-10-2020 2:59pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I'm reading you can actually get a smart bulb! Not expensive either.

https://wyze.com/wyze-bulb.html

You can but they'll need to connect to your WiFi or a hub, if you've coverage you'll be fine.

Gregor Samsa · 22-10-2020 3:30pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I'm reading you can actually get a smart bulb! Not expensive either.

https://wyze.com/wyze-bulb.html

There's a lot of different smart bulbs systems around. Some integrate in with each other or with other smart systems (Apple's HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Echo, etc, etc,). Have a good read around the forum and you'll see people's experiences with various ones. Philips Hue is the one I personally use - the bulbs are more expensive, but they're top quality and there's a very established ecosystem of bulb types, switches, other devices and interoperability. There's other great systems too (Ikea even do one). If you're just looking to do one outdoor light, maybe none of that matters, but if you're looking to expand (and to be honest, it is a bit addictive), then maybe the bigger picture is something to take into account.

As for immersion switch, there's really nothing simple on the market - as Clareman pointed out, the ampage is high on those switches, so the devices that support them are few and far between. Also, electric immersion hot water heating seems to be only really a UK and Ireland thing, so the global market is small. There's a couple of threads on it here, where people have come up with solutions, but it's not something I've delved into too much because i like things to be easy.

wexfordman2 · 22-10-2020 4:35pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I'm reading you can actually get a smart bulb! Not expensive either.

https://wyze.com/wyze-bulb.html

Remember, with the smart bulb setup, the flowing caveats apply

1) you need a smart bulb for every bulb in that circuit/switch.
2) The lightswitch needs to be left permanently turned on, otherwise you lose control of it.
3) unless you buy an additional smart lightswitch such as the ones hue and ikea offer, then you have absolutely no manual control if your light from a practical.standpoint.

The best approach if you can, is to get something like a smart lightswitch that controls the entire circuit. These can be direct replacement switches, or units that go in wall behind the actual standard light switch.

If you go for wifi devices, I at be aware that coverage is not your only constraint, many routers will struggle to manage 20 or so simultaneous connections.

Henry Ford III · 23-10-2020 3:06pm

What about something like this for the immersion?

WIFI immersion switch

Henry Ford III · 26-10-2020 12:43pm

A 40 amp version is available also.

40 amp wifi immersion switch

emaherx · 26-10-2020 7:17pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

A 40 amp version is available also.

40 amp wifi immersion switch

I really wouldn't be in a hurry to use any of those cheap Chinese switches for an Immersion heater, the relays inside are far too small to be anywhere near the claimed rating. Also no way the screw terminals in the pictures look heavy duty enough for 40A.

I'd consider using a separate relay along with any of those smart switches. I've come across this one recently.
https://www.heatingsave.co.uk/product/immersion-heater-relay/

Clare_Culchie · 03-01-2021 7:40pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I'm reading you can actually get a smart bulb! Not expensive either.

https://wyze.com/wyze-bulb.html

Sorry, only stumbled across this now...

I bought two Wyze Bulbs during the summer, neither of them worked. They're rated for 120V AC. I think I probably blew both of them. I don't have a multimeter to check for certain, but there's no life from either.

As for the WyzeCam V2, Pan, Outdoor, the Wyze Lock & keypad, Wyze Sense and the scale, I can vouch for them all, they're great. Actually, the contact sensors are great until you let the (difficult to source) coin-cell battery die - if you do they lose their MAC address and die. Other than that, everything's great.

Well, there's another thing... The cameras don't work great, if at all, with Google/Nest Home Hub. If you do get a stream from the camera it might be up to a minute behind a live-view. It's fine on the phone.

The lock works grand, except the Auto-Unlock feature has never worked for me on Android, it had worked fine for me on iOS before I switched. It works great with the keypad.

The Wyze Scale is incredible for the price. It does churn out more metrics than Google Fit knows what to do with though.

Henry Ford III · 04-01-2021 12:36pm

An update - I bought 2 x Torkase smart low energy lightbulbs on Amazon for a finish. Fitted one and it works perfectly. On/off, colour changes etc. I can voice control them by voice using Google Assistant, and/or the Alexa app, or via the phone using the Smart Life app.

Didn't bother with the remote immersion idea - yet. It's just a gadget really.

I'm ready to run with 3 x ATC Sun Ray RF electric thermal radiators plus Gateway for remote control. Just waiting for the electrician to become available. Going away from day/night rate meter isn't a d.i.y. job. The rest of it is simple enough.

Simple stuff.

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