Smart homes can be quite rigid

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • bruce_miranda
    Automated Home Legend
    • Jul 2014
    • 2307

    Smart homes can be quite rigid

    Hear me out.

    My girls decided that their room was smaller than the Guest room so spent the half term relocating. The hard work was actually the easiest.

    What we didn't account for was moving the Child Bedroom smart devices to the Guest Bedroom. These two rooms have such different usage.

    First was the heating system controllers.
    Then the alarm PIR. I use the PIR information to track and predict room utilisation. So that configuration had to be moved across.
    The smart lights.
    The multi room sound system had to be reconfigured.
    I use dash buttons for easy On and Off in a room, they had to be reprogrammed.
    The room controller that is fixed to the wall had to be reconfigured.
    The Echos needed swapping over too.

    In the end my girls heard me say those dreaded words....the good ol' days were simple.
    Last edited by bruce_miranda; 23 February 2019, 12:26 PM.
  • franktate
    Automated Home Sr Member
    • Feb 2007
    • 70

    #2
    Agree. Sometimes you wonder why you started a project.

    I have a automated rule where if there is no movement on any of the downstairs sensors for 30 minutes after 10pm then the house goes into 'Night' mode. This involves switching all the lights off (just in case the kids have forgot), turning the heating down and alarming the doors. The 'Morning' routine is only triggered by movement on the landing after 6am. Everything worked well for a while until I was working a way for a few months. The family complained heavily that the house had a mind of it's own.

    It turns out that one of the kids didn't like the landing light coming on and blinding him in the middle of the night when he went to the bathroom so he'd decided to turn the landing sensor round. So the house was in constant 'Night' mode. I ending up adding a rule where the landing light doesn't come on automatically if it's in Night mode. I also gave a lecture about touching stuff which fell on deaf ears!

    Still we all learned a valuable lesson.


    Frank

    Comment

    • toscal
      Moderator
      • Oct 2005
      • 2061

      #3
      What automation system have you got.

      @ Franktate, kids will always find a way to defeat any home automation system.

      I often use my kids to test out any home automation install, especially when its a new build and the client isn't there. If there is a fault or a switch doesn't behave how it should they will find it in seconds rather than hours if I do it.
      Last edited by toscal; 25 February 2019, 11:13 PM.
      IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
      Renovation Spain Blog

      Comment

      Working...
      X