Smart houses and Motor Homes

[heisenberg]

jesus christ...this is just spoiling you.

 

[Overmind One]

These are great examples! But in reality, what is happening is that people are slowly automating their homes with smart plugs, smart bulbs and appliances that are compatible with Alexa and Google Home. I myself have gotten the bug, and I have two smart switches and two smartbulbs which are multi-color capable (and the colors are also selectable by voice). It's not that expensive to do this. The multicolor bulbs I got on Amazon for 23 bucks each, and the smart plugs were about 30 bucks. You can group devices and command the group by voice too. Great for collecting all the lights into a group for a room. Of course, you can control each individual device and name them what you want.

 

[heisenberg]

These are great examples! But in reality, what is happening is that people are slowly automating their homes with smart plugs, smart bulbs and appliances that are compatible with Alexa and Google Home. I myself have gotten the bug, and I have two smart switches and two smartbulbs which are multi-color capable (and the colors are also selectable by voice). It's not that expensive to do this. The multicolor bulbs I got on Amazon for 23 bucks each, and the smart plugs were about 30 bucks. You can group devices and command the group by voice too. Great for collecting all the lights into a group for a room. Of course, you can control each individual device and name them what you want.

I will wait until it becomes really affordable. At the moment, I don't really have a purpose for it.

 

[Overmind One]

I will wait until it becomes really affordable. At the moment, I don't really have a purpose for it.

I have a bunch of lights I have to turn off and on every night. Now I just tell them what to do. And the colors were a bonus!

 

[Overmind One]

I will wait until it becomes really affordable. At the moment, I don't really have a purpose for it.

How affordable is affordable? I think less than 30 bucks for a smart plug is reasonable, considering you can plug ANYTHING into one. The bulbs were an indulgence, yes. But the convenience is worth it. When I am laying down watching TV and I want to turn them off, I just tell Alexa or Google to turn them all off (they belong to a a group called All Lights). I also got a dimming function (controllable by remote) I did not have before, plus the colored lights are great ambiance enhancers. I live in a studio apartment, so all this is very convenient, as I have hidden all the wires and lamp switches so it has a nice clean look.

I am not interested in the thermostats or smart appliances, because I think that there is nothing gained by them. I wouldn't mind if I had an oven which could send me the temp and cook times and tell me when timers are expired and such. But to control it from my phone or by voice, why? A smart coffeemaker is not going to fill itself with water or grind the beans, so what is the point? I will NEVER want a car that drives me by itself, and I will NEVER have a device like the Show or other video assistant. I do not want a corporate eyeball on me at home. Otherwise, the assistants, both of them (Alexa and Home) are AWESOME to have and provide the foundation for an easily outfitted smart home.

 

[Overmind One]

My smart pad is outfitted as follows now:

(4) Echo Dots, connected into a group called "everywhere" using the activation word "Computer"
(5) multi-color smart bulbs with 100W equivalent white
(3) smart plugs

• Kitchen light
• Patio lights
• Closet light

(1) Docooler A1 Smart IR Blaster

• Controls infrared heater functions
• Controls my TV lift and TV on/off
• Controls my sound system

I have set up 24 Alexa routines to create scenes with my lights and music. I have had this setup now for about 6 months, and I absolutely love it. I routinely ask what the temperature is, for weather forecasts, for the time, to set laundry or cook timers, to remind me when to take vitamins or empty the litterbox or feed Siete or empty the trash on a regular basis. And on it's own, Alexa notifies me when packages are going to arrive or if they have been delivered. I also can add things to my shopping list which then appears on my Alexa phone app shopping list I can take to the market and check off when I buy the item. It's amazingly efficient. Google's system does not come close to the same usability in my opinion.