Unfortunately that fixture pretty much requires LED bulbs (it is those little tiny Christmas light looking bulbs). I might have to look at another dimmer I guess.
Could that be an issue with the dimmer trying to handle LED? I had a normal switch (not evne a dimmer) connected to my LED light fixture, and it was blinking like crazy. This was just a standard, run-of-the-mill Leviton 2-way switch. I replaced it with a Lutron Diva LED dimmer, and it all went away. Maybe you could test it using a dimmable incandescent bulb?
Even though I went with the GE switch the first time, given the sheer amount I will need that I want dimmable, I think that right now, this is the best option for me. https://www.amazon.com/Linear-WD500...&qid=1483998659&sr=1-3&keywords=z+wave+dimmer
Yup. That is why I am doing it a little bit at a time, one room at a time. The EBay's lowes coupons help too.
S
2. Amazon Echo - I have 8 Echo devices in my home (2 of the "big" Echo cylinders and 6 of the small Dots). I have them spread throughout the house to ensure there is voice coverage everywhere and it is working pretty well. Actually, I haven't deployed the 8th unit yet - the Dot in my kitchen is on top of my refrigerator and is close to the Dot in the adjacent room, so I'm thinking about moving it to a more central location and then I'll take the 8th unit and install it in the garage or maybe my car.
3. Logitech Harmony hubs - I have 3 of the Harmony Home hubs integrated with SmartThings and two of them are controllable with Echo (I need to get the third one added soon). I used them to control my home entertainment devices but they're very flexible and can control almost any IR device - I have a portable AC in my office since central air can't cool it fast enough with all my equipment, and I can use Harmony to power it on and off.
4. Blink cameras - I have 10 Blink cameras spread throughout the house, focusing on entry points, my dog's cage, and my office. One is on my front porch, protected from the elements. I've preordered one of their external cameras and will probably eventually deploy a second, "exterior" Blink camera network with 3 or 4 exterior cameras.
I have the First Alert Smoke/CO units in my house and don't have any issues. I purchased a spare one to test and it does alert when exposed to both smoke and CO. In ST they show battery level and they can be setup to report when the battery does get low. However, after 10 months, the battery is still at ~80% on average.
Every time you add an item, do you have to rebuild your mesh? Can you add on multiple 3 way switches up to 4 or so? i have one bank of 4 lights that 5 different switches in the same room/hallway area can control.
I'm not sure what functions I'd use with Harmony setup but it's cool to see it there. I think I like remotes in my hand when watching TV .
The best thing about Harmony support is when someone in the house leaves the TV on and you can just say "Turn off the tv" rather than find the remote or dig for an app on your phone.
One thing I like about Google Home is the Youtube support with Chromecast. So I can go "Ok Google, Turn on the TV" and "Ok Google, play X youtube video" and boom you are watching the thing you want to watch as long as you have a Harmony activity called 'tv" that basically goes to your Chromecast input. I find that to be great when me and my wife are talking about a video one of us saw that day and rather than digging out the phone and casting it we can just quickly throw it on a screen. The Netflix integration is less useful right now because you can't pick episodes. When it can do that I expect to use it much more. One thing very interesting is play, pause and volume controls via voice already work on both.
That sounds awesome!
Unfortunately I have not really paid any attention to the smart home scene. I understand you need a Google Home and a Logitech Harmony remote for this, but what else would you need to get this working?
Is the trigger point for Google music only the Google home device? Can you trigger it from your phone too?Its pretty cool, but it isn't how I would watch tv 24/7 at least not until the Google Home can pick episodes in Netflix or follow the command "start X show where I left off."
But for music, OMG the Google Home is THE only way I control music in my house nowadays. I have Chromecasts in every room downstairs including my garage (some just connected to otherwise unused bluetooth speakers), so I can just say "Ok Google, play my X playlist on the house" and it plays whatever Spotify playlist I want (or any song I ask for) in the entire downstairs of my house. Music controls are pretty much perfect, as the Google Home already understands pause, play, shuffle, next track and stop. I will never go back to controlling music from an app.
For the tv trick you need the following:
-Google Home
-Logitech Hub
-Smarthings hub (to tie the first two together)
-video Chromecast (I have a first gen one which means its a little slow but works)
Is the trigger point for Google music only the Google home device? Can you trigger it from your phone too?
Sure. All my Chromecast Audios are seen as sources within the Spotify app (I am a premium Spotify subscriber). I also have one source I call "house" I created in Google's Chromecast app that is all of them put together. But if I want I can easily just cast to my bedroom, living room, or kitchen or garage. When I cast to the whole house the Google app for the Chromecasts have an offset you can manipulate to make sure they are all in sync.
I meant that in order to control the Chromecasts audio by voice, you need to be near the Google Home, right? So if the google Home is in the kitchen then you can't tell it to play music if you are in the bedroom or is there a phone app to tell it to start the music?
Your comment about Spotify being able to see your Chromecasts audios is interesting though. I wonder if an Amazon Echo is able to control the Chromecasts audio through Spotify. (I'm currently invested into the Echo).
Is there an beginners guide to setting up these Alexa skills?
I will be honest, I don't have an Echo so I don't want to steer you wrong with random Googled links I haven't tried.
The whole reason I have a Smarthings hub is because I wanted the hub that best worked with the Google Home. I bought them on the same day- the Home then the Hub. I didn't want to get into home automation until Google had made some decisions, as I knew from friends that the Echo was kinda a hackers paradise and I kinda more wanted the Apple-ish "Just Works" product in this sector so my wife would use it more.
I will admit the Smarthings hub was the one I was hoping they would tie to the most as I thought it was the best option at this price point anyway. The Google Home integration just made it a slam dunk for me.
That's funny you say that because that's the same reason I almost went with the Wink2. My understanding is that it was a little more plug and play for the limited things it works with and that SmartThings is a "hackers paradise" as you put it.
I'm still debating on switching from Echo to GH. The price of the Echo Dot is what got me in to that because I bought 3 for the price of GH. So far I've only opened one to play with and need to figure it out before the return policy ends. If I'm going to get into voice control then having several devices around the house to hear my commands would be nice.
Do the Blink camera's integrate with ST at all? I currently have Arlo Pro setup to test but the price on Blink looks really good. I think I might return the Arlo Pro and order the Blink 5 camera with a free Blink XT this month and then a second Blink XT. Have they given a price of the Blink XT standalone? Arlo Pro does have a couple of features I don't see on Blink like the siren, local storage and speakers. However, from what I've read so far the only integration with ST and Arlo is that you can use the motion sensors in ST.
Yes, Blink can integrate with ST if you use RBoy's device handlers and app. It isn't free, but well worth it.
I think the normal price of the Blink XT will be $119 IIRC.
This really isn't a smart things question, but more of an IFTTT/google assistant question. I'm trying to set up a custom trigger in IFTTT. I do that, click the check mark, but where do I go to see what triggers I've set up? I can't find a trigger section that shows them similar to where I can find my applets or anything. I am guessing that its part of the whole "create an applet" where creating a trigger is just a step in the applet creation?
Yes, Blink can integrate with ST if you use RBoy's device handlers and app. It isn't free, but well worth it.
I think the normal price of the Blink XT will be $119 IIRC.
Oh that is tempting if it can work with ST. Even since you got me hooked on Smarttiles I have wanted some cameras so it looks cooler. The 50% off deal is pretty good too.
Thanks. I found the page and read it. I'm still debating on keeping Arlo or going with Blink. I like the local storage and 2 way communication with Arlo but man the blink package price is tempting.