SMART HOME STARTER KIT February 21, 2019 By Neil Schmidt DO YOU HAVE A SMARTHOME?

Do you have: Amazon Alexa Dot or Echo ? Ring Video Doorbell? Home video camera? Any other controllable “IoT” device in your home? If yes, you have some form of smart­home MY PRESENTATION

Some “Smart­Home” basics Devices available First steps Expanding/building Conclusions SOME BASICS

A smart-home is a house that is equipped with lighting, heating, and other “IoT” devices that can be remotely controlled It can be controlled by smartphones, mobile touch screens, voice assistants and/or automation A smart­home can provide comfort, security, energy efficiency and convenience SMART HOME ADVANTAGES

Convenience by managing all devices from one place

Flexibility, i.e., ability to seamlessly integrate new devices

Home Security with alerts to problems in your home

Remotely Control home functions away from home

Increased Energy Efficiency through energy management

Home Management Insights by analyzing habits & behaviors SOME SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

Cameras can track your home's exterior even if it's pitch­black outside Thermostats can be controlled from your bed, the airport, anywhere your smartphone has a signal LED lights let you program color and brightness from your phone. Motion sensors can send an alert when motion around your house, and can even tell the difference between pets and burglars Smartphone integration lets you turn lights and appliances on or off from your mobile device or smart hub Door locks and garage doors can opened remotely or automatically as you approach Auto alerts from your security system will immediately go to your smartphone, so you instantly know if there's a problem at home. COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS

Many commercial smart home systems available: ADT Protect Your Home LifeSHIELD ProtectAmerica Frontpoint Vivint Commercial systems are expensive with monthly fees You can now easily Do­It­Yourself (DIY) with no monthly fees SMART HOME COMMUNICATION

Smart home devices use several different communication techniques (protocols) X-10 – Granddaddy of home automation protocols via PLC (1970’s) Insteon – Improved communication via PLC & wireless (2005)

� Wi-Fi – Primary smart home communication protocol

� BLE – Bluetooth Low Energy

� Z-Wave – Low power mesh network

� ZigBee – Low power mesh network (similar to Z­Wave) IMPORTANCE OF WIFI

Smart homes use Wi­Fi for basic communication and control “Wi­Fi is crappy in most homes and crappy Wi­Fi means crappy performance for smart home gadgets.” (Amazon after purchasing Eero) Before you consider setting up a smart home, make sure your Wi­Fi is rock solid, i.e., doesn’t lock­up SOME SMART HOME DEVICES HUBS & BRIDGES

Most smart home systems primarily use Wi­Fi for communication Several smart devices, especially sensors and actuators, can’t communicate directly with your Wi­Fi (they use one of the other protocols) “Hub” or “Bridge” act as a translator between different protocols. Why is this important? When buying devices, you need to check if a hub is required (Another item to purchase, i.e., ~$45) SMART HOME DEVICES

Light Bulbs Philips Hue: White ($12) Color ($45) Bridge ($43) Kasa Smart LED: White ($20)

Plugs Koogeek: ($25)

� iDevices Switch ($29) SMART HOME DEVICES

Motion Detectors Philips Hue Motion ($28)

Wired Switches Koogeek WiFi Wall Switch ($47)

Wireless Switches Philips Hue Smart Dimmer ($25) SMART HOME DEVICES

Thermostats ecobee3 lite Smart Thermostat ($169)

Smart Locks August Smart Lock Pro ($195)

Garage Door Openers MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener ($80) MyQ Home Bridge ($87) Total: $167 SMART SPEAKERS

Amazon (Alexa) Dot ($30) Echo ($75) Echo Plus­2nd Gen ($150) Google (Assistant) Google Mini ($29) Google Home Smart Speaker ($89) Apple (Siri) iPhone, iPad Apple HomePod ($250) SMART HOME DISPLAYS

Amazon Echo Spot ($100) Echo Show ($230) Google Google Home Hub ($99)

Apple iPad Mini ($146) iPad ($299), iPhone ... SMART HUBS

Amazon Samsung SmartThings ($63) Wink Hub 2 ($116) Google Samsung SmartThings ($63) Wink Hub 2 ($116) Apple AppleTV ($149) HomePod ($250), iPad in home SECURITY & PRIVACY

Security: Todays smart home systems are pretty good (probably no worse than when you connect your phone or PC to your network) Note: It’s important that you have a strong network password and change it every once in a while Privacy: Can be questionable with Google & Amazon because they collect and use your data FIRST STEPS STARTING SMALL

Start small... Buy a single type or brand of smart devices Light bulbs Plugs Camera Use device’s smartphone app to turn on/off or view status To expand, you need an integrated ecosystem WHICH ECOSYSTEM?

You need to select a smart home system that can integrate (control and monitor) all your devices Primary choices are: Amazon Echo Google Home Apple HomeKit AMAZON ECHO

Uses Amazon Echo devices as base station

Voice control via “Alexa” (great voice recognition)

Lots of automated functions via “skills”

Many home automation devices available

Privacy is poor (captures & uses your data)

Generally only basic smart­home control, i.e., on/off vs. automation

Best system if you already have Echo & Alexa controllable devices TOP 10 LIST WITH ECHO

1. Make phone calls 2. Get cooking ideas and tips 3. Get the news 4. Entertain your kids for hours 5. Learn about more features 6. Get fit (or try to) 7. Control your TV 8. Use Spotify or Pandora to play music 9. Control your smart home 10. Train Alexa to do practically anything else (IFTTT) GOOGLE HOME

Started late but rapidly catching up

Uses “Google Home” device as base station

Voice control via “Google Assistant”

Lots of home automation devices available

Many automated functions (fewer than Amazon & Apple)

Terrible privacy (Google, Google, Google,...)

Best if you have Android phone and/or Google for email, calendar, maps, Nest devices and more APPLE HOMEKIT

Controllable via iPhone, iPad, AppleTV & HomePod Away from home control (AppleTV, HomePod) Can use your iPhone’s GPS location for actions Voice control via “Siri” “Home” app is simple & the best automation Maximum security with end­to­end encryption Fewer home smart devices available (doesn’t work with Google’s Nest or Amazon’s Ring devices) Best if already vested in Apple ecosystem MY DECISION PROCESS

Amazon Echo I have an Echo and an Echo Dot Great at answering questions (personal assistant) Can turn Bose Radio on/off, change stations Can turn TV on/off, change stations Good at voice control (primarily on/off) Poor automation capability Not selected Google Home Except for Gmail, not vested in Google stuff Not selected MY DECISION PROCESS

What I want in a smart home system More than just turn things on/off via voice Automation (automatic control) such as: Accessory control (Ex. “When a light turns on”) Sensor detection (Ex. “Motion detected”) Location change (Ex. “Everyone has left home) Maximum security and privacy Already vested in Apple products (iPhone, iPad, AppleTV) Apple HomeKit was selected MY SMART HOME HISTORY

1980­: Plug­in mechanical timer 1980’s: X10 Devices (PLC) Plug­in modules: Lights Remote controller 2000’s: Insteon Devices (PLC) Plug­in, lights, locks, appliance modules PC programable (ISY) Smart mobile device control (Mobilinc) 2018: HomeKit (WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee & Z­Wave) HOMEKIT BUILDING A SYSTEM

My HomeKit experience used as an example on how to setup a smart home system Setup for Amazon or Google is somewhat similar General concept is the same Many devices work on multiple systems There are though some differences in both security and functionality BUILDING A SYSTEM

For HomeKit: You need to have Apple hardware (iPhone or iPad) To get the most out of your system, you also need either an Apple TV, HomePod, or a dedicated iPad You need smart home gadgets that work with HomeKit HOMEKIT TERMINOLOGY

Home: Standard built­in iOS app (2016) App is used to view & manage smart home devices or accessories Rooms: Specifying where devices are located

� Example: Living Room, Family Room, etc.

Zones: A bunch of rooms grouped together

� Example: Upstairs, Downstairs Scenes: A group of actions all triggered at the same time HOMEKIT TERMINOLOGY

Automations: Control things without intervention using various triggers Examples: Time of Day, When sensor detects something, etc. Home Hub: Allows controls of your home when you are not there Need Apple TV, ApplePod, or dedicated iPad HOMEKIT CONTROL

HomeKit setup is done via “Home” app on iPhone/iPad Manually control devices via “Home” app or Siri Siri recognizes your rooms, scenes, and automations Some Siri examples: “Turn off the lights in the family room” “Set living room light to 50 percent” “Set the temperature to 68 degrees” “I’m home” “Did I lock the front door?” “Is the garage door open?” Security measure: Some accessories don’t work with Siri unless phone is unlocked, i.e., front door, garage door LETS START BUILDING! ADD AN ACCESSARY

“Home” App Add Accessory Scan code SPECIFYING THE ROOM

ID the “Room” Change the “Room” AUTOMATION

Program how device(s) will automatically act: A Time of Day Occurs An Accessory is Controlled People Arrive or Leave (geofence) A Sensor Detects Something TIME AUTOMATION ACCESSARY AUTOMATION SENSOR AUTOMATION GEOFENCE AUTOMATION HOUSEHOLD SHARING

You can invite others iOS owners to access your HomeKit control (spouse, child, etc.)

For security, make sure they have a password & two­factor authentication on their iCloud account

They will have full access to all your devices (You cannot share a single device) “HOME” APP ON IPHONE

“Home” App Change Settings “HOME” APP ON IPAD NOTIFICATIONS

You can get notifications sent to your iOS device(s) My notifications are: When someone approaches front door When someone opens front door When someone opens the garage door When there is motion detected in house and we’re not home When someone rings the front door (Ring Doorbell) MY “AUTOMATION”

Morning: Turn up heat to day­time temp Each day: Turn­on garden fountain Sunset: Turn­on entryway/sidewalk lights Evening: Turn­on hall lights on movement Any time: Turn­on computer room lights on movement Late evening: Turn down heat, lock front door, close garage door Night time: Turn on front lights on motion in front When I leave: Lower heat 2°, lock front door, close garage door When I arrive: Turn up heat, turn­on family room light (night only) More motion sensor “automation” being planned RELIABILITY

Most smart home devices work flawlessly but... Do some research before buying devices Avoid devices with reported communication issues Minimize the number of different brands used Smart home systems don’t work if: Loose power to your house Wi­Fi locks­up (Get it up to snuff before starting) SETUP CHALANGES

When buying, make sure devices work with your system (HomeKit, Amazon, Google Home) Check to see if a “hub” is also needed for a device Setting up devices is relatively easy Often use device’s app for startup steps (No written instructions) My linking issues experience: Apple TV: Reset iCloud (Google) August Lock: Unlock gear mechanism (Google) MyQ Garage Opener: Hub & Bridge (Tech.) Lutron Bridge: Reset (Tech.) CONCLUSION

A Smart Home system is fun to use Sometimes a challenge to setup Can be a bit expensive Adds comfort, convenience and security to your home Moves you & your home into the modern age