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January 13 2025

Is 2025 Finally the Right Time to Create a Smart Home? – Interesting read but I’m still doubtful that matter will make so much difference

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Newsletter January 08 2025

This is the first newsletter in 2025, and I would like to wish you all a happy new year.

Q- What are Smart Quotes?

A- Smart Quotes are found in Windows Word documents and also on some web pages. They can cause trouble if you have them mixed in with JSON data and so you will need to replace them. The problem is that it is not always obvious as the error message you get is invalid JSON data.See this online tool

The reason I mention it is that I had a problem with them myself when pasting a command from one on my web pages.

Take a look at this command (with smart quotes)

Zbsend {“device”:”0xD027″,”Send”:{“AddGroup”:100}}

and This command (normal quotes

Zbsend {“device”:”0xD027″,”Send”:{“AddGroup”:100}}

The first command will result in a JSON error.

Finding The IP Address of a New Network Device

When adding smart home devices to a network the device usually gets a random IP address assigned by a DHCP server.

However you usually need to connect to this device using the IP address to configure it. So How do you find the iP address if the device.

The answer is to use the DHCP server client list. The process is covered in my latest video

It also shows how to assign static IP addresses using DHCP.

Why Assign Static IP addresses Using DHCP?

Assigning static IP addresses using DHCP as opposed to assigning static addresses on the actual device is far more flexible.

Imagine you need to change the static IP addresses of several devices.

Using DHCP means that it all done on the DHCP server without the need to visit the actual device.

Do Switches Have IP Addresses?

This appears to be a common question according to my server logs.

The answer is that simple unmanaged switch don’t have an IP address but smart and managed switch do have an IP address. The IP address is required in order for you to connect to them and manage them.

If you don’t know the IP address of your switches then you can use the DHCP server client list to find them. It is also a good idea to make them static addresses and document them.

See Documenting your home network

Let me know what you think and what else you would find useful. Again please use the suggestions page

That’s all for now.

Best Regards

Steve

 

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December 22 2024

Google Web Mariner

This is a browser based AI agent that is a Google extension and it can navigate the web autonomously to answer questions for you.

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December 22 2024

Open Source Voice Assistant

This is something I’ve been waiting for and it is certainly something that most smart homes need.

Instead of using Google, Alexa or Siri to process voice commands you can do it all locally with this hardware from the company behind Home Assistant. Read More here

Order link is here but it is currently on back order.

December Newsletter 2024

Hi

This will be my last newsletter in 2024, so I would like to wish you all a happy Xmas and a happy new year.

Modem vs Router

I had a call from my daughter the other day complaining that her Internet wasn’t working.

She said she has restarted her router several times but It hadn’t fixed the problem.

So I hurried over as expected to find that for some reason her modem had been switched off by someone knocking the plug.

What she didn’t realise and probably not many people do is that an internet connections needs a modem and a router.

The reason that many people are aware of this is because homes connected to the internet using the old telephone cables had a router with the modem built in.

However newer fibre connections and coax cable connections have a separate modem. This is shown in the diagram below:

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Below is a picture of a BT fibre modem as an illustration:

Yours may look different as BT as several variants and so will your ISP.

What distinguishes them from routers is that routers generally have 4 or more Ethernet ports and usually some Antennas (these may not be visible).

Pros and Cons of a Smart home

I while ago came a cross and article – 30 key Pros and Cons of Smart Homes and I mentioned it previously in a newsletter.

I thought it worth repeating as many of you might just be getting started or thinking of starting.

The original article is no longer available but I have created a summary table below:

Pros	Cons
increase in convenience	Significant installation costs
Full control over all smart appliances with only one device	Reliable internet connection is crucial
Higher quality of life	Security issues
Notifications in case of trouble	Technological problems in connected homes
Energy savings	You may lock yourself out of your own house
Safety improvements compared to conventional locks	Helplessness if technology fails
Smart homes may be suitable for disabled persons	Some people may not like smart technologies
Resale value might increase	Maintenance and repair issues
	Compatibility problems between devices
	Technology may become outdated soon
	Privacy concerns

What is Happening to Matter

The Matter aims to unify and simplify the fragmented smart home ecosystem.

However I linked to an article that I found on why the protocol hasn’t lived up to expectations You can read it here

Following that I decided to do a search on matter thermostats on Amazon and didn’t find any so I looked for switches.

I did find a matter smart switch from SONOFF but it was more expensive than the other ones.

So it seems that there isn’t a great deal of choice for matter smart home devices at the moment and I can’t see it changing soon.

Therefore if you are just starting with your smart home then it is Wi-Fi, Zigbee and Zwave still.

Local vs Cloud Control

I had a little reminder the weekend about the importance of local control as due to severe storms my Internet went down for most of the day.

It might be cool to say Alexa lights on but will Alexa hear you?

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Nov 24

Why the Matter Protocol Hasn’t Lived Up to Its Promise

The Matter protocol was supposed to solve the fragmentation problem but it hasn’t and I don’t think it ever will so this article didn’t really come as a surprise.

You can read it here

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Nov  17 2024

Eero Outdoor

If you are looking for outdoor Wi-Fi then this is something to consider but a bit pricey and you also need to add in the the other mesh access points if you don’t already have them.Here is the review from from zdnet.

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November Newsletter

Choosing Between Zigbee and Wi-Fi

According to chat GPT the reason to use either Zigbee and Wi-fi are :

• Use Zigbee for battery-powered devices, devices that only need to send small bits of data, and networks requiring many low-power devices in close proximity.
• Use Wi-Fi if you need high data rates, seamless internet connectivity, or don’t mind connecting devices directly to a high-power source.

However what it fails to mention is that most WI-fi devices require an Internet connection and the use of a manufacturer supplied APP.

The most notable exception being Shelly devices and devices flashed with Tasmota firmware.

However because Zigbee devices require a Zigbee hub it is possible to use a Zigbee device locally using your own hub- see Practical Guide to Using and Managing Zigbee Devices.

So when choosing a smart home device I go for:

• Shelly devices
• Devices easily flashed using OTA updates to Tasmota
• Zigbee devices

It is certainly true that if you are using battery operated devices then Zigbee is by far the better choice.

However I have found the operating range less than impressive.

Wif-FI Halow test Trials

Very Interesting report on test trials for

• Smart homes
• Smart Cities
• Farms
• Factory

See here

If you are looking at extending the range of you Wi-Fi network then Wi-Fi HaLow is what I would consider.

See also How to Extend a Home Network

Backup Internet

With many people now working from home a reliable Internet connection is crucial.

To achieve this most will use a fibre,cable or phone line connection as the primary connection with a Cell/Mobile connection for the backup connection.

Many routers now have this capability built it.

Starlink is also a possibility but expensive at the moment

See Backup Internet For Home Networks

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Sept  9 2024

Wif-FI Halow test Trials

Very Interesting report on test trials for

• Smart homes
• Smart Cities
• Farms
• Factory

See here

Well worth a read.

See also what is the difference between Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi HaLow

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May 21 2024

Extending Wi-Fi

another video covering the range

May 5 2024

How Much Does Your smart home cost?

A very interesting article covering the cost of running smart home devices. here

February 18 2024

Why you should get satellite Internet

If you have been wondering about Starlink and if you should get it then this article is worth a read. link

 

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February 17 2024

Wrong about Zigbee and Zwave

An interesting read about Zigbee and Zwave. I have personally decided on Zigbee and only use Wi-fi devices when absolutely necessary. link

Related tutorial on site

• My Zigbee network notes
• Control Zigbee Devices Using Zigbee2MQTT with Home Assistant
• Practical Guide to Using and Managing Zigbee Devices

 

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Newsletter 17th July 2023

Hi

This month  I want to give my opinion on what I consider to be the state of the smart home market and hopefully get to hear yours.

Home automation is in the early stages and creating a smart home today is no easy task.

If you have tried to turn your home into a smart home you will no doubt encountered several problems but the most important one is The lack of standardisation.

• Does the device you are thinking of buying work with your existing setup?
• Will you need extras hardware to support it?

Google, Amazon, Apple and many others  recognised this situation and are embarking on a standardisation program called connected Home over IP.

This is the goal of the working group

If the Working Group succeeds with this goal, customers can be confident that their device of choice will work in their home and that they will be able to setup and control it with their preferred system.

Out of this came the matter protocol which is in the early stages of being deployed.

How successful this will be in simplifying smart home creation is not known but I’m sceptical.

A recent article by Stacy on IOT is closer to my thinking. She related an article on 9 verge writers and what they have in their smart home. The article is here.

Suffice to say it wasn’t really pretty.

I feel we are still many years away from the day when you can buy a smart home device,unbox it and within minutes it is recognised on you smart home network and able to interact with existing smart home devices.

Instead we are likely to see islands of smart home devices controlled by their own Apps.

Basically we will get a collection of gadgets.

In fact when you think about it is it really necessary for your robo vac to talk to your smart home at all.

What is the Incentive?

How difficult is it to turn on a light switch or adjust the thermostat?

It’s not really difficult and so why automate it.

That I believe will be the opinion of most people today.

What Do you Think?

I would be interested in hearing your views please use the suggestions page

• Do you agree or disagree?
• Is there anything holding you back from making your home smart.

Rgds

Steve

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Newsletter 27th June 2023

When Things go Wrong

Hi

Just when you least expect it and when you really don’t need it something goes wrong with the network.

So what do you do?

Well first you need to try and locate the problem. Sometimes this is  easy and other times not.

But three things that you can do now to make it easier are:

• Get familiar with basic networking
• Get familiar with basic troubleshooting
• Get your network documentation up to date.

If you are new to networking then I would recommend you take a look at the basic home networking course.

Then you need to make sure that you have a network diagram and and know how to login to, and manage the devices on your network. So you need up to date network documentation.

Finally you will need to troubleshoot the problem as explained in home network troubleshooting.

Now you should be ready for when things do go wrong.

Rgds

Steve

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May 1 2023

If you are looking a smart home hubs and control systems then this video may be of interest.

After watching video I decided to take a look at hubitat and put my thoughts down in Hubitat vs Home Assistant Quick Guide

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June 4 2023

Does making your home smart increase its value?

This is something I’ve often wondered about and still not sure of the answer. According to this article it does but I still remain to be convinced.

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May 25 2023

A Good overview of smart home devices to get you started

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April 19 2023

SmaHoo (Smart Home Outlet)

 

Open source project being launched that looks like shelly and sonoff mini.  Comes with http and MQTT support and doesn’t look like it is meant to be part of a proprietary network so you just control it with what ever you want. link

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March 17 2023

Wemo Puts halt on Matter

Having just yesterday published a tutorial on the Matter protocol this article came to my attention.

It seems that Belkin have stopped Matter development and are rethinking their approach to the smart home.

From a personal viewpoint I was shocked when I looked at the Matter specification as it is almost 900 pages long (899 to be exact).

I was tempted at the time to ignore it and wait and see. It seems I’m not the only one to think that way but probably for different reasons.

Anyway it will be interesting to see the take up of Matter, and it is something I will be following going forward.

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February 24 2023

Alexa losing Money How will it affect Smart Home Users?

Recent loses in the Alexa division have made analysts question the future of Alexa. Although it is likely to continue it will probably not be free. See here for more details.

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January 24 2023

How to convert your home’s coaxial cable into Ethernet lines

This article I found very Interesting because my own house is wired with coax for TV and didn’t realise that this was possible.

I did look at the costs and what they quote is only true for a single connection point.

The actual adaptors are on the expensive side but they may come down.

Using homeplug adapters is still cheaper.

Here is the article

Here is also a very good article explaining how a MOCA network works

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