Stop guessing how to build a smart home, and start building your home automation the right way. This is how to build a smart home 101, the ultimate beginner’s guide to smart homes, home automation, connective living, and smart home devices.
We focus on practical home automation techniques that actually work for you and your family. We strip away the technical jargon, and teach you the basics of smart homes so you understand how to get this right the first time.
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How to choose (WiFi 7 vs 6 vs 6e):
How to choose (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter):
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Timecodes for today’s video:
00:00 – How To Build a Smart Home 101
0:53 – What Can a Smart Home Do?
2:46 – How Does a Smart Home Truly Work?
7:16 – How An Automation Works (Different than you think)
8:25 – What Is A Condition (And How Does It Work?)
10:52 – The Tech You’ll Use In A Smart Home
12:55 – The 6 Wireless Highways Of Your Home
16:52 – The Hub Is In Charge (And How)
19:05 – The Matter Standard (And How it Fixes SOME Things)
23:08 – What’s in a Smart Home?
24:04 – Device Type 1 (Sensors)
27:16 – Device Type 2 (Action Devices)
29:38 – Device Type 3 (Combo Devices)
30:56 – Device Type 4 (Control Interfaces)
31:55 – Device Type 5 (Accessories)
32:51 – Before You Buy Your First Smart Tech
34:10 – An Example of All 5 Device Types Working Together
35:19 – The Critical Choice, Choosing Your Hub And Ecosystem
38:00 – You MUST Have This On Your Hub
39:54 – The 3 Levels of Smart Home Systems
46:56 – How To Avoid Subscriptions Forever
50:12 – The Final Game Plan You’ll Need
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Thanks for watching, and Live Smart.
Brian
“The Truth” from Obi Wan Kenobi.
37:32. I’d argue that the Hue Bridge isn’t just “worth having”. It’s essential if you have Hue lights. Lights are the most important “smart” devices in your home. You can live without your dishwasher notifying you that the cycle has finished. You can live without the bathroom lights turning on automatically when you walk in. You can live without your blinds automatically closing after sunset. But you can’t live without lights.
While Home Assistant, Homey, and other platforms can connect to and control Hue lights directly without a Hue Bridge, the Hue Bridge is the one thing that gives your Hue lights their own dedicated, stable, and robust Zigbee mesh network. That makes them effectively bulletproof and independent of whatever else might be happening within your smart home setup. Plus you’ll need it for bulbs firmware updates.
If Home Assistant or whatever you’re using hub goes down goes down, they keep working. If your other smart home integrations break, they keep working. Even if your internet connection goes down, your Hue lights will continue to function. That level of reliability is exactly what you want from something as fundamental as lighting.
My advice to anyone using Hue lights is DON’T skip the Hue Bridge.
I’ve been “into” HA for literally decades… starting with X10 devices back in the 1980’s. Over that time, I’ve suffered every frustration imaginable. This has been without doubt the BEST intro video I’ve seen in all that time. Having recently purchased a holiday home in Spain, which is unoccupied for half the year, I’m looking again at the state of the art in HA to allow me to better manage that property remotely. I was impressed & tempted by the TAPO wifi/solar cameras to keep an eye on the place, so I bought a couple of those & the W500 hub. Obviously while I was shopping I threw in a few other TAPO devices too… 😉 I’m now remotely monitoring the temp & humidity, and getting alerts whenever the front door opens & closes… My partner, whom I shall refer to as SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed), is very “meh” about the hole thing, so anything I do in the HA sphere HAS to be reliable, obvious, and non-disruptive. I’m looking forward to getting back into the nuts & bolts of it, and video like this one are a great encouragement!
Gosh! I’m in tears at the detail and lucidity of this video. My wife just got us a home and I’m considering at least having the lights and the door locks on automation. I’m so so glad I bumped into your video Brian. Thank for this explainer and regards from India!
Great info! I’m on my way with several plugs and bulbs, plus sensors. Slow and steady.