Here’s another quick review, but this time for the Homeseer HS-FS100-W flood sensor. After watching the video below, make sure that you check out how the Fibaro device handled the same test. Z-Wave summary for the Homeseer HS-FS100-W flood sensor As we can see, things did not go quite according to plan. I’m not sure what the problem was here, […]
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Going to try a new quick review format with the Fibaro Flood Sensor. Hopefully it works :). Quick device profile, note that the battery has 37% of life left after about 18 months of use. Add the video showing it in action:
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I’ve wondered about flood sensor placement before. As in – “what happens if I don’t put it in the right path?” The new HS-FS100-W addresses this issue with its [expandable] four foot detection cable. The family also includes a light sensor, which can be used to monitor indicator lights on equipment. If either are of interest, you can save $5 […]
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I had a chance to chat with Hubitat at CES a few weeks ago and was very impressed with their home automation controller. What impressed me more, was their approach and passion for doing things right. So I’m very interested in their new Elevation hub. It checks all the right boxes, with Z-Wave/Zigbee radios, and Amazon Alexa/Google Home integration. Best […]
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Personalized room based home automation is tricky business. Not everyone wants to install RFID readers in the doorways, or carry around the cards :). Roomme takes on this problem by using a $69 smoke alarm sized BTLE sensors attached the ceiling in each room that senses when your mobile phone enters the room to trigger a scene. The approach is […]
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We have a love/hate relationship with our robot vacuums. Our Roomba mostly works OK (apart from the persistent beaching events), but the Neato is affectionately* named “Help Me” because of how much intervention is required to actually get it to complete a run. Some of this comes down to the underwhelming intelligence in the device, and some of it is, […]
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The BTLE/Wi-Fi (via hub installed within BTLE range) enabled LOCKLY deadbolt is one of the fuller featured smart locks I’ve run across. Naturally it has the keycode entry method, but not only do the numbers move for extra security, it also sports a fingerprint reader. Oh, and a physical key – if you’re into that sort of thing. It also […]
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I’m not a fan of unnecessary Cloud dependencies in home automation tech. So when I started chatting with Hubitat about their home automation controller (HAC), and we started getting into the details I was thrilled to find out that their model is almost entirely Cloud free. Naturally there is a bit to handle connection brokering from locations outside the LAN […]
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Apparently all is not lost! Logitech has taken the opportunity to listen to its customers and realized that closing off local access for dubious “security reasons” effectively removed significant value from the Harmony Hub, and local control is a good thing. Perhaps there really were security concerns, I for one would love to get a detailed technical breakdown of what […]
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Home automation (HA) is a critical part of how we interact with the devices in our home. Whether that’s the lights, or the TV. When it comes to the TV, though the magic happens via our Logitech Harmony Hub ability to be controlled locally via HA-Bridge. It would appear that Logitech doesn’t like this however, and has removed the ability […]
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