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Showing posts from February, 2020

Yeelight rechargable sensor nightlight

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Product code : YLYD01YL Specifications: color temperature: 2700k Brightness: sensor mode: 3.5lm, lighting mode 7lm Sensor: light sensor + PIR motion sensor Max power: 0.25W Min power: 0.12W Battery: 750mA lithium battery Weight: 73g First, a small disclaimer: this is not really a smart home product, but it is a product that can make your life a little easier. For me it is very handy to have some motion activated lights around the house. For example when I (or one of the kids) have to go to the bathroom at night and I don't want to wake everybody up by switching on the lights. I had some battery operated ones but they always seem to run out of power. I saw these little lights in a pack of three online and wanted to give this a try. I know Yeelight from their smart lights and know that they are well built, so I expected nothing less from these too. In the package there is the light, a small micro usb cable and a metal plate with an adhesive backing. The lights are m...

Aqara temperature sensor

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Product code : WSDCGQ11LM Specifications: Product size: 36 x 36 x 9mm Detection accuracy: ± 0.3 ℃, ± 3% RH, ± 120Pa Wireless connection: ZigBee Battery specifications: CR2032 Working temperature: -20 ℃ ~ + 50 ℃ Operating humidity: 0% ~ 100% RH, non-condensing Air pressure detection range and accuracy: 30KPa ~ 110KPa, ± 120Pa The sensor can measure  temperature, relative humidity and air pressure. With this you can set alerts or automations.

Aqara vibration sensor

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Product code : DJT11LM Specifications: Product size: 36 x 36 x 9mm Wireless connection: ZigBee Battery specifications: CR2032 Working temperature: -10 ℃ ~ + 50 ℃ Operating humidity: 0 ~ 95% RH, non-condensing Executive standard: Q / QLML012-2016 The motion and vibration sensor is a high-precision acceleration sensor with lots of possibilities. It can sense motion in multiple directions like object vibrations, tilts, and falls. The device can push an  alarm to your gateway, but you can also set all kinds of automations. It is powered by a CR2032 battery and can last up to three years. Here are some ideas what the sensor can do: See if someone opened the fridge (at night) - tilt/angle See if the washer or dryer is done - stop vibration See if the garage door is open - tilt See if someone opened your drawer - vibration Alert when some one moves your painting or other valuable - tilt/fall Sense glass breakage - vibration/fall Track your sleep - stop/star...

The Mi home and Aqara gateways - what is what?

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There are various versions of the Mi and Aqara gateway, but what is the difference? To begin, all the hubs are made by Lumi, but are released with different brand names, but the difference is not just the brand name. The gateways The very first version features a night ligt, has a speaker, nut no internet radio. DGNWG01LM  - Mijia - first version - Discontinued in 2016 The gateway DGNWG01LM has the letters Mi written on it Second version 2016-now, in webshops often refered to as the "upgraded version". The number indicates its region (02 through 05), with each region their corresponding plugs. The 02 model is only meant for China, but supports the most devices. DGNWG02LM  - Mijia - second version - China DGNWG03LM  - Mijia - second version - Taiwan DGNWG04LM  - Mijia - second version - Hong Kong DGNWG05LM  - Mijia - second version - Europe The second version looks very similar, but has the Mijia logo written on i...

Philips Hue smart plug

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Product code : 8718699689285 Specifications: Length 5,1 cm Width 5,1 cm Height 8,4 cm 220V-240V AC 50/60Hz Max 10A (2200W at 220V, 2300W at 230V) Thermal fuse Like a lot of people, Philips Hue was my start in home automation. It is easy to set up, easy to automate and is very reliable. Some might say it is expensive, but I have never had any problems with it, so in contrast with other products I think it worth the extra cost. I have some lights in my home which are not replaceable with the current Hue lights, for example the seasonal Christmas tree lights and some very small bulbs. For this a remote socket or smart plug is ideal. I could have gone for any other device, but I wanted it to be controlled by HUE, have a small form factor, and not be another WiFi device (so Zigbee preferable). With those things in mind the Philips hue smart plug seems a good option. Adding the smart plug is easy, just plug it in, go to the Hue app, add light and press search. After that, y...

Mi Flora plant sensor

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Product code: Mi Flora Specifications Bluetooth low energy (ble) Powered by a CR2032 (3V) battery Measures: Soil moisture (%) Soil fertility (uS/cm) Light intensity (lux) Air temperature (C/F) After automating lights you'll get a need to automate more, so why not plants? I found the Mi Flora sensor online and because they are pretty cheap I thought it was worth the try. The idea is to stick the sensor in the soil and it will log the moisture, fertility and temperature. You can use the Mi Flora app or the plugin in the Mi Home app to read the results. In the app you can pick your plant and it will set all the ranges accordingly, but you can also set the moisture, fertility and temperature boundaries yourself. The sensor is well built. The older versions are white, the newer version is green(ish) which does not stand out that much next to the plant. The inside is weather protected so you do not have to worry when you water the plant. The manual does state that you hav...

Aqara wall switch (with neutral, double rocker)

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Product code : QBKG12LM Specifications: 250V 2500W (10A) 50Hz Product size: 86 x 86 x 42.82mm Wireless frequency: 2.4GHz (2400 ~ 2483.5MHz) Wireless protocol: ZigBee Working temperature: 0 ℃ ~ + 40 ℃ Operating humidity: 5% ~ 95% RH, non-condensing Power input: 10A MAX, 250V AC 50Hz Load output: total load maximum 2500W The switch enables you to remotely switch lights and operate them manually by the switch itself. This makes it very easy to automate "dumb" lights without disabling the ability to use the normal switches. The switch with an extra neutral line also acts as a Zigbee repeater. The wiring marks N, L, L1, L2 and for normal wiring use N for neutral - blue(*), L for live - brown, and L1/L2 to the switch - Black. For my setup: My bathroom has two switches: one for the light and one for the fan. By adding a motion sensor in the bathroom it is possible to switch on the lights when motion is detected and automatically turn them off after a few minutes. ...

Mi Smart Smoke Detector (Honeywell)

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Product model : jtyj-gd-01lm/bw Specifications: Operating humidity: 0 ~ 95% RH, non-condensing Working temperature: -10 ℃ ~ + 55 ℃ Fire alarm response time: <20 seconds Battery fault alarm response time: <60 seconds Average power consumption in normal monitoring state: <14uA fault alarm duration: ≥7 days, can continue to report fire for 4 min after one day Fire alarm sound pressure: ≥80dB @ 3m Sound method: progressive sound alarm, the initial sound pressure does not exceed 45dB @ 3m, and finally reach the fire sound pressure standard Power supply mode: 3VDC (not so common) CR123A lithium battery Battery capacity: 1450mAh The Mi Smart Smoke Detector is made in cooperation with Honeywell. The logos are prominently visible on the product. I guess they wanted a reliable and well know brand on their product to gain trust from potential buyers. To be honest, this is what persuaded me to go for this product because I don't want to rely on something badly made t...

Xiaomi Qingping Cleargrass Bluetooth WIFI Gateway

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Product code: CGSPR1 I have the Mi Smart gateway and also some Xiaomi Flora Monitor. The Flora monitors soil humidity, fertility, light and temperature. You can connect to the Flora Monitors with your phone and synchronise all the data. This can be a bit boring and even time consuming, this should be automated! This is where the Cleargrass BlueTooth gateway comes in. This connects to your Mi gateway and enables you to connect BlueTooth devices to your gateway. Now you can set up automations to notify when a plant needs attention. The BlueTooth gateway enables you to connect various BlueTooth devices. If a BlueTooth device is added to your Mi home account then it should be able to connect to the gateway. I was not able to connect it to the Yeelight Mesh downlight (YLSD01YL), so that confirms my suspicion that is does not support the BlueTooth mesh standard.

Adding two Trådfri remotes to the same bulbs

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I wanted to connect two remotes to the same set of bulbs, but I could not find a clear description of this in the Trådfri manual. The purpose of having two remotes to the same bulbs is that we both can switch off the lights in the bedroom with the remote on the bedstand. The steps to take: First pair one remote to the lights (if you did not already do this) Reset the remote by quickly pressing the pair button 5 times. The light on the remote will flash. Keep the remote as close as possible to the light you wish to pair and press and hold the pair button. The light on the remote will fade on and off and eventually the light wil flash to confirm pairing. Repeat for every light. Confirm that it is working by pressing using the remote. Now your remote is paired. To add a remote to the lights you have to pair the other remote with the paired remote: Reset the remote that you wish to add by quickly pressing the pair button 5 times. The light on the remote will flash. Now av...

The new v3 Xiaomi Smart Home Hub

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Product code : ZNDMWG03LM Specifications: ZigBee (2.0 and 3.0), 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) MiMo 2 x 2 Bluetooth (5.0 and Mesh) Compatible with Apple Homekit Max range: 200 meters (Line-of-Sight) Up to 32 devices Power Supply 5V/1A Dimensions 90x25mm Temperature Range -5℃-50℃ Humidity – 0%-95%RH, non-condensing Xiaomi came out with a new smart gateway hub for their smart home ecosystem. The hub lets you connect all kinds of sensors, switches, lights and other devices from Xiaomi to their app so that can control them. This is the third dedicated smart gateway so it is interesting to compare it to the predecessor: DGNWG02LM. Certifications This time Mijia (Lumi) jumped through a lot of hoops to get certifications which can be found on their packaging: Certified Wifi , Bluetooth , Zigbee Aliance , and "works with homekit". Bluetooth with mesh The hub acts as a Bluetooth hub and a Bluetooth mesh hub. This is a step up in comparison with the Cleargrass Blue...

BlitzWolf 2300W Smart Socket BW-SHP6

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Product code : BW-SHP6 Specifications: WiFi frequency: 2.4 GHz Input: 220V-240V 50/60 Hz Max load 10A Maximum power 2300W Dimensions: 1.73*1.73*2.75 in CE certified The BlitzWolf smart socket BW-SHP6 is a lot smaller than its bigger brother BW-SHP2 . The only disadvantage is that this model only supports 10 Amps of maximum current(*) (specified as 2300W). The biggest advantage is the small form factor that does not block other sockets next to it. This device supports power metering and has overcurrent protection. The smart socket supports the  type E  and  type F  sockets which is a improvement on its predecessor. Smart home integration You can connect this to Alexa, Google Home and IFTTT. To add this you have to link your Tuya, or Smart Life account. Custom firmware You can flash this device with Tasmota . There are now 16A versions with the same form factor  https://m.blitzwolf.com/3450W-EU-WIFI-Smart-Socket-p-412.html ...

BlitzWolf 3680W Smart Socket BW-SHP10

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Product code : BW-SHP10 Specifications: The specifications are same as the 3680W version of the BW-SHP6 WiFi frequency: 2.4 GHz Input: 220V-240V 50/60 Hz Max load 16A Maximum power  3680W Dimensions:  50*51*77mm CE certified The differences between the BW-SHP2 are: support for the French/Belgian grounded sockets  ( Type E ) which have a grounding pin sticking out of the wall sockets and has a significant smaller size. The BlitzWolf smart socket BW-SHP10 is almost the same as the BW-SHP6  it only has a slightly different housing and supports 16 Amps in stead of 10 Amps. It is only specified at 220 though 240 Volts at 50 or 60 Hertz. On the device is a button where you can turn the socket on and off manually and there is a status light to see if it is switched on or not. It supports power metering and has overcurrent protection. You can connected to it through the Smart Life app. Here you can turn it off and on, set a schedule for on/off, or set a...

SONOFF IFan03

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Product code : SONOFF IFan03 / IM190409021 Specifications: Input: AC100-240V 50/60Hz 5A Output: Light: AC100-240v 50/60Hz 3A -Tungsten lamp: max 660W/220V -Led: max 300W/220V Fan: max AC100-240V 50/60Hz 2A Wifi: 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz RF remote control: 433.92 MHz Dimension: 116x55x26mm Remote battery 12V A27 / LR27 Remote dimensions 86x45x12.5mm Alexa, Google home Features Switch lights (no dimming!) Set fan speed Control with Wifi and 433 remote RM433 RF (can be sold separately) External Wifi and 433 antenna Base for the remote is sold separately. Installing the device The wires are neatly labeled. From left side there are a black (L) and a white (N) wire which is the input. On the right side there are three wires: black (fan), white (com) and blue (light). So one wire (black) goes to the fan, the other wire (blue) goes to the lights and both are connected to the com (white) wire. The housing is quite large so it might be a challenge t...

BlitzWolf 3840W Smart Socket BW-SHP2

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Product code : BW-SHP2 Specifications: 2.4Ghz WiFi Input: 110-240V  50-60Hz Max load 16A Maximum power  3840W The BlitzWolf smart socket BW-SHP2 is the first smart socket released by BlitzWolf. You can turn off the socket by an app through Wifi or use one of the smart home integrations. The socket can switch a maximum of 16 Amps and supports 110-240 Volts at 50-60 Herts. On the device is a button where you can turn the socket on and off manually and there is a status light to see if it is switched on or not. It supports power metering and has overcurrent protection. The device only supports the  type F  socket, and not the  type E  which is common in France and Belgium. The size of the unit is a bit bulky: 2.55 inch x 3.11 inch (6,48cm x 7.9 cm), which can block sockets next to it. You can connected to it through the Smart Life app. Here you can turn it off and on, set a schedule for on/off, or set a countdown to power off. In the "electric"...

Adding a Tradfri repeater to Philips HUE

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Product code : 104.004.08 Ikea has now their own smart home products and they have wide range of products. One of their products is the Trådfri signal repeater. It is a USB power supply with an USB module clicked into it that works as a Zigbee repeater. You can use it to extend your Trådfri connectivity, but you can actually use it for all Zigbee signals. The only thing that you have to do is connect it to your Zigbee network and the repeater will do its work and extends your range or signal. For me this might be interesting to extend my Philips HUE signal to the bedroom. I switch my HUE light with the normal light switches, but also with the app (or voice command). When I switch off all the ligths using the light switch I will limit my Zigbee network because the lights don't have any power and no longer function as a repeater. This can sometimes lead to slow responses for the lights in the bedroom because they will have trouble connecting to the HUE hub. Another cause might ...