tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23164733111945881872024-03-12T19:50:36.462-07:00IOT in HomeIoTinHomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15046133755187877328noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316473311194588187.post-66506016160516100882020-11-23T15:00:00.000-08:002021-04-04T22:49:30.345-07:00UPS Battery Backup<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;">A</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a data-mce-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;">UPS</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">(Uninterruptible Power Supply) provides power from batteries during a power outage. Commonly used to ensure that devices can be safely and cleanly be powered off during an outage.</span></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Selection criteria</span></span></h4><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Price - < $100</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Reputable vendor</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Good reviews</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Device should provide battery backup for at least 1 hour</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">USB interface – provide performance metrics</span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Use case</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Supply battery power for a router, modem and home automation system for 1 hour.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What size UPS do you need ?</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">During the research it was surprising to discover how much power (watts) these devices actually used. The numbers below are based on personal observation, device specifications and benchmarks and have been rounded up, to include some buffer as they could fluctuate, based on usage.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Device specifics</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a data-mce-href="https://amzn.to/2XKDxf6" href="https://amzn.to/2XKDxf6" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;">Linksys WRTAC1900</a> router - ~12-13 watts</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a data-mce-href="https://amzn.to/31BUhpV" href="https://amzn.to/31BUhpV" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;">Motorola Surfboard SB6183</a> modem- ~9 watts</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a data-mce-href="https://amzn.to/30J41zi" href="https://amzn.to/30J41zi" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;">Raspberry PI4</a> - ~ 4 watts</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Initial observations</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The documentation was clear and the setup was basic. Configuring the device and <a data-link="{"link":{"type":"external","url":"https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/nut/","page":"","subtype":"email"},"nofollow":true,"target":"_blank"}" data-mce-href="https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/nut/" href="https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/nut/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;" target="_blank">dashboard</a> confirmed that the battery was at 100%. Cutting the power for the first time, all devices continued to operate as expected, however the metrics were unexpected. The battery charge immediately dropped from 100% to below 75%. Power was immediately restored to determine root cause.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lWuwV2hU5hs/X74nE5UfW3I/AAAAAAAAAFY/gFBt1pubk3giBvbbC_I4-pr0P4oPuzn1ACLcBGAsYHQ/s579/UPS-test1-fail.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="UPS batter graph - drop to 70%" border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="579" height="420" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lWuwV2hU5hs/X74nE5UfW3I/AAAAAAAAAFY/gFBt1pubk3giBvbbC_I4-pr0P4oPuzn1ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h420/UPS-test1-fail.PNG" title="UPS batter graph - drop to 70%" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Customer service</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Based on a chat with customer service, it was recommended to “calibrate” the UPS. This is not mentioned in the documentation, however it appears there are many similar <a data-mce-href="https://forums.apc.com/spaces/4/back-ups-surge-protectors/searchresults?keyword=calibration&spaces=4" href="https://forums.apc.com/spaces/4/back-ups-surge-protectors/searchresults?keyword=calibration&spaces=4" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;">concerns and recommendations</a>. It appears that the correct recommendation is to ensure that the load is at 30-40% during this process. It took some effort to plug in a few other devices to generate the required load to ensure that the test was compliant with the recommendations.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMc0-7fXg4Y/X74nahjzkZI/AAAAAAAAAFg/jUaCvGxWirAopLnDfAADLq5vAQwNBFf7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s593/UPS-cal-30-percent-load.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="UPS calibration graph data" border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="593" height="614" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oMc0-7fXg4Y/X74nahjzkZI/AAAAAAAAAFg/jUaCvGxWirAopLnDfAADLq5vAQwNBFf7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h614/UPS-cal-30-percent-load.PNG" title="UPS calibration graph data" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Test results after calibration</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Battery drop to to 85% after 1 minute and then to 77% after another minute. However, the battery sustained power for a full 70 minutes before power was restored.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-802KZnoN-jc/X74nvBvgWUI/AAAAAAAAAFo/3D7Ibm0SgCATKL5ZINq2TgfkEha7eDL-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s604/UPS-test3.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="UPS performance after calibration - graph" border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="604" height="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-802KZnoN-jc/X74nvBvgWUI/AAAAAAAAAFo/3D7Ibm0SgCATKL5ZINq2TgfkEha7eDL-gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h600/UPS-test3.PNG" title="UPS performance after calibration - graph" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">One last test</span></span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even with the 20% drop in battery available during the first few minutes, the battery has provided power for more than the required 1 hour.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NDM2d3LoVlI/X74oK3ZhjJI/AAAAAAAAAFw/C3ahlOn-hLAoGOy2gKsR-nry1NZYzOPlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1843/UPS-4.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="UPS final test results" border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1843" height="252" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NDM2d3LoVlI/X74oK3ZhjJI/AAAAAAAAAFw/C3ahlOn-hLAoGOy2gKsR-nry1NZYzOPlwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h252/UPS-4.PNG" title="UPS final test results" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Conclusion</span></span></h4><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">While this device does not perform as expected, it does meet our goal. Buyer beware.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></p><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">UPS device</span></span></h4><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">APC Back UPS Pro BX 1000VA, 8 Outlets, AVR, LCD interface, LAM 60Hz<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />BX1000M-LM60 - there are no direct links for this device. While this device met our needs, we can't recommend it.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans";" /></p>IoTinHomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15046133755187877328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316473311194588187.post-83857592107532395292020-10-21T21:30:00.000-07:002021-04-04T22:49:48.918-07:00Home Assistant Review<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px;">Home Assistant Review</span></h2><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px;">If you have been thinking about making your home smart, with automation and have experienced the frustration of switching apps to perform simple tasks, its time to take a look at Home Assistant.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Home Assistant (HA) has come a long way, since we first looked at it many years ago and has become exponentially better over the past year. To date it has been rock solid and stable as any production system. At the time of writing this blog, the released version is 0.116.4. While setting up and using the system can seem overwhelming, the platform provides a blank canvas that can be customized to your individual needs.</span></p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Comparisons</span></h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">We have been using a home automation system for a decade now. The system has been operating flawlessly and has scaled well over the years, however there are limitations that HA helps to overcome. There a many competing products in the marketplace, and some that no longer exist or changed their business models (e.g. </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.techhive.com/article/3337249/lowes-will-shut-down-its-iris-by-lowes-smart-home-platform.html" href="https://www.techhive.com/article/3337249/lowes-will-shut-down-its-iris-by-lowes-smart-home-platform.html" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lowes Iris</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, </span><a data-mce-href="https://blog.wink.com/wink-blog/2020/7/8/update-on-the-upcoming-wink-subscription" href="https://blog.wink.com/wink-blog/2020/7/8/update-on-the-upcoming-wink-subscription" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Wink</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">). Other larger players in this space are unnecessarily overprices and have subscription fees. Most are cloud based, overpriced, prone to hacking (</span><a data-mce-href="https://www.consumerreports.org/hacking/ring-doorbell-accounts-may-be-vulnerable-to-hackers/" href="https://www.consumerreports.org/hacking/ring-doorbell-accounts-may-be-vulnerable-to-hackers/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ring</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">) and more focused on revenue and selling your data. Security and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) systems are focused on preying on consumer fears and have closed or proprietary systems with high premiums and lack flexibility. The other giants in this space, force you to lock into their ecosystem, which once again requires giving them your security, privacy and data.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Home Assistant Platform</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Your starting point is </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/" href="https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">here</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">. The simplest, minimal cost approach is to use a </span><a data-mce-href="https://www.home-assistant.io/hassio/installation/" href="https://www.home-assistant.io/hassio/installation/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">virtual machine</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> (VM) and run it on an old or existing computer. In our experience, we immediately saw that we could integrate a few cameras, some Bluetooth devices and an existing zwave controller, into a single platform and obtain some real benefits from automation. However, running the system virtualized had some limitation in our use case.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The next step, was to run HA on a physical device. Choosing a device depends on how much work you expect the system to perform. For most of us a </span><a data-mce-href="https://amzn.to/3lL0qJT" href="https://amzn.to/3lL0qJT" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Raspberry PI4</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">, will be more than sufficient to perform the required tasks.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Getting the PI4 running was easy and restoring the backup from the VM meant that any setup was not lost. Initially, we used a slower SD card and later upgraded to a </span><a data-mce-href="https://amzn.to/3iXbPUc" href="https://amzn.to/3iXbPUc" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">higher performance SD card</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">. Over the past year, there have been significant performance improvements to the platform, which has also helped in providing a user experience, which has less frustration, lag or delays during navigation.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">We chose to run InfluxDB to capture data from all Internet of Things (IOT) devices, so that we could monitor and interrogate historical data, trends and issues. Most end users would not require this, however for us, it was important to view historical data for anomalies, e.g why did the battery in the sensor suddenly die. There are a number of other add-ons that we chose to run on the PI4. System and power utilization have been within acceptable parameters for a device that is the size of a deck of cards and provides significant benefits, like Ad blocking for the entire home.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">At this point, it is important to mention, that part of the reason that we like HA, is the added benefits of privacy and security, when compared with products that the major technology and security companies have. Your HA system is run inside your home and the data is not stored in the cloud, where hackers can, and will get access to it. It’s not a question of if, but when.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Major’ updates are released monthly, with minor update in the days following. You can choose to update as often as they are released or wait few days in the event of any new bugs being discovered and resolved. The release notes are comprehensive and transparent, with user feedback.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Accessing the system remotely can be done though the optional Home Assistant could service. In our situation, we chose to opt for running a VPN server on the home router for remote access.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Community</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The community and </span><a data-mce-href="https://community.home-assistant.io/" href="https://community.home-assistant.io/" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">forums</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> are extremely helpful, should you run into any issues or looking for ideas and feedback. There are some amazing smart people that are willing to share their ideas, feedback and assistance.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">What could be better</span></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Official SSD boot support. SD cards are known to fail and SSD’s provide better performance. Lack of support has been partly due to the delays in the Rasberry team releasing support for the </span><a data-mce-href="https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-eeprom/blob/master/firmware/release-notes.md" href="https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-eeprom/blob/master/firmware/release-notes.md" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">bootloader</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> feature. HA has released a </span><a data-mce-href="https://github.com/home-assistant/operating-system/releases" href="https://github.com/home-assistant/operating-system/releases" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1242ee; display: inline-block; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-all;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">beta</span></a><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> that does support SSD, however we plan to wait for an official version.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Automations for a smart home</span></h3><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Turn on the coffee machine, when the cell phone is unplugged (only between the hours of 6am and 10am). Switch off the coffee machine after 30 minutes.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tell Google home mini to make an announcement 1 hour before sunset.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Power on the bedroom plug at 10pm.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Movie mode - one click to switch off lights on power on the television.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Email notification in the event of a power failure and when UPS is discharging. Separate text message when the UPS charge drops below a predefined threshold.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">High priority notification when the front door is unlocked and we are not home. Similar alert when the garage door is opened.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Switch the thermostat to a lower setting when we leave home and increase temperature when we arrive.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Bed time. Switch off all lights and set the thermostat temperature to not warm the house.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Set the thermostat to a predefined temperature one hour prior to the alarm set on the Android phone.</span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></strong></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lessons learnt</span></h3><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Take regular backups – you never know when a SD card could go bad or there is an unforeseen event. Setup an automation to copy the backup file to a separate device.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Review the release notes. When something stopped working, it was clearly our fault for not adjusting settings or reading the notes. However, we were not alone and the community soon posted an explanation, solution or workaround.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">The information is constantly changing, it is easy to get overwhelmed. It is important to step back and determine your individual requirements and needs.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><a href="www.iotinhome.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Learn more</a> about our use of Smart Homes, IoT and Automation.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZHYEME32mHU/X6-BkvIxXaI/AAAAAAAAACw/tpbU65cy1ZIYm3HQujnbrsQbkVeDMyTuACLcBGAsYHQ/s225/ha.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZHYEME32mHU/X6-BkvIxXaI/AAAAAAAAACw/tpbU65cy1ZIYm3HQujnbrsQbkVeDMyTuACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/ha.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>IoTinHomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15046133755187877328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316473311194588187.post-62420642588360320252020-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:002021-04-04T22:49:53.231-07:00How to Setup a Smart Home on a Budget<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px;">Smart Home on a Budget</span></h1><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px;">Most smart home technology products, in isolation, look great at first glance and can definitely make our lives easier, more secure and even save time or money. It is only when we look deeper or have used the product for some time that we realize the true cost.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sometimes the product comes with a monthly subscription fee. It is critical to include the total cost over time to determine if the product really adds value.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Factors to consider</strong></h3><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Trial or promotion periods - product price is discounted. On the surface this may seem like a great deal, but consider the motives of the manufacturer. How are they making money for their shareholders?</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Subscription fees - over the past decade, technology companies have realized that a regular monthly subscription fee, provides a more predictable cash flow and makes shareholders happy. This boosts the share prices, executive meet their targets and get their bonuses</span></li></ul><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Privacy – companies sometimes sell the product at a loss, break-even or for minimal margin. Why would they do this ? Your data, habits, trends, demographics are all commodities that can be sold.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Security – how often are the smart devices updated. If the manufacturer stops providing updates after a few years, the consumer is now vulnerable.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Lack of integration – does this product work with my other IoT devices?</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Dedicated application – Mobile apps have been known to collect more information than required for functionality.</span></li></ul><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Examples</strong></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Security – Smart TV (no names mentioned). Purchased in 2012. The manufacturer did not release any updates, ever. This device required an internet connection and should it be compromised, an attacker or hacker might have access to your internal network.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">How many aging devices do you have that have not been updated?</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Solutions</strong></h3><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Most of us choose to use these products, however, we need to consider the consequences. What are we willing to give up for convenience and is it worth it. This is an individual decision and depends on your own situation, budget and circumstance. See how we use Home Assistant, in our <a href="www.iotinhome.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Smart Home</a>.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><h3 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: left;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Ideas</strong></h3><ul style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 18px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hard mute smart speakers – most have a button or switch to do this. It does mean that you can’t speak commands to the device, but it can still be used for streaming music or announcements.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Disable wifi or internet for older smart tv that has not been updated in years. Yes, it’s a dumb tv, however it can still display content from another device, eg chromecast, roku</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Cameras – disable the old port forwarding setup. This was a great option in the past, however it is only a matter of time, before this vector is compromised, due to an expired certificate or other vulnerability and suddenly the hacker has access to your home devices.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">When remote, VPN to your home network.</span></li><li data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 38px;"><span data-mce-style="font-weight: 400;" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Setup automated alerts to notify via text, twilio or your notification or choice, while not directly connected to your home. You can always VPN in and check on history or criticality.</span></li></ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Open Sans;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><a href="www.iotinhome.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Learn more</a> about our use of Smart Homes, IoT and Automation.</span></span></div>IoTinHomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15046133755187877328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2316473311194588187.post-28865305634977401822020-05-29T11:00:00.001-07:002021-04-04T23:23:51.956-07:00My Smart Home<p> </p><header class="entry-header responsive-max-width" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px auto 32px; max-width: calc(750px);"><h2 class="entry-title" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; font-family: var(--font-headings,"PT Sans",-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI","Roboto","Oxygen","Ubuntu","Cantarell","Fira Sans","Droid Sans","Helvetica Neue",sans-serif); font-size: 2.01136rem; line-height: 1.125; margin: 0px; max-width: unset; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://mysmarthome487099458.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/example-post-3/" rel="bookmark" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; cursor: pointer; max-width: unset; text-decoration-line: none;">My Smart Home</a></h2></header><div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px auto; max-width: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px auto 32px; max-width: calc(750px); overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; max-width: unset;">Smart Homes and the IOT (Internet of Things) are finally maturing and entering our lives and homes.</span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 32px auto; max-width: calc(750px); overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; max-width: unset;">We all have one or more smart speakers, like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_speaker" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1279be; cursor: pointer; max-width: unset;" target="_blank">Google Home</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Echo" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1279be; cursor: pointer; max-width: unset;" target="_blank">Amazon Echo</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HomePod" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: inherit; color: #1279be; cursor: pointer; max-width: unset;" target="_blank">Apple HomePod</a>, as well as wifi cameras and perhaps some smart switches or lights. Maybe even a thermostat that can be controlled remotely. Most work well in isolation and with their own proprietary application.</span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 32px auto 0px; max-width: calc(750px); overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: bolder; max-width: unset;">Can I have one app to control all my smart home devices?</span></p></div>IoTinHomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15046133755187877328noreply@blogger.com