My Wife Hates our Smart House

[@homey]

Who would've thought a smart home platform could be this powerful and this simple? Huge thanks to Linus, Jake, and the entire LTT team for showing how Homey can take your smart home game to a higher level (pun intended)! 🚀 Working with you guys was an absolute blast. To help everyone reach Linus' level, we're giving the LTT audience exclusive early access to our Black Friday deals! Use the code *LEVELUPLINUS* via the link in the video description for €/$/£ 50 off Homey Pro and 12.5% off everything else. With love, Your Homeys at Homey ❤

[@Peacocks.]

no

[@frederickontour1478]

Homey is awesome!

[@_____alyptic]

If Homey uses CM4 modules, do they also release Open-Source Software/Firmware? 🤔

[@wolfgangBuonarotti]

Orale, the Homeys hooked Linus up, foo! I mean like, Linus and his homie hooked the Homey up theirself but yeah... Shits lit!

[@homey]

@@frederickontour1478 You're too! ❤

[@nate472]

I have normal light switches. They work well when turning on, and also off my lights. Highly recommend.

[@Elvewizzy.]

I can confirm that these work very well. When i need the lights on, I press the switch, and when I need to turn them off, i press the switch again. Barely any effort! And You can get fancy ones with an LED inside of them so you can see the switch in the dark!

[@23merlino]

exactly, same here as there is one less thing to go wrong, buy a battery for, find out there are no spare available anymore etc. etc. etc... reminds me of that old saying 'Keep It Simple Stupid'...

[@Warp2090]

I have mercury light switches. They are silent, and still work perfectly for 60 years.

[@YTDE426]

I have Fire. Fire makes warm. And Fire makes Light. Electric unga unga.

[@colemangreen4191]

@@nate472 I love tech but really hate smart home stuff haha. I have a few smart plugs for some key appliances to use with Alexa. Switches, blinds, motion sensors, really ‘smart’ security systems, light bulbs are all so frustrating and the roi on any energy savings is decades.

[@ItsBBP]

All of the trouble Linus has had with "smart home" stuff is the best advertisement to tell people not to use it.

[@mimas120]

This should be pinned

[@draskuul]

I think the main issue is going overboard with every single switch. I have a pretty limited number where it makes sense--controlling front porch/yard lights to automate at night or a light that is awkward to access otherwise. Beyond that it's mostly sensors for me.

[@jec6613]

Which is unfortunate, because smart home tech is really cool and can work very reliably if you actually read the tech docs and plan before throwing your money at it. 100% of my lighting is automated, responds instantly to sensors, and doesn't turn off randomly. It's not a difficult problem to solve, just takes a bit of planning.

[@erinjenne811]

Totally agree. Sometimes simple really is best, like turning lights on and off manually.

[@jec6613]

@@draskuul making every single switch integrated is fine, it's the sensor in the switch that's a problem. Those should be used sparingly and only when the view from the switch actually is what you want the sensor to see - otherwise get a Lutron or Insteon remote sensor.

[@selim_ct]

0:54 all I see is that Linus is too short for the motion sensors to detect him

[@gottobekidingme]

dbrand has been trying to reach you for your job interview. 😂

[@katrinabryce]

And his children are presumably even shorter?

[@qwertyferix]

A lot of motion sensors ignore the space that close to the floor so that they won't be triggered by pets.

[@KingLo]

For the record, 80% of your problems could be solved by tying motion sensors into a smart light switch instead of trying to combine the functions. You can then control what happens when the motion is sensed instead of hoping the light switch company does it for you. I have lights that only turn on with motion during certain hours of the day.

[@butterkan3584]

I know they work great

[@ayuchanayuko]

Same thing for networks. Combining a modem-firewall-router-switch-AP into a single CPE can be useful but it can also be a nightmare. Separating at least the modem and the router-AP-switch is already good. But separating all three is the best. Upgrade each part separately for cheap and the entire network does not drop when one part dies or restarts.

[@odnx]

7:41

[@acmhfmggru]

​@@ayuchanayuko"for cheap" lololololololololololololollll nice joke! Very funny!

[@tbuk8350]

This is exactly what Jake was telling him since well before he installed the switches lol.

[@TdrSld]

I'm using a Aqara Presence Sensor FP2 in my room right now for testing and it has been spot on. 450sqft of cover with 300 cells in that space and the ability to make 30 zones in that space for triggers and tracks 5 targets at one time when wall mounted. If mounted to ceiling it can be a fall sensor too but you lose the 5 target tracking and based on how high your ceilings are you lose sqft cover. As for why the Presence Sensor y'all were using was picking y'all up outside the bathroom is because it can see through walls. This is working on the same principles as the WiFi tech that lets people map and track things in a home with just the WiFi singles (crazy stuff)

[@totgezockt]

@@TdrSld Came to comment this. I also got a sensor recently and it's the best sensor I have ever used. Highly accurate and very quick

[@michaelbenham3603]

After getting my own home and trying all kinds of smart devices, hours figuring out compatibility, working out bugs, much money spent, I came to the conclusion that they mostly create more problems than they actually solve. 2 things I can think of that are actually useful is a programmable thermostat and lights that dim and change colour temperature.

[@sladewilson9741]

Wifi bulbs and google. All one needs.

[@Appoxo]

Agreed. I'd mostly use thermostats and maybe temperature sensors. Maybe outside I'd use presence detection switches if they can be configured for a certain area. That actually sounds useful.

[@The.One.True.B]

I have a smart thermostat and litter box, that’s in. I want dumb lights and fridge and toilet and doors and everything else.

[@FIGHTTHECABLE]

If you have money like Linus, get a good certified KNX integrator.

[@finbar163]

I put a non-connected motion sensing light switch in my garage and have been very happy with it.

[@pascalm1305]

I'm just glad that they figured out that you can also just push a button to turn it on or off. It made my life so much easier, I go in to a room and turn it on and when I leave I can just turn it off. I just love it.

[@maxking3]

Actually I built a smart home in 2006. Nothing has failed - ever! But it uses KNX, which is a pro technology orginally designed for hotels and airports. But for many years, it is affordable for normal family homes. But Linus seems absolutely addicted to garbage.

[@Macintoshiba]

​@@maxking3heyyy, good old KNX. im really surprised he didn't settle for a KNX solution himself. There's so much variety out there, including smartphone access features from certain manufacturers....but, oh well. Garbage it is!

[@abdulallahalharbi7825]

@@Macintoshibait’s a hidden ad Didn’t expect it from linus

[@ericbonanno5214]

So, I'm guessing that the motion won't turn the lights back on after manually turning them off is most likely a feature and not a bug. If you think about it, they say the sensor is able to detect people breathing. If you would put one of those switches in a bedroom, you wouldn't want the lights to turn back on while you're trying to sleep. Which is probably why you have to leave the room for a minute to reset.

[@sunbleachedangel]

Well yeah, obviously, you don't want to turn off your lights just for them to turn back on immediately

[@nobodytoyou4887]

Also a safety concern , almost every dumb motion switch I've installed has this so that if you turn the switch off to say change a light bulb it doesn't flick back on while your working on it and shock you. Normally they won't go back into motion sense unless you turn it back on and leave (some have a timer like 30 minutes to an hour).

[@peter.dolkens]

Smart gear almost always has a current running through it, even when it's "off". I wouldn't trust an "off" smart light unless I've definitely isolated the circuit

[@Yay295]

Really there should be three states: off, auto, and on.

[@zeruty]

​​@@Yay295My GE Z-wave switches have an air gap switch. A little pull tab switch that cuts power for real

[@OfficialDeathScythe]

I still like home assistant, it was as easy for me to setup as this it seems and I haven't had any issues with it. That being said you have a lot more control over it so it's always possible for the wife approval factor to drop to the ground after messing up a single automation

[@lemster101]

Yeah the last point about the antenna being all the way in the basement wasn't an entirely fair thing to say in my opinion. If he had put his Home Assistant installation in the same spot as he put the Homey device, there wouldn't have been any issues with USB extension cables either. I get it, Homey is convenient and it's a more attractive looking device, but still.

[@alexruffell]

While it was clarified a few times, it is not Home Assistant's fault that the zwave mesh was having so many issues. I only installed 6 or 7 of those Jasco motion switches (out of >90 zwave devices) and I've had similar issues to those described. I knew it was some device causing trouble as a power cycle of the house usually eliminated the issue by resetting all the in-wall zwave devices but it was hard to pinpoint what device was causing the issues. I narrowed it down to Jasco outlets and the Jasco motion switches as they are the only devices I have not replaced yet (waiting for alternatives... that fit my selection criteria). I am eagerly waiting for Inovelli's presence switches but I am unsure those will work well everywhere as mmWave is RF and it can pass through certain materials such as a light weight door. I don't want my pantry light turning on all the time when I am in the kitchen for example. Maybe the higher frequency sensor in the final production will fix this but I will have to test it... for now I am planning to use it in all the rooms where the switches point outwards (towards the outside of the house) so that walking by in the hallway won't trigger them... ever.

[@jajssblue]

The Smart Home Saga Continues! Always nice to see father - son bonding again. Haven't seen enough Jake recently.

[@swollenaor]

rebel fase and maybe puberty...

[@Micky075]

Who is the father and who is the son?

[@swollenaor]

@@Micky075 yes

[@bahamutbbob]

It's almost all been Elijah and David recently. We need more of the senior writers to be in videos again.

[@kraftypk7283]

I started off liking Elijah, but he's been in soooo many videos I kinda can't stand him now 😂​@@bahamutbbob

[@4203105]

8:45 50W for that little light? Is that bulb from the last war?

[@TheTimtam112]

I almost spat out my coffee, I thought I misheard him the first time

[@shellderp]

sounds like an entire room of lights..

[@transatlant1c]

Given an LED downlight uses about 5w, I’d imagine it’s a bank of them

[@TimSheehan]

It's everything that switch controls, so probably 5x10W downlights

[@shaymic20]

As a commercial electrician who has installed similar systems it probably would have been a whole lot cheaper and easier to to just have seperate ceiling mounted occ/photo sensors and cat 6a wire them to a modual. they work great!

[@l0gic23]

Why cat6a?

[@TomaszKajtoch]

@l0gic23 near presence of AC wiring, slightly thicker wires, and usually these kinds of sensors don't actually use ethernet signaling but utilize the same kind of wiring, e.g. CAN or Modbus. It's recommended to run cat 6a or better for long CAN runs.

[@novideohereatall]

My thought also. Our new office uses tons of smart lightning with adjustable dimmer slopes, hue and presence detection, but nothing is Z-wave. Like most other things, wired is king. Since he built the house with smart lights in mind a real installation like this should have been standard..

[@ZenMuff1n]

I think he didn't want anything(except speakers) hanging from the ceiling and he was very particular about seeing wires. Most of his home solutions are also what drove up the price and complexity.

[@nothingtoseehere93]

Occupancy sensors are still PIR and garbage. mmWave is the future

[@NCISCherno]

While I never felt the desire to use any smart home technology, these videos absolutely ensure I never will. Every benefit of these is easy to argue against, especially at the cost of the pain involved.

[@andresvaldevit3692]

I have normal light switches too, you turn them manually on and off, work flawlessly and were very affordable. I highly recommend them too

[@JosephAlukka]

The first mistake you made was trying to make it high tech by buying smart switches with motion detection. All you needed were regular smart switches and standalone mmwave motion detectors in the first place, that way the delay, timing, conditional switching can all be programmed in nodeRED or HA automation based on the location it is installed and you can place the detector where you want and upgrade it quickly as new tech comes in. Now you have to rip out the switches everytime to upgrade and the manufacturer of the switches decide when to turn it on and off. Also, try zigbee, you have a lot more options and if you run in band 11, you will have no issues.

[@maxking3]

The mistake he did was taking a house he rewired for all his IT needs and forgot to put in a professional wired smart home system like KNX. Would be boring though because it would just do the job for the next few decades, without any need for emergency videos.

[@JanSt12]

Yea Aqara FP1 is a good and already kinda old example

[@Rysysys]

Yup, like, You have HA - just use it.

[@TroublesomeOwl]

@@maxking3 i don't know much about smart home stuff, but i believe the main thing was that everything he installed was able to run on an open platform so you aren't relying on a company staying in operation for your devices to still work. is the one mentioned here like that? or run on a proprietary system?

[@FlameSoulis]

Thank you for mentioning nodeRED. I'm confused why Jake is going "Oh yeah, this other company is better and easier" when HA CAN RUN NODERED which is basically the same thing!

[@steadyclouds4614]

If your house was that smart, it would've told you about the server rack Waterpark.

[@janzibansi9218]

if that house was smart, it would tell linus to stop installing random garbage. garbage that only has to work for one video, and it has to break down for more content. then linus would fire the house and make a video out of it

[@waterandsteel4713]

Ah but it can now!

[@phynx2006]

Smart homes are only as smart as the people building them 🤣

[@todorow22]

I worked at a big facility that had motion sensor lights in all the washrooms, but the washrooms were large public style. Working on a weekend when no one is around I went into a stall. 2 min later all lights off, pitch black. The sensor was around a corner by the door. That was a fun experience. Thank god for phone flashlights

[@barongerhardt]

Had the same thing happen. They either work and go unnoticed or are the most annoying thing ever. "Lets put them in study rooms to keep people from leaving the lights on when the leave." Use the study room and need to stop and stand up every 5 minutes to get light again really keeps one focused.

[@Masterrunescapeer]

Had one with a very bad motion detector in an empty bathroom, it was tuned for enough motion that it's someone walking. So you're sitting there waving your hand around for a few seconds since it's like a 3s window for the light to trigger after switching off.

[@venom5809]

LMAO yep, experienced that before.

[@DaxSudo]

There are so many devices in that high-speed network. What a wonderful botnet you are building. I cannot wait to see what kind of innovative malware they’re going to test on your benchmark home.

[@josephd8129]

@@DaxSudo This video is a living version of the "tech enthusiast vs tech professional" meme

[@emweissman]

Lutron smart switches have been the best smart home products I’ve ever bought. They are rock solid, and work with everything, I love them.

[@jonp8225]

Plus one, we have Lutron Casetta switches throughout our home and they are amazing. I never have any issues with them. They support HomeKit and all the other platforms too.

[@micglou]

I work in tech, I love tech... but still I don't have a lot, actually very minimal smart stuff in my house... same with my car, I disable almost all functions that "make me lazy". There's nothing wrong with standing up to turn of a light, nothing wrong with actually paying attention while you drive.

[@OutruntheWind]

You think drivers are idiots now? Wait until they don't have to think at all anymore...

[@faustinpippin9208]

If it wasnt for the safety during a accident i would never own a new car, what a nightmare to maintain and fix.... sadly the gov even made a lot of the stuff mandatory....

[@Stardust51]

That reminds me of a meme I saw a while back. Tech enthusiasts: Everything is high tech, all the time People who work in tech: Disable and avoid all "smart" stuff, even on printers

[@meinnase]

Its ridiculous actually. Like every time one of my friends demonstrates an amazing smart toy it like really only serves to reeinforce my idea that theyre completely useless. Just yesterday, "i can turn on my dishwasher with my phone", yeah? Can you also load and empty the dishwasher with your phone? lmao. And then everyone gets smartwatches and gets on a treadmill to get there steps in. Why did you spend thousands to save 10 steps here and there in the first place?

[@Bassalicious]

When I learned that the more knowledgeable people are in tech, the less smart stuff they use (especially cyber security specialists, programmers and the like) I completely gave in to confirmation bias and avoid that stuff like the plague now. If it has any wireless connectivity it's not specifically meant to be accessing like a phone or laptop it's a no-go. I'm fine with infrared remotes but that's about the extend of my tolerance.

[@DeinonychusCowboy]

Nothing has convinced me more that I don't want any "smart" products in my house at all than watching this series

[@MeatbrickProductions]

@@DeinonychusCowboy i think the real issue is regular “consumer” smart products that Linus is trying to implement. There is too many options and variants and way too much clutter on a home network. Enterprise solutions are significantly better. (Lutron, Control 4, Savant) but the fact you need to be a dealer to get these products makes it even more of a headache.

[@avimakkar]

He overdid everything. Smart bulbs and outlets are 100% worth it. Motion sensor are among the most unreliable stuff when it comes to smart home.

[@d313m5]

Smart blinds seem useful tho

[@jackass123455]

​@@avimakkar exactly if you don't go ham and want motion sensing IN THE LIGHT SWITCH then nearly every smart switch is pretty robust I'm slowly migrating my whole house to smart switches and won't touch an AC and likely. Blinds/shutters that don't have smart integration

[@Qbert2030]

Hi! I know what you mean, however if you are interested in some basic automation and you are handy, I highly recommend Shelly switches, they are modules that go in the back of the electrical boxes and allow you to keep your current switches and manual control.

[@bluegizmo1983]

I've found that the *_only_* reliable way to do automatic room lighting is good millimeter wave presence detection sensors. Sensors in a wall mounted light switch won't be great, as they need to be mounted high on a wall, preferably in the corner where the wall meets the ceiling.

[@mitchelle245]

Yes and in a bathroom shower doors can stop the detection. Another reason you want it up high. Nothing like having a made significant other mad because their night shower turn into a shower in the dark.

[@johneisele6264]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate these videos, as a guy trying to make my own smart house work, seeing the items you pick along with the follow up videos and the trouble you've had with a few of them is so helpful. I'm sorry it's been shitty but it's been one hell of a learning experience.

[@EFazy]

Linus! As I can see, you're running home assistant. I'm on the Zigbee train with 70+ devices, and my lamp vs IR sensor problems was solved with nodeRed. This is a visual programming addon, where you can create more understandable and complex automation (looks like the Homey stuff, but with much more options!) than the build in one (I know, it became more user friendly, but if you got a hang on nodeRed....) So the main solution to my problem was two timers, since I have multiple motion sensor, and some of them behave differently. (The aliexpress stuff switch off occupancy after 2-3 minutes, but the Philips Hue hold it to 5-10 seconds...) So the solution is basically two timer in nodeRed. One starts counting, if the area sensors are all on "Clear" state... If the counter (5 minutes) finishes, it's dimm the light in the room, and start an another timer (2 min). If this finishes, the lights are switched off. The logic has a failsafe, so if motion became detected on the sensor during the countdowns, the counters will be stopped/reseted (and also the light will dimm back if it was during the 2nd counter) BTW: When you question yourself about Home Assistant, don't forget that corporates tend to be money hungry (like MyQ garage stuff) so beeing on the open/non vendor lock side will be better in the long run! And one last topic: You really should look after ESPHome. The water sensing stuff can be integrated to your HA with a minimal electronic and coding knowledge. I have a few project with this (water level sensing in a rainwater collector, radiator valve controllers with PoE (the stuff actually talking via ethernet), traffic light for my kids with RGB addressable LEDs, two amplifiers, which can be volume controlled and switched off from HA)

[@donc-m4900]

Or water sensing in a server rack, maybe?

[@bluejwalker]

This is why I have avoided any smart home crap, period. This is, I think, the 3rd video that you've posted that is along the lines of "My smart home system was a nightmare, but THIS is the solution!" It always works fine at the start, with concessions. Then it either gets worse or you can't stand living with the drawbacks anymore. I know some people love it. But i couldn't fathom babysitting a system just to make sure a damn light switch works in my house. Not knocking you, and I get that this is a perfect cycle for content lol. And I do enjoy watching it. But I will stay clear away from these products

[@emu071981]

Smart home stuff is still a very niche thing. It will continue to get better over time and perhaps our kids will be able to actually have a smart home that is basically plug and play...

[@Infigo96]

​@@emu071981 Those do exist but they are not as flashy or cool as the ones here. Scandinavia is basically dominated by one company.. Even dumb dimmers are not safe here, basically only smart dimmer are installed here around. Few customers know it as for them, they asked their electrician for a dimmer, they got a dimmer, the installer had a easier time installing it + gets some smart features during installation. But again not as flashy, just pure on device distrubuted smart functionality (like motion sensor) + some 15year batterylife pir sensor and buttons to acompany it. But as long as companies tries to make smart switches first and not a pure good switch regardless of smarness we are a long way from this being more common than 1-2 companies. Why you need a hub for this basic functionality too is also wierd for me but that seem to be the standard.

[@novideohereatall]

Smart bulbs for mood and background lights is the only "smart"-home things in my home. Bulbs in like a bookshelf or in my windows that only turn on when its dark outside AND not during nighttime when we're sleeping. Regular dumb timers will either be on too early while the sun is still out, or too late when it's already dark. They can also dim down as it gets darker to "transition" the lightning. Truly a set and forget thing that really improves atmosphere.

[@mickleman52]

smart home stuff is just annoying because it should have matured enough by now for there to be affordable/reliable options on the market. Instead the ecosystem has stagnated with all of it's more interesting options either never making it to market or being discontinued with some NOS floating around (though good luck trouble shooting a piece of smart tech... let alone a niche piece of smart tech that didn't sell all that well). I feel like after all these years the only decent thing we have is expensive RGB light bulbs and a fridge with an ipad glued to it.

[@shamilton9864]

@@mickleman52 My experience with smart home tech is the opposite. when something hasn't' worked, it was my own fault. In Linus' situation, the problem is he went with integrated PIR sensors (granted, that was the only option at the time) PIR sensors only tell you if something moved across the sensor, like walking down a hallway. They are terrible for any other application. If they were going in a room where you're always moving, they are likely to keep the lights on. But an office/bedroom/bathroom you don't move enough long enough to keep the PIR switch active. mmWave sensors fix this issue. they are so sensitive they can detect you breathing. Linus could have gotten a mmW senor and plugged it in anywhere in the room and had his HA tell the switch to turn on and off. But he didn't want a million devices. That's fine. But that's where the problem came from.

[@AlexBerg1]

The quality of the privacy blur in this video was amazing.

[@wobblysauce]

And the blinds are going to make the Editor's lives easier.

[@Bassalicious]

@@wobblysauce Would surprise me if it wasn't AI based masking. That mask seems too tight to be hand-made for a YT video.

[@Bluestar1079]

That is exactly why every tech guy I know of, has no desire to live in a smart house. 1. Manufacturers are so arrogant of their product, that when they break down there's no manual backup. 2. They try to make things so easy that they actually make them more difficult. Conveniently putting options deep in sub menus that makes sense for the manufacturer but no one else.

[@Rysysys]

That's why Home Assistant with zigbee2mqtt is a great thing (as long as hardware delivers).

[@Devastator0]

@@Bluestar1079 Exactly this! I’ve been working in IT for over 20 years and when I got my own place I said to my wife that there will be absolutely 0 “smart” devices in it. I just don’t want to deal with the headache.

[@thesnowman2509]

@@Devastator0 I mean, a smart thermostat is pretty nice but that's about it

[@adsadam1]

I'm a software developer and I have a smart home, that idea is nonsense

[@rl1491]

@@adsadam1 don't believe you

[@aussiegruber86]

I am a sparkle so I upgraded everything to be smart in my house…….12 months later I swapped it all back to basic on off control, so much more reliable and easy.

[@sudhelm]

Big props to the editor for all those masking/blurring/rotoscoping madness! It blends in so perfectly, you might not even notice!

[@mwpaus]

😂

[@damian99669]

I have tried quite a few smart home devices and at best I have been mildly disappointed. So many different phone apps with hit or miss quality, pairing issues, log in issues, connection losses. The problems never seem to end. The worst is if you have a guest stay over you either have to somehow get them logged into an app and share your devices or find some other method of dealing with it, some devices have better physical interfaces than others. Watching this video further reinforces my decision to keep these "Smart" devices out of it.

[@scben]

Same. It's really fun if you wake up at night and your smart lamps don't want to turn on.

[@adsadam1]

All of what you said sounds like you're following bad practises. You're using apps, rather than a local instance of Home Assistant. Everything you're doing sounds like it relies on the cloud, either by device or by the hub those devices might use. I have zigbee devices and it just works

[@donc-m4900]

And it just works ​@adsadam1 Says my senior father with 1970's light switches

[@raphaelboll6096]

Love how inavelli called it Project Linus. He really is the special child of the Tech space :)

[@CeJayiZSicK]

After 2 years of wireless problems, it's time you test a bus based system like KNX. It is fully compatible with Home Assistant and won't face any of the interference problems you've been having

[@DobuDobuDobuDot]

That's what I used for the last 8 years. Touch wood but I haven't had a single outage in all those years and everything just works.

[@murti1565]

OMG YES, i have been commenting this for years now. Just use KNX, its sooo much better and compatible with so many devices.

[@junkieshere]

or even BMS protocol instead of these "Smart home" "Zigbee" stuff.

[@CarstenSvendsen]

KNX is used for industrial purposes and each device costs a fortune

[@fokvr]

@@CarstenSvendsen that is not true there are really cheap Chinese knock offs out there that really work!

[@jacobherrera9]

These are my favorite videos. The ones where you upgrading, fixing, or adding new things to your home. Gives me more ideas for mine.

[@BigOlBilliam]

So awesome to see Inovelli stuff finally featured on LTT. I’ve got a ton of Inovelli Blues and they’ve been great for me. I would have loved to see the final production version of their new switches featured because I think that would have been a more representative demo, but regardless, for the people that have been waiting for their presence detection switch, this is a great teaser.

[@teipkep]

I am an electrician and set up my smarthouse, and I bought the most stabile and expensive one I could in Norway, called Elko. It is SO many issues despite everything should be working without issues. A sensor in basement for waterleak, lost connection while I was at holiday and I couldnt get connection up again without physically pressing a button on the device. The dimmers wont dim down a light automaticly, it have to first turn it off THEN dim it up again. It looks so stupid and cheap. The app of course is difficult to understand, and many things is not as easy to program as you would think. It makes me happy to see I'm not the only one that struggles with smarthome. My tip to people that think they should upgrade to smart home: Don't. Wait until it's better. It's just not worth it atm. All though I really enjoy my ceiling light with motion detector being dimmed to minimum at night when I have to use toilet :)

[@the_mastermage]

As someone who has been doing some things here and there? Will it ever get better? I feel like that people have been saying that for many fucking years and it still isnt working well.

[@mariobeans]

I work in the irrigation trade and just about every smart product that has came out is garbage. Stay away from smart timers, looking at rachio...

[@Durayne]

I really like when devices are dumb at times. I hate it when apparantly "some device" thinks he know better what I want to do than myself.

[@murti1565]

why wouldnt u use KNX?

[@junkieshere]

Instead, should have gone BMS, KNX, or bare minimum DALI.

[@seljd]

toilets at my work have motion detection for lights with very short timer and when you're doing to poo poo, you find your self doing the forbidden salute to turned them back on

[@jorggamingcr409]

Yep, happened to me once in college too, and it was a night class so the bathroom was really really dark.

[@Un1234l]

Happened to me in a Popeye's washroom

[@scottydc]

@@jorggamingcr409 suddenly being plunged into an abyss while shitting is probably my #1 or 2 fear

[@heavygaming6596]

😭

[@l0gic23]

No pooping on company time. Those extra sheets will cost you also.

[@The.One.True.B]

The steps this man will take to avoid the simple solutions will never cease to amaze me. Use normal light switches and just stick a couple motion activated night lights in areas where you might need to walk through at night. I just keep one in the main area and one in the bathroom, I can basically get around my house in pitch black darkness which is good if someone were ever actually in here. I wouldn’t want lights automatically turning on lol

[@zandreblondin8880]

Some people are simply never satisfied with the easy way. I know for him, a lot of the reason to do it are because it makes for good and recurring content, but if i had the kind of resources he does, I’d be messing around with this stuff too. If something goes wrong, i now have a problem i can enjoy the process of fixing! I love wasting time on convoluted tech solutions.

[@lemster101]

Pretty sure he's doing this because his kids leave lights on around the house and he can also use these to turn off the AC and things like that. It's great tech if you get everything to work well, but yeah it's not for everyone.

[@Blueyzachary]

Bro HOW do you always make videos relevant to what I’m doing rn?

[@aligatorsandwitch72]

This is such a great ad form Homey. I went into it and spent most of the time thinking that smarthome stuff was stupid but I was impressed at homey's functionality. I'd probably buy some of their stuff if I cared about this sort of thing.

[@seannewcomb7594]

its stupid, don't buy it.

[@MeatbrickProductions]

I feel like Linus’ house is really missing out on other Smart Home Technologies. Panelized or “Fake Panelized” Lutron in combination with Savant or Control 4 could just about abolish all of his issues and also allow him to integrate just about anything. Really surprised not a lot of creators know about or use this technology

[@griffin8062]

As a Control4 installer, you hit the nail on the head. The Control4 system in my house has run without issue for 3 years.

[@TheCaniblcat]

5 years ago, despite my advice against it, my brother decided to spend a fortune turning his new condo into a smart home. He has since had nothing but trouble with everything from the lights, to the AC, to the front door lock. Maybe one day smart home technology will be awesome, but today is not that day. I'm the family tech-head (working profesionally in IT since '95 and as a system's engineer since 2000). The closest thing in my home to a smart device is a timer on the water heater. Even my Smart TV's just act as computer monitors for their attached mini-pc's.

[@maxking3]

Smart home/building automation tech is awesome for over 3 decades, but unfortunately the best system for this - KNX - is mainly used in Europe, mostly used for commercial buildings and needs someone who is willing to learn the fundamentals, before it gets deployed. We built our home in 2006 and have not had a single hickup or outage, even though we have nearly 60 switches, 16 dimmers, 24 rolling shutters and 20 heat circuits. Even a solar inverter, heat pump and wall charger are integrated and the downtime is ZERO. No issues. Unfortunately most freaks use Chinese jung like Zigbee and Z-Wave and give normal people the impression that nothing ever woeks reliably. It is a real shame.

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@maxking3 The issue isn't the outages, not really. A lot of the "reliability" problem is just fundamental to how such things work. Light switches, for instance - there might be people in a room or not, which you have to make sure your sensor(s) can reliably determine. But they might or might not actually want the lights to go on if they're in the room, based on any number of factors. Time of day might approximate that, but not fully enough to be sufficient. For instance, a bright and sunny day might mean I don't need to turn the lights on as I'm walking around. But a cloudy day might require them. Or if I'm working on a project in a room I might need to turn them on and have them stay on completely. Or if I need to walk somewhere in the middle of the night, I probably don't want to have all might lights turn on as I do so. Unless I haven't gone to sleep yet, in which case I probably do. There winds up being so many "corner cases" the problem space better resembles a fractal...

[@maxking3]

@ I hear you. But the thing is, that there is a 34 year old standard used in airports, hotels and skyscrapers, that is 100% reliable, boasts 8000 devices from 500 manufacturers and has become affordable for many family home projects. And it is perfectly integrated with HomeAssistant.

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@maxking3 And my point is that "100% reliable" is a bit disingenuous when you're still going to be dealing with all sorts of jank simply by nature of the problem you're trying to solve. People are complicated.

[@maxking3]

@ If you have a redundant power supply, you can put KNX into critical infrastructure like hospitals & emergency rooms. KNX is professional stuff you won‘t find at Best Buy.

[@Twisterhere]

0:53 The most Canadian "Hello!" I've ever heard 😂

[@Draenal]

I'll never get bored of Linus's smart home adventures. Please do a follow up on these switches when you have the production models in your hands.

[@nextalcupfan]

I'm just getting into home automation so i'm going to be following these Innovelli switches pretty closely as they develop and come to market.

[@josephbryanasuncion4904]

Remember,as long as it's not connected to the internet it's good enough... Everything that connects is out of the question.

[@kb470]

I'm so early my wife was left unsatisfied

[@ABoringTool]

Look everyone, this dude has a wife

[@a64738]

That is a good one, and first which is quite a record ;)

[@iliketurtles50000]

💀

[@monkeyblade99]

@@ABoringTool *had

[@Jimmy_Jones]

I'm so early I disappointed my future wife.

[@thatonedude5237]

That "it won't" at 1:37 hit so hard.

[@odgamerout6698]

Yeah

[@GoTTdk]

That was not Yvonne's voice though 😅

[@chirrayusharma2677]

It might be sarah

[@SdudyoyO]

Linus, I just to say: Any electricity you save on the occasional light not being turned off, it likely being eaten by these switches. I appreciate that you want this to work out the way you envision it, and you know what, what you do is what you do--But I feel like you'd be a lot happier with regular switches at this point.

[@vPeteWalker]

I hadn’t considered Homey before now, but I gotta say if the experience is even close to what you guys showed off along with those interval switches when they’re ready for prime time I can easily see myself flipping over to Homey vs HA.

[@forestw785]

I would like to see an in depth homey vs home assistant battle

[@DustyTheDog]

My grandparents just used those dial timers as switches in their house. As they age, they forget more and more. This helps them, and prevented us as kids leaving the lights on.

[@daniwalmsley611]

Based on wan show, title really should be my wife and I hate my smart house I guess its one of those things where its way more fun designing and tinkering with than actually using

[@bb2ridder757]

I mean once you finally have everything just right it is amazing, until then it is .... A experience

[@FlameSoulis]

Linus, here's a tip: Door sensors. Yes, I know you hate batteries (I do as well), but I put a car's chair sensor on the reed sensor of a door sensor and can detect when someone is in a chair, even if they're not moving enough for the motion sensors. I've also absolutely not linked it to a virtual mouse I've made that keeps wiggling IF the chair sensor is engaged.

[@Junebug89]

I'm glad to finally see an update to Linus smart home setup because I don't think we ever got a full update since the Jasco fiasco. I had basically zero interest in smart home stuff before Linus did and have less than zero interest now, but it sure is fun to watch lol.

[@katrinabryce]

The approach I would take is to use the motion/presence detectors only as sensors, send that to Home Assistant, and have Home Assistant control the lights. In my home, the only presence detection I do is to determine whether I am in or out of the house, and I just use my phone for that. The light switches are buttons that send a signal to Home Assistant, and Home Assistant puts the relevant lights to the opposite of what they are at the moment. Presence detection will turn the lights on if I arrive home in the dark, and turn lights near front-facing windows on at specified times if I am away.

[@AuraMaster_7]

A gnat flies through your house and triggers all of your light switches So smart 👍

[@Masterrunescapeer]

That should not be big enough to trigger it.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

@@Masterrunescapeer A housefly flies through your house and triggers all of your light switches... As soon as they started talking about the actual release version having tuning option I knew this was never going to work. You'll just end up picking between randomly coming on when you don't want it to and not coming on when you want it to. And somehow both of course. And then the seasons change and you have to mess with it all over again. You're probably better of with a camera, probably several, and AI image recognition maybe pet owners would even be able to use it then.

[@phuzz00]

@@Masterrunescapeer Your cat gets the zoomies and turns on every light in your house at 3 am.

[@peter.dolkens]

I've been away from home for 2 weeks. In that time the mmWave has been triggered ONCE. Thing is, we live rural and know that there's a snake living in the house. Chances are he went for a late night snack. Combo sensors though were a terrible idea. Linus's system seems way less responsive than mine which pairs a few different sensors with some smart bulbs. PIR turns lights on, mmWave keeps them on. You can place the sensors accurately in the places where people sit etc for accurate tracking.

[@watercannonscollaboration2281]

Thank you Linus for beta testing smart home devices so we don’t have to. For us who don’t have it we know we’re not missing out in anything and avoiding headaches, and for those of us who do, it’s a source of “things to look out for”

[@Deja117]

I'm a little surprised that Linus still hasn't installed that switchable privacy film stuff on his windows. Even away from making editing videos a little bit easier... It just seems cool to have. Speaking of making things a bit easier, Linus, just get a step stool instead of playing Spider-Man to reach switches. It's worth it and you're a completely normal height.

[@SirWaddlesworth]

I have Home Assistant running on a Raspberry Pi 5. I can see why a consumer type out of the box solution would be ideal for a lot of people, but I love how configurable Home Assistant is, where I can just SSH into it and do whatever I want.

[@18matts]

My regular light switches make me feel like I'm driving a car with manual roll up windows lol

[@mynamemylastname7179]

They work like charm and never fail

[@ThePC007]

You mean they work correctly and don’t randomly fail while being in their down position, so that you cannot close your windows?

[@Ilikewatchingstuff]

Yo linus is getting JACKED!

[@peelthismonkey]

nah, it was just cold.

[@Ilikewatchingstuff]

@peelthismonkey what in tarnation....

[@jacobgames3412]

Frfr

[@lancealcantara1439]

Prob bc he playes badminton 🏸

[@DrJ-do6sc]

i love the theater room

[@DEATH-flare]

The theater room loves you.

[@jacobgames3412]

​@@DEATH-flarethe love theaters you

[@Warp2090]

@@jacobgames3412 you the love theaters

[@4203105]

There is still a projector screen on the wall. This video must have been made a while ago.

[@Lfancoes]

There's one thing that I learn from motion light that you're setting it to turn on with timer, like for 30-60 mins, then off if there's no motion. Not off whenever there's no motion. No matter how active a room is, there will be time when you just chill and not move and let's not for get the bugs and it will annoy you more than saving bills.

[@stevec.]

Linus face when he realises mmWave tech works through nearly all walls, doors, windows, and other barriers except certain metals. A mmWave pointed in any direction is going to pick up any movement in it's range, even if there is a door or wall in between. This is why the tuning on mmWave radars like the LD2450 is so important. Good luck with the roll out while the software is so new ;-)

[@yuricopperhooves]

This is great video. Coz there are probably many people in a dilemma to change to smart things or stay with regular ones. And it helps them forget even the idea to make the switch to smart home stuff. Great stuff. Saves so much money and headache for many people. 👍

[@HadTooMuchToDream]

I work from home and lead a sedentary life style. I think and fumble at a keyboard for a living. Reaching for light switches, along with gettiing out of bed are part of my excercise regime. I have some real nice wooden Venetian blinds, completely manually operated with a pull cord at waist height. I swap around which arm I use to raise and lower them, so as my body building doesn't create a lopsided monster.

[@nukedathlonman]

I'm so glad my home isn't automated (well, the thermostat is, but in the old school way as in one programs the time and temps at the physical thermostat and then just let it be - nope, no smartphone interactions required, no networking to fool around with, no WiFi, *NO APPS*, *NO SUBSCRIPTIONS*, etc - everything just works).

[@barongerhardt]

Wait you thermostat doesn't have access to your location and contacts?

[@nukedathlonman]

@barongerhardt nope. LOL

[@barongerhardt]

@@nukedathlonman I'm working on a new one that comes with a speaker and camera to -monitor- receive commands from across the room. We have two tiers, the subscription free version is ad supported, or pay just $5.99 a month for access to heat and cooling for up to two occupants.

[@NicholasKoeppel]

Water sensors in the basement, Smart Garage door opener, connected switches and locks in the house; all these things work as normal devices, but have additional “smart” advantages… I’ve never had a issue… and it is nice to have a garage door that opens and closes automatically when you start up the car, drive up, or away; lights that turn on when you walk in the door; and locks that you never have to think about, that can be unlocked if someone needs to get in your house remotely while your away…

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@NicholasKoeppel How often do people need to get into your house while you're away? All of the other things you describe can be done with zero apps...

[@Armetron]

As someone who uses zwave I've always found it better to use normal zwave switches and add a separate motion sensor wherever I want. Having a dual integrated device makes it more complicated since you'll never know exactly what the cause is when it starts to fail. Regarding millimeter wave technology there are some zwave detectors that you can buy What I would love to see you integrate one day is using a zwave Arduino to control something unique that there isn't a "made for that" device

[@tormodnicholasmortontorger205]

Welcome to homey, it's crazy simple and easy to use. Go advanced flow. It's worth it. I'm moving from homey to HA because I need more options, but miss so many things from homey when it comes to easy to use

[@D65Cinder11HDR]

I guess the only thing you gotta do is make it smarter 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤❤ 0:11

[@Bidam682]

Smart bulbs coupled with motion sensors with home assistant would be so much better for him, and much more customizable.

[@l33lduck]

16:14 I didn't even say anything...

[@codylox41]

The thing that intrigues me the most is that he never put in regular switches while complaining the entire time about things go off and being dark and not working right. Like that's just commitment! o7 Linus!

[@-B.H.]

Gotta love the Inovelli was like lets use this as a inspiration boost to show off/create a better product!

[@bryonhulcher851]

you should have had reed from smart home solver or lewis from everything smart home fix your house. They're home assistant gurus. the Everything presence senser is amazing !

[@Retrox1989]

Some things just don't need to be "Smart". Automatic lights? Because flicking a switch is hard.

[@LOUamber-n9l]

or have controller on hand

[@amatsehor]

3:32 Techquickie gold KZbin button feels differently now

[@h2porto]

Electrician here… all of the smart devices are great in theory but they almost always just introduce a massive amount of failure points in the system. Toggle switches aren’t sexy but they work until the spring in the switch wears out. The best smart systems we work with are all hardwired with cat 6 eliminating one of the main failure points. However, that just eliminates the connectivity issue and not software and hardware issues that the devices have. Installation, setup and maintenance of the system is dramatically more complicated than traditional mechanically operated systems. Now all that being said there are positives to SOME smart devices in specific situations. Occupancy sensors are great in very large rooms or warehouses where you may have to cover a lot of ground to get to a switch. Smart thermostats can have some awesome advantages over traditional digital or mercury based thermostats but they will never be as reliable. They are expensive unreliable and almost always unnecessary for the vast majority of buildings. I typically do commercial installs and there are occupancy sensors and smart switches in every room. They have improved over the years but there’s no reason to spend $200 for a power pack and a low volt switch when a $2.50 toggle switch will last longer than the business will exist. Anyway sorry for the rant I hope Linus has better luck with his new system 🤞

[@MarcSherwood]

I've was in the building automation space a long long time ago - back before "normal" people had home internet. At that time, I was wiring up maglocks and card readers at home. It was such a pain. Now my house is full of "smart" tech that was easy to install, but has more bugs than one would like. I dream of the days when things will just work.

[@vulkandrache1928]

Why would i ever want automatic lights?

[@silverbackag9790]

Because your life is not complicated enough?

[@stalincat2457]

I'm happy with them. But to be honest I use them quite sparingly: Only the toilet, bathroom and one closet have a sensor atm.

[@4203105]

​​@@stalincat2457 the toilet is the one place I'd want motion sensing lights the least. What if I need to get up and piss in the middle of the night? Now I get blasted by the light of a 100 suns and am all the way awake. When I could have made it to the toilet and back with the limited night vision humans have, no problem and gone right back to sleep.

[@marksonamap]

@@4203105 You can just set up certain times where they won't trigger, or will only trigger low lighting etc.

[@PhysicsGamer]

@@marksonamap So if you're up late the bathroom lights will be in don't-wake-me-up mode? This seems like it would be better solved with a dimmer on the switch by the door...

[@A-ct8bl]

Bro why is your house so blurred. Is it still loading or something😦

[@Ryan-093]

because stalkers try to find out where he lives

[@Eratas1]

@@Ryan-093 Now i want to KNOW!

[@axolotlinanutshell7629]

@@Eratas1 You are the problem

[@schtormm]

12:12, LOL, of course half the apps are made by some Dutch guys :P

[@psilimit]

These seem sweet, as does the Homie. Looking forward to the lights hitting production!

[@Necropheliac]

I’m my opinion the design of smart home devices usually leaves a lot to be desired and also have very inconsistent quality standards. Even within the same brand name, different devices can have a big swing in quality. One thing I find very irritating is that there are no light switches that simply act as scene toggle devices with electric always passing through. I’ve looked and looked for switches that don’t actually close the circuit, but I can’t find them. Why would you want this? I hear you thinking. Because I simply want to let the light bulb be the smart device. All I want is a switch that can send a signal to change the scene. I don’t want the electric circuit to close because downstream devices need power to operate. Switches that close the loop means downstream devices lose power which is not always desirable. If you have a downstream device that has automation, it will have to reboot every time you cut the power to it. It’s really frustrating.

[@mcrommert]

Lutron Seriously Lutron

[@curiousobserver4096]

By the time linus figures out a good solution, he would have paid more money than shelling out on lutron

[@youssefel-zein5966]

So even though nothing worked in the end, the video still had to come out...

[@wildlifeonwheels4236]

Millions in a house just for it to not work 😂

[@galakstiv]

Interesting video for anyone wanting to smartify their home. An update video when the final version (hardware and software) of those switch is available would be great too.

[@Ollerecovery]

About wifi/radio/smart switches, a 5 yearold i know LOVE to move them around and tell what he did, laughing for an eternity, we cannot forbid him to do that (been going on for 3 months now, it is alittle exhausing but we think of the smiles it generate), we just numbered them and move them back in the evening. during the day one never know what will start when pusing one of the buttons :D

[@CoolCrescent186]

20:40 ad to not use a smart home.

[@psphacker57]

Just watched this whole videov

[@leospeedleo]

And that’s why we have motion sensors in our hallways but otherwise just simple switches. You can turn them on, turn them off or hold them to dim the lights. Often easier is better after all 😉

[@IdealGrain]

I’m glad you called out Jasco. I have one, and it’s been a pain point. I’ve replaced it after a failure once too. Unfortunately it’s the only option for a no-neutral zigbee/zwave dimmer without moving to a proprietary protocol (caseta). I’ve had plug-in Jasco/GE devices that are unreliable as well. Jasco makes bad products, has bad support, few or no updates, and has no business selling these painful products to consumers.

[@Kazther]

To each his own ^^ We have automated blinds and motion sensors in the office and I hate them with a passion. I there are so many times when I move through the space or am in it and don't want the lights on, and it's worse with the blinds because I decided how much I use them based on my current mood and what I am doing - not based on outside light levels or whatever. Thankfully - I can block the sensors with paper domes - no harm done, nothing permanent installed or changed - and suddenly I am in full control again - through "dumb" switches. XD Only cool thing would be - opening/closing/on/off the stuff per tapping on my phone - then again - getting up and walking a couple steps now and then sure does not hurt me, what with work and most my hobbies being stationary (sitting even)

[@james.b.mcgill]

19:25 I could have sworn you were about to say "...and fortunately, Homie does play that".

[@modelno15]

I’ve been using the honey pro since it finally came out to the USA and it has been the best thing ever. Has yet to fail me and has opened up so many possibilities for me.

[@Bugattiboy912]

This Linus smart home videos are the rare times where everybody wins. Linus gets paid to make a make a video and get free stuff, the sponsor gets some exposure, and the audience gets yet another advertisement to simply not do what he's doing. Turn the lights on when you're in the room and turn the lights off when you leave.

[@invertexyz]

0:50 tbh, I kinda like that the sensors need you to stand up to activate. It means pets running through the room at night aren't going to frequently turn on your lights.