Ultimate HomeKit Backyard: Eve Aqua, Floodlight Cameras, Weather Stations, and More!

[@1nterfer0n]

Great job man! You're quickly becoming my favorite tech youtuber.

[@beardfm]

Thanks man, greatly appreciate that!

[@asciilogic]

This is a fantastic video - summary videos make sense - gives a good impression of what is available for specific parts of the home. Then can pivot to the device specific video for the details. Great job brother. Wish you were on MacBreak Weekly more often. 😊

[@beardfm]

Thanks for the kind words 🙏🏻 appreciate it

[@LuisFernandez-wg1gh]

Great video! I've had an excellent experience with Yardian for my multi-zone sprinkler system. Highly recommend giving it a try!

[@beardfm]

Thanks for the tip!

[@BrandonDoyleMN]

Nice backyard setup!!

[@beardfm]

Appreciate it!

[@ryandaw1295]

I use an Aqara door contact sensor in a 3d printed weather proof enclosure I purchased off Etsy. I have it mounted on my front gate and it sends me alerts if opened or closed. I also have an automation that if the gate is left open for more than 1 minute it sets off an alarm inside the house to let me know. In the future I will also use it to trigger a smart gate lock and camera. So far it's been working flawlessly.

[@beardfm]

Amazing! Love the gate idea

[@Christopher_Ago]

I’ve had an eve thread door contact sensor in my mailbox for over a year now. It chimes on my HomePods whenever the mailbox is opened to let me know I have mail.

[@beardfm]

Ah such a great use case! May add one of those...

[@tikmetal1982]

You’re amazing Stephen! So on point!! I learned a few new things I’d like to try later in our HomeKit smart home set up!! Just wish I could get my wife to switch from android. Lol. 😂

[@beardfm]

Appreciate that! Maybe I can make a “why you need to switch from Android” video 😂

[@tikmetal1982]

@@beardfm lmao!! That would be golden!!

[@digisoundstudio]

Wow fantastic video and explanation

[@beardfm]

Appreciate it 🙏🏻

[@kdm313]

Great tips

[@beardfm]

Appreciate it!

[@thinborne]

thank ya, teacher

[@Y0UTUBEADMIN]

Would you ever consider using Home Assistant with Homebridge?

[@beardfm]

I've used home bridge in the paste but find those devices eventually disconnect or require maintenance. So I prefer straight HomeKit

[@Techlifeandmore]

What are you doing with the eve motion sensor now that it is not being used to control the ceiling fans, and what switch(s) are you using to control the fans?

[@beardfm]

At the moment, haven’t thought of another use case just yet! And the fans are on a single Leviton switch right inside the house.

[@Techlifeandmore]

@@beardfm I would’ve said that you should make an automation that, if the temperature was above 78 and then motion was detected, the patio fans would turn on. But you seem to like the fans already being on.

[@technojerry]

You could use it to turn on outside lights that are controlled by a HomeKit switch.

[@poloblk23]

Weird questions, but I have those exact Sonos Move speakers but I don't see them in the home app. I can get AirPlay2 working just fine. But not show up in Home app..??

[@beardfm]

In the Home app hit the + icon like your adding a new accessory, tap more options (yellow text), and you should see them appear in the card. Tap to add!

[@rehafer]

I have an Eve Motion, one day the sun lined up to shine directly into to the light sensor and I had to reset the device. Otherwise, it works great.

[@beardfm]

Wow, haven't had that happen yet. Glad it still works!

[@reinc83]

A little pricey but I have the Tempest weather station. Haven’t tried to link it with anything other than its own app.

[@reinc83]

Just now looked it up… Tempest uses Ifttt.

[@beardfm]

Ah, I have the Netatmo weather station which is pretty cool, but many data points aren’t accessible in HomeKit, like rainfall.

[@yucysun]

cool

[@IvanStarling-kg1ei]

Job Sensor light

[@squaref1sh]

I use a elgato smart plug inside my low voltage transformer to turn on my outdoor landscaping lights precisely at sunset. Also, the La Metric display can connect to the Netatmo outdoor temperature sensor to display the outdoor temp on a nice looking display. Also, I use Unifi outdoor cameras connected to HomeKit via Homebridge.

[@beardfm]

Nice! Gonna look up that La Metric 🤔

[@squaref1sh]

@@beardfm wow. The La Metric is expensive. I was a backer of the product in Kickstarter years ago and I think it was much cheaper then. I typically use it as a countdown timer for my kids birthdays and it cycles in the weather.

[@DylanMeek7]

What does operating using “thread” mean?

[@beardfm]

Thread is a wireless protocol specifically used by smart home devices. Faster response times and more reliable than wifi and bluetooth

[@JohnVanderbeck]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't consider "temperature and humidity" to be a weather station. The fact that the extra parts are extra makes it one of the most expensive weather stations that exist! Many, many other real weather stations that cost about the same as the base netatmo price. Just not HK compatible :(

[@beardfm]

The HomeKit part is the issue. Agreed the Netatmo is expensive and too many add-ons

[@JohnVanderbeck]

@@beardfm Part of the problem as well is as usual the companies never seem to consider how real people setup things, especially in the smart home scene. As you pointed out, there is no real functionality in HK for anything except temp/humidity and pretty sure Matter has zero spec on weather stations as well. Heck Matter doesn't even have a spec for garage doors! These limitations in turn drive what products are made sadly. This is why long ago I decided to make Home Assistant my main hub and simply expose the "dumbed down" stuff to Homekit. Weather stations are still lacking in general for smart homes though. I have the Tempest right now but after about 2 years the thing is already dying :(

[@Thrash230723]

Eve weather, Can’t function below 0F. Not good!

[@beardfm]

Oh interesting! I had zero opportunity to test that in Florida 😅

[@Thrash230723]

@@beardfm it’s unfortunate, because the Eve weather app looks great! Bummer for the Midwest and Canada!

[@darthjarjar5309]

You didn’t show any sample video of the video quality for the outdoor camera 🤦

[@beardfm]

Ah good point, sorry about that! Will cover in a future video

[@eric_toomuch]

The only annoying thing is this video!

[@beardfm]

Thanks for engaging anyway!