ᐅ Alexa and Other Home Automation Systems – Pros and Cons

Alex85 schrieb:
@Steffen80

I don’t see any problem with the lighting; that’s easy.
Which sensor triggers the heating? A contact sensor on the shower inlet? Which one?

The windows in the room can only be opened electronically. If a guest uses the restroom and wants to ventilate, they need a way to activate it. I haven’t found a sniff sensor for the drain yet :P

I implemented it using a 1-Wire humidity sensor. It’s placed directly above the shower and reacts very quickly. I also considered the contact sensor idea, but it’s difficult to access if it ever fails.

Our windows can be opened manually as usual. Guests do that sometimes, but it’s no problem. We ourselves keep the windows closed because we know the air refreshes quite quickly.

Steffen80 schrieb:
The controlled residential ventilation system also turns off during showering (to retain the heat) and switches to maximum level right after showering for quick air exchange. Everything turns off automatically afterward.

Do you have individual room control for the controlled residential ventilation, or is the whole house adjusted up and down together?

Otherwise, my current favorite is being able to send our robotic vacuum to any room on the ground floor with a voice command via Google Home. It’s just a dream – I don’t even care about the FBI then.

If you can carry the beer from the fridge to the sofa, then it really becomes a real added value.

@Steffen80
Ok, thanks. I think I will use contact sensors, for example from MDT. Maybe two for redundancy. The sensor itself is basically free, and the flush-mounted actuator can connect to several anyway.

The window issue is still unresolved. I think I will install a 55mm (2-inch) 2/4-button switch somewhere near the sink next to a power outlet so guests can operate the window if needed.

nms_hs schrieb:
Do you have individual room control for the controlled residential ventilation system, or is the whole house adjusted up and down together?

Otherwise, my favorite feature at the moment is that I can send our robotic vacuum to any room on the ground floor using voice commands with Google Home. It’s simply fantastic—I don’t even care about the FBI then

How did you set that up? Is it possible with the iRobot? (we use those as well)

Steffen80 schrieb:
how did you do that? Does it work with the iRobot? (we have those in use too)

The Roborock or Xiaomi Mi Robot can be controlled using coordinates and zones, then via Openhab. It’s a bit fiddly, but this way it runs completely in-house.

What the hell is this kind of refrigerator that you have to turn off just to watch TV?

That would annoy me—I watch too much TV for that.