this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

I was forced to move (landlord sold house) and when I got to my new place, I just never got around to setting up any of my smart home devices. Thermostat, cameras, lights, assistants, sensors, monitors, etc, and weirdly enough I am somehow happier now.

The random issues, glitches, delays between asking an assistant/pressing buttons before an action went through, fixing integrations, fixing Home Assistant, fixing random unpairs, etc. was driving me nuts. Especially when you have invested hundreds/thousands of dollars into premium devices.

Worst was when you'd ask assistant to do something, and it somehow misheard you and does something else. Fried an aquarium thermometer that way. Turned on ALL lights when everyone was sleeping, despite me asking to turn OFF a very specific light..

The only thing I truly miss is being able to turn off my bedroom light when I am in bed. But the stress I save is worth getting up and turning it off.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Huh, sounds like a very unreliable setup. Admittedly mine is much simpler and I refuse to use voice control for anything at all, but I experience zero glitches with my Shelly switches and HA integration.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Put a lamp on your nightstand, it's a fucking game changer. We have a ceiling fan with the main lights, but lamps on both nightstands. It rules, always within arm reach, light immediately if you need it, but much softer light than the main light, and not pointed into your eyes when you lay down.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

The only thing I truly miss is being able to turn off my bedroom light when I am in bed. But the stress I save is worth getting up and turning it off.

It is possible to just install the one smart light, you know.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

You can get remote controlles for lights and keep it on your bedside table

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm reading this thread thinking "people are jumping through hoops just to do this stuff? Why?"

"because you can" evidently.

No wait, someone's going to come in and whinge about Seasonal Affected Disorder, circadian rhythms and blue light or some other shit, aren't they.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

When it works, it's great. But no matter how much you spend, which brands you go with, how you have it set it, eventually something is going to fuck up, and you'll spend half your day fixing it all.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fried an aquarium thermometer that way.

How did that happen?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Asked assistant to turn off basement light and instead it turned ON "10 gallon aquarium heater".

However it heard that, no idea.

My girlfriend was cleaning her tank, and the water level was below the heater. I was somewhere else in the house, and so she never noticed, and within 60 seconds the thing shattered from being turned on and not submerged.