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HELPSTATIONSIMPLIFYINGHOMEAUTOMATION[ HOME NETWORKING ]Simplifying ho
automation
A GUIDE TO THE BASIC TOOLS OF THE
[NATHAN TAYLOR ]UP UNTIL RECENTLY, home automation had
been a tough business, best left to professionals
and hard core enthusiasts. A dizzying array of
incompatible protocols and devices made most
home automation projects absurdly complex,
requiring weeks of research just to get started.
Now, with the rise of home assistants it has
become much easier to create an automated
home. It doesn’t require any special knowledge:
just a place to get started.WHAT CAN I DO WITH AN
AUTOMATED HOME?
So, let’s back up a minute. If you’re a home
automation neophyte then you may be
wondering what all the fuss is about. “I’m fine
with manually flipping a light switch,” you may
be thinking, but home automation is really
about much more than that.
Home automation is about making your
electronic devices work together and work
smarter. Typically it involves creating a set of “if
then” rules for the devices in your home: if the
TV is turned on then close the curtains and
dim the lights; if the motion sensor detects
movement outside after 1am then start
recording on the camera; if it’s 10pm, turn off
the hot water heater; if the owner is nearing
home after work then start the coffee brewer.
You create the rules, and the possibilities are
limited only by your imagination – and the
availability of hardware that supports
automation.THE ECOSYSTEMS
Although automation has become much easier
in recent years, we’re still a long way away from
the “everything works with everything” utopia.
There are still “ecosystems” at play, and not
every device supports every ecosystem – thoughmany of the most popular devices (like the
Philips Hue lightbulbs, Belkin’s WeMo devices,
August Smart Lock, ecobee devices and so on)
will support all the major platforms.
At the heart of nearly every home automation
system is a controlling device, a hub that
controls all the other devices and is the brain of
the operation. Historically these were custom
PCs running specialised (and expensive)
software, but nowadays we have a much cheaperandeasiersolution:homeassistantslikethe
AmazonEcho,AppleHomePodandGoogle
Homemakeidealautomationhubs,withvoice
controlbakedinandnowwithappsandservices
designedtosupportautomation.
Yourchoiceofecosystemwillthereforepretty
muchboilsdowntowhichhomeassistantyou
prefer,andthethreemostprominenthome
assistantsalsodefinethethreelargestecosystems.
We’lllookbrieflyat themhere.TRADE.
On Amazon, select the option to create a new
Routine, then set up a trigger (“When this happens”)
and one or more actions to take in response. Setting an Automation in Apple Home.The Echo is cheap and
very capable.