What is a typical day like in a smart home?

We all have our typical days. We also have all our scenarios. Whether they are under home automation or not, each day has its typical scenario in our heads. When you think about it, the smart home through home automation is simply a reflection of our brain, which thinks and acts for us. It is only an interpretation of our daily lives. Formatting by programming and scenes in the form of computer code.

We all have in mind a working day scenario with an hour to get up, an early morning ritual, a trip to the workplace, an hour back, in short. In the same way, we also have weekend and holiday scenarios, a scenario for children... Smart home and home automation do not reinvent anything, they simply come to manage this scenario for you and assist you so that it runs as smoothly as possible. Thus, home automation is able to anticipate your needs and thus make your life easier and save you time.

In order to have a typical day, I will take the example of a family of 5 people, Aurélien and Sam, a couple in their thirties, their daughter Jade who is in high school and two boys Lucas and Noah who are in primary school.

6:00 am- The awakening

Sam works quite far from home, so she gets up first. When his alarm clock rings, the Philips Hue light on his bedside lights up gently, creating a soft and non-aggressive light so as not to wake up the man who is still asleep. Sam goes to the bathroom, it's nice and warm. The smart home knows that during the week it gets up at 06:00. The home automation system therefore took care to turn on the heating in advance so that it would not be cold.

Sam enters the bathroom, a motion detector turns on the lights in the room and launches his current playlist in this dedicated multiroom area. She will be able to wake up to music in the shower.

6:30 am - Breakfast

Sam goes down into the kitchen, there too, a motion detector turns on the lights and now it's the TV that turns on by itself and positions itself on bfm TV. But be careful, the smarthome knows that the other inhabitants of the house are still asleep so it also takes care to set the TV volume fairly low. Unfortunately, it's still a little early! The hens in the hen house connected to the bottom of the garden have not yet laid eggs.

This weekend, when she wakes up the family will have a little notice on the smartphones or on the Triby in the refrigerator indicating that there are fresh eggs to pick up for breakfast! Sam then settled for his sandwiches and coffee this morning. While she is having lunch, she receives a notification on her travel time. If there is work on the road or an incident, an alternative route is proposed.

It's time to wake up the children. Similar techniques to the waking of the lady exist, but, for the moment, she has chosen not to automate this moment which remains the little cuddly moment of the day with her children. The children wake up and go to lunch, the Netatmo Welcome camera recognizes them and the TV plays on a more appropriate channel, what better way to wake up gently before a hard day of school than with good old cartoons!

7:00 am - Mom goes to work

Sam is ready, it's time to go, Sam's car is sleeping in the garage, the smart home took care to open the gate as well as the garage door when she opened the front door. If it is winter, it is still dark outside, the outside lights have also come on. Madam gets in her car and goes to work. The garage door closes after a few minutes and then the lights turn off.

It is time for Aurélien to be awakened by his home automation. He too is entitled to his own little luminous atmosphere to wake up gently. When he gets to the bathroom, the radio starts. Aurélien likes to listen to the new information in the shower.

When he turns off the bathroom light, it's his coffee maker that starts! Time to get down, the water is hot, all he has to do is put on his pod and run his espresso.

It's time to go, but first, the smart home reminds kids to brush their teeth before they go to school via the multiroom. She also knows how to tell them if they have sport that day so that they don't forget to take their bags with them.

8:00 am - The big departure

Everyone leaves, Aurélien drops the children off at school on their way to work. Here too, the gate takes care to open when everyone leaves the house. Sir, he presses the last button on the gate's remote control. The gate closes, the alarm goes off... The smart home goes into standby. Thus, it lowers the heating set point to maintain a correct temperature and make some savings.

If, however, he has not pressed the button on his remote control, the gate closes itself and alerts Aurélien via telegram, push or SMS. Finally, if he left the house without activating the alarm, the house knows that there is no longer any presence, it then sends an SMS to Aurélien asking him the question, if he wants her to activate the alarm for him, she will do it!

10:00 am - The house is empty, but still living

The shutters opened at daybreak. The smart home really thinks of everything! She took care to wait until everyone left to ask the vacuum cleaner to clean the house. This one is running. After two hours, he has cleaned everything, he is proud, he then informs the smart home who sends a cat to the parents to inform them that everything is clean for their return and that he has worked well, but that if they wish, they can request a second visit.

Depending on the response to the message, the house will schedule a second pass for the robot or order it to stay on its base.

The chickens have laid eggs! The smart home displays information about the Triby in the kitchen, so kids can just pick them up when they get home from school.

The postman rings, home automation redirects the call to the parents' smartphones.  They exchange with the factor who is used to it now, he then puts the package in the box. The smarthome acknowledges receipt of the package, notifies the parents by SMS.  They only have to pick up the package when they get home.

Meanwhile, if it doesn't rain outside, the smart mower does its job of maintaining the lawn to save the family time and, above all, keep the lawn clean.

11:30 am - Back from school 

Today is Wednesday!  The boys come home from school before the older sister, they use a small bracelet to unlock the smart lock on the house door.  The Welcome camera recognizes them and immediately warns parents that the children have just returned home.  The smart home knew that on Wednesdays the children are there for lunch.  She therefore took care to deactivate the alarm and set the heating set point to comfort so that they would not be cold when they arrived.

The tall one who is in college arrives 30 minutes later. She uses her smartphone to unlock the lock that had automatically locked after the boys returned. Again, parents are aware of his return thanks to the facial recognition camera.

2:00 pm - Mommy checks in

Although she knows everything from her smart home, Sam likes to make a quick call to her children on Wednesday afternoons to see if everything is going well. The tall woman who must have put her phone on silent (or the music a little loud!) doesn't answer. She then calls the house Triby, Noah answers. It's all right! It's all right! "Remember to do your homework..."

"By the way, Mom, there were three eggs I picked up at the henhouse. It was also marked that there was soon no more water so I took the opportunity to give them some more..." Yes, home automation also monitors the chickens in the house.

5:00 pm - Daddy is back

With his work, he doesn't always come home at the same time. So rather than opening the gate too soon, the smart home waits until it is within a 500m radius of the house before opening it. All he has to do is park, pick up the package that is in the box, because he got an SMS. He opens his door with his badge that he passes in front of the lock and enters. The house greets him with a short voice message. She tells him there's a package (if he ever forgot).

The voice also announces that the washing machine is finished and has turned out well in off-peak hours as planned. In case, she also tells him that if the day has been a little hard, the beer in the gunner is ready and that he should think about drinking it, because it has been more than 20 days since the barrel was opened! (Drink in moderation of course!) It is getting dark in the house, the lights are on. The shutters close. There are still the little one's homework to do, the smart home doesn't do that yet!

6:00 pm - everyone is at home

Mommy's home, the family's full, everyone's going about their business. That's the advantage of the smart home, it has taken care to anticipate many of our actions. As a result, everyone can focus on other less daunting tasks.

8:00 pm - What about tomorrow?

On Thursdays, it is the collection of the yellow garbage can. Fortunately, home automation is there to make sure that we don't forget to take it out. A notification is sent and a voice message is broadcast in the house. If they wish, parents can consult the dashboard of the home automation box. This will be able to show them the consumption curves of the house and inform them about the energy consumption for the current month. Otherwise, they can also quietly continue their little life and forget about the smart home.

She doesn't forget them, she watches over them and tomorrow? She will also be there to start a new day on the same scenario or another variant. Because tomorrow may be the weekend? A day off? Or the holidays? She'll be able to adapt, because she's programmed to. This is what the smart home is all about!

Conclusion

Through this article, you have been able to discover some examples of a typical day for a family of five in a smart home. This is only a sample, soon find the smart home on holiday, the smart home on the weekend, and many other examples!

All this to say that home automation greatly improves our comfort. Also our safety and contributes to a good management of our energies.

XiaoAI Touchscreen Speake, the smart display from Xiaomi

Xiaomi has announced its new XiaoAI Touchscreen Speake smart display based on the XiaoAI voice assistant.

Xiaomi is a company that continues to offer new gadgets every day. At the same time as presenting its Xiaomi Mi 9, the Chinese company also unveiled the innovative XiaoAI Touchscreen Speake. This is a smart display that somehow resembles the Google Home Hub.

As it is a smart display, the center of gravity of XiaoAI Touchscreen Speake is the XiaoAI voice assistant created by Xiaomi that, however, is currently only available to Chinese users.

This smart display is very interesting and from the technical point of view integrates a 4-inch display through which people can access a series of advanced features. For example, you can play videos, manage smart home devices, play music and more.

Xiaomi didn't want to reveal any more details, especially those about the price. This smart display, in fact, will currently only be available for a few beta testers from February 28th. This means that the Chinese company still needs to refine this product before actually marketing it.

Although very interesting, it is difficult for XiaoAI Touchscreen Speake to reach Italy. The presence of the XiaoAI vocal assistant who speaks only Chinese makes it clear that this product will be an exclusive for the market of China.

However, in a few days the Mobile World Congress will start where Xiaomi will be present. Knowing the dynamism of this company, surprises are always possible.

Xiaomi Smart Mi toilet seat with cleaning function

Why don't you count me out for a minute? Our average life expectancy is 82 years. So if you now start from, say, 5 toilets per day that last 3 minutes, what value do we get? Right. At 15 minutes a day and 5,475 minutes a year. Extrapolated to 82 years, we come to an average toilet stay of 448,950 minutes in our lives. That is 7,482.5 hours or 311.77 days. So we spend at least one year of our life on the quiet little place (or even longer, because according to our dear Tim this is only an "optimistic girl calculation"). So why shouldn't we treat ourselves to the same luxury we treat ourselves to in all other areas of our lives?

Where we are still comparatively far behind, the Japanese, for example, are already much further ahead. And Xiaomi is now also adopting the toilet standards that are part of normality there. What went through the Internet as an April fool's joke in 2016 has now become reality: Xiaomi has added our most personal - and quiet - place to its range; our toilet. Strictly speaking, one should not talk about a toilet here, but much more about a toilet seat, since it is actually only a mountable attachment.

Functions

If the hoax announcement was still highly futuristic, the actual implementation of Xiaomi is downright sobering. The talk was about air filters, self-cleaning and even the possibility of coupling with the smartphone. According to first reports and pictures the toilet seat now comes "only" with a cleaning function and a heatable seat. The cleaning function via the retractable shower arm should have four different modes. In addition, the pressure can be adjusted and you should be able to choose whether to clean with hot or cold water.

The water used for cleaning also appears to be cleaned by a double cotton filter system to guarantee absolute hygiene. In order to guarantee this hygiene in the long run, the shower arm cleans itself with water and UV radiation - but the glasses still seem to have to be cleaned by myself, which definitely gives the toilet seat a point of deduction for me.

I would also have liked Xiaomi and its division into the Smart Mi family to offer a little more smart functions. But if you compare the seat with well-known Japanese or German manufacturers, one thing stands out: the price. Comparative prices for electric shower toilets are already much higher and can, for whole toilets, slide into a four-digit amount.

Alexa Smart Home 2019 - Devices you can control with Alexa | Part 2

Amazon Echo Plus & Echo Show socket outlet

If you have an Amazon Echo Plus or Echo Show 2, you should also check out the following compatible smart sockets. Because Echo Plus and Echo Show of the second generation have an integrated control panel that supports the Smart Home wireless standard ZigBee. This makes it possible to directly integrate devices that support this radio standard.

Osram Smart+ Plug, a very popular ZigBee socket from Osram that you can connect directly. It has overload and temperature protection, but unfortunately cannot measure and record power consumption.

The Innr SP 120 SmartPlug is a very compact alternative to the Smart+ Plug from Osram, albeit not a cheaper one, and has a maximum output of 2300 watts at 10 amps.

Alexa Outdoor WLAN sockets

Luminea Home Control WLAN socket, is intended for outdoor use and is therefore splash-proof (IP44 protection class). It measures power consumption and has a maximum load capacity of 3680 watts.

Meross WLAN Outdoor socket, the socket designed for outdoor use, has two socket slots and is compatible with the IFTTT platform. As it is intended for outdoor use, it has an IP44 marked housing.

Maxcio Wlan Outdoor outlet, a similarly designed outlet with IP43 protection. In contrast to the upper outdoor sockets, it is not splash-proof, but against spray water up to 60 degrees inclination.

Osram Smart+ Outdoor Plug, for your Echo Plus or Echo Show 2, Osram offers a ZigBee compatible outdoor socket. It can therefore also be integrated directly into the two Echo´s like the normal Osram+ plug. It is also splash-proof, thanks to IP44.

Alexa WLAN power strip

If you want to control several devices at the same time and also by voice, then the smart socket strips are the right ones for you.

Meross Smart Socket Strip is connected to WLAN and has three sockets, all of which can be controlled separately and via Alexa. In addition, the power strip has four USB ports, which you can control all at the same time. Thanks to compatibility with IFTTT, there are many more possibilities.

Luminea Home Control, a similar alternative is offered by Luminea. The power strip also has three sockets and four USB ports.

YuanGuo Smart Strip Socket has four sockets and two USB ports. In contrast to the sockets presented above, the sockets can also be switched on the power strip by button and individually and not only by App and Alexa.

Alexa (WLAN) motion detector

With motion detectors you can create some automation rules and thus provide security on the property, or for more comfort at home. Outside around the house, for example, you can use motion detectors to automatically turn on your lights as soon as motion is detected. Of course, any normal motion detector can do that, but a smarter one can do much more. As soon as something is detected, the desired light is switched on, and you get a push notification on your smartphone. You can also have your floor lamp light up red at home.

Below you can see the two ZigBee compatible motion detectors:

Philips Hue motion detectors can be connected and used directly (or with corresponding hubs) to the Echo Plus or Echo Show 2 without any detours.

Osram Lightify Motion Sensor can also be connected directly to the two Echo´s and provided with routines.

Other motion detectors that you can integrate with WLAN:

Luminea Home Control motion detector connects to your 2.4 GHz WLAN network and Alexa. According to the manufacturer, a battery life of one whole year should be achieved with only 12 motion activities.

DOMOS WLAN motion detector is also compatible with Alexa.

Of course, there are many more motion detectors for Alexa, but they will only work with a corresponding Smart Home central (system) that supports one or more wireless standards. More about this below.

Alexa WLAN window and door sensor

Luminea Home Control door sensor, like the motion detector of the same manufacturer, the window and door sensor connects to your 2.4 GHz WLAN network and is compatible with Alexa.

Easick WLAN door and window sensor works directly with your 2.4 GHz WLAN network, of course without bridge or hub in between. According to the manufacturer, Alexa can only request status information from the sensor, but the most important thing is that the alarm messages are unfortunately left out.

Further door and window sensors are of course available for numerous Smart Home systems and control panels, as is already the case with motion detectors. For example, Magenta Smart Home, innogy, Homematic, Modulare homee Zenrale and many more. They support various radio standards such as ZigBee, Z-Wave, EnOcean, Bluetooth LE, DECT ULE or even proprietary radio protocols.

Alexa Smart Home 2019 - Devices you can control with Alexa | Part 1

Amazon echo and the digital voice assistant Alexa, formerly a digital gadget seeing the light of day, become more and more important in our life. Also from the Smart Home area, Alexa is slowly but surely becoming a real smart home diva. This is not only shown by the recently published Top Ten of Alexa Skills.

The control by voice of individual devices or gadgets such as radiator thermostats, roller shutters, light switches, sockets or LED lamps and lights up to the whole Smart Home systems, is no longer a problem for Alexa.

Even household and kitchen appliances such as vacuum robots, ovens, coffee machines, garden aids such as mowing robots and much more, listen to Alexa.

Here you can see an overview of the compatible devices Amazon Alexa offers you in combination with Smart Home.

Alexa Room Thermostats & Radiator Thermostats

Tado° - With tado° you can control your heating very intelligently, this should even work with 95% of all heaters. Here are a few well-known heating manufacturers that are compatible with tado°: "Bosch, Wolf, Buderus, Viessmann, Vaillant and many more". For those who don't have a room thermostat, tado° also offers smart radiator thermostats. The Munich-based company promises savings of up to 31% on heating costs.

The system should automatically detect whether you are at home, leaving the house or on your way home. Accordingly, the temperature is regulated and adjusted according to the weather forecast. The control takes place by App or even with the appropriate skill ** also with Alexa. You can use tado° both in your own house, and in a rented apartment.

Netatmo not only manufactures smart thermostats, but also offers a complete range of products for your Smart Home. Among others smoke detectors, security cameras called "Welcome and Presence", some devices for weather and indoor climate monitoring.

The manufacturer promises savings of up to 37% on heating costs for radiator thermostats. In the case of room thermostats, the so-called "Auto-Adapt function" should calculate the switch-on time, taking into account the insulation of the house and the outside temperature.

Nest - is already selling its smart WLAN thermostats in the third generation. According to the manufacturer, it should be compatible with around 95 percent of all systems on the market. The smart thermostat adapts to your daily routine and has sensors for temperature and humidity.

Controlling air conditioning with Alexa

Sensibo Sky is the name of the smart air conditioning control system from a start-up company. Sensibo was developed to make your existing air conditioner or heat pump intelligent and to control it via App or Alexa. Unfortunately, the app is only available in English at the moment.

Tado Smart AC Control V2, the manufacturer offers not only room and radiator thermostats, but also air conditioning and heat pump control. The Smart AC Control V2 should work with all air conditioners with remote control that display the current settings. Manufacturers like Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba and some more are compatible with it.

AirPatrol WLAN air conditioner control, this control works, according to manufacturer, with all mini split air conditioners brands.

Sichler WLAN heater, no control for the air conditioner, but an Alexa compatible ceramic heater. The maximum power here is 2000 watts, the temperature can be adjusted in 1° degree steps to 35° degrees.

Netatmo Weather Station - The Amazon bestseller No.1 is the weather station of Netatmo . It can provide the following information: CO2 content in the house, humidity, noise pollution and, of course, temperature.

Optionally you can buy the Netatmo rain gauge and the wind gauge for the weather station.

Alexa WLAN sockets

With the WLAN sockets (also known as adapter switches) you can not only switch your devices on and off, but with some models you can also keep an eye on the power consumption & temperature. With the previously created circuit diagrams, you can also switch your devices on and off automatically. In many cases Alexa's voice control is much more convenient.

Aqara Smart Plug is a new coming Alexa compatible device from the well known smart home brand Aqara, which provides smart home products at best price compared with others.

TP-Link WLAN socket is a very popular smart socket and is available in two models: With power monitoring (HS110) and without (HS100) It is also compatible with the IFTTT platform so that it also works with many other services and smart devices.

D-Link DSP-W115 is an alternative to TP-Link. As with the TP-Link socket, the maximum output is also 3680 watts and 16 amps. The IFTTT platform is also supported here.

Wemo Insight Switch from Belkin is also compatible with Alexa and IFTTT platforms. It can consume a maximum of 1800 watts of power and is integrated via WLAN.

Amazon Smart Plug - Amazon also offers a smart WLAN socket itself since October 2018. With a stated current of 10 amps, the Smart Plug can therefore consume 2300 watts of power.

Meross WLAN Socket provides a low-cost alternative ** from a startup (founded by experts who before founding for big names such as Microsoft. TP-Link, Cisco, etc.). It can take up maximally 3680 Watts and is compatible with the IFTTT platform.