Home automation at Murasakijou: Controlling the Lighting

Bulbs vs Switches

When it comes to smart lighting, you face two main choices: smart bulbs or smart switches. Smart bulbs are a good starting point if you're renting or just beginning to explore smart home technology. However, they come with drawbacks. First, the 'smart' part, which isn't cheap, is embedded in a consumable item. And let's be frank, those claims of 100,000-hour lifespans are often overstated. Secondly, a smart bulb in a fixture with a standard switch becomes unreachable if the switch is turned off. You might find yourself needing to block the regular switch and add a separate, smart switch, which can be a bit awkward. And if something goes wrong, you lose manual control unless you uncover the original switches. Even then, it might not work as expected. Sure, there are workarounds, but they can be more trouble than they're worth.

If you own your home, I suggest opting for smart switches. They let you use any bulbs or fixtures, including the ones you already have. Most smart switches, especially those that look like regular light switches, default to manual control. They operate just as you're accustomed to, turning the electricity on or off to your fixtures. Installing smart switches does mean dealing with some house wiring, but it's manageable. You can learn a lot from YouTube tutorials, get the right tools, and follow instructions carefully. Alternatively, enlist a friend who's handy with basic wiring, or in the worst case, hire a handyman skilled in basic electrical work.

Just because I usually recommend and use smart switches doesn't mean I don't find value in smart bulbs and smart fixtures. They do have their perks. For instance, smart fixtures are great for remote dimming, and RGBW bulbs and fixtures add a fun, colorful flair. I've kept some smart bulbs from my experiments with SmartThings and found creative uses for them. Typically, I use them for decorative and accent lighting, not primary light sources, to circumvent issues associated with smart bulbs.

A small lesson on color temperature

So, why mention "RGBW" and not just "RGB"? These smart bulbs often allow you to adjust the 'whiteness' of the light, varying from a cozy 2700K to a bright 5000K. It's useful to understand the concept of color temperature in lighting. Despite seeming counterintuitive, in terms of color temperature, 'cooler' (bluer) light has a higher Kelvin number, while 'warmer' (redder) light has a lower one. Think of heating iron: it starts red and goes to blazing white as it gets hotter. A 2700K bulb mimics the reddish-white glow of iron at 2700K, and a 5000K bulb resembles the brilliant white of iron at a higher temperature. This analogy works well for most home lighting devices, though it's not exact for LEDs. For reference, noon sunlight is around 5500K. Outside of a lab or photography, you won't encounter much beyond this range.

Color temperature is also measured in 'mired', a term more common in professional photography and stage lighting, and used by Philips Hue bulbs. It's a bit more intuitive but not yet widely used in home automation or on bulb packaging, so I'll set it aside for now. But knowing about color temperature is important, even outside of smart homes. It helps you choose the right light for the right space. In my home, I prefer 2700K lights for general ambiance but opt for 5000K in specific areas like over the kitchen counter, bathroom mirrors, my reading lamp, and workshops.

Picking the switches, and Z-wave

Let's get into specifics. I did a little bit of research, and then picked Zooz switches, which I bought directly from [https://www.thesmartesthouse.com/]. Zooz devices use the Z-wave protocol, a well-established wireless protocol controlled by Silicon Labs. Despite being under one company's control, or maybe because it is, it's reliable and interoperable. The Z-wave Alliance, a group of hundreds of companies producing thousands of compatible products, ensures interoperability, thanks to Silicon Labs' conformance testing rules. Z-wave is mature enough that you can find devices at places like Home Depot. The Z-wave tech has evolved from the "300" series to "500" (best to avoid, old and slow) and now "700" and "800" series. I went with the "700" series as the "800" wasn't available at the time. I'm hoping the 700s and 800s work well together, but I haven't tested that.

I bought a  Zooz equivalent for every existing switch in my house. Where there was a dimmer switch, I chose Zooz's ZEN77 dimmer variant. Otherwise I just got the ZEN76 on/off variant. I considered getting dimmers everywhere, but then I would have to make sure that every fixture and bulb in the house was dimmable.  I probably should have, but I don’t want to go back and replace so many right now.  Maybe later.

In my bathrooms and laundry room, where switches controlled vent fans, I used Zooz's ZEN30 light and fan combo switch - a neat solution since it replaces two switches with one. This is key because most smart switches use a triac, fine for lights but not for inductive loads like motors. Zooz smartly pairs a triac for the light (even dimmable) and a mechanical relay for the fan.

However, I ended up with extra switches. I didn't account for 'N-way' light circuits and 'traveler lines'. Zooz switches have a feature here that other brands don't, but I'll delve into that in the next installment.

There's one room in my house designed for floor lamps plugged into wall outlets, controlled by a wall switch. I found strong advice against using a triac for switching wall outlets, so I opted for a GE “Embrighten” Z-wave smart switch with a relay not a triac from Home Depot.

So, how did the install go? And, what about this 'traveler' feature? More on that in the next installment.

In our next installment: actually wiring, and travelers

Home automation at Murasakijou: Welcome

Introduction

Growing up with iconic shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, I was mesmerized by the futuristic technology they showcased—computers that could track people, control environments, and help solve whatever mystery of the day that the plot demanded. The seamless integration of technology in these shows always captivated me. Interestingly, the lack of consistency in these fictional universes often meant that the technology was conveniently forgotten in one episode, only to become crucial in another. Imagine if Lt. Worf's console had buzzed every time an uninvited guest beamed onto the ship!

Fast forward to today, and the sci-fi of my childhood is no longer just fiction. The automation seen in newly built office buildings, with their computerized lighting, HVAC systems, presence detection, and security, all monitored and controlled remotely, mirrors those once-futuristic ideas. Even in my work at Amazon, I've seen how this technology can integrate with modern cloud solutions like AWS CloudWatch, an improvement on the proprietary databases typical for “enterprise solutions”.

​​Home automation, once the domain of tinkerers who could build their own hardware and write their own firmware from scratch, has now become mainstream, with a plethora of “Internet of Things” (IoT) products promising ease of use. However, there's a twist. The industry is still evolving, and companies often change course or shut down, rendering their products obsolete and orphaned—ironically making the 'T' in IoT all too often stand for 'trash'.

My personal foray into home automation began modestly, evolving from stand-alone motion-activated lights to more sophisticated systems like SmartThings and Alexa-powered devices. Yet, these early experiments were limited by the technology's siloed nature and lack of interoperability.

Then, three pivotal things happened: the technology matured, I bought a house, and the Home Assistant project emerged. Home Assistant is exactly what I wanted in smart home technology, emphasizing user control, interoperability, and a vibrant open-source community.

Since purchasing my home in the summer of 2020, I've embarked on a journey to retrofit and upgrade its 20-year-old tech. This blog series will chronicle my adventures in home automation – the successes, the failures, the choices, and the lessons learned. I’ll share insights on the technologies and products I've used, all without any corporate sponsorship.

Why "Murasakijou"? It's a nod to my love for Japanese culture and language, meaning "the fortress of purple," and it's the name I've given my home.

This will be fun. Let’s get started.

First, we start with Home Assistant

Home Assistant, or Hassio, is a practical choice in my home automation journey. It's open-source, which means it's free and customizable – a significant advantage for someone like me who enjoys personalizing technology. Its major appeal lies in its compatibility with a wide range of devices. I'm not restricted to products from a single company; it can manage gadgets from various manufacturers, even those that typically don't cooperate with their competitors.

The community surrounding Home Assistant is invaluable. Filled with users and developers constantly refining the system, it consistently provides frequent updates and new functionalities. This community-driven development keeps the platform both relevant and evolving.

Privacy is a crucial aspect of Home Assistant. It operates locally, keeping my data secure in my home, away from external cloud servers. This also means my smart home system remains functional, even when my internet connection is down.

Where Home Assistant truly excels is in its customization capabilities. It allows me to tailor my smart home setup exactly to my preferences, from basic operations to intricate automations. This level of flexibility is perfect for aligning the system with my desires.

Home Assistant provides a flexible and user-focused approach to managing my home automation. It's not some corporate product; it's a tool that puts me in charge of how my home operates.

Next, some requirements

I'm not the only one in my house; my family's here too. So, the smart home setup needs to work for them too, not just me. If the internet cuts out, most things should still work. If the Home Assistant computer or any crucial device goes down, the house should work in manual mode, not just shut down. In case of a power outage, and when power returns (be it from the generator or utility), everything must return to normal. I've got to be able to control and to fix things remotely, and anyone in the house should manage basic smart tasks. The property's big, over 5 acres, remote, and full of trees. I want the automation to cover everything - from the mailbox at one end to the well at the other, including the house, gardens, shop, and garage.

I aim for most parts to be retail-bought, from reliable companies, with warranties and UL certification, and meeting building and electrical codes. I prefer to avoid devices that need a constant internet connection, but I'm open to some flexibility, provided I can take manual control during internet outages. I am unwilling to pay annual subscription fees without good reason. While I'm up for reprogramming devices and creating custom solutions with things like ESP32 microcomputers, anything I custom build must not be critical to using and enjoying the house.

In our next installment: light switches