General > General Technical Chat
Turning lights off automatically
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AVGresponding:
And emergency lighting isn't generally found in private residences, since there's no legal requirement for it. The kind of earthquakes we get here aren't dangerous, and power cuts are usually due to bad weather.
nfmax:

--- Quote from: tom66 on October 21, 2022, 08:38:41 pm ---And the problem with the Wi-Fi stuff is it's rubbish,  we have some Tuya smart bulbs and they are quite unreliable and there is no guarantee in 10 years that the server in China will still work for them, and no way to change their API endpoint if it doesn't.  Also you have to effectively consent to that server knowing what your smart home is doing.  Hmm.

Definitely get Zigbee compatible bulbs - Ikea sell smart ones for £15 each - not much of a premium over the cheapie Amazon ones but likely to last much longer.

--- End quote ---

The Shelly wifi relays are good. In UK lighting circuits, they can most easily be fitted at the ceiling rose (they need a neutral) and they will accept switched live as a control input. There is a ‘cloud’ server but there is no need to enable it if you don’t want to. You can control them using an http API, or they talk MQTT natively- this is what I use
Halcyon:
Not to be judgmental, but I don't think this is a failure of technology (or a problem that should be fixed with technology). Sometimes, simple is better.

If she can't work out how to turn lights off when she is done in a room or before going to bed, then, perhaps another conversation needs to occur?

Certain actions have consequences. If she can't learn some basic life skills, perhaps it will cost her in actual dollars, or chores around the house? I mean why solve laziness or apathy with technology that will "do it for them"?
themadhippy:

--- Quote ---I mean why solve laziness or apathy with technology that will "do it for them"?
--- End quote ---
but isn't that what mankind has been doing since the invention of the wheel?
WaveyDipole:

--- Quote from: Zero999 on October 22, 2022, 08:14:01 pm ---How much current do Wi-Fi devices use?

I have another idea: switch of the lights at the circuit breaker before you go to bed. You could even fit a padlock to the consumer unit, so she can't unlock it.

--- End quote ---

That made me smile and funnily enough I had wondered whether the continuous trickle current might outweigh the cost benefit of having such device on ligting, much the same way that we are advised to unplug the TV and not have it on standby?


--- Quote from: james_s on October 21, 2022, 06:20:38 pm ---I've never heard of Gosund, but Zigbee is the primary standard out there that all of the better "smart home" stuff uses. Philips Hue, Ikea Tradfri, etc are all zigbee. A lot of the cheaper stuff is WiFi connected instead and is more proprietary.

--- End quote ---

That is interesting. I researched Zigbee and it would appear that it uses the same part of the 2.4GHz band as WiFi and is said to interfere with it unless carefully set up. On the other hand, reliability is an important consideration as well. As it happens, a friend of mine has some home automation and has been complaining about the WiFi "freezing". They even had a Virgin Media engineer out to investigate and they found nothing. I would have to investigate further, but this might have just provided me with one possible explanation.


--- Quote from: Zero999 on October 22, 2022, 08:14:01 pm ---How much current do Wi-Fi devices use?

I have another idea: switch of the lights at the circuit breaker before you go to bed. You could even fit a padlock to the consumer unit, so she can't unlock it.

--- End quote ---

Thanks. Will check out Shelly.


--- Quote from: Halcyon on October 23, 2022, 10:03:38 am ---Not to be judgmental, but I don't think this is a failure of technology (or a problem that should be fixed with technology). Sometimes, simple is better.

If she can't work out how to turn lights off when she is done in a room or before going to bed, then, perhaps another conversation needs to occur?

Certain actions have consequences. If she can't learn some basic life skills, perhaps it will cost her in actual dollars, or chores around the house? I mean why solve laziness or apathy with technology that will "do it for them"?

--- End quote ---

Its a fair point and we had numerous "conversations". I agree that technology is perhaps not the answer here. Just exploring all possibilities.
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