#I'm looking for a simple wall socket I can plug lights into.

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

true osprey
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Don't need anything fancy. Just turning lights on/off for now.

summer zenith
sweet lark
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Where do you live? What protocol do you want (zigbee, zwave, wifi, matter/thread)? Do you want it hardwired? Do you want a plug in socket? What's your price range?

true osprey
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USa, i am brand new to this so no clue about protocols. I was plannning on testing HA in a raspberry pi. Price... I don't want to go nuts but I don'

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t want junk either

sweet lark
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reccomend picking one standard and sticking with it. Zigbee/Zwave/Matter all have mesh systems. I would recommend zigbee or zwave.

digital rune
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I like these Kasa Smart Plugs - Effortless Home Control
https://a.co/d/3UNFcPE

Kasa Smart Plugs - Effortless Home Control

The HS103 Kasa smart plug is the easiest way you can start controlling lamps, fans, humidifiers and other home electronic appliances. With it adding voice control to any outlet, you could also enjoy the hands-free convenience. The Kasa app contains not only all the feature you expect from TP-Link...

true osprey
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@digital rune those kasa plugs say they add voice to all outlets. So they have a mic built in?

digital rune
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I have them set up with the voice pe

true osprey
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voice pe is tha Home assitant version of 'alexia"?

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sorry for what may be dumb questions. I'm just verry new to this

digital rune
# true osprey sorry for what may be dumb questions. I'm just verry new to this

yes sir!. wife hates Google and alexa cause of data and what not where this is not like that. I'm also new only like a month in and still setting things up. so far I have been able to use multiple diffrent switches and devices to do a few diffeent things. like last night I made an automation for when the wife comes home to play star wars music through the voice pe.

true osprey
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I was looking for just a simple plug..i was trying to get awar from everything having a cam / mic in it

digital rune
languid fjord
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all that stuff that says it can be voice controlled just means it can integrate with one or more of the major automation platforms. they don't have a mic built in. they rely on your google/alexa/siri setup to do that.

there are several ways to do this.

wifi devices: you will not need any additional hardware on your ha server, but all of those wifi devices want to talk to their cloud service, and have home assistant then integrate to that. home assistant can be set up with local control of some of them without the cloud service, but do check for each device how it works with ha. the cons of using a cloud-enabled device include both the danger of giving data to the vendor as well as slower response to automation than local control.

zigbee devices: usually the cheapest option for the devices but you will need a homeassistant-supported zigbee hub on the network to act as coordinator or simply install a zigbee usb stick on your ha server. the one from nabu casa could be the easiest option, and you will support the company maintaining home assistant.

z-wave: much like zigbee. you need a z-wave stick in your server. z-wave is a more proprietary world than zigbee with only one company making the radio chips. they require certification of all devices. better interoperability, but more expensive devices than zigbee.

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matter/wifi: new-ish protocol that should work better for local control of wifi devices, but it seems like you would need one of the commercial ecosystems (google, alexa, apple) to actually set up the devices and then bind them to ha? anyone please correct me if it is possible now to do matter/wifi completely within ha

matter/thread: thread is a successor to zigbee. matter over thread should behave just the same as seen from homeassistant as matter over wifi. i think it has the same problem as matter/wifi in that you actually need "something else" to pair up the devices and then hand them over to homeassistant?

the matter protocols are probably the future, but still a little early. if you get a zigbee stick now you should be able to swap the firmware on it to thread later on. or get a second stick when you are ready for thread and run zigbee for existing devices and thread for new ones on separate sticks.

hope that clears up some issues.

digital rune