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25.01.2022 Need a new SmartTV? Choice has just released a comparative review on several models/sizes across many brands.

24.01.2022 IFTTT Pro - Sounds Heavy Doesn't It! Remember in a blog long, long ago I explained that IFTTT" is not a noise you make when you lift something really heavy. In case you tried to forget the post, here it is (https://www.facebook.com//a.484243631947/537660106606294/). Well now you can IFTTT Pro! If you have gotten this far I assume you know IFTTT is the acronym for "If This Then That.... Hot off the press is the IFTTT Pro offering. If you use it or are keen to make sequenced events the Pro upgrade could be what you want in some instances. Configure Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart!

22.01.2022 A Good Surprise To End A Busy Week! A new shirt sample arrived on Thursday and getting ready for a busy summer! Choose Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart!

22.01.2022 A Smart Home - Do I Really Need One? Do I really need a smart home? is a question I am asked quite often, quickly followed by are they more efficient?, how simple can you make them, can they do x, y and z, oh, and how much does it cost?". Renovating, no doubt about it, is expensive and cost savings are made by the majority of people. With your renovation some items will be simply cut from the budget by purchasing a cheaper version (downgrade), an alternative (substitute),... forego or a reduced quantity. A Smart Home can be added to in functionality if you choose to - the big-bang approach may not be your best option. The starting point has to be really clear with what you want to get from your smart home ‘investment’ - and this is where it gets intangible. Apply the term investment with a lens applied in terms of safety, security, simplification, efficiency and ease of operation. If you are wanting to install a complete or parts there of to compete with your friends, neighbours or boss, then I suggest you have missed the point of ‘why’? You may look at the options of a smart home like buying an oven - there is a baseline of functions and features - some features you will use regularly, makes for a simpler life (self clean, auto turn on/off), and safer (child lock), and more efficient (don’t we ALL want more energy efficiency stars on every household appliance!). Making life simpler does not mean you need to have everything automated. There are many other renovation areas you focus on that do not make your life simpler but you use regularly - compare how much you plan to spend on specific aesthetics verse home smarts. Lighting, for example, can improve your quality of life if you have the right light type, good colour render and in the right physical location - all without automation. Automate some of your lights and, all of a sudden, some of life's basics just got better because it has to be simpler to use and tailored to your need, e.g. reading, watching TV, etc. There is no smart home blueprint!. Every family, renovation and house is different and home smarts tailoring is required. I think some level of automation would make the majority of abodes a better place to live in. Rubbish I hear you say!. Think about how many times you have thought of, or said, if only that wasn’t so dark/light/closed/open we would use that space. If you use a space more often, or your home is safer or, very importantly, is more cost effective to operate, I dare say you would be happy with your home automation and control. Think Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart!

21.01.2022 Battery Bricks?? This maybe some time off but a good way to store energy for your house.

21.01.2022 Solar and The Smart Energy Conference This week the Smart Energy Council held its 2020 Conference, virtually, and the format worked well. I listened and watched several sessions and my take away is the use of solar, whether on your personal rooftop, or a commercial solar farm, is progressing on three fronts. Firstly, and obviously, people are taking charge of their electricity usage, bills and potential energy credits by installing solar panels and potentially energy storage.... Secondly, the industry players talked about ‘open systems’ so vendors could interact and you were hopefully not locked into a one-vendor pathway for growth or component failures. As usual a common theme was the cheapest quote may not be your long time friend. Think about the maintenance, installation quality and what do you want from your solar solution - queue now to data. Last but not least, with data queued, the common need of solar market analysts was more data from installed solar systems, likewise home owner's also liked obtaining data to confirm what they paid for is what they are achieving all without grid connection issues (voltage and frequency drifts). It was encouraging to to listen to a South Australian grid operator looking at trials of active monitoring to keep solar production up through high and low demand times. This is no simple task in terms of forecasting and operating in unison. Overall the conference was interesting and educating - well done Smart Energy Council! @AustSmartNRG Stay Safe. Be Smart!

20.01.2022 Top 5 Smart Home and Home Automation Product Buying Rules. Considering a new purchase to start, add to or complete your automated home? Most people find it daunting shopping for electronics goods. I probably look over 50 products a month. Some are available in Australia and others aren’t but the ideas or concepts sometimes trickle through. I always find it interesting what consumer itch the product is trying to scratch. I see very similar products from differing br...ands but IS there always a difference? Maybe it's the App, integration simplicity, overarching alignment to another integration service, or something much more random. How do you work through your purchasing decisions that you may not understand completely? Here are my Top 5 Smart home and Home Automation product buying rules. 1. Buy ONLY reputable products - Look at brand longevity, Australian accreditation and warranty - This is your home, treat it as a valuable asset, don’t risk poor performance from dodgy brands 2. Data safety as a pre-requisite! - Your credentials, stored and activity information and authentication are a priority to be safely kept. Yes the company can move its operation or get bought out, but hopefully your operating data is kept with you or the country you reside in - Really think twice about buying products that export commends/data to process 3. If it fails do you have local in-country representation? 4. If you need an electrician to install, abide by that requirement - Don't assume electrical safety, make sure your products are installed correctly 5. Ensure you can control, administer and alter features/functions or power down from YOUR device - Local control is always so much better - Ask the question to the manufacturer and/or your retailer on ‘what if’ scenarios if you lose internet connectivity - the responses may surprise you! If you apply these as your purchasing guideline, it probably narrows down your brands to purchase goods from. Looking at it another way, the non-enforcement of any above listed rules is where you potentially now have a risk with your home smarts or a pathway to obsolescence. I am often asked, "why this product and not that product?". Using the rules above in parallel with a smart home functional strategy of my client always guides my recommendations. And by the way there is a 6th rule - don't ignore the first 5 rules! Buy Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart! #smarthabitat #BuyHomeAutomation #buysmarter #smarthometechnology

19.01.2022 Spring Has Sprung! By the calendar spring is officially here. By the temperature gauge yesterday you could say it was as well. Below is my measured temp and humidity in a coastal area of Sydney. The low taper on the night time temperature hopefully indicates winter is almost past and that spring is here. Has Spring sprung?... There are so many sensors to choose from - temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind, rain, air quality - and many automation ideas. Do you use an external temperature sensor, or any other sensors, to initiate automation in your home? Stay Safe. Be Smart!

10.01.2022 Smart Home Disaster Planning The title started out as something different in reaction to a US based article I read on getting ready for their potential Fall/Winter disaster season. Snow, blizzards, hurricanes, tornados and wild fires .. sort of mimics Australia a bit. So before Covid-19 we had a pretty bad run on the Australian East coast - drought, drought, drought, fires, big fires, very big fires, smoke, lots of smoke, and then in February the rain came ... That was less than 12 months ago. That might seem improbable with all that has gone on in 2020 but let’s keep our eye on the game plan. Do you have an emergency plan for your home, smart home and even smarter inhabitants? If you don’t have an emergency plan then it is probably a good time to put one together. There are some links below that you might find useful for Australian conditions. Think about what you need in case of smog, fire, rain, drought or heat issues. It is probably an iterative game so don’t stress if you can’t think of everything on the first pass, iterate again quickly and get to your end-game plan sooner rather than later. If you have a smart home how will it react in the instance of an emergency? If you lose electrical power what happens? Will your solar storage battery stop supplying energy to your house once depleted without mains supplied electrical power? How do I survive if I lose my internet connection? If you already have, or are adding functionality to, your smart home I hope you have taken emergency needs into consideration. Get in touch if you want to know more or work through what you have today or establish a plan regarding your efficient and smart home. Stay Safe. Be Smart! https://www.redcross.org.au//prepare-for-disaster-now-it-s #smarthabitat #disasterpreparedness

10.01.2022 Home Automation and 'What Three Words' I like the geofencing capability of some home automation products and Apps - some suppliers lag in this area but will have to catch up sooner or later. Almost always, the geofencing capability works as described and reliably - that is a challenge for many pieces of electronics or Apps. The granularity of geofencing is ok, I would say not great for local automation but usually sufficient to arm/disarm home automation features you have s...etup when you are leaving or entering the geofencing bubble. What if you need more location accuracy? I am yet to see it appear in home automation yet but watch out for 'What Three Words’. 'What Three Words' is pretty remarkable, not just from an automation possibility, but also to identify your location in case you get lost on foot/car/canoe, or your car breaks down, or your Uber driver can’t find the street address. Have a look at ‘What Three Words', the App you can identify your location to within 3m wherever you are on the planet! I am yet to see it appear in the home automation market but would expect it to come to fruition in the next 2 years. I can think of of several situations where the granularity would benefit home automation systems. Go on, even if you have no inclination in home automation, go and read about 'What Three Words' - it may save your life one day. Stay Safe. Be Smart! https://what3words.com/business

10.01.2022 Smart Home Future 'Controls' Late last week I read the release of Google Beta version of a new smart home interface called ‘Controls' (see URL below). There are numerous companies and technologies out there now trying to do this in a disparate product field. Google is a big name and growing player in the smart home field. Are they the masters?, I don’t think so but they are probably leading the pack compared with Apple and Amazon. Sure, Google has schmick products working ...Continue reading

10.01.2022 Smart Home Wall Plugs With Practical Design I really, really, really like the design of this smart wall plug. Why, well for starters it doesn't have all the electronics at the plug end - so large a double GPO becomes useless and becomes a single GPO only.... Remote control of some devices with a smart wall plug is really useful to control external lights, pool apparatus or watering systems if they are add-ons to your house. You may need a weatherproof box to house the cable termination but at least your idol outdoor GPO could become much more useful! I think it is only available with the US plug termination and US operating voltage/frequency. But if there are any Australian smart plug manufacturers listening out there how about giving this format a go! Stay Safe. Be Smart! #smartplugAustralia https://www.getzooz.com/zooz-zen15-power-switch.html

07.01.2022 Top 5 (and a bit) 2020 Covid Smart Home Tips 2020 has seen many changes in our lives. Covid-19 is more than likely at the forefront of your mind and how it has changed your life. Many people are working from home with potentially little incentive to return full time to an office. So what are the top 5 (and a bit) needs a smart home should have?... 1. If you are spending more time at home, and specifically during daytime hours, you will be more than likely heating or cooling your property for much longer. So make sure your house is passively efficient as possible - seal up the door/window gaps, check window coverings, insulate, warmer or cooler clothing, etc. 2. Still need assistance in getting the temperature right? If you have a dedicated room fro your home office think about an efficient localised solution to moderate the temperature in that room only. 3. How is your internet speed?. Think about how you connect your computer/s to your network and how others in your house might also need the internet as well - e.g. how they connect, usage type, time of day, etc. 4. Lighting can rate as almost your lowest energy user in your house - use efficient LED lighting only - and better too switch on only what you need. 5. Air quality monitors - if you have made your residence as weatherproof as possible you may not getting sufficient fresh-air circulation. Air quality monitors can be included in smart smoke detectors or a dedicated air quality monitor. 6. Smart speakers should not be smart listeners. If you are working within ‘earshot’ of a smart speaker, I would unplug it, for peace of mind that nothing you say, or someone else, triggers your smart speaker to monitor and perform the next best action. Hopefully some of those 5 (and a bit) tips will save you money regardless of 2020 - so aim for the repetitive savings! You might be thinking ‘geez, there is not much tech advice in those points’. True, but remember, a smart homeowner is better off than the owner of a smart home! Stay Safe. Be Smart!

06.01.2022 Smart Home, Or Smart Life, Password Hack Time You may have seen this image floating around on the Internet from Hive Systems. Not sure of the hacking process behind it but assume it is automated to get ‘instant’ hacks times. ... Sadly, I think many people will not change their password to something more secure - even 1 additional character generally blows out the hack time by an order of magnitude!. As a gentle reminder, please don’t give out your username and password for any of your devices, WiFi or any other control App/system of your smart home. The system is yours, so should the credentials to operate! This is no plug for Hive Systems, click the link to cyber risk quiz and hopefully you are in the green. Select Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart! https://www.hivesystems.io//are-your-passwords-in-the-green #hivesystems #safesmarthome

02.01.2022 How's This For A Smart Home Camera? Good luck in trying to disguise this camera easily! Really makes you appreciate the technological advancement of home automation in capability, size, features and App/software integration.... Stay Safe. Be Smart! https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp Photo courtesy of IEEE Spectrum July 2020

01.01.2022 Wireless Charging Devices Does having wireless charging make your home smart? Nope, but it can help your daily life if it is done correctly. A wireless charging device is handy and simple - a one-handed task in this multi-tasking world - removing the constant fiddle with cables and connectors . that seemingly change with every device upgrade!... Today’s article focuses on wireless charging and it may not be of interest to you but please keep reading. Why?, well wireless charging is just like selecting anything else for your home - it needs form and fit to optimise its function. Wireless charging points are not as straight forward as the salesperson would like you to think. If you just put your device down in any direction you are in for a rude shock. In order to effectively charge the device, both the charger and device need to be aligned. Yep, this requires some thought if you are installing one. If you do not have good alignment between the charger and device the power transfer will be sub-optimal. It's not complex to optimise the charger installation. Make sure your electrician understands the mounting options (rotation of charger under the mounting surface) and envisage how you will put your device down (especially on large open surfaces - will it be along/across/diagonal to the bench/overhang/table direction). Make the device location simple for all people coming to your house that may need to use it, e.g. line it up with the countertop long or short edge. Minimise location issues and you will have a great wireless charging experience. Locate Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart!

01.01.2022 Is Air Conditioning A Recent Invention? Some trivia to start a wet and cool week. It is the season to check and service your AC or seek out a new unit if you need one. So when was AC invented, what was it used for and has much changed? This is a pretty short article to skim through. If you are time poor AC was invented 118 years ago! For me though here are the articles key takeouts:... Rising temperatures, rising incomes, and growing populations make the rapid growth of air conditioning unstoppable. A global view of potential AC market growth - ONLY 10% of 3 billion people in the warmest locations have AC today! So what can you do about it? Acti locally of course and the last sentence is of the article I find very important " All we can do is to moderate that growth rate by better urban planning, smarter building design, and enforcement of strict efficiency standards for new A/C units. " If you are going through a new home design or renovation here in Australia more than likely you will have AC for cooling and/or heating. I mentioned in a previous post (6th October, https://www.facebook.com/SmartHabitatAU/posts/1217792995259665 ) the new Australian energy label standards - far easier to interpret and understand the load and sizing suitability to the location you live in. Lastly though, use good 'passive design', as indicated in the article, supported with ’building smarts’ to keep your required rooms cool and your wallet not as hot from the operating costs. Design Well. Buy Wisely. Stay Safe. Be Smart! http://vaclavsmil.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AC.pdf #smarthabitat #efficientsmarthome #energyefficienthomes #homeautomation