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Home automation - why? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by Loucypher@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I am failing to see the interest in having tons of IOT devices to manage, connect, segment, etc… Why would someone want to do it? To be clear, I have friends deep in it but… I still don’t understand. Can anyone try to explain the magic I am failing to see?

Edit: Thank you all for sharing your experiences! The ones I found more interesting are those that can easily translate in reducing or tracking consumption. The rest I hear but makes more sense when I look at it from an hobbyist perspective.

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[–] Juvyn00b@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

My journey started innocently. I wanted some dimmers in my basement which has my office and a theater setup with 3 separate light sets. Then my wife wanted a craft area so I added another dimmer. I then bought some smart plugs to control my desk lamp and my monitors. Initially all of these devices were individually controlled either via web page or by the company app (Shelly) all within the confines of my LAN. I then spun up home assistant to see what it could do on a whim - and found it had built in hooks for my projector, receiver and Nvidia shield. When I sit down to watch a movie, I can now dim all lights, turn off distracting things (my office monitors and desk lamp), kick on the projector and control the shield to pick a movie. And if I have to use the bathroom? Pause the movie, turn up the accent lights and walk without fumbling for a single switch. Also - the dimmers are all connected to physical switches on the wall so it's not a "phone only" setup. Press the wall switch, lights come on. Hold the switch, and the lights start at their lowest point. Double click the switch and full brightness. Pretty versatile!