Quote:
Originally Posted by obert
Thanks for the replies!
I am thinking of getting the Hue starter kit and the Alexa Echo.
The smart switches seem the way to go for most things.
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Yeah, the two bulbs have been the only problematic issue I've had. Of course, they were cheap on Amazon. I can't recall the brand. I would have used the Jasco Plug In outlet adapter for those nightstand lamps. I used those for some pole lamps in our basement and they work well.
But... I'd already replaced those outlets with some that have the USB ports so that I could plug in the wireless phone chargers on the nightstand and an Echo. Those adapters would have blocked the USB outlets. I mistakenly bought ZigBee light bulbs which, in theory, isn't a big deal because the SmartThings hub works with both Zwave and ZigBee but... the ZigBee range isn't as good as Zwave it seems, and certainly not Zwave Plus.
Going through a conversion/upgrade like this definitely takes some planning and evaluation of the various protocols: zwave (plus), ZigBee, BT, WiFi, etc. and the integration with Alexa, etc. I started with doing like three switches, just to test the waters. Switches are more hassle to install but one switch is much less of an investment than 3, 5, 10 "smart" bulbs.
The difficult part of the planning, for me was... I knew that I certainly wanted to automate some switches, and I'm switching from toggle to paddles. However, we've got a ton of three-ways in our house so... replacing the "main" one we use, also meant replacing the switch at the other end. In that box, was another switch that I wasn't planning on replacing yet but... it either meant I replace it with a "dumb" paddle switch or upgrade the other switch to a "smart" switch, while I was in there re-wiring anywas. In other words... it's been an on-going "project" and certainly worth spending some time planning on where you want to go with it, how much you want to spend now and later, etc.