If you liked this video, be sure to check out more of my smart home review videos here: kzfaq.info/sun/PLnTSM-ORSgi7obxembH4OAHDsrw52r9zk I've got some good ones in there on Hubitat, and wireless security cameras.

One of my favorite automations is a LED strip and a motion sensor under the bed, so when I step off the bed during the night it lights up the floor subtly so that I can see without waking my partner. Great for when the toddlers wake up during the night and you have to scramble up quickly to stop them from demolishing something in the house at 2 am.

Love these ideas. Thanks for the insipration. I'm using Home Assistant, but here's my set up on my Washer/Dryer. 1) Energy monitor outlets for Washer and Dryer 2) Aqara Door/Window sensors on Washer and Dryer doors. 3) Input/Selector "Helpers" in Home Assistant. For the Washer the options are Idle, Running, Clean. For the Dryer it's Idle, Running, Dry. 4) When the power usage is over 50W for 2 minutes, the Selector is updated from Idle to Running. When the usage drops below 1W for 5 minutes (and the Selector is set to Running), the Selector is updated to Clean (or Dry), a message is sent to our phones, an Alexa announcement is made, and a Helper timer is started. 5) When we open the door to the Washer or Dryer the Selector is set back to Idle. 6) BONUS: If the door isn't opened and the Selector isn't set back to Idle within 30 minutes (remember the timer in #4), Alexa gets snarky ("Seriously, the Washer is done. Do you want the laundry to get moldy?" or "The Dryer is done. The laundry's not going to fold itself, you know!"), and the timer resets. Each time the timer hits zero the cycle begins again until the doors are opened to reset the Selector. 7) BONUS BONUS: We have a top loading Washer, and sometimes we start it then do one last run around the house for loose items. We've both forgotten to put the lid down if we get distracted. If the Selector is set to Running, and the Washer door sensor is still open after 5 minutes, a message is sent to our phones and Alexa to tell us to check the Washer lid.

I just found you and I must say, you are an amazing presenter. Thank you very much for the great ideas!

My favorite: 1. Geofence to turn on lights in the garage when I come home. They automatically turn off 5 min. later. 2. No light switch at the door where I enter the house. Three lights automatically turn on when I arrive home but only if it’s after sunset.

Just discovered your channel. Cant believe I never stumble on it before. Love your content man

My first automation was before smarthomes. I bought one of those mechanical timers meant for wall-sockets for my coffee-machine, and ever since I have always woken up to the smell of fresh coffee

The credit card idea worked perfectly! I started from the top and ran it along each side and it popped right off. Thank you!

Created my smart home around my seriously ill wife. Using Amazon Alexa enabled devices I set up smart bulbs and switches so that she could switch on and off lights via her voice, setup routines to alert me during the night when she required assistance, and when things got to the stage where she was confused and couldn’t make Alexa understand, I set up alarms using routines and Amazon buttons, one in the bathroom one in her bedroom and one in the lounge. Together with a couple of Wyze cameras I could check on her day and night from anywhere using the smart phone. Peace of mind for us both . Smart homes are not just for helping with mundane things but are extremely useful for disabled, elderly or ill people whether living alone or with someone you are never going to be alone and vulnerable again. p.s. Amazon bring back the simple button it is useful for much more than for playing games

This channel is underrated, it should have a minimum of 3M subscribers!

I setup home/away based on our phones being connected to the WiFi and this has been faster and more reliable than any GPS method I tried. Also got a Yale Assure with August and it's awesome!! Love the door unlocking when I walk up and relocking 100% automatically.

hey brother ive had so many of the products that your talking about and ive forgot how many things work together and ive been lazy to set things up specially like you said we have been stuck at home and instead of working on projects ive been on KZfaq haha... but tonight i thought to my self i want to do something with my night. your videos gave me so many new ideas and i need to buy more smart home gadgets but i have so many that ive not taken advantage of. great video thanks for the tips...

I like when people correctly use "automation". Most "home automation" is just remote control. That's not automation.

Nobody can convince me that the guy at 9:38 actually took a drink of coffee. Also great video, thanks!

Got a robot vacuum and mop combo (coredy) and it has changed my life! I have it scheduled for morning and night which is tremendously helpful when you have 4 cats and a teenager. My floors are ALWAYS clean now.

Dude I love your videos, there soo well done and addicting.

skynet approves of this.

These are great ideas man especially the washer dryer dongle. I have 40 smart things contact switches and 10 motion sensors that correspond to every drawer and cabinet in my kitchen. The idea is to have intuitive lighting only when you are around it.

I like this video because, for most of the things, he isn't telling you to buy all these expensive light bulbs and washing machines, he's showing you how you can make the things you already have IoT-enabled.

You offer some excellent insights into building a smart home. I'm diving into smart home equipment for the first time after buying my house last year and I appreciate the clarity with which you explain your device choices and their functionality. I work in industrial automation for a living but smart homes and home automation is a very different beast. On an unrelated note, I noticed you mention in a previous video that you used to work for a video game developer. I'm a heavy-duty gamer myself, mind if I ask which developer you worked for?

Great video Matt with some great ideas! Nice job!!

This video gave me a lot of ideas for my smart home. Thanks.

My top smart home bits: #1) without question my most favorite is my smart thermostat. It cost about $60, integrates with my security system, and within the month, I saved $60 on my electric bill. #2) Automated irrigation. My system does *not* integrate with my alarm system (or anything else, as far as I know), but it will monitor both soil moisture and weather conditions; if the soil is damp enough, or if it's rained recently or forecast to do so before the next routine, it won't run. #3) my cameras. I know people have concerns about having cameras in the home and I perfectly well understand that (I myself don't even plug my Alexa in unless I'm actively using it for some of those same reasons!), but hear me out on this one. I was out of state for a week visiting a friend, and we had gone out of cell phone range into the mountains for the day. The minute I entered the service area, my phone blew up with notifications, including that my alarm system had lost power. I've lived here 18 years and can count on two hands (with fingers to spare) how many times I've lost power AT ALL, and on one (also with fingers to spare) that it's been off for longer than five minutes, so this was an exceedingly rare event. I immediately checked my alarm system, saw everything was armed, saw none of the glass break sensors had gone off, that none of the door or window sensors was triggered. Then I looked at the camera. I saw one cat passed out on the couch, and the other was happily eating, thought to myself "well it can't be that bad if the cats are relaxed", and would have forgot about it entirely I wasn't fielding panicked and hysterical phone calls from friends & family about the 5 stadium wide EF5 tornado that had just passed by my house, killed a bunch of people including by picking cars up off the overpass and throwing them to the ground, and generally wrought tons of havoc. And with my cameras? I knew everything was fine before I even knew there was a problem.

Great, thorough videos. A recent fan and i like the content. Keep up the great work!

0:49 Love it... I've seen a lot of videos where people overautomate (if that's a word) just for the sake of doing it.

Best home automation video available, thank you !

The Hubitat hud rocks. I'm using some similar smart home setups. Thanks for the washer and dryer tips.

I have outdoor smart plugs for the holiday lights and the backyard lighting, automated to turn on at the local sunset and to turn off at 11:00 pm. I added lights above and below the kitchen cabinets and those are automated to turn on and off at specific times. My wife has a glassblock in a basement window next to the front porch which she decorates according to seasons/holidays. It also turns on at sunset and shuts off at 11:00 pm. I’m looking at getting “Level” locks for our three exterior doors.

Always love your smart home videos, Matt!

Awesome video! I always dig your videos. Can you share the link to the humidity sensor you use in the bathroom? I like that idea a lot and want to get it working with my house.

Very professional and truly valuable content. I find few channels that are so well done. Thank you

Matt, great video and very helpful. Have you seen the SimpliSafe Smart Lock? Any opinions on that vs the Yale one?

Great video Matt. I am such a nerd and want to do home automation so badly. I didn't realize you were listening in on our dinner conversations this weekend where I talked about looking for the "killer app". Even with your help, I can't see the value or wow over-weighing the hassle. Thanks for trying,...

I have a automation setup that when i go to bed, my lights auto turn off, works like a charm :)

This dude is next level smarthome savvy.

Matt, have you ever thought through the process of temperature monitoring of your freezer(s). I have freezers in my kitchen refrigerator, a stand alone freezer in my utility room, and an old freezer in the ‘replaced’ frig/freezer that’s now in the garage. I’ve tried the transmitter design with batteries in the freezer, but they just don’t last. My desire would be to have a probe inside the freezer that is direct wired to a sender unit outside of the freezer (where the wire that the magnetic door seal goes over doesn’t affect the seal). This could then interface with a Hubitat for warnings if the temp rises above a certain temp. I’ve seen a couple of DIY videos, but I don’t have the talent of an EE to effect such a contraption. It seems like there is a valid need for a ‘home owner’ product that works as discussed. I’ve seen commercial, big freezer products that are too expensive for home use. Thanks.

Pro tip. Put one of those water sensors in your furnace water pan. My system was going on 10 years and it leaked over the water pan onto the ceiling above. The only way we knew the furnace was bad was when we saw the watermarks on the ceiling. $18,000 later we have a new furnace and one of those sensors in the water pan. Cheers

Gone are the days where "(something can be done with) push of a button" phrase was used to show simplicity.

Thanks for this. I have all of the items setup like you do except for the laundry. Just 30 minutes ago I was frustrated that I had left clothes in the washing machine. Since I have an electric vehicle, I am on a time of day usage, so there are limits to when I dry my clothes unless I want to pay the highest usage rate. These examples should help me greatly. (My system is SmartThings tied to my Google home speakers with z-wave light switches, although I recently bought a HomePod and now have to reconsider how my system integrates since my Apple Music subscription doesn’t easily play on the Google speakers except through painful workarounds.)

Great video! I just would love if you could put a list on the description down to all the things that you mention! I’m looking for those humidity sensors, but you didn’t tell what brand are they

Enjoying the videos Matt, thanks.

I love the SmartDry sensor for the dryer. SmartDry just released a beta program and now my Alexa devices alert me the dryer stoped and still wet, or when close are dried. Virtual switch to create the automation and when the switch is triggered then Alexa announces the automation. Pretty cool

so you lock the locks, but have a glass door that someone can easily break and unlock those locks. time to upgrade to a solid door without glass right next to your lock.

Best smart home video I’ve ever watched! Well done

Good video content! automation is key for me from garage doors, to Honeywell smart thermo, roomba etc..

I have a lot of the same automations, although certainly not all. My main objective is voice control (as an option) for lights, TV, temperature, etc. One thought: when you have a case like your kitchen when one switch controls multiple lights, you really want a smart switch, even if smart bulbs will be fine -- the switch gives you the option of controlling lights either way. I have stuck with Alexa even though not entirely thrilled with it, and don't want a hub. There's a lot of complexity in all of this, and voice control gets harder as you have more devices, as you have to remember the incantation needed in that case.

Like always, great video. Thank you!

Hi Matt, I see from the video, you are using home automation products from different brands. Are they interconnected to work like an integrated solution?

You got my sub for Blazing Saddles footage, lol. Brave, in today's environment!

Hi Matt! Great video, very clear and precise! Any chances of making a new video on the best ways to improve the AWAY/AT HOME detection for a house when parents are away but kids may be at home with the nanny or grandparents?

Great videos. Please keep it coming!

Awesome video - thanks! Questions: Are you pairing the lights with Hubitat directly? How about the Caseta gear? Using the Caseta hub or pairing directly with Hubitat? Are you doing all of your automation in Hubitat? Any automation happening elsewhere? Thanks again for your great videos!

So your saying I can find out when your gone and disable your alarms online before robbing your house.. Gotta love the new technology

Only my 3rd video but I like your style Matt no BS and open honest opinions. I'm planning to build my own house in the next 5 years and definitely looking to integrate things like solar and battery system etc

A friend recently discovered robotic (Smart) cat litter box. It looks like an escape pod from a spaceship but it's been a real game changer for her!

And wow that dryer thing is awesome!!

Matt, your videos are top-notch, very pro! In this one you mention power switches for washers that send a message when the appliance is finished. I can't find any that are Alexa-compatible. Any advice? Also, do you know any that would work for a 3-wire range outlet?

I’m setting up my house right now, so at the moment I’m just looking to set up the most smart lights I can (have 2/3 bulbs, a couple of lamps and some leds, all from Hue); the automation for the tv looks very interesting and I’ll look into it!

Saving energy is a good place to start. An even better place to start is saving money by saving energy. Which kind of energy is the large chunk of your bill and which devices or rooms are using that much. concentrate on the big ones and try to invest in something that will earn itself back long it needs to be replaced. That way you earn money for new improvements. If is heating, a programmable thermostat in every room that can demand for heat only when needed can save you up to 50% certainly if you make sure the heating system is properly maintainted and (cv)-tuned. I love honeywell evohome. Electricity is kind of hard, most people have already changed their halogeen lights for leds so not much to do there. Fridge and freezer is often the next station together with desktop computers and large TV's.

Energy savings is my biggest goal at the moment. I like the idea of the SmartDry. I saw in another video that there was something to get for making a water heater work more efficiently. Unfortunately my water heater is not compatible. I recently installed a heat pump system and I’m under contract for a solar instal. I’ll keep an eye on the channel for more energy saving ideas.

I got drawn in by the thumbnail. That bed looks like the one I’m considering from Article.

This is one of the best videos out there. Keep up the great work.

I setup a shortcut to start my vpn whenever I connect to certain WiFi networks. It’s great since I don’t always remember to turn it on.

04:10 shots fired.. then remembering how comfy the bed is XD

The only smart-home automation item I have (besides my powerwall... does that count?) is an Orbit b-hyve irrigation controller. I could see getting the garage door opener module as I've put solar on my garage roof the past year and when the sun is shining, the RF from either the panels/wiring/inverter interferes with the remote control. Surprised you didn't put in the doorbell as one of the top 10. That also seems very useful, especially for people that aren't home. TBH though, most of the other items seem frivolous, IMHO.

okay not a fan of the whole automation/cameras in house but I will admit the washer and dryer ones are so cool

I have a Neato vacuum cleaner and I notice that I don’t need to have her charging all the time. So I have a smart switch (HomeKit) that turns on one hour before it has to start vacuuming and one hour after it finishes. That gives the vacuum cleaner enough energy to do its work and save some energy at the same time.

Great shirt!

Hey mat, great ideas! And a very well timed video as I’m working on starting/ expanding my smart home options

Thanks so much for ur videos! What's the exact model for Yale lock? There are several on Amazon and I'm not sure which one ur recommending!

Nice video. Good tips and ideas to get started on this. Thanks

Hello, Mr. Ferrell, I like the font you use on your intro card mentioning SurfShark as well as the other topics of smart home automation. Do you know what that font is called and where I can download it? It almost looks like a variation of HP Simplified, but it is subtly different.

One issue with Ecobee geofencing. As far as I can tell, it only detects if 1 device leaves the area. So if you are home and your wife runs to the shops, the ecobee goes into away, even though you are still home. With HomeKit, you can select the option of, if one OR if last person leaves. Also, if you run out for 5 minutes, and it is now in Away mode, it will not change to Home mode if you return before the status period has ended.

One thing I just added was to lock my doors when I turn on my home theater with my Harmony remote.

Great video! And my family calls me a "geek"

All the options, all the hubs, all the rules... I'm exhausted just watching this video! I've worked in tech for 40 years (software engineer) and I still get the heebie-jeebies when contemplating home automation. Plus, living in a household where one or more occupants are luddites does not make things any easier. In any case, thanks for the info -- it still looks like there's a ways to go before home automation is for everyone.

I'm running home assistant on a NUC and find it really flexible and awesome. If you haven't looked into Node-Red yet on home assistant - give it a try. It's way more flexible than any other system and yet still user friendly. My automations include a home-made smart doorbell based on a $17 ESP board with camera+wifi+PIR. When the PIR fires, members of my family get a text notification with a picture even before someone rings the actual doorbell :) Oh, and I bought a bunch of cheap google home minis and put them around the house for a very affordable notification system. Now I can call everyone to dinner with a touch of a button! Lastly, HA integrates very neatly with my Model 3 so I can remotely control it, charge it and track its location.

Thanks for all of the clear advice although it comes at me rather quickly - but clearly! I am part way through connecting my lighting, front door access, video doorbell, Nest Thermostat and Nest smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.I have the Insteon system of switches, dimmers and outlets basically installed. I also have the Nest Thermostat and 3 Nest Protect devices installed. Then I have the newest Eufy video doorbell 2K as suggested by you. (Thanks) The Eufy is battery powered and I have purchased the very same 24volt transformer so that I can plug it into the wall. This means that I have the Eufy Homebase 2. I want to find out if there is a base system that I can add that will link all of these devices. I had purchase the Insteon switches, dimmers and outlets prior to my limited knowledge of bases to which I can go to link all of my current items. I am completely at a dead end and ideally would like to employ someone to help me finish the project. I have had nothing but problems with my Nest products. I've had the thermostat replaced 2 times and hired a Nest Pro prior to the 3rd unit in my home. The Nest Protects (3) have all been replaced twice and one of them three times! They seem to be 'working' now. I got a false Carbon Monoxide reading once and Protect did turn off my Air Conditioning system as it should. Can you think of any base that will link the Insteon, Nest and Eufy products? And an installer? Sorry for length. Ron

You should really invest in an automatic water shut off valve. It’ll shut off your main water supply and the sensor will show where the leak is. I have one and it’s well worth your time.

Great smart stuff, Matt. I just bought a new GE Washer Dryer WIFI enabled unit. It hasn't even been delivered yet so, I will let you know how it goes.

My son sometimes slams our deep freezer door when he shuts it and it can bounce back open. I setup a smartthings temperature sensor to send an alert when the freezer temperature goes above a certain temperature. Save our stuff in our freezer a time or two.

As always great video!

Matt - I also have leak detectors under every sink, toilets and washing machine, but I connected all of them to an electronic sensor that shuts down the main water line when any of the leak detectors are triggered. Peace of mind when on vacation.

Great stuff for beginners. I’m a seasoned home automator and frankly, overwhelmed early adopter of... everything. I’m at the stage of deciding what to dump and what to augment. Ring devices are gone! Too slow and unreliable. Most died in less than a year. Nest devices are on their way out as they die off. Subscriptions are too expensive, but the devices are rugged and reliable. Like Wyze cuz they are cheap. And going full Eufy as soon as HomeKit Secure Video is available for doorbells.

Hey man awesome video thanks 😊

I tried a Lenovo humidity detection switch in my bathroom and despite my trying differerent settings, I could never get it to turn on and off at the correct time, so I had to remove it. That's a shame, and it dented my faith that other systems like that could work.

Amazing ideas Matt! My smart home wouldn’t be the same without the plethora of sensors.

Thanks for great video. Definitely gives me plenty to think about. The question that nags me is how safe or secure is the connectivity. Could it be hacked and leave your house open, or someone watching you at home using your own video surveillance system?

Great video! Can you write an article showing how you did all this stuff?

Thanks Matt.

Hi. matt good suggestions however what are your thought on smart blinds ?

Great video, as always. I have some of these (or equivalents) in my home, but I've found that I need to use several different services to get everything that I need (Philips Hue, Google Home, Nest (now part of Google), Tesla, Withings, WeMo, and IFTTT). This works well almost all the time, but there are several single points of failure, and they all rely on Internet service being up in order to access different API endpoints. What I would really like is a single system that can control everything and operate when internet service is down, but that has a management API that can be accessed over the internet when it is up. I know I'm just dreaming!

The first half of this video is what I call a “security fetish” - the never ending attempt to resolve internal anxiety. Move somewhere where you don’t need to lock your doors. Having kids in that house sounds bizarre. They can’t be like the kids of every generation before them - no sneaking out. No cookie jar theft if there’s a motion sensor camera that tells dad where you are after curfew. Straight up dystopian

Excellent video Matt! Although, that is way to much technology for me to handle! Heck, I am still using an old Flip phone.................... Be well & stay safe......... 👍👍😉😉😂😂

great stuff i am looking for a auto lock for a sliding glass patio door. sliders only can be locked from inside but is you have on a guest unit or pool house there is nothing any ideas

The lock picking lawyer says hellow 😅😂

i'd leave the light near your back door on as well. Increases the safety of your home.

My wife and I are both retired and we live in a 46 year old house that I had built for me with a large three car garage added thirty years later. I've been told that a smart thermostat will not work with my heating system which is a heat pump supplemented with an oil fired hot water heater. Anyway, since we're home all the time and when we're not, my wife wants to keep the dog and cat comfortable, I don't need a smart thermostat. My door locks are the NYC favorite Segal surface mounted dead bolts. The external garage lights are controlled with a timer and the walkway lights come on when its dark and go off when its light again. I did install a massive solar array about five years ago and I just had my electrician install a Nema 14-50 receptacle for when I get a Tesla a year from now. The only device you mentioned that I'd like is the dryer device because my wife over-dries the clothing.

Great video . What is the specific model of the Yale door lock you used in the video ?

Well done!!!