The Best HomeKit Products You Can Buy

[deeddawg]

That's what a wire nut is for.

Thanks for the helpful suggestion. Yes, for the past thirty years wire nuts have been my first choice when there's plenty of wire in the box to work with.

Sometimes in old wiring there isn't enough accessible ground wire to put a wire nut onto. That's where those come in handy. It's a lot easier than tearing into drywall to extend the romex.

 

[scott911]

I have had trouble with switches because I have an older home (nicely remodeled), but the original electrical took short cuts so few of my switches have a neutral wire witch is required.

I found some very cheap wifi only switches that you can wire directly into the light fixture, but of course they are non HomeKit compatible so I have to use Alexa to control them.

I won't say that was a shortcut... pretty common and safe approach to the best of my knowledge. might make smart switches a challenge though...

 

[deeddawg]

I have had trouble with switches because I have an older home (nicely remodeled), but the original electrical took short cuts so few of my switches have a neutral wire witch is required.

They're lacking neutral or ground? I'd be surprised if it was neutral that was lacking, but you're the one with eyes on them. EDIT: with reflection, yes in some older installs the circuits might be wired from the light fixture to the switch, not the other way round, and thus just have line & load at the switch's box.

Yes, you're right - it does generate a challenge with these newer switches which need hot, neutral, and ground.
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Lutron Caseta doesn't require a neutral switch.

What do you mean by "neutral switch"?

Classic single light switches typically just use line/load on the hot lead (black) and don't use neutral (white). Ideally they're connected to ground but that's not always done, particularly in old or rural construction.

The Lutron Caseta does use neutral (white), and the instructions specify a ground connection as well. I've not tested to see if they work without it, or if it can work with ground instead of neutral. See http://www.casetawireless.com/Documents/0301799.pdf

 

[BuffaloTF]

I’ve been outfitting my house with Leviton Decora Smart light switches and dimmers. I think it’s a lot more convenient to do light switches instead of the lights themselves; you don’t need to use an app if you don’t want to as the physical switch still works, you can replace the light bulbs at will, and they’re easy to wire in as you replace existing light switches. The only downside is that they can be hard to fit inside the wall box; if you’re putting a new one in, do yourself a favor and get the extra-deep boxes.

Another thing to consider is when the house was built and how it was wired. Some electricians going back in the 50s-70s didn't run the white line to the switch and closed the loop right inside the fixtures with them... and you need them to get it to work right.

I have a mixture of both in play... none of the bedrooms had ceiling lights in the house I bought, so I ran them myself. Those rooms are getting switches. Other parts of the home I need to use bulbs in and leave the switch on.

Edit: I guess I should've read further than the 1st comment, as naturally someone already covered this. My bad!

 

[deeddawg]

I have a schalge sense. I love it. So handy. My only complaint is that there is no setting to completely fully lock the door so that even pin codes etc can unlock it from the outside. I would love to go to bed at night knowing that I could lock the door and if a burgler happened to know the code they couldn’t get in.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Thanks for the helpful suggestion. Yes, for the past thirty years wire nuts have been my first choice when there's plenty of wire in the box to work with.

Sometimes in old wiring there isn't enough accessible ground wire to put a wire nut onto. That's where those come in handy. It's a lot easier than tearing into drywall to extend the romex.

Well you didn't say the ground was that short, lol.

 

[deeddawg]

Well you didn't say the ground was that short, lol.

Yeah, sorry I wasn't clear.

Here's a recent one where I had to cut into the romex sheath to even find the ground wire. The source feed is the line on the bottom-right:

(note the wiring is as I found it, not how I left it! )

 

[icanhazmac]

+1 for Lutron Caseta dimmers, easy to install, easy to setup, use with HomeKit / Siri or with their own app, lots of nice features.

No issues with Ecobee products either, I have the 3 Lite

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Yeah, sorry I wasn't clear.

Here's a recent one where I had to cut into the romex sheath to even find the ground wire. The source feed is the line on the bottom-right:

(note the wiring is as I found it, not how I left it! )

Nests like that make my head hurt, lol. At least there's no asbestos in sight.

 

[deeddawg]

+1 for Lutron Caseta dimmers, easy to install, easy to setup, use with HomeKit / Siri or with their own app, lots of nice features.

One thing I *really* like about the Leviton Decora Smart HomeKit switches is that you can adjust the indicator light functionality from their app. I prefer to have the indicator on when the switch is on, off at other times. Easy to do with these; wasn't easy to do with certain Zwave switches I've had in the past.

No issues with Ecobee products either, I have the 3 Lite

Really like my Ecobee3.

FYI - Costco has the Ecobee3 with three sensors included for $180, $20 off the usual $200 price until 4/22. Link: https://www.costco.com/ecobee-3-Smart-Thermostat-with-3-Room-Sensors.product.100386045.html

 

[keithdoc]

I'm not sure how the Lutron Caseta isn't on this list -- it isn't just the best HomeKit product I own, it's also the best smart home product period that I use. My 4600 sq. ft. house is outfitted with dozens of them. Telling Siri to 'turn off the lights downstairs' is the greatest feature ever.

I agree 100% with you. Lutron Caseta dimmers and pico remotes are the BOMB. Blinds work awesome too. Even my 4 year old can turn lights on/off with the HomePod (I may regret this later).

Of all Homekit connected Devices, they are rock solid. Yes you need to spend $50 on a hub, but it covers my entire 4k+ sq ft house as well (that's without using an outlet dimmer as a range extender). The convenience of using EITHER homekit/app or a physical button/dimmer on the wall is ideal. Even my wife is happy with the integration (which never happens with a remote controlled device).

I wish I could say the same of my LIFX bulbs - they won't all consistently stay connected to home kit . Nothing against LIFX (I was early adopter), but the current lights just aren't ready for primetime (IF you want to use HomeKit). They have firmware patch coming, but Im' returning them and installing a Lutron Caseta dimmer and LED bulbs instead.

 

[apple_iBoy]

We have the August lock, plus the wifi connect module that lets us operate it from outside our own wifi network (to let others in while we're not home, etc.). We got a great deal on it from the Amazon Treasure Truck (the package is normally $280 and I paid I think $190).

So far, we like it a lot. As I was installing it, I did come to realize that my front door knob and deadbolt set (which I thought was faux antique), actually was originally equipment from the 1939, from a long-defunct lock company called Reading Hardware. The deadbolt knob assembly was not directly compatible with the August setup, but I was able to jury-rig it using some square cross-section metal stock from my local hardware store, and it works great!

The only issue that we have is we would prefer that the auto-unlock feature (which we do like) was a little bit more discriminate about waiting until our phones were in closer proximity. As it stands now, our door unlocks sometimes while we're just driving around the block looking for parking.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

We have the August lock, plus the wifi connect module that lets us operate it from outside our own wifi network (to let others in while we're not home, etc.). We got a great deal on it from the Amazon Treasure Truck (the package is normally $280 and I paid I think $190).

So far, we like it a lot. As I was installing it, I did come to realize that my front door knob and deadbolt set (which I thought was faux antique), actually was originally equipment from the 1939, from a long-defunct lock company called Reading Hardware. The deadbolt knob assembly was not directly compatible with the August setup, but I was able to jury-rig it using some square cross-section metal stock from my local hardware store, and it works great!

The only issue that we have is we would prefer that the auto-unlock feature (which we do like) was a little bit more discriminate about waiting until our phones were in closer proximity. As it stands now, our door unlocks sometimes while we're just driving around the block looking for parking.

Thanks for the info, especially on the range.

I do have a question though. The 3rd Gen Smart Lock Pro says it has HomeKit compatibility built in. Do I even need the Connect bridge at that point?

Monkeywrench: My gf uses Android.

 

[Nunyabinez]

They're lacking neutral or ground? I'd be surprised if it was neutral that was lacking, but you're the one with eyes on them. EDIT: with reflection, yes in some older installs the circuits might be wired from the light fixture to the switch, not the other way round, and thus just have line & load at the switch's box.

Yes, you're right - it does generate a challenge with these newer switches which need hot, neutral, and ground.

Yes, they run the hot and neutral right to the fixture and then splice into the hot and run a piece of romex from the light to the switch. So my switch has a single white and a single black wire, even though there are both technically "black" wires. I don't think there are any safety issues, but there is no white neutral at the switch to power it.

 

[apple_iBoy]

Thanks for the info, especially on the range.

I do have a question though. The 3rd Gen Smart Lock Pro says it has HomeKit compatibility built in. Do I even need the Connect bridge at that point?

Monkeywrench: My gf uses Android.

I think you need the Connect bridge if you want to be able to control the lock from outside your home WiFi network.

I know that in the August app, there’s a little button you have to click if you’re not on home WiFi and want to make a change in status.

However, I can just tell Siri in my phone to lock or unlock the door, whether I’m on my home WiFi or not. I’m not sure if the Connect bridge is making that possible, or if it would work anyhow.

Inside the house, we’re usually controlling it with Alexa, just because those dots seem to listen to us better.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I think you need the Connect bridge if you want to be able to control the lock from outside your home WiFi network.

I know that in the August app, there’s a little button you have to click if you’re not on home WiFi and want to make a change in status.

However, I can just tell Siri in my phone to lock or unlock the door, whether I’m on my home WiFi or not. I’m not sure if the Connect bridge is making that possible, or if it would work anyhow.

Inside the house, we’re usually controlling it with Alexa, just because those dots seem to listen to us better.

Thanks for the info. Guess I'll be getting a bridge to go with it.

I specifically bought an EcoBee 3 Lite because it didn't have Alexa built in, lol.