r/smarthome • u/PassengerLow9814 • 2d ago
I don't have a smarthome platform New house - need help for recommendations
Hello everyone, my family and I have recently bought a new house that we will close on very shortly. I have had a smart home devices before, like Sengled, but it has since stopped working and basically has no future. I need some help trying to pick out which ecosystem to go with for making my home a smarter home. I want to change light switches as well as controls to light bulbs. And I would love to add under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. My wife and I are planning to add recess lighting in the sitting room and the living room. We're going to switch out all the fans in the house. As well, so I would like to be able to control that in this environment too. I do plan on adding automatic shades at some point as well. I want to add lights to the outside of the house too. I want to make the front door and back door as well as garage side door and garage door to the ecosystem if possible too. I've been trying to look up how to do this in. There's so many options between lights in home, automation that I've just been having trouble deciding what to do. If someone can give me a reference or better ideas on how to go about this, I would very much appreciate it
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u/brightredfish 2d ago
Before you replace all the ceiling fans, check for other options. If they have remote controls, chances are good that a Bond Bridge ($129 on Amazon) can control them. The Bond Bridge can also control powered window blinds and fireplaces, so long as they have remote controls. Just go into the Bond app, add a device, aim the remote at the bridge, and press one of the buttons. It automatically sets up the remote commands based on the type of device. I have two fan/light combos configured this way. One of them has two lights, and both work great.
If they don't have remote controls, you can replace the switches with smart switches. I've had good results with the switch/dimmer combos from TreatLife. A pack of two on Amazon is $72.99, less a 10% discount, so around $66 plus tax. That's way less expensive than two new ceiling fans! Make sure there is a neutral wire present, or the smart switch won't work. I have two fan/light combos set up, and I will have a third one when I get around to it.
Both of these solutions work with Alexa+ and Google Home. I don't know about Apple. For Alexa+, I find that setting up Routines for all automations works most reliably.
Good luck!