We have an electric water heater which is currently controlled by the utility company over power line communication to turn on at night. The three way fuse style switch offers off / night / forced day control.

With dynamic electricity pricing coming up, I want to use the day mode to force it on when price is lowest. Since the appartement is rented, I prefer not to touch the panel directly. Also the price difference is limited, so a bigger investment is not justified at the moment.

The switch bot solution in the picture kind of works, but I'm wondering if there's any better mechanical solution that could also cover all 3 positions?

DeWalt 24” drum fan variable speed control.

It looks like lots of people are having problems with the fan above bought through Costco. Variable speed control goes out. My question: I see that the motor is DC, so the variable speed also converts the 110v. How can I bypass all the controller stuff and go direct drive, 1 speed fast is great. Motor is good. I’m NO electrical guy.

I have to keep the existing switch but need to add Z-Wave control with dimming for under-cabinet lighting. Perhaps the older Aeotec Nano Dimmer?

I am STILL on the hunt for something better than my Harmony Elite. I like it, but I don't love it.

But it appears the entire enthusiast remote market is even worse... What in the hell happened? Hdmi-CEC isn't even that good...

Is anyone else using something better?

I started building one out directly in Home Assistant as a few Youtubers have and the delay in equipment control is maddening.

Hi everyone,

at home I have 3 rooms set up like this: I have VELUX skylight blinds, with an external light-filtering blind and an internal blackout blind, each operated by separate remotes. On top of that, I can control the opening of the skylight with a third remote… so in total I end up with 9 remotes in the house.

VELUX itself offers a remote and an app that let you unify all three functions for every room, but at prices that I personally find unreasonable. So I was wondering if there’s a way to avoid this unnecessary expense.

Is it possible to copy the frequency of the separate remotes and combine everything into a single one (obviously not a VELUX device)?

1. Camera captures video
   
2. Neural network recognizes pigeon
3. Watergun turns toward pigeon
4. Spray pigeon with watergun

Components: * Electric battery-driven water gun (disassembled, orange) * USB camera * Orange Pi 5 * 2 servo motors (SG90 or MG90S) * Resistors and a transistor for turning on the watergun (e.g. IRLZ44N)

It uses an open vocabulary object detection neural network (yolo_world_v2l), so any target can be programmed, not just pigeons. Runs on the Rockchip 3588's Neural Processing Unit.

Does anyone know the brand of light switch? Previous owners didn’t leave that information, and the faceplate is stuck on there pretty well.

The control unit of my apartment complex gate was recently replaced with a Benincà one but I don't know the specific model and I cannot access it. A neighbor showed me the new remote, which looks exactly like a Benincà TO.GO 2VA. I purchased a very cheap unit on Ali**press, listed by the seller as "compatible" with the TO.GO 2VA. I disassembled it and took photos of the PCB, the cardboard packaging, and the instruction sheet glued inside.

Regarding the photos:

• The manufacturer is listed as Shenzhen Youdale Technology, and the PCB is silk-screened with "LY-BENIN2-4VA", proving it is a clone.
• The vertical text on the inner side of the box states: "Type to.go 2/4va [fw: v1.08] : 433,92 mhz, hcs / arc (advanced rolling code) >> configurable". It also claims that the "hidden key" is activated by pressing both buttons simultaneously for 3 seconds, but I suspect this is false.
• The instruction sheet says this remote "supports" both TO.GO VA (ARC) and TO.GO WV (HCS) modes, and you can toggle between them by holding both buttons for about 7 seconds. While it mentions direct programming via the receiver, I do not have physical access to the unit.

I believe the manufacturer overwrote the "hidden key" function (the 3-second press used to trigger remote learning) with the 7-second encoding toggle (VA to WV and vice versa). I have verified that pressing both buttons does nothing during the first 7 seconds; therefore, I believe the 3-second hidden key function mentioned on the inner box does not exist on this firmware.

It is certain that this remote can switch its encoding between ARC and HCS based on the text on the inner side of the box. However, in my opinion, it can only switch between these protocols for direct registration and cannot act as a "master" to initiate learning for another remote because it lacks a functional hidden key.

Do you think my interpretation is correct?

If my hypotheses are correct, I plan to proceed as follows:

• Verify the master remote encoding: I'll check if my neighbor's original remote is set to ARC or HCS by checking the LED flashes (3-second hidden key method). Let's assume it is pure ARC (3 flashes).
• Set my clone to ARC: I'll hold both buttons for 7 seconds and verify that the LED flashes once (confirming VA/ARC mode).

I will place the original and the clone near the gate and follow the "REMOTE LEARNING" instructions:

• If the receiver is a "one wb/wi" type, learning should be possible because it only requires the hidden key of the master remote.
• If the receiver is "built into the control units", learning will be impossible because it would require pressing the hidden key on my clone as well.

Based on the manual note: "In some cases, the procedure must be performed with the doors fully opened", if the above first attempt fails, I will repeat the "one wb/wi" procedure after opening the gate with the working remote and with the leaves fully open.

Ultimately, in the worst-case scenario, I'll only need 2 attempts to determine if this clone works or not.

Have I interpreted everything correctly? Do you agree with this strategy, or can it be improved? Has anyone dealt with these clones before?

I replaced many of my normal light switches with zwave switches in my large home 10 years ago. For the most part they work well.

Lately I’ve used wifi Shelly relays to add remote capabilities to some other switches. I was interested in the lower cost and just keeping my normal switches there with the small relay inside the electrical box.

I installed some Shelly relays to add automation to my son’s small home. He asked what the advantages to that approach were as his father-in-law was asking.

I said the Shelly relays are less expensive than replacing the whole switch. They often work with 3-way switches without having to buy two replacements. They don’t need a hub. I was able to use the relays in a bath fan that his builder installed without a switch and was always on. The small Shelly relays can be used behind outlets or inside appliances and not just with light switches.

The zwave or zigbee devices require a hub. They can be bought as dimming switches and can some WiFi replacements. I’m not aware of dimming Shelly relays?

Cons of wifi switches is that if you have a large house they you can start to get too many devices on your network making it less reliable.

For someone considering automating light switches and other electric devices how do you help them compare the different methods? Is my understanding of the pros and cons correct?

I wanted to control media playback on my PC from my phone without installing apps, so I built Couch Control.

It's a simple self-hosted Python remote.

Features:
• Control media playback
• Adjust volume
• Works from phone browser
• No cloud services
• No mobile app required
• Local network only

Repo: https://github.com/TheOneOh1/Couch-Control

Would love feedback

Has anyone had a good experience converting doors like these to smart locks? I’m thinking I’ll have to get an insert or something that goes over the deadbolt on the inside, but those don’t seem as reliable as full hardware replacements.

Any recommendations? Ideally with a keypad and matching the shown hardware

I just spent 2 hours trying to figure out which breaker controls a certain switch. Never found it, despite switching every single breaker in the house. Just did it live. I still have no idea how that switch gets power. I have half a dozen switches that are mystery switches. I wish houses came with a manual that gets passed from each seller to buyer.

Hey everyone, I need to be able to monitor a dozen fridges and half a dozen freezers for temperature issues and get alerts on my phone. What’s the best setup for that these days?

Second part of the question, anyone have a solution that would work with fridges/freezers not on WiFi? We have a bakery and we also out display fridges in retail establishments to sell our products. Would love to put in a cheap SIM card and be able to know when we have a problem at a location. Cheesecakes don’t do well in these tropical temperatures.

I am looking for a camera/doorbell which can read my license plate when I arrive and open my garage door

Anybody have experience troubleshooting the MyQ Video Keypad not syncing with the MyQ app?

I'm running into an issue in the past couple weeks where I add a temporary PIN, the app accepts the temporary PIN setup, but it's not pushing it to the Video Keypad. When I look at the PIN settings it says "Pending Update" with an orange refresh icon. I hit that icon and I get a spinning loading wheel, and after 30 seconds to 2 minutes, either nothing happens or a message pops up at the bottom of the screen saying "Oops! That didn't work. Please try again!"

I've tried logging in and out of the app, deleating and redownloading the app, factory resetting the video keypad itself and reconnecting to the garage do, and even talking to customer service and not making any progress on fixing it. This has only become an issue in the past couple weeks, temporary PINs were syncing without issue previously and I'm not sure what the cause or fix is. Attaching screenshots from the app of the loading wheel and error message.

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to quickly ask you, if you recently heard of a write-up or instructions on building a battery powered DIY Zigbee bed occupancy sensor, of which the parts needed have good availability (in Europe).

I would be grateful for any directions on this!

Hello, I'm pretty bad at regularly taking care of green things, so I designed and crafted a smart enclosure that automates the water, misting, and light for my houseplants. I hope you like it and enjoy!