I just got a Google Home, and I'm looking into setting up a smart home that I can control with voice commands via compatible services. But I have a few questions before I sink a bunch of money into bad ideas or things I don't need.
- The main thing I want to do is to set up some lights that can be turned on and off via voice commands, but my wife and kids can still just use the switch. Thus, I think I want to get a SmartThings hub and some compatible light switches, and then I can turn the lights on and off via Google Home voice commands or manually on the switch. Plus I can add smart outlets, thermostats, and locks in the future. Hue light bulbs look like they would be easier to install, but it doesn't look like they would work well with turning them on and off via a traditional light switch. Am I going to be better off with the SmartThings compatible light switches? Or do Hue light bulbs actually work just fine with traditional light switches?
- However, one other things I'd like to do is set up our front outside lights to turn on at sunset and then off at sunrise/sometime in the middle of the night. We currently leave these light switches on all the time and put a light control in the bulb sockets to turn them off during the day. But those are ugly, like to turn on during the day when they're in the shade, and have no option to turn off in the middle of the night. It looks like Hue light bulbs would be the best thing to use to replace this set up. But if I'm already getting a SmartThings hub from question 1, will that work with Hue light bulbs? Or do I need to get a separate Hue hub?
