Remote Control, the Key to Achieving Laziness

Throwback from a previous post when i introduced the Livolo switches. Just a recap, the switches i have gotten are not just touch panels, but are remote controllable. There are two types of remotes, with one being more advanced and can toggle up to 10 buttons and scenes but it's more expensive and I have no need for that because I will be integrating all into my phone soon and so i got the other remote, that is shown above. However, one is not enough for all the switches in the house so.....

I got a small army of it. The reason why i got so many of it is so that my phone would be able to control all the switches uniquely. You may just jump to the next picture if this technical stuffs bores you but I will just briefly share it.

Firstly, to control every switches from my phone requires my Broadlink RM Pro to learn the radio frequency (RF) code. There are programs out there that can decrypt and create RF code, but I felt that it is too complicated for now, and so, it it easier to just learn the RF code. When pairing the remote with the switch, an unique RF code is created. By learning this particular RF code, the Broadlink RM Pro is able to broadcast the code as if the remote is sending it. This also mean that i am unable to unpair the remote-switch, because that would render the learnt code useless. By not being able to unpair, I am not able to use one remote to create multiple codes, hence the need for me to get multiple remotes to create multiple codes for all the switches in the house. Positively, each button of the remote is able to pair with multiple switches, allowing me to switch on the living room lights and the kitchen lights together. However, i would not be able to control them separately unless there is another remote that is paired separately. Hope this provides some understanding.

I also tagged each remote so that i know which switches are controlled by them. Ideally, they will all be kept away next time because our phones would be able to control everything. However, i have left some of them lying around at designated spots to provide the ease of switching on some switches that are not found within reach. I am still looking out for a tablet at cheap prices so that it can act as the bridge for my home automation so that we could even control our house switches when we are not at home. Till then!

Side note, black is a color that allows dust to be clearly visible. This means more cleaning effort because it looked dirty very fast. Perhaps that is why pure Scandinavian theme is low maintenance but not our modified-white-become-black Scandinavian theme. However, the worst ought to be Industrial theme.

Livolo instruction manual

The Livolo switches had been awesome so far, and we would still recommend it. It looked so classy and futuristic and in our opinion, much better than the stock switches. However, we had an experience and would like to share it so that you would not get the same panic as us.

We chanced upon this instruction after buying the Livolo switches. This was not found on the site which we bought, but since it was an instruction, we told our electrician about it. However, he did not turn off the power supply when installing it so we did not think too much on this. Anyway, so he screwed it in, and we attached the cover and there arise the problem. After we tap the button (to test it), it got jammed, as if someone is holding onto the button. We were like, oh no defect piece?! We tried to detach and attach again, and even tried our spare piece, and all had the same problem! We even tried to put some cupboard inside, thinking perhaps the sensor board was too close to the touchpad, causing the problem. But nope. problem persisted.

Luckily, it turns out, after attaching the cover, we just have to wait for about 2 minutes for it to 'settle down' and the switches can be toggled without any issues. It was such a relief when we finally discovered that, and were grateful that all our switches were in great condition and none were defective. I guess the 2 minutes in the instructions does mean something afterall.

Livolo Switches. Important Note.

Had a little issue recently when installing the Livolo switches. The original carpentry actually had a square cut out, but because we change the position of the switches on the last minute, they had to cut a new hole, but the hole was round. This would not have been an issue if it was an ordinary switch, but because it is a Livolo, the round one would not fit and would need to cut a bit of the edge to make it fit. A small issue nonetheless, and solved easily. Ideally it would be that we do not change the position last minute, but such problems would not be noticed until it is a problem.

Just to share some photos of the Livolo switches, together with the default house type on the right. They are the same size so one could always easily replace the default switches with the Livolo. They fit in the default switch boxes too so no worries about that. Don't the Livolo look so much classier? It is also not that expensive to order, and it is a great addition to my home automation system.

However, the behind section is slightly different, where the Livolo is slightly larger. It would still fit in the switch box, but things like an ad-hoc round cut into the carpentry would not fit this.

Another view of the back. Noticed the difference. The default one would have easily fitted into the round cutting. However this really does not calls for any concern if the holes were planned during the carpentry phase. Like I said, if they were planned, it would be a square hole instead of a round one.

The Livolo I got are Radio Frequency enabled, meaning to say they can be remotely control by a remote control like the one on the right, or a more advanced one that look like a TV remote. However, I have a bigger plan to incorporate all my switches into my home automation system so a small one would suffice in the meantime. A learning pointer on this which I unfortunately overlooked is that they are RF controlled and not IR controlled, meaning they do not require line-of-sight remote control. I had designed the electrical plan to have them placed within a line-of-sight, which may cause some other inconvenience instead. A hefty lesson because should I have found out earlier, could have significant changes to my electrical plans, reducing it quite a bit.

Would I recommend this? Yes. Definitely yes.

Another round of electrical works

Our electrician came down for another round of works. Now that most of the carpentries are up, he is able to find the center point to fix our lights. Here he is setting up the power points for our automated curtains. I guess to have a smart home, you do need many electrical points, but it would all be worth it in the end!

Introducing the track light in our walk in wardrobe as well as our entrance corridor. It does look good, much better than those downlights, but they are quite expensive itself. A set of tracklights set us back by at least $250. Beauty has its price to pay uh.

Introducing the switches we got for our house. The lights can now be switched on either by just a touch, or through a remote, which eventually will be set to be controlled by our phones itself. Looking forward, we would only need our phones to control every appliances in the house next time. No more numerous remote controls to search through to find the right one.

All the faceplates are installed up too. The one on the right is the network port, which previously was just a telephone port. Easy to connect to the Ethernet through LAN cables now.

This is a glimpse of how we are going to study or do our work next time. Having a good view out of the window, hopefully not distracted. Fixed one of our Eames chair up so that I could sit on it while typing my blog post. Loving it.

With most of the dusty works done and out, it is time to unbox our fridge. This is the Samsung new model which has two cooling fans, one for each compartment. This supposedly keep the food fresher and have less risk of contamination. We got their small model one because it is just the two of us for now, and a smaller fridge means better control over the food stored inside. This mean less chance of having forgotten food and only realizing it after they had expired.

Rubbish. Heaps of it. Waiting for my ID to get someone to clear them. A bit more touch up and some remaining electrical installation, and we are good to move in. Our renovation is coming to an end soon!

The Start of Home Automation

Introducing the first purchases of the Home Automation. Have always been a fan of automating the house, or rather the convenience of being able to control the home electronics regardless where we are. Imagine being able to turn on the aircon in the living room while on the way home so that you will not be greeted by a stuffy house when you get back, or that you could be in the comfort of your bed and switches off all the living room lights, kitchen lights, toilet lights, televisions, etc without having to get out from underneath your blanket. No more urgh feeling of getting out of bed because we forgot to switch off the kitchen light! Woohoo!

Broadlink RM Pro is the heart of my entire home automation system. My system is actually quite laidback, where I am not exploring the Z wave or Zigbee, but rather staying with the common infrared or radio frequency. This way i would not be limited to only the latest few models of aircons and door locks that are equipped with Z waves technology. This Broadlink RM Pro is basically a universal remote control that well, remotely control every technology around it that is controllable with a remote.

The coolest factor is that it has a learning capability where you just have to point the original remote at it and press the button, and it will learn and copy the command for future uses! This way, with a one time set-up, all my remotes can then be kept away keeping the living room clutter free. Tried it with my current fan and lights and worked wonderfully, so shall bring it for the final test in my new home living room next time!

Livolo switches are like the arms of my home automation system. Almost everyone's light are controlled by the manual switch, but that would not do for my home automation system. Instead, the livolo switches are touchpads which could be toggled on and off with a remote. Pair this up with the Broadlink RM Pro and you know that the magic is starting to brew. I could not test this yet as i was not willing to dismantle my current plug to fit this in, but i have high hopes for it at the new home.

Of course, just reading about how great all this are would not be sufficient. Get to experience it first hand at my house next time when the renovation is complete and i will gladly introduce the world of Home Automation and the Internet of Things to you! Hoooya~