SmartHome Blog

In late 2020, Samsung signed a Worldwide agreement with Aeotec to distribute and expand the lineup of SmartThings hardware devices. What does this mean for the future of SmartThings?

Smart lighting. What is it? How does it work? What’s the difference between smart lighting modules and smart bulbs? And what's best for you? I’m glad you asked. In this article, we explore the world of smart lighting.

The Fibaro Smart Implant is a versatile device that can make your old electronic devices and systems smart! In this guide, you'll learn how to use the implant to enable your beautiful vintage devices to enjoy the wonders of 21st century technology.

In this guide, you'll learn a bulletproof organisation strategy to keep your smart home system performing well, and lay the foundation for intuitive smart voice control.

The ol' 'hub vs hubless' discussion is popular among smart home enthusiasts, and contrary to popular belief, there's a lot more riding on your decision than a few dollars and a shiny new box. This article takes a fresh perspective on the discussion and outlines the differences between cloud-based systems & owner-owned systems.

If you've ever tinkered with a Z-Wave device, it's likely you've heard the phrase 'Configuration Parameters'. Find out what these parameters do, why and how to use them and how they differ for devices with templates, and devices without templates.

Samsung SmartThings is a multi-protocol platform that lists a number of Z-Wave devices as compatible. But you can also add Z-Wave devices not-listed as compatible. Learn how in this article.

Homey's mission is to enable smart home devices to work together seamlessly. And with an intuitive, beautiful user-interface and over 50,000 devices supported from over 1000 brands, Homey is a force to be reckoned with. Intrigued? Peek inside to learn more.

What's different about your home and the home's of the 1950's? Apart from newer appliances and larger TV's, not much has changed. Until now. Take a look at 6 benefits of turning your home into a smart home.

Wish you could control your alarm system with your voice? With Chuango's new Amazon Alexa and Google Home compatible hub, now you can. In this guide, you'll learn how to control your alarm with nothing other than your voice in under 5 minutes - easily and securely.

In this video blog, we will show you how to setup the Fibaro Home Center 2 as your alarm system and harness the power of Z-Wave to protect your home.

Attention Airbnb Owners! Do your guests leave the heater, A/C or lights on? Do they lock up properly? Do you have to manually hand over your keys or create a pass-code for them? With smart home technology, these worries and inconveniences can be a thing of the past. Find out how today.

Smart locks are a great addition to the smart home and come packed full of useful features. Find out how to set PIN codes, place restrictions on PIN codes and see what PIN was used to enter your home and at what time. You can also check if you locked your door when leaving, and lock it from anywhere in the world. How's that for peace of mind?

Z-Wave Associations are a lesser known way of achieving simple automations - independently of a Z-Wave controller. In this blog post, we take a look at what they are, how they differ from Z-Wave Scenes and when they should be used.

Controlling your smart home home with your voice is fantastic... However there can be a huge variance in the speed of the various voice assistants when working "natively" with Z-Wave hubs (and some do not work at all). In this blog, we will show you how to dramatically increase the responsiveness of your voice assistant platform of choice by combining a clever little device called Automation Bridge with your Z-Wave Gateway Controller.

Learn how Home Center's push notifications can be used to trigger scenes, or prevent them from interrupting your sleep in. Follow video guides or step-by-step processes for both Magic Scenes or Graphical Blocks and have them setup within minutes.

Fibaro's Home Center offers 3 methods of scene/automation creation. Learn what they are, and how to create a scene in each of them, among other handy automation tips.

Looking for a simple but effective automation to get you acquainted with your Fibaro, Vera or Homey system? Learn how turn ON a light using a motion sensor, and have it turn OFF automatically when no one's in the room. Let your system light the way!

Learn to setup a low-cost automation hub with a Raspberry Pi and Home Assistant, the versatile platform making waves in the automation community. Simply follow the steps in this guide and you'll have your Home Assistant up and running in no time.

Are you running Home Assistant and want to integrate your Z-Wave devices? If so, this guide is for you. Learn how to set-up your Z-Wave network, add devices and create your first automation. Then tinker to your heart's content.

One of the many advantages of Z-Wave is the ability to monitor energy consumption of appliances and devices connected to Z-Wave power modules. In this blog I will show you a scenario where energy consumption monitoring can help create a very intelligent smart home.

Missing Amazon Alexa Skills? You are not the only one! We have written a quick blog that will show you how to gain access to all of the Alexa Skills available in the USA - whilst still keeping your Amazon Echo working in Australia.

In this blog we will show you how to create a "Holiday Mode" for your Fibaro Home Center 2. This will allow you to easily activate and deactivate "Holiday" scenes that turn lights on / off at scheduled times, perfect for when you go away on holiday and you would like it to appear someone is still at home.

If you don’t know what an Amazon Echo Dot is, allow me to introduce you to the hottest gadget on planet earth right now. I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the more ‘entertaining’ features of the Amazon Echo Dot. Try asking Alexa the following 20 questions next time you have your mates over!

There is no denying that voice control for your smart home is the future – In this exclusive SmartHome blog, I will show you how you can add voice control to your Vera Z-Wave Controller using the Amazon Echo. The future is now.

As the hot Australian summer fast approaches, I thought it would be timely to write a blog about controlling your air-conditioner using Z-Wave. Best of all, you will be able to turn on your aircon from anywhere - never come home to a sweat-box again!

The Fibaro Home Center's user interface looks incredible. Did you know that you can also include custom icons for all of your different Z-Wave devices? In this exclusive blog, I'll show you how - and provide you some free icons to get you started.

We get a lot of enquiries asking… “Can I use the Fibaro Swipe with Vera?”. The short answer… yes you can! Find out how in this exclusive SmartHome Blog...

Fibaro are known for making quality, innovative Z-Wave devices. What a lot of people may not know is Fibaro also provide a free online eLearning Portal where you can discover how to get the most out of your Fibaro Z-Wave devices. Did I mention it's 100% free?

In this exclusive SmartHome blog, I am going to show you one of the most powerful, yet mystifying aspects of home automation – Geofencing with Fibaro Home Center 2.