HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.
As much as I have been investing in my HomeKit setup over the past few years, HomeKit security cameras are something I hadn’t been able to pull the trigger on. My hesitation is that I didn’t want to be tied to paying monthly fees for each camera, nor did I want a solution that required a cloud …
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve been a Nest customer for the past seven years. I put it a second-generation Nest when I built my house back in 2013, and I added a second Nest a few years later for our upstairs unit. I’ve been using the Starling Home Hub for the past six weeks to enable HomeKit …
Since I’ve started writing a weekly article about HomeKit, one of the most common questions I’ve gotten is exactly what HomeKit products I own and how I use them. I’ve spent years building out each room over time, and I love how easy HomeKit is to manage from any of my devices (including HomePod). …
Water leaks are undoubtedly something that can really damage a home. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we had a water leak in our kitchen that caused our hardwood floors to warp a tad. Particularly with hardwood floors, a water leak can be disastrous. HomeKit enabled water leak detectors are the …
Nearly two years ago, I installed the iSmartGate garage door opener. During that time, we used it a decent amount, but never daily. Since we still have RF-based remotes, they were often faster to use vs. opening the Home app, waiting on it to connect, and then opening the garage door. Since I …
I’ve been using HomeKit for many years, and one of the things I can’t stop buying is outlet switches. In my house, we tend to use lamps a lot more than overhead lights, so when paired with LED bulbs, they make for an energy-efficient way to shine light in hour home. Over the years, I’ve tried …
As someone who loves technology, it’s easy to get excited about new things. I love to tinker with the latest gadgets, but I know for those who aren’t into this stuff, that seems like a nightmare. My wife doesn’t get excited about new technology, though. As long as it makes her life easier, she’s …
When I moved into my house almost seven years ago, HomeKit hadn’t even been announced yet. What was available at the time was a Nest Thermostat. A friend of mine had one, and he was raving out their energy savings. I had one pre-installed when our main HVAC unit was installed. I eventually added …
