FINDING APPLIANCES THAT WORK WITH HOME ASSISTANT

Accidental Smart Home Week – Part 3
To finish out what has somehow become Smart Home week I thought I’d look at some of the available Smart Home appliances that I may be able to integrate into our smart home in the future. I’ve already tried to add a few extra things to our home such as the Apple TV in the living room, though for some reason every time we send a Text-to-Speach command to it, it locks out any more command from home assistant… something to try and figure out later.

Smart TV
One of the first things on my list, this time, is the Smart TV. Break my usual habit of avoiding anything google like the plague but in order to get a wide range of choices when it comes to apps, it was either a TV with Android built-in or a Firestick. There are the likes of LG & Philips but their smart offering leaves something to be desired when compared to Android TV.

I decided to go with the Philips 70PUS8535. This 70 inch TV not only has Android TV but also has Dolby Vision & ATMOS making sure we have the best viewing experience. It also comes with 4 HDMI ports, Freeview HD, a Satelite Port and, most importantly, there is an Android TV integration built right into Home Assistant.

Not only will Home Assistant be able to turn the TV on at a certain time but it will be able to launch specific applications with a tap of a button (be it in the app or a physical one)

Projector
Let’s not stop at the TV though. I’ll also be looking for a projector and screen to put in the office / Home Theatre.

For the projector, I’ve gone with the Optoma UHD51. When it comes to 4K projectors this one is definitely on the cheap side and is “HDR Compatible” what I chose it for was that I could control it over Telnet via Home Assistant. High resolution is one of the important things for me as I tend to hook up my laptop on a regular basis and after years of putting up with 720p in all its unusability, 4K is just what the docker ordered for a long term investment.

I may look into a motorised screen in the future but the one I have is more than adequate for the room we use.

Shower
I’ve only recently come across Smart Shower but this is definitely something that I now need to have in my life.

I found this Mira Mode Smart Shower. It allows you to control it over Bluetooth LE to turn it on or off, set the temperature or set a timer.

There is no native integration for Home Assistant but there is a Python Library on GitHub that enables you to control it via ssh shell commands on a raspberry pi.

The shower itself, like all other smart showers it seems, is a mixer style so you’ll need to be okay with your wall being removed to fit your new shower.

Washer Dryer
Now we’re on to the kitchen and pretty much all of the smart appliances are going to be from Samsung. Partly because they are one of the few appliances manufacturers whose appliances work with Home Assistant via an integration. The other reason being that Mrs Jim loves the fact that her Folks Samsung Dishwasher sings when it’s finished.

For the washer/dryer I’ve gone with the 2020 Series 5 +. not only does it connect to home assistant through the Smart Things integration, but it also has a bunch of other features such as smart dosing and bubble technology to name just a couple

Cooker
Next up is the cooker. For this, I’ve gone with the NV75A6649RS. As well as the Smart Things integration I also really like some of the other features that come with it such as the Dual Cook Flex that allows you to cook different things at different temperatures in the same oven.

Not only that but you can only open half of the door so if you have something in the bottom that can’t be disturbed you can just open the top half of it. That paired with its 75L of cooking space and its self-cleaning features really made this stand out.

Hob & Hood
I’ll be pairing the cooker with the NZ600K induction hob. Again it’s smart things connected so we’ll know when we’ve left a ring on and I love that you can put more than two pans on the left-hand side for those big meals.

I’ll also need a cooker hood to go with it of course and for that, I’ve chosen the Wall Mount Cooker Hood with Hob Auto Connectivity. This hood connects to t the hob via Bluetooth and will automatically turn on when the hob is in use.

Fridge Freezer
You can’t have a smart home with a smart kutch without a Smart Fridge and this one definitely is. The RF9000 Family Hub French Style Fridge Freezer has a massive touch screen on the right-hand side that gives you access to a whole host of features including family calendars, screen sharing, music playback & the ability to see inside your fridge.

The fridge will also work alongside the oven so that when you pick a recipe on the fridge it will let the oven know what to do and when you put everything in to cook it will even monitor its progress for you. Of course, it also has a water dispenser and ice maker too.

Dishwasher
This is where I got a bit stuck as I can’t find a Smart Dishwasher that isn’t ridiculously overpriced for the few features they give you.

So instead I went with the Samsung Series 7 DW60R7040FS. It’s got some really cool features such as an automatically opening door to let everything air dry, resizeable spaces and it also detects how dirty the dishes are so you don’t waste any water.

Microwave
Again I had a similar problem finding a Smart Microwave. So instead I went with the MW5000H Convection Microwave Oven though as it’s not smart in the sense that it’ll connect to our smart home it is definitely a lot smarter than most.

The MW500H has moisture detection technology that can tell when your food is cooked perfectly, so no more over or undercooking. It also has fermentation tech built-in so you can make sough and yoghurts with ease.

I’m pretty sure I’m still missing a large appliance or two but I shall leave it here for now. Do you know of a Smart Dishwasher or Microwave that I might be interested in? Have I missed a category off my list? Let me know down in the comments below.