Home automation...
One of the fundamental advantages of a smart home is (or at least, should be)… automation. Where smart devices can be grouped together to perform tasks automatically… based on certain pre-set conditions (if this is true, do that). In the industry, these automations are typically known as “scenes”.
In my opinion, this is what makes a home truly smart. Controlling your home via your smart phone or voice control is fantastic and certainly has its place… but a smart home should be more than just a remote control. A smart home should automatically adapt to your needs, without you even needing to think about it – this is true home automation.
Let me give you an example…
In your ensuite – Let’s combine an Aeotec Nano Dimmer (to control the lights) with with an Aeotec MultiSensor 6 (to detect motion)…
During the evening… the MultiSensor 6 detects motion and turns on the ensuite lights to full brightness – and tuns the lights off again when motion is no longer detected.
During the night… from say 10pm to 6am – the MultiSensor 6 detects motion and turns on the ensuite lights to 20% brightness so you don’t blind yourself if nature calls during the night – and again, tuns the lights off when motion is no longer detected.
During the day… the MultiSensor 6 has a built in lux (light level) sensor – when it detects the light in the ensuite is above a certain level (which you set), it doesn’t turn on the lights (as they are not needed).
Bonus… the MultiSensor 6 also includes a temperature and humidity sensor – so if we were to attach an Aeotec Nano Switch to the ensuite exhaust fan, we could automatically turn it on and off as the humidity in the room rises and lowers.
In the example above, you have not touched your smartphone, everything just happens automatically – home automation.
Convenient, intelligent, automatic.
What are Homey Flows?
“Flows” are Homey’s term for “Scenes”. Homey Pro offers two ways to create Flows. A Basic Flow (which is a very simple way to create Flows within the Homey app) and Advanced Flows. Let’s first take a look at Homey Basic Flows…
Homey Basic Flows
Please don’t be misled by the name… Basic Flows are still very powerful and will most likely cover a significant portion of your scene scenarios. As you can see from the video, Basic Flows are very easy to create from directly within the Homey App.
Now let’s take a look at Advanced Flows… you will quickly see the difference and how you can easily create far more complex scenes…
Homey Advanced Flows
I can honestly say that in all my years in home automation I have never seen a better or more powerful implementation of creating complex and powerful, logic driven scenes – yet Athom (the makers of Homey) have achieved this in such a beautiful and simple way. Anyone can create complex scenes with Advanced Flows – using the easy drag-and-drop web interface. Here is a quick look at what is possible with Advanced Flows – and how easy it is to use…
The above video is a very brief introduction to Homey Advanced Flows… and shows some of the power on offer. But I think it is important to take a look at some practical implementations of Advanced Flows – the video below is a little longer, but well worth watching to see some real-world scenarios where Advanced Flows can automate your home.
Homey Bridge
Homey Pro (2023)
In closing...
I hope this has provided a positive insight into Homey Flows and how they can help you automate your home and fine-tune your spaces to exactly how you want to live in them. Whether it be energy saving, comfort, convenience, security or assisted living, Homey Flows can make it all happen – without needing a degree in programming! And best of all, you are in control. As always, feel free to contact us if you need some free, unbiased advice as you start or continue your smart home journey – we are always happy to help.
All the best,
Brad
