hey what's up i wanted to challenge myself and see what kind of smart home i could build for 500 total

 let's go through a bunch of smart home categories and see devices and automations that work together and stick with me because at the end it will all make sense at least 

okay the first thing that you'll need to start thinking about is what hub you're going to go with or maybe you prefer no hub at all personally i would get a hub because you can connect sensors to automate your smart devices plus your smart home will be more reliable and surprisingly you can actually save money these things will make more sense as we go throughout the video so don't worry about what hub to get just yet and so you know these are the hubs i'm going to show in this video first the zigbee hub that's already built in the echo 4th gen next the acara gateway and finally more advanced hubs like aotech or home assistant with a zigbee z-wave usb stick oh and don't let smart homework scare you like z-wave or zigbee zigbee both of those are just mesh networks that use low power to connect to more devices than just wi-fi like sensors sensors are extremely useful you can do things like start playing music right when you walk into the kitchen in the morning i use them for automating lights when i enter a room or when i open a cabinet you can even have an automation to remind your kid to get ready for school in the morning if their contact sensor on their bedroom door hasn't opened in the morning yet time to leave for school or else i will start saying dad jokes no anything but that fine i'll attend classesWhat do you call someone? that will not fart in public a private You could do all of these, tutor. automations with an echo using the zigbee hub embedded within an Amazon routine Despite the fact that it is a zigbee hub, there is There aren't tons of sensor options that work. with it, but the few that do work well if You're wondering why some sensors are as massive as my AirPods Pro case, I actually have AAA batteries inside, and like that since they're easy to replace. Besides these sensors, the Echo 4th Gen actually has a temperature sensor built This can also set off automations. well as the ultrasound motion detection for occupancy, so that automations can be run if someone's in the room or not. system has a lot of sensors, and they're pretty inexpensive, which is great for keeping your setup under five hundred dollars if you connect the motion or Contact sensors at the Akara gateway. can use them in Amazon routines with your other devices, but if you end up going with a more advanced hub like AOTech or home assistant, you have a way more options You can use any sensor that works with the echo that I showed you can even use the ACARA contact sensor directly with those hubs, and I love how small that sensor is, I use quite a few of these budget sensors around my house. because they're inexpensive and they work well, but just know that the more The more money you spend on sensors, the better they will become. longer battery life and improved accuracy and extra sensors to track things like the temperature of those better sensors mainly work with a more advanced hub, Keep that in mind when you're planning your setup Alright, now onto smart lighting, which is by far the most used smart device in our house Remember when I said that a hub could actually save you money, you probably didn't believe me, but let me show you How can it steal this 5-zigbee bowl? ecosmart, for example. Yes, you can get really inexpensive wifi. smart bulbs these days, but with a hub There are even less expensive options available, such as This, in addition to having very good warm and cools whites and is more reliable than Wi-Fi communicates with the zigbee hub. the echo, and of course, more advanced SmartThings hubs, but it does not actually work with the Acara Gateway I wouldn't rely on any Zigbee device. connecting to a non-existent gateway The Acara branded ecosmart bulb does not work. have RGB colors, and if you need that There are some really good budget movies. options from Casa Wise and Segled each with their own strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to smart light switches, A hub can also save you money if you have Three-way lights can get expensive to install. Replace both of those switches with example, the Casa 3-way dimmer switch kit is $50 instead of $50 with a hub Get a Zeus dimmer switch that can make smart three or four-way lights with one a switch that will save you money since It's only 34 dollars, plus it's less work. than replacing two switches just read the instruction manual multiple times. and you'll probably get it right on the It uses z-wave, just like me, on the fifth try. zigbee, and it performs admirably. dimmer still works like this, and so does the other switch if you want to automate. a lot of ceiling lights, and it's not a three-way switch, then I would go with