Xiaomi Smarthome: What lights and how do we use them at health home? (Part 2)

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In the first part of the series – Xiaomi smarthome, we introduced what devices we have included in the long-term Review and what we are planning. In this section we will look at a specific section – lighting.

Smart lights or health home lighting is the very foundation that most users start with. They are a stepping stone to smarthome solutions, as you can easily find out what suits you or not. Why? Because we always use lights, it is not an occasional matter, but regular actions and actions that each of us does. After you install smart lights, it's up to you to realize their potential and capabilities, but you'll still get up to the switch and forget that you have the application and the scenes that automate your lights and worry less. Of course, it is not always real and possible to rely solely on automation and remote control – there are also situations where the situation needs to be solved manually. However, we will focus on how to simplify and use health home lighting to make sense of automation.

If you saw our first part – "We are launching a long-term Review of Xiaomi smart health home devices", so you know the lights we use in the Review. If not, we'll recap and tell you about installing and adding them to your system.

The basic element of our lighting is design delicacy with simple name – Mi LED Ceiling light. It is a relatively large but practically processed circular LED luminaire in any space with little to see installation method – the light has an innovative quick-release module, making it very easy to install. It is not just a theory – we have actually installed this light, replacing the classic light in the dining room. The installation really surprised us. The light consists of two parts – 1st basic installation module, where the terminal block for cables with quick-release system and holes for fixing to the ceiling is located. If you have holes in the ceiling after an old chandelier, the installation will not take more than 5 minutes. The second part is the LED module, ie what is really lit. We must commend the innovative quick-release system that connects these two parts – they are two large spring stops that snap and the light is thrown. Without any problems or complications.

What the light looks like is also important. This has clear shapes, is white and relatively shallow – it looks very elegant on the ceiling. The second advantage is its maximum luminance at the level of 2200 lumens, which is recognizable. Full power provides an extreme dose of light that you will appreciate in many situations – children learn to do it without disturbing their sight by lack of light. Of course there is also the possibility of changing the color temperature of light from 2700 to 6500 Kelvin and range (dimmingluminance from 0.1 to 2200 lumens. Light communicates via Wi-Fi with (Mi health home – iOS / Android for free) on a smartphone where you can configure, customize, and add it to a variety of automations – this applies to all lights and devices. There is also Bluetooth connectivity, which can be used in conjunction with the Xiaomi MiBand smart health bracelet. If you have a bracelet on your hand, it will send a signal to the light after your sleep. This is not yet tested in practice, but we will get to it. In addition, the support, respectively. communication with voice assistants – Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

How do we use this light? The basis is that we can control it remotely and change the color temperature of light. We set it up so that from 19:00 night light is activated – a warmer spectrum that is pleasant to the eyes and does not prevent melatonin from forming in the body. There is also a sleep timer and a light behavior setting if you switch it on / off using a conventional switch. Can have 3 preset zones – first armed (white light), second on (warmer light) third power on (evening – warm light). Changes are made by pressing the power button faster in succession. And last but not least, it is incorporating light into automation. In this case, if we leave the light on (and other lights) and leave the house, so the system automatically shuts it down. You can also link it to the alarm scene – if the house object is disturbed, the lights can be blinking in addition to the siren and notification.

We put the LED bulb out of the chandelier to get an idea of ​​what it looks like.

The second light in our health home is the "classic" E27 bulb – Xiaomi Yeelight Smart LEDthat you replace with any other household. This lamp has adjustable light intensity with the possibility to change the color RGB scale. It is basically an ordinary light bulb, but by being able to communicate wirelessly with other devices, we can simply plug it into automation, for example, to create an evening atmosphere. With the application you can adjust different colors / color scenes to complete the atmosphere in the room. In addition, this bulb can partially synchronize with your TV or music and respond to the currently playing melody / sounds – changing colors according to tones. Because we have it in the bedroom, we most often use convenient remote control, night light and automation to keep all the lights under control – even if we forget it.

The last real lighting device in our health home is – RGB LED strip Yeelight, which we expanded with one extension (can be purchased) and glued it to the back of the TV. Why? Because it looks good, it adds to the atmosphere of the viewing environment, and when necessary, it serves as a stand-alone light as it has sufficient power. It is a kind of “ambilight” J. This LED strip excels in its flexibility and easy extensibility, which we have tried in practice – from installation to real use. The belt is powered from the 230V power supply by the supplied adapter and there is also an integrated driver – wired, not wireless. With this control, you can physically turn the LED strip on / off or change the color of the light – if there is a power failure or other problem. Of course, it is also applicable under normal circumstances. However, you will find comprehensive control and setup only in an application that offers multiple options and easier management of the whole. You will find various interesting customizations, color themes / scenes that may correspond to, for example, sunrise or sunset.

Also, the color and light intensity can be synchronized with the rhythm of the music being played – this is handled by the integrated microphone in the controller. This is interesting, for example, if you organize a party or enjoy evening music with light-guided music – it adds to the atmosphere quite nicely, but not everyone likes it in the long run. Numerous pre-programmed scenes are also available natively, including communication with Google Now and Amazon Alexa. If there is an opportunity, we will also try voice control. A few more words to install – LED strip is taped with strong double-sided 3M tape, thanks to which you can attach it almost anywhere. However, it should be kept in mind that this is an adhesive, so it would be a good idea to thoroughly degrease the surface to which you will be gluing the belt before. Gluing itself is simple but here also remember the golden rule – twice measure and once cut (lep)!

“The essence of lights, and indeed all the devices involved in an intelligent health home, is automation — bringing devices together to communicate and work to your liking. We will talk about automation and its possibilities in another part. We'll also tell you what scenes we use in practice to give you an idea of ​​how this whole system works in practice. ”

Adding lights (devices) to your system – Mi health home

This part surprised us with its simplicity, which we did not quite expect. Every single light is added to the system by mounting it, plugging it into a power source, turning on the application, and clicking the "+" button on the start screen to add a new device. Here you can manually search for it in the list view, but we haven't used that yet. This is because the app will automatically scan available nearby devices and immediately offer you the option to add them to your system. Then, tag them, assign them to your health home Wi-Fi network (you only need to enter the password on the first device, then the system will not ask you again), name it, assign it to a room (you can create as needed) and you are using. Each device has its own internal settings. This process, as well as the control of individual devices and their automation is very simple, which makes us happy. It is a system for all users who are interested in a smart health home without complicated settings and expensive devices. It should be noted, however, that the range of devices and functionality of advanced Smarthome solutions is at a different level. This is a simple system for ordinary, rather less demanding users.

"To get the most out of the Xiaomi Smarthome system, you'll need the free Mi-health home application to create a simple sign-up."

What device do we control our smart health home?

We still have the same vision – we'll use different devices, including iOS devices, but the main thing – Xiaomi Redmi 6. It is a relatively new mid-range model with a 6.26 ”HD + display with DOT drop cutout (tear), up to 86.43% of the front is the display itself. Miss a decent camera – 12 MP main sensor + 2 MP secondary sensor. However, we are most interested in the performance and stability of the system, as this phone will serve as the control unit and controller of the entire intelligent health home.

The smooth running is to take care of Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor, which is seconded to 3 GB of RAM. The internal memory has a capacity of 32 GB and is expandable with a microSD memory card up to a maximum capacity of 512 GB. There is also a biometric security device, which is in charge of the fingerprint sensor in the back and present is a basic face unlocking, which is controlled by the AI ​​algorithm. Redmi 7 also has P2i certification (splash water resistance). We will also need a long battery life per charge, which should be ensured by an integrated battery with a capacity of 4000 mAh.

All of the above devices, as well as many more products, can be found at – www.mi-store.sk 

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