this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Home Automation

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Home automation is the residential extension of building automation.

It is automation of the home, housework or household activity.

Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), appliances, security locks of gates and doors and other systems, to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security.

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I asked the other day about home audio setups under £250. Sonos was the most popular answer but it seems to be out my budget (4 rooms).

Google mini's are £22 each. I could get one in every room, plus bathrooms, & still have money left over.

All I need is to play audio, mostly Spotify, from my TV, phone & desktop. Pretty sure this'll do that.

For my TV, (By chance, I've gotten a Google Chromecast), which I think could link to these but I need to research that more.

Am I missing anything or would this be a good setup for me?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I have 3 mini's, and a couple nest hub max's plus a nicer Sony speaker with assistant... and it's totally workable. The mini's are totally fine for playing music in the kitchen or streaming news. They're tiny, stay out of the way, and handle HA activations. Will they provide great audio that will blow my guests minds? nah, but ok for a bit of noise and distraction while making dinner or unloading the dishwasher. The hubs are good photoframes that provide better sound, perfectly good in my office when I just want something other than the whir of PC fans and keyboard clacking. The sony speaker is great because it's got a giant battery, sounds pretty decent, and super portable. I take it on vacation or camping where I have a cell signal, and just use my phone's hotspot to allow it to stream.

I don't use spotify, I use YT Music (RIP Google Music) but it should work pretty much the same if you select it as your default provider.

Setup is dead simple, and once any of the devices is streaming you can go into the queue, and add and remove items, rearrange or whatever.