stephen6d ago
Emma Davidson

My partner has come up with the most Dad tech solution ever for electricity bill management.

Change all the light globes to programmable coloured LEDs.

Red in peak electricity price time, amber in shoulder, green in off peak.

If the lights go red, that’s your cue to run around the house turning off unnecessary appliances and lights.

Jul 27 at 1:54amWeb
Show threadJames PurserJul 27
@emmadavidson You mean he hasn't set it all up to be switched off from his phone?
Show threadJames PurserJul 27
@emmadavidson I may have done this with the lounge room entertainment system
Show threadEmma DavidsonJul 27
@purserj 
Show threadStephen CollinsJul 27

@emmadavidson he is my hero.

There are probably better ways to manage this, but imposing the management imperative on your kids is likely part of the intention.

Show threadInsurgo FormicaJul 27
@emmadavidson that's actually pretty cool 😎
Show threadTom RobertsJul 27
@emmadavidson If all the lights in the house suddenly turned red, I’d assume Klingons had damaged the main power core and we were on emergency reserves.
Show threadEmma DavidsonJul 27
@troberts there’s Klingons on the starboard bow?
Show threadTom RobertsJul 27

@emmadavidson It’s life Jim, but not as we know it!

(I loved that song as a kid)

Show threadDevorppa6d ago

@troberts @emmadavidson

Not in the Hottest 100, but here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP43pV2K_Y0

The Firm - Star Trekking (1987)

YouTube
Show threadargv minus one6d ago

@troberts

Or you're on a Klingon ship yourself. Their lighting is pretty red.

@emmadavidson

Show threadAron6d ago

@troberts @emmadavidson

Still a good idea to lower the EM signatures then to disappear from klingon sensors.

Show threadJulieJul 27
@emmadavidson what a great idea! Also you'll know when to avoid using the dishwasher etc
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@julie truthfully, the idea occurred to him while changing the schedule for when our EV charges (our electricity provider recently changed their off peak times)
Show threadPaco Hope #resist6d ago
@emmadavidson I am a dad with full fatherly electric obsession. But this is a bridge too far, even for me.
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@paco this is a house in which two software devs got married and bred kids as nerdy as we are. There is no such thing as a bridge too far in this house! 
Show threadPaco Hope #resist6d ago

@emmadavidson I guess I’m slowing down in my old age. I have automated a TON of stuff in my house. But then someone mentioned a “Gagguino” to me and I just couldn’t turn my morning coffee into a project.

https://gaggiuino.github.io/#/?id=home

GAGGIUINO

Gaggiuino is a community-driven project to add profiling, temp control, and other high-end features to Gaggia espresso machines

Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@paco we have a very analog cafe-style espresso machine (literally exactly like cafes use) but I have been thinking about using a wifi power plug to at least turn it on in the morning, so it’s hot enough to use by the time the coffee drinkers emerge from their doona cocoons.
Show threadPaco Hope #resist6d ago

@emmadavidson The first thing I ever automated was just a WiFi-enabled plug that was connected to our kettle. I labeled it “kettle” in home assistant. It wasn’t that useful. Because if we didn’t load the kettle with water the night before, it didn’t help. And frankly, you still have to go pour the tea.

Eventually I moved that plug to a lamp in the living room. I didn’t rename it. Home assistant still thinks it is the kettle. So if you say “Alexa, turn on the kettle,” the lamp in the living room turns on. We thought it was so funny, we’ve left it that way for 5 years. 😜

Show threadHannes Donel6d ago
@emmadavidson @paco Yes this is the least to do, right? And then link this to your smartphone's wake up time. It's a joy every morning.
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@hannesdonel @paco I shall add this to my list of tasks to help avoid preparing my tax return
Show threadHannes Donel5d ago
@emmadavidson @paco exactly! 🤗
Show thread: j@fabrica:~/src;  6d ago
@emmadavidson That makes me want to invest in a smart panel and also do that for when we’re x% over our daytime average. But they’re rolling out peak pricing in my region over the next few years, so I’ll definitely be using this. This is the first excuse for color changing bulbs I’ve been excited by!
Show threadMazz@19846d ago
@emmadavidson What a top idea 👍👏
Show threadtqft6d ago
@emmadavidson I wonder what it will be like after a week
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@tqft probably all the teenagers wandering the dark corridors of the house with their iPhones used as torches
Show threadthefathippy6d ago

@emmadavidson

Love it!

Show threadA Flock of Beagles6d ago

@emmadavidson

if the lights go red it's Demon Time! horror o'clock!

Show threadJay6d ago

@emmadavidson If you could program the lights to go red when your personal cost is above a certain threshold, then it could account for any energy you produce.

Then you can hook a kid’s bike up to a generator and feed the kid Skittles and tell them to pedal until the lights are green.

Show threadPaul6d ago

@emmadavidson

Interesting idea but now I've got Roxanne stuck in my head

Show threadMelissa BearTrix6d ago

@emmadavidson

That running sounds dangerous

Giggles

Hugz & xXx

Show threadDDRitter 🏳️‍🌈🎗️🇵🇸6d ago
@emmadavidson I think it's cheaper to just run around the house turning off everything unnecessary. No need to wait for colors. 😝
Show thread�6d ago
@DDRitter @emmadavidson yeah, like the fridge notifying you via phone that its door is still open and not closed. how about an "auto close" solution insteae
Show threadEQ6d ago

@utf_7 @DDRitter @emmadavidson

All our fridges the last 40 years have been auto-closing. All you need is to tilt the fridge a bit so the door swings shut if you just get it started.

Show threadMartin's pipe dreams6d ago
@emmadavidson that is actually a good idea.
Show threadEricka Simone6d ago
@emmadavidson patent that.
Show threadIris Young (he/they/she) (PhD)6d ago
@emmadavidson if you substitute variable temp white LEDs, and dim in combination with redshifting, I'm in.
Show threadKevin Morgan6d ago
@emmadavidson I think this is actually very smart.
Show threadMan Of Rust6d ago
@emmadavidson
As a Dad - this is the way.
Show threadEmpathicQubit6d ago
@emmadavidson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE36_tkEBUg
Light Globes

YouTube
Show threadnoodle6d ago
@emmadavidson Enterprise red alert sound effect has entered chat
Show threadIzzy 6d ago
@emmadavidson This is a solid idea! You could even just make it like, cool/neutral/warm if you didn't want to have like, a disco of a house.
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@izzy who *wouldn’t* want a disco of a house?
Show threadRodrigo Dias6d ago
That's an awesome solution by your partner! If you hooked that up to Home Assistant or something, you could even have it automatically turn off devices during peak hours. Now THAT would be the ultimate dad-tech move.
Show threadJeff Sikes6d ago
@emmadavidson After 15 minutes of red, if the lights are not turned off, internet access is disabled.
Show threadROLLER6d ago
@emmadavidson I really want to see a solution for this. Anyone got any videos or links?
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@roller I am not going to ask him to build it. Because he just might, and we all knows what happens when you build it.
Show threadMike (VK1OMG) 🏴‍☠️6d ago
@emmadavidson genius!
Show threadEwen Bell 📸6d ago
@emmadavidson

The future is here...

https://www.ozsmartthings.com.au/products/oz-smart-rgbw-matter-downlight-1

This downlight will use your Apple TV 4K as a border router and let you programme colour shifts according to time of day with Homekit on your iPad (or home assistant etc etc)
Oz Smart RGBW Matter Downlight

Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@ewen oh sweet jeebus I may actually see this happen in our house… we can only do non-gaming things using Apple or Raspberry Pi, so this link is very RTMI
Show threadEwen Bell 📸6d ago
@emmadavidson

I've been deep diving into smart home devices, and when I saw these I was wondering what possible use case might exist for it!

I recently installed Home Assistant OS on my Raspberry Pi and I don't know why we didn't do this sooner. Loving it.
Show threaddazfuller 6d ago

@emmadavidson from hell’s heart I flip the switch at thee

Please please add sound effects

Show threadGalbinus Caeli6d ago
@emmadavidson By the way, you can also use smart switches and outlets to automatically turn things off.
Show threadMarcos Dione6d ago
@emmadavidson I got alarms on my phone, ain't that cheaper?
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@mdione my kids don’t respond to phone alarms. They are young adults, that’s not how they function.
Show threadPaulWay6d ago
@emmadavidson Maybe just one light? So you can actually eat a meal without it being weirdly lit?
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@PaulWay some of us find eating meals to be weird regardless of lighting
Show threadEllie6d ago
@emmadavidson All Hands to Battle Stations!
Show threadEllie6d ago
@emmadavidson (here we use boring led bulbs, and then I turn them all off and exist in the dark)
Show threadEmma Davidson6d ago
@ellie there’s a song lyric or poem to be had in “I switch them all off and exist in the dark”