I have previously reviewed the excellent Paulmann Velora Zigbee Smart LED Panel, which is an excellent alternative to the Philips Hue light panels. More recently, I have been checking out the range of Paulmann Zigbee bulbs, which can be integrated into a Philips Hue system just as easily as a normal Hue bulb. I have…
I recently gave a gushing review of the Philips Hue Surimu Rectangle Panel, which I felt is a superior solution to GU10 bulbs for a Philips Hue or any Zigbee-based smart lighting. The justification for my praise was that the Philips Hue Surimu is capable of 4,150 lm, making it the equivalent output of 12…
I have previously reviewed the no-neutral Aqara Smart Wall Switch H1 EU, and I love it. So much so that I have bought several more and now have them for many of our home light switches. More recently, I had my loft converted and decided to get the upstairs lights required at the same time,…
Aqara, a major player in the smart home industry, is set to make a splash at this year’s IFA show by unveiling a suite of groundbreaking devices. With its booth positioned at H22, 214, Aqara is more than ready to showcase its latest offerings to the public. As a brand that’s always committed to bringing…
The Sonoff NSPanel Pro is an innovative smart home control panel that integrates all your smart home devices and scenes for control. It acts as a Zigbee hub with support for Sonoff Zigbee devices giving you control of smart lights, switches, heaters, coolers, curtains, and much more, all from the panel itself. The inclusion of…
I previously wrote an article comparing Zigbee vs Z-Wave and the pros and cons of each smart home technology. Thread is a new smart home communication protocol that builds upon the Zigbee specification and is available at no cost; however, this requires agreement and continued adherence to an End-User License Agreement (EULA). Albeit, you have…
I have recently covered several smart home products, and many of these use the Zigbee communication protocol. There is also the Z-Wave which I have covered extensively in the past, and then you have Thread which is an up-and-coming protocol. It can get confusing what the difference is between these technologies and which is best,…
The Homey smart hubs have been around for years now, and I covered the launch of the original Homey Pro back in 2019. Homey has been trying to be the panacea of smart home fragmentation long before the Matter was a thing. They are arguably the best solution for anyone using a mixture of smart…
I have previously reviewed several of the Aqara Zigbee hubs, including the Aqara G2h. Aqara currently lists six different hubs on their product page, this would make the 7th. It seems very excessive, but I guess it gives buyers as many options to fit their budget and needs as possible. Therefore the review of the…
I have been impressed with the Aqara products I have reviewed recently. The Zigbee based system is perfect for anyone looking for an affordable way to set up a smart home. While Zigbee is a fantastic smart home protocol, there is a new kid on the block called Matter, which is backed by the Zigbee…
Today, Aqara have added another Zigbee hub to their product lineup with availability on the Amazon US, Canada and France. It should come to the UK in the next few weeks. Buy from Amazon: The new camera is a 2K, pan-and-tilt camera with the local facial and gesture recognition features, and it integrates a built-in…
This week, Aqara announced their latest Hub E1 and is the most affordable hub they have launched on Amazon to date. Currently, this would make it the firth hub they have on Amazon but they have around eight different hubs in total, which seems a little excessive. The new Smart Hub E1 is priced at…