What is Apple HomeKit exactly? In short, it’s a smart home platform created and maintained by Apple and it allows you to turn parts of your home “smart” if you buy the accessories. One of the standout features for me is that it does all of this wirelessly. My parents moved into a house built in the early 2000’s which came with smart home capabilities but it was all wired. Trying to troubleshoot that system was a nightmare.

So how is HomeKit setup? Basically, it’s another walled-garden product from Apple where it provides a bunch of code that HomeKit developers use in their apps and hardware products. I’m a big fan of this uniformity because it allows us to easily setup HomeKit devices as you only have to do it once and it shows up across all your devices. You can even add people to use those devices so its not just constrained to your family sharing. Just make sure you buy HomeKit enabled devices.

With HomeKit enabled devices, you can use Siri to control them. I’m still on the fence about talking to my devices but being able to tell Siri to turn off all my basement lights rather than going to every lamp and powering it off manually has been helpful.

Lastly, HomeKit devices connect using both WiFi and Bluetooth so if you have spotty wifi, you might be able to get away with a Bluetooth version of the product.

Need more info?

Smart LED Light Bulbs vs. Smart Light Switches: https://shreh.ca/2s8nN7u
The Best Apple HomeKit Accessories: http://bit.ly/2rSa957

From my perspective, there’s three ways to use HomeKit. The first way is very simple. All you do is get a HomeKit labelled accessory, plug it in and start using it. Setting up the devices is as simple as scanning the HomeKit ID number and labelling the device. The only restriction with this method is that you can only use the HomeKit accessory when you are connected to your home network, no where else. You can buy HomeKit accessories like this iHome iSP8 that can be accessed remotely without going with the next two methods but that I’m not a big fan of that implementation.

In order to access your HomeKit accessories outside of your home, you’ll need to use either an iPad or Apple TV. There are restrictions on the types of iPads and Apple TV’s so make sure you have one that is compatible.

With your iPad, you can turn the tablet into your Smart Home command panel. Going with the iPad setup allows you to access all your HomeKit accessories outside of your home network. Remote access is handy when you want to see which appliances are actually on and for video based devices like the D-Link Omna. Now the shortfall of this setup is that the moment the iPad leaves the home network, you lose all remote access capability. This setup will work well for people who leave an iPad at home all the time. I can’t imagine a family with kids who use the iPad as an entertainment device using the iPad as a HomeKit command centre.

The last way to set things up is to go with an Apple TV. Using an Apple TV ensures that you always have access to your HomeKit Accessories. You generally don’t have to worry about keeping tabs on your Apple TV since that isn’t a device that people port around. That’s really the only difference between using the iPad and Apple TV for HomeKit.

I personally would go with the Apple TV route. It just simpler and cheaper than buying a brand new iPad.

So that’s how to setup HomeKit in your home. here’s a few examples of how I’ve been using my HomeKit devices. First of all, I’ve setup a Koogeek plug in my office and an iDevices Switch in the living room that are set to turn off every night. Why? This minimizes the phantom power that my devices draw which saves me money. If you need more info, check that video out.

The same switch will also turn off the moment I leave the house which goes further to minimize the Phantom power draw. I have another device on my dehumidifier which is set to turn on when I leave the house, off when I arrive and on while I’m sleeping.

When it comes to lights, I’ve been using them in my office as well as my nightlight which also works as my alarm clock. Rather than being awakened by a jarring alarm, you can set the lights to gradually come on at a certain time which is quite pleasant.

If you’re wondering how else I’ve used these HomeKit devices, check out my website. I’ve got product reviews, tips and tricks as well as how-to’s for all the smart home devices I’ve used.