Ross LaVallee

Smart Bed Shaker

We have those bed shakers right? They go under our mattress or pillow, plug it into our typical Deaf Notification systems, and they shake to wake us up when the alarm clock goes off. They do their job pretty well! They also can shake when other notifications occur from the system. They however have aContinue reading “Smart Bed Shaker”

Internet outages, does that affect your smart home?

Remember in 2021, we had 2 major internet outages that affected the internet? A lot of us were not able to access certain websites, email servers, and all that for several hours? It has happened every now and then. During those internet outages, sometimes smart home devices were affected to the point that automations failedContinue reading “Internet outages, does that affect your smart home?”

Plugging your vehicle to keep it from freezing in cold weathers

We plug in the car in very cold weathers, to prevent it from freezing so that we can still start it, right? We typically use timers for the block heaters because we do not need to plug it in 24/7. Only a few hours are enough to thaw out the engine and battery so weContinue reading “Plugging your vehicle to keep it from freezing in cold weathers”

Christmas trees and cats – not a great combination!

Christmas trees are beautiful once you set it up and fill it with ornaments, aren’t they? Only to have it wrecked by those darned cats climbing it up, and knocking ornaments off! How can we prevent cats from going up the trees? Lots of people have different ideas on how to prevent that. Some useContinue reading “Christmas trees and cats – not a great combination!”

What can we do with smart plugs?

Smart plugs. What can we use them with? Lots of things! Since they are smart, just like smart lights, they can be turned on and off manually by yourself, toggled on and off with your phone, or automatically by itself. They can be plugged in by practically anything. While the smart plug will be onContinue reading “What can we do with smart plugs?”

Flashing Notifications

We are used to flashing notifications from specialized systems which has been awesome in helping us with accessibility. But they are closed system, and does not have opportunities for expanding. They typically have 5 to 7 different notifications, but that’s it. Doorbell, alarm clock, fire, motion sensor, and a few others and no more. IfContinue reading “Flashing Notifications”

What is Matter

You may have heard about “Matter” when it comes to smart home technology. It is a new standard for smart home, that is supposed to help remove the long standing issue – that there are still many smart home products that do not work with others. There are hundreds of smart home products that willContinue reading “What is Matter”

Smart Switches, or Smart Bulbs?

If you are planning to put in smart lighting in a room, you have two options, you can go with smart switches or smart bulbs. But which is the better option for you? There are no wrong options, they both will work well. Smart bulbs and smart switches each have their pros and cons. SmartContinue reading “Smart Switches, or Smart Bulbs?”

Automate your backyard lights

Have your backyard lights come on automatically just as soon as you open your back door. Normally you would just flick the wall switches on, plug in the gazebo lights, or whatever else and then enjoy your evening outside. You can just simply have a door sensor, smart lights or smart switches for the regularContinue reading “Automate your backyard lights”

Example 8: Left garage door open

It happens to the best of us! Maybe you forgot to close the garage door? Or had it open during the day while doing errands in your backyard or barbecuing, and then went inside, not realizing the garage door is still open. You can set any notification to remind you that it is open. ItContinue reading “Example 8: Left garage door open”