BUILD YOUR APPLE SMART HOME WITH KASA & TAPO by TP Link

Thanks, Brad. It is interesting seeing the different levels of simplicity and ease of use for the Matter products coming out. There are enough new products coming out that we can have a review from one of our great Apple Home YouTubers every week. I’ve also had some negative experiences with the power adapter, but given that it is not this Matter product I think it best not to confound. Always great to see another TBL production 😀

I have some of the Kasa 125M plugs. They have worked like a champ for over a month. They added easily to the Kasa app, then paired to Home. They also showed up automatically in Alexa, without an additional Matter code. I also have the Kasa outdoor plug. It is in the garage, and working fine as well. Waiting to see how it does in the Oklahoma heat and dust!

I am lutron switch person. I have three switches in the bath. One for over the sink, one for the fan light and one for the fan. The sink is a dimmer switch too. I have the sink programed that if you go into the bath in the day the light is 100%, If after sunset its at 75% and after 9pm and before 6am (we don't get ready until after 6) it is only 25% as not to blind your eyes if you need a pee at 2am. I run automations for the lights too. They are all set to turn off after 1 hour (in case anyone walks out without turning them off). There is a humidity sensor that turns the bath fan on at 70% and a automation turns it off after 1 hour. I put the sensor just above the shower door. The wife likes the humidity durning the winter when its colder so she will turn off the fan by the switch and I have an automation that if the switch is turned off manually don't allow the sensor to turn the fan back on for 30 min if the humidity is over 70% - then after that time it will turn on and run for only 30 min. I have similar ones for my kitchen lights. Im not a fan of smart bulbs, but I do run a few nanoleaf ones and use the adaptive lighting (circadian) lighting.

Great video!

Great Video. Tapo's matter plug is a good choice. Unless you have the Hue Bridge, then Sonoff's $10 S40 plugs are better. Matter too. Its amazing how fast and simple things are with Matter.

Hi Brad, for my bathroom exhaust fan I use a Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch (KS2000MP2). It is a motion activated unit. It does NOT work with my HomeKit, rather, it uses a Kasa app. In my opinion the app is NOT user friendly. However, I was able to set a timer that works with the motion activation. The longest run time the timer will allow is 30 minutes. If you have any information/suggestions that might help me, I'm all ears. ;-)

For bathroom fan automations, I have a contact sensor on our bathroom door that, when the door is closed, the fan will turn on.

I might have missed it but the difference between Kasa and Tapo. Obviously, shape and design, but otherwise seems kinda confusing to have two different brand names making the same product from one company.

Thanks for the video. Does the Kasa dimmer work locally with HomeKit (meaning will it work if my internet is down)? Also did you experience any issues with this switch being connected to 2.5 GHZ and HomePod on 5GHZ?

Good video but the vent fan timer 100% can be done in HomeKit with Shortcuts. I have mine set to set on/off with humidity. I have a door to the toilet so I put a door sensor on the door, the vent comes on if the door is opened and the light is turned on, the vent in this action is turned off after 45 min.

Exhaust fans why not keep it simple. Use a countdown switch, with your choice of several countdown options. Like 5, 10, 30 minutes until it turns off. Can hit the minutes needed for situation. No need for smart in this case. Several electrical companies make them.

I wonder if an Eve or Aquara air quality monitor can be set to check VOCs in the bathroom to trigger the fan. I don't have either device, but my 'non-smart' air purifier kicks on when it detects VOCs, so I would think the air quality monitors can help with automations. Since they both detect humidity as well, they may work for turning the fan on for that also.

I do not like to connect to wifi directly. Are there any HUB or bridge that support these switches?

There are non-smart humidity sensor fan switches that do exactly what you want without any setup. Not everything has to be smart.

Question when building a smart home why do we even have light switches when smart buld can work instead ie is there any point to add light switches to future homes

Kasa Plugs don't work correctly with the Alexa routine TOGGLE, they only work set to ON or OFF. They have not fixed this big.

Hi Brad, I saw this video when it first came out but have come back to it as I'm about to help someone with smart plugs. They need 6 of them and I am considering the Tapo Matter ones that you discuss here. It's been 3 months and so I'm wondering if you think they are worth getting or would steer me elsewhere. All the best!

Anything works with HomeKit with Home Assistant

Way to confusing for nontechnical guys.