You want get started with HomeKit or expand your home automation network without spending a lot of money? Well, we show you how to do it with Aqara and its E1 Hub.
Aqara offers us a wide variety of HomeKit accessories at really affordable prices, on the sole condition of using one of its Hubs to make them compatible with Apple’s home automation network. Today we explain how to add a plug, a motion sensor, a temperature, humidity and air quality sensor and a configurable button, all through the affordable E1 Hub. You will be surprised how easy it is and how little money you will have to invest.
Aqara E1 Hub
This small device a little bigger than a USB key is the key to adding all our Aqara accessories to the HomeKit Home application. Made of white plastic, with a very discreet and articulated design, we can put it in the USB port on the back of our computer, a TV or any device with such a connection. All we need is for you to power it, so it doesn’t matter where that port is. If we don’t have one available, a USB charger is also perfect.
This little receiver uses the Zigbee 3.0 protocol to connect to the rest of Aqara’s accessories, meaning it uses a low-power, stable, long-range connection. You can connect up to 128 Aqara devices to it, and all of them will automatically become compatible with HomeKit (also Google Assistant and Alexa). In addition, the great advantage of using this type of Hub is that by not connecting to your router, you free up your WiFi network for other tasks, which is always positive. The Hub E1 itself connects to your WiFi network (2.4 GHz) and the setup process is very simple via the Aqara app (link), where all the steps are indicated, not only to add it to the manufacturer’s application but also for HomeKit. In the video you can see it in detail.
Add other accessories to Hub E1
Once we’ve added the Aqara hub to the Aqara app and HomeKit, we can start adding other Aqara accessories. The binding process is always the same: we still have to use the Aqara app to add the accessory to the Hub, and it will automatically appear in HomeKit. In the video you can see how each of the accessories that we analyze in this article is added, and you can verify that it is a very simple procedure in any case.
Monitor TVOC
He is air quality, temperature and humidity sensor It is a small station that gives us all the necessary information to improve the comfort of our room. Its e-ink screen is ideal for being able to see the information without having to resort to your mobile with minimal energy consumption which means that with only two CR2450 batteries (replaceable) you can have more than a year of autonomy. It is so small that we can place it anywhere, and we can attach it to any metal surface thanks to the included magnetic sticker, or use conventional adhesive.
The button on the top of the device allows us to modify the information displayed on the screen, there is not much else to control on the device. But the information it offers us is very useful, not only to know it but to be able to create automations on the basis of this information, such as the activation of an exhaust fan when the air quality decreases in a bathroom, or the activation of a purifier in a room, etc.
Mini-switch
A home automation switch is a good idea to be able to perform actions without having to use your mobile or a virtual assistant. This way you can turn the lights on, turn them off or perform other automations with a physical button, which can be very practical in certain situations or for homes in which there are users who do not want or cannot. not use their mobile to perform these tasks. Aqara offers us a switch with which you can perform three actions by pressing a single button.
The Aqara Mini Switch is very small and looks like a conventional switch. A single button is the one that will take care of executing the actions you configure, either from the Aqara application itself, or from the Casa application, as I show you in the video. You can configure three actions, depending on whether you press once, twice or three times. A single CR2032 coin cell battery will give you up to two years of battery life (depending on how you use it). An adhesive is included in the box so you can stick it to any surface.
motion sensor P1
Aqara has updated its motion sensor keeping its design but improving its performance. This new P1 sensor has a battery life of up to 5 years, so you will completely forget when you put in the old battery (2x CR2450) when you need to replace it. Its mission is to detect movements of any kind and to perform actions with these movements.. It also includes a light sensor, so you can also use it to turn on lights when the light in the room isn’t enough. All these automations can be configured in the Casa app or in the Aqara app, like the rest of the accessories. It is also a very interesting element to create your own home alarm system.
Motion detection is adjustable angle and distance. We can choose a detection angle of 170º and 2 meters, or 150º and 7 meters. We can also set three degrees of detection (low, medium and high) and we can also configure waiting times before being activated, from 1 to 200 seconds. The design of the sensor allows it to be placed on any surface thanks to the articulated foot that it includes and that can be placed on the ceiling, on the wall or on any other flat surface.
smart plug
The last accessory that we are going to add to our Hub E1 is a smart plug, a device that is always essential in any home automation system. A very compact design, suitable for European sockets and with a physical button that allows us to activate or deactivate it manually, this type of home automation accessories is ideal for control the ignition of electrical appliances such as coffee makers, purifiers, lamps, fans or water heaters. We can create automations to turn on or off at certain times, or when opening doors or when a sensor is activated.
The socket has overheating and overload protection, and in addition to monitoring everything you plug into it, you will be able to know the energy consumption of what you have connected. You can connect any device with power up to 2300W no problem. It also has an LED on the front that informs you of the status.
Editor’s review
Bridges or hubs are usually an element that users do not like because they represent an additional cost compared to the accessories that we want to add to our home automation network. Aqara, however, offers us a very affordable Hub with very good features, which also has the advantage of allowing us to add its branded accessories to HomeKit at affordable prices, and all this without saturating the WiFi connections of our router and with the stability and great range of the Zigbee protocol. You can buy both the E1 Hub and the rest of the accessories on Amazon:
Table of Contents
