Beginning to transition to a smart home
- Thread starter Tre4ISU
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i have thought about smart thermo for the house.....
but is there an app where my wife can turn up the heat without getting off couch?
if so. i will not
but is there an app where my wife can turn up the heat without getting off couch?
if so. i will not
We've probably gone a little overboard with smart devices. We have 4 Nest Minis, 2 of the little displays, all of our CO/smoke detectors are the Nest Protects, Nest doorbell, a few smart lights, etc.
I can control our thermostat, garage doors, Roomba, etc. from my phone and it can be slick. Carrying stuff out to the garage and no hands to hit the switch for the lights? No problem. On vacation and want to manipulate the lights so we look home and not pay to heat/cool all the time? No problem.
Biggest thing is making sure you have enough juice with your router to connect everything. We have the Google Mesh system and so far with as many devices as we have it's been no issue.
Honestly the biggest thing we use the setup for is adding to our grocery list without having to stop food prep or anything like that. Really slick. Now if it could just order the Aisles Online too....
I can control our thermostat, garage doors, Roomba, etc. from my phone and it can be slick. Carrying stuff out to the garage and no hands to hit the switch for the lights? No problem. On vacation and want to manipulate the lights so we look home and not pay to heat/cool all the time? No problem.
Biggest thing is making sure you have enough juice with your router to connect everything. We have the Google Mesh system and so far with as many devices as we have it's been no issue.
Honestly the biggest thing we use the setup for is adding to our grocery list without having to stop food prep or anything like that. Really slick. Now if it could just order the Aisles Online too....
THIS. A "smart home" has to have a controller of some sort. A couple Hue bulbs and a Nest thermostat does not a smart home make.
I've been Z-wave for a decade or so now, and running Homeseer for at least 5 years. HS has plugins for Nest, Ecobee, Hue, LIFX, etc. But you really need some "brain" to tell everything when to do what.
I also prefer my stuff to be local, so I'm not relying on an internet connection.
We currently have two Samsung SmartThings hubs, an older version and a newer version. Samsung is making a transition and I’m waiting for their full transition before I connect all devices to the new hub. We have Zigbee, Z-Wave and WiFi devices, controlling “dumb” LED strip lighting, switches and receptacles. We only have two “smart” bulbs in lamps on guest bed tables. Smart switches and smart receptacles control “normal” light fixtures such as exterior soffit lights, front door light, garage lights, kitchen lights, dining room, etc, etc. Smart switches must work normally for guests to use them, but everything can be controlled by Alexa commands. Presence transmitters in our cars turn on exterior, garage and kitchen lights when we drive up. We don’t have any locks, cameras, garage door openers, or motion sensors, but desire a Ring Pro door bell and a front door lock.
Programming schedules is done via SmartThings app and an application associated within SmartThings called WebCORE. Thermostat is an Ecobee 4 with built in Alexa, plus we have other Echo dots.
Making transition to addressable LED strings and strips for holiday lighting. WebCORE within in SmartThings controls on and off times, with Wi-Fi enabled devices called esp8266 control lighting patterns.
I dislike all the 24, 12 and 5 volt transformers controlling different LEDs laying around the house, although usually hidden but still...Wish we had built this house, smart devices would be everywhere.
Programming schedules is done via SmartThings app and an application associated within SmartThings called WebCORE. Thermostat is an Ecobee 4 with built in Alexa, plus we have other Echo dots.
Making transition to addressable LED strings and strips for holiday lighting. WebCORE within in SmartThings controls on and off times, with Wi-Fi enabled devices called esp8266 control lighting patterns.
I dislike all the 24, 12 and 5 volt transformers controlling different LEDs laying around the house, although usually hidden but still...Wish we had built this house, smart devices would be everywhere.
We have the Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon Fire, Smart Plugs installed and I have to install my Ring 2 after I get a compatible mount. I also got my Dish Hopper/Joey added to my Alexa.
We're loving it so far, just walking into a room and telling Alexa to turn on the TV, tune to a specific channel, or open Disney+. With the smart plugs, I set my lamps on them as timers to go on from dusk until bedtime, also can voice activate them. We also have our Christmas tree lights voice activated.
We're loving it so far, just walking into a room and telling Alexa to turn on the TV, tune to a specific channel, or open Disney+. With the smart plugs, I set my lamps on them as timers to go on from dusk until bedtime, also can voice activate them. We also have our Christmas tree lights voice activated.
I just took a look at my Google Home Mesh and I see 29 devices connected.
Google Home. 1 smart display and 4 mini's throughout the house. Use them all the time to control those 29 devices and a ton of other things.
Alexa-2 of these but we rarely use them with Google Home available. GH just does things little better.
Harmony remote-We have this connected to Google Home. So saying "watch TV" will turn on all the A/V equipment and adjust my lights accordingly.
Hue-We probably have 8 or so lights both indoors and out. Use these a lot with google home but also on schedules. So for example, we turn them on at sunset on the weekends and turn them off at sunrise. Also play around with vacation schedules. I have one hub and there has never been a time when they haven't worked correctly.
Ecobee-Works great. I could use it with Google Home to set the temp manually but we really don't mess with it now that it's programmed. If I'm home unexpectedly, I can say "Set temp to 68".
Nest-I have a Nest camera outside. We have a side load garage and it's annoying that I can't see when people pull in the driveway. So I get alerts when people or things enter my driveway. I don't like that I pay a subscription for this.
Wyze camera-Cheap and does a great job. I'm paranoid that our water heater is going to break and flood our basement so I stuck one down there and it works great for $25 and no monthly fee.
Canary camera-Hate it. Terrible company.
My Q garage-I rarely use the app to open/close the garage. What i like is that it will alert me if it's open for a certain length of time.
Wemo-These thing are great for the $. "Ok google turn on Christmas tree". Also allows you to schedule.
Smart vacuum (roomba type)-Bought a cheap one and to be honest, I'm not in love with it. It gets stuck in places so I have to Smart vacuum proof the house every time before it runs.
Chromecast-Have these on every non smart TV.
Sony and Denon AVR's. Both allow me to control my music remotely, which is nice when you're powering outside speakers.
I'd love to have a brand new house to start from scratch.
One warning on the cameras, they use up a lot of data in HD mode and you'll want HD mode outside so that you can see license plates. I think my one outside uses about 300gb per month.
Google Home. 1 smart display and 4 mini's throughout the house. Use them all the time to control those 29 devices and a ton of other things.
Alexa-2 of these but we rarely use them with Google Home available. GH just does things little better.
Harmony remote-We have this connected to Google Home. So saying "watch TV" will turn on all the A/V equipment and adjust my lights accordingly.
Hue-We probably have 8 or so lights both indoors and out. Use these a lot with google home but also on schedules. So for example, we turn them on at sunset on the weekends and turn them off at sunrise. Also play around with vacation schedules. I have one hub and there has never been a time when they haven't worked correctly.
Ecobee-Works great. I could use it with Google Home to set the temp manually but we really don't mess with it now that it's programmed. If I'm home unexpectedly, I can say "Set temp to 68".
Nest-I have a Nest camera outside. We have a side load garage and it's annoying that I can't see when people pull in the driveway. So I get alerts when people or things enter my driveway. I don't like that I pay a subscription for this.
Wyze camera-Cheap and does a great job. I'm paranoid that our water heater is going to break and flood our basement so I stuck one down there and it works great for $25 and no monthly fee.
Canary camera-Hate it. Terrible company.
My Q garage-I rarely use the app to open/close the garage. What i like is that it will alert me if it's open for a certain length of time.
Wemo-These thing are great for the $. "Ok google turn on Christmas tree". Also allows you to schedule.
Smart vacuum (roomba type)-Bought a cheap one and to be honest, I'm not in love with it. It gets stuck in places so I have to Smart vacuum proof the house every time before it runs.
Chromecast-Have these on every non smart TV.
Sony and Denon AVR's. Both allow me to control my music remotely, which is nice when you're powering outside speakers.
I'd love to have a brand new house to start from scratch.
One warning on the cameras, they use up a lot of data in HD mode and you'll want HD mode outside so that you can see license plates. I think my one outside uses about 300gb per month.
Another really useful thread, thanks everyone.
Something else nobody mentioned unless I missed it, but I've read (mostly through headlines) in recent years how IKEA is going big into smarthome products. Then just this morning there were a couple big stories about it. I haven't had a chance to read them yet myself but thought I'd post them in case anyone found it interesting.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/18...-sweden-furniture-sonos-meatballs-bjorn-block
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/18...tcut-button-onboarding-upgrade-software-price
Something else nobody mentioned unless I missed it, but I've read (mostly through headlines) in recent years how IKEA is going big into smarthome products. Then just this morning there were a couple big stories about it. I haven't had a chance to read them yet myself but thought I'd post them in case anyone found it interesting.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/18...-sweden-furniture-sonos-meatballs-bjorn-block
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/18...tcut-button-onboarding-upgrade-software-price
Make it easier for the Gov't to listen in and take over control of the entire house
It doesnt take the NSA to hack te these things. Your average 14 yr computer geek would do just fine. These things will never adorne a house I own.
I just ordered a NexxGarage NXB-200 to control my garage door. This is on the more-expensive side of smart garage control, but this was the only one that was Alexa-compatible out of the box. This also supports Bluetooth control so if my WiFi is down I should still be able to open the garage, but I'm not quite sure how that will work and also stay secure. What sold me was that I can do geo-fencing with it, so I can have my garage door open based on my GPS.
I also received an Echo Show 5 and Wyze Cam for Christmas. The camera is in our family room to keep an eye on the kids and the Echo Show 5 is in our kitchen. Video looks great and the camera also supports an intercom feature and can record video to a local SD card. Amazon had this as a packaged set for $50 a few weeks before Christmas, which is an awesome deal. I would really recommend this as a great alternative to a baby monitor for any new parents, but only if you can get this at $50-70. Keep the camera in babies room and then as they get older you could move the camera to a play room or even the backyard for another layer of security. Additional cameras are only $25.
I also received an Echo Show 5 and Wyze Cam for Christmas. The camera is in our family room to keep an eye on the kids and the Echo Show 5 is in our kitchen. Video looks great and the camera also supports an intercom feature and can record video to a local SD card. Amazon had this as a packaged set for $50 a few weeks before Christmas, which is an awesome deal. I would really recommend this as a great alternative to a baby monitor for any new parents, but only if you can get this at $50-70. Keep the camera in babies room and then as they get older you could move the camera to a play room or even the backyard for another layer of security. Additional cameras are only $25.
Surprised I missed this thread. I was in the thread about security cameras and wondered if there was anything like it here. For a long time I've had an interest in Smart Homes, but somewhat resisted because I know myself and knew if I got started I'd immediately go from nothing to Clark Griswald Christmas lights level.
I broke the seal a few months ago since one of my son's rooms is always hotter than other rooms, but if he closes the vent he wakes up in the middle of the night cold. So the start was an Ecobee smart thermostat and a Flair smart vent. It snow balled from there.
A couple warnings to anyone thinking about getting involved.
1) Don't expect to justify the cost with some kind of energy savings/cost savings. If you just do a smart thermostat it might be possible, but beyond that there is no way. An LED bulb cost like $1 to run all year. A smart switch is around $30. The cost adds up quick and you won't justify it.
2) Depending on how far you go it takes a unique skill set to really get a lot of automation in your home. I grew up doing carpenter work for my dad and am pretty handy at wiring/DIY and I'm an engineer so reading about how to install custom device handlers and customize the code wasn't too bad, but for the general population I'd guess going beyond "Alexa turn on the lamp" could be pretty challenging. Really simple things are plug and play, but going much beyond that is definitely not.
3) Research a lot and plan. I feel like I did this, but still ended up in spots where I bought redundant things or things that weren't quite right.
As far as what I have done.
I've got a Samsung SmartThings Hub controlling it. System includes HVAC, Ceiling Fans, most lights in the house, garage doors, security cameras, door locks, alarm system, monitoring of doors, etc.
If anyone is interested in more specifics or where to get information let me know.
I broke the seal a few months ago since one of my son's rooms is always hotter than other rooms, but if he closes the vent he wakes up in the middle of the night cold. So the start was an Ecobee smart thermostat and a Flair smart vent. It snow balled from there.
A couple warnings to anyone thinking about getting involved.
1) Don't expect to justify the cost with some kind of energy savings/cost savings. If you just do a smart thermostat it might be possible, but beyond that there is no way. An LED bulb cost like $1 to run all year. A smart switch is around $30. The cost adds up quick and you won't justify it.
2) Depending on how far you go it takes a unique skill set to really get a lot of automation in your home. I grew up doing carpenter work for my dad and am pretty handy at wiring/DIY and I'm an engineer so reading about how to install custom device handlers and customize the code wasn't too bad, but for the general population I'd guess going beyond "Alexa turn on the lamp" could be pretty challenging. Really simple things are plug and play, but going much beyond that is definitely not.
3) Research a lot and plan. I feel like I did this, but still ended up in spots where I bought redundant things or things that weren't quite right.
As far as what I have done.
I've got a Samsung SmartThings Hub controlling it. System includes HVAC, Ceiling Fans, most lights in the house, garage doors, security cameras, door locks, alarm system, monitoring of doors, etc.
If anyone is interested in more specifics or where to get information let me know.
anything new on the Smarthome front? We are getting ready to move into a new home and we have a lot of the GoogleHome (Nest) products but looking at adding in some other smarthome items. Wondering if I need a new hub to control from one app or if GoogleHome App can do that?
Wow, I must be lucky. I live somewhere that I don't need most of the things everyone is talking about. But its cool reading about it all.
Make it easier for the Gov't to listen in and take over control of the entire house
Interesting you all say this. NPR had a story a few years ago. One of their tech correspondents purchased everything she could find for her home that was wi-fi connected or labeled smart. I mean everything from toothbrushes to sex toys. She wanted to know what information is gleamed from having these devices. She was shocked by what information those companies can learn about your behavior. Also, note, they listen (so does Alexa and Siri) and record your activity so she got rid of it all.
Most things nowadays can run through Google Home. The new Chromecast is supposed to be nice.
Some things have even improved for Google. Their Wi-Fi mesh system has been known to be great for awhile but now it also includes a smart speaker built into the main unit.
I don't know what you're doing for home audio but I'd recommend staying away from Sony because of ongoing ARC issues. Actually I've heard receivers in general are not good to buy right now because of some HDMI issues. Not sure about the details because I'm not in the market.
Hue Lights IMO are still the gold standard in whole house lighting but you'll pay for the gold standard. I really wish I could find a good way to get hue lights to work for our under cabinet lights but it would look funky.
Just ordered a washer/dryer to replace our 16 year old unit and I believe both of those are smart. Not sure I'll get any use out of that.
I'm not the biggest fan but a lot of people seem to like Sonos speakers.
Really cheap and simple by I use smart plugs for a lot of things. i.e. automate Christmas tree lights.