Home Automation

[analog_kidd]

I have been remodeling a room in our basement to be used as a home theater. While I had everything demoed, I decided to run new wiring for lighting, networking and sound. While doing that I started thinking about home automation, specifically for the lighting. I want to be able to control the lighting from my phone, tablet or Amazon Echo.

It looks like the Samsung SmartThings hub is getting good reviews these days, and works with a variety of devices. That is what I am leaning toward to get things started. That and a smart dimmer switch attached to the new can lights I installed.

Next on the list of smart gadgets to buy would be a door lock and then a thermostat. The idea of arriving home and my phone telling my house to turn on the lights, adjust the temperature and unlocking the front door is cool to me. Plus I like the idea of having a routine that will make sure the door is locked, and all lights turned off at bed time.

Does anyone else here have any smart stuff? If so, what are your experiences? What products do you like or not like? What are some of the ways you are using them?

[Sam1]

I use smart locks on all the doors, garage door sensors/openers/closers.  Will never go back to normal locks after having these.  The locks are great because when family shows up I can just pop the lock open for them, or assign them a temporary pin code that expires when they leave.  Also helpful when you're coming in a different door and forgot your key, or if someone drops off an expensive package and you trust your neighbor, you can pop the door open for them to sit the package inside.  Garage doors are self-explanatory, how many times have you drove off and not remembered if the door closed or not?  It's nice being able to double check with your phone.

Nothing else other than an alarm.  Electric is so cheap out here I just leave the t-stat the same all the time.  Have no use for something to turn on the lights for me, seems like a waste of money imho. 

[A.J. Holst]

https://youtu.be/qrt2q6Mpeyc

Be careful you don't get locked in

[peejman]

You guys have way more faith in technology gadgets than I do. 

[Ronald_55]

6 minutes ago, peejman said:

You guys have way more faith in technology gadgets than I do. 

I do IT. if it is connected to a computer, it can be hacked. I have enough issues cleaning up laptops, let alone trying to get a virus to let me turn back on my lights. It has always sounded like a neat idea to me, but the security guy in me won't let me do it. I know physical locks can be overridden, but at least someone has to show up at my place to do that.

[2.ooohhh]

I don't use smart locks for exterior locks, EVER, but then I don't use locks from the local hardware store either. If concerned about security you need real locks. Other wise my home is smart as can be. My thermostats swing the temp from a standby to my preference when I'm about 10 min from the house. As I pull in the drive the exterior entry lights turn on and interior light begin to turn on in succession. The home audio plays my preferred station by time of day in the living room, kitchen, and the entryway.(typically the same podcast I've been listening to on the way home). The exterior landscape lights turn on daily from 15 min before sunset to 10:30pm. The home's core is on it's own security system that is isolated, but I've greatly extended it's range with outdoor smart sensors on the home automation as a first line of defense. The smart home monitors my shed, my screened porch, my driveway for vehicles, and my exterior garage area. Upon detecting motion if the wife and I are "away" it turns on lights in the effected area and shoots me a text message. If i'm home in "armed home" mode it ignores all the interior sensors but can flash my bedside light to indicate a car pulling in the drive or motion within 6 or so feet of my garage door. When the wife and I leave in the morning the vacuums run to clean the floor typically finishing about lunchtime. If I get home and head into the theater I can tell the echo in the theater to "turn on movie" and it dims the theater wall lights, turns off the ceiling lights, powers up the projector and changes the input on the processor to the apple TV. When I'm ready for bed I simply tell the echo in the bedroom "turn on goodnight" and it will turn off all the home's interior lights and set the security mode to "armed home". One that we have really loved is that if my wife is home in bed and I come home from the hospital late it will turn on my bedside light very dim, this both gives me light to get into bed but also lets her know that I'm the one making noise at the door, b/c if the system is armed and motion is sensed before disarm it flashes at 100% bright to wake us up.

 

Not sure what phone OS your running but here are some of the apps/sites/hardware I've found useful.

IFTTT, Skylark, Alexa, Smart Home, Smart Rules, SmartThings

I have used and love all of these-

Smartthings hub, been with it since I left wink, absolutely better with great API support-http://a.co/3iOIuRv

In wall z wave dimmers great for theater lights if already wired-http://a.co/dCzTfPf

Z wave micro dimmer, I often build these into antique lamps and ceiling fan lighting kits-http://a.co/7sFg7Nx

Z wave micro smart switch, I often build these into fixtures such as ceiling fans for motor control- http://a.co/at5MFSD

Z wave outdoor module(great for christmas lights)-http://a.co/1yfW25T

Z wave door sensor-http://a.co/80RLnTX

Multi Sensors Motion/temp/luminance for monitoring spaces-http://a.co/hAJkbi8

Smart Vac to keep the place tidy-http://a.co/ivm91AQ

Echo dots for voice control/interaction-http://a.co/9qdLHgS

Z wave Contactor Module for large loads(electric water heater, Pool pump ect)-http://a.co/hm5DLRa

 

I want to try this-

RGB strip light ballast with zigbee radio could be really cool in the theater but reports vary from finicky to near impossible to integrate, so I haven't devoted time to it yet- http://a.co/8hNhFUc

 

These suck, I DO NOT recommend-

GE link bulbs, were great out of the box but failure rate on the 10 or so I bought is above 50% inside 18 months!-http://a.co/iFUB62m

Received this as a gift, worst HA product I've played with, is essentially a running joke in our household-http://a.co/afiA4Xn

Wink Hub, I had a gen 1 it was completely bricked by a botched forced firmware update, kinda soured me from their hardware-http://a.co/aMBURoQ

[Ronald_55]

2.ooohhh I am sure I do not want to know how much you have invested in that. 

 

If I set all that up the neighbor's dog would be running around my garage all night just to hear me scream and cuss at the flashing light. Then the kids would hijack the theater to only play their stuff and everyone would be fussing that something or other was not working the way they wanted. I get enough of that at work. lol

[2.ooohhh]

45 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

2.ooohhh I am sure I do not want to know how much you have invested in that. 

 

If I set all that up the neighbor's dog would be running around my garage all night just to hear me scream and cuss at the flashing light. Then the kids would hijack the theater to only play their stuff and everyone would be fussing that something or other was not working the way they wanted. I get enough of that at work. lol

Just automating my HVAC and Pool pump dropped my electric bill in the summer by several hundred a month so it'll eventually pay itself off. I listed my last smart home as +$10k all turnkey handed to the new owner, or asking price if I removed the all the built in modules and left it dumb. The new owner chose to pay the extra $10k after seeing what it could do. I left him a thumb drive with manuals, receipts, documentation, and basic instructions for the whole getup, and walked away with a 10k budget to outfit the new house.  No the old house was all insteon/10x and an ISY controller tied in with a control4 media center so it was outdated by modern standards but it allowed me to step from insteon to the more modern and agile z wave and zigbee protocols for a net $0 investment.

[bud]

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Edited April 26, 2017 by bud

[peejman]

@2.ooohhh That sounds pretty cool. The automated lights and such sound convienent. Way beyond my means, but cool. Like @Ronald_55, I suspect it would become a new way for my kids and dog to make me insane. 

I have had a programmable thermostat for many years and it's nice and helps keep the bills down. 

[Sam1]

8 hours ago, peejman said:

You guys have way more faith in technology gadgets than I do. 

Not really, we just understand the likelihood of an issue is minimal and that unlike the movies, we're not important enough for foreign governments to send their equivalent to the CIA to hack into our systems, nor will thieves come in with black vans, repelling gear and glass cutters to access the house.  Common sense goes a long way with technology.

[runco]

I wonder 100 years ago, when the farmer with a mule and plow transitioned to the tractor and plow, did he have faith in the new technology?  Did he embrace the new 20th century technology, or resist it.  Hmmmm  

[peejman]

1 hour ago, Sam1 said:

Not really, we just understand the likelihood of an issue is minimal and that unlike the movies, we're not important enough for foreign governments to send their equivalent to the CIA to hack into our systems, nor will thieves come in with black vans, repelling gear and glass cutters to access the house.  Common sense goes a long way with technology.

I'm not concerned so much about hacking, just that the whole thing will quit working at the most inconvenient moment, just like every other electronic gizmo these days. 

[2.ooohhh]

Just now, peejman said:

I'm not concerned so much about hacking, just that the whole thing will quit working at the most inconvenient moment, just like every other electronic gizmo these days. 

Well that all comes down to how you set the automation and the underlying technology up. In my case(complete overkill) I'm running a enterprise grade firewall with cisco and ubiquiti managed switches, and managed ubiquiti APs. The internet is handled through a dual WAN router so it split multiple connections all on a battery backup. Should comcast go out, DSL will take over for the time being, should DSL go out the verizon AP is there, should the power flicker the battery backups keep my network all just humming along. All of these small details make the entire house and internet within it, which so much relies on, dramatically more reliable than the average home, which in turn makes the automation far more reliable. Only thing it's really susceptible to is a long term power outage, not that most of the automated lights and such would be any good without power anyway. Now if I hadn't gone to streaming TV, running my own home server, IP video surveillance, working from home frequently, and automating damn near everything then spending what I did on "the internet" would be a waste of time and money.

[Sam1]

1 hour ago, peejman said:

I'm not concerned so much about hacking, just that the whole thing will quit working at the most inconvenient moment, just like every other electronic gizmo these days. 

Great thing about the electronic locks is when they break, they just turn into regular locks - like an escalator. 

[peejman]

58 minutes ago, 2.ooohhh said:

Well that all comes down to how you set the automation and the underlying technology up. In my case(complete overkill) I'm running a enterprise grade firewall with cisco and ubiquiti managed switches, and managed ubiquiti APs. The internet is handled through a dual WAN router so it split multiple connections all on a battery backup. Should comcast go out, DSL will take over for the time being, should DSL go out the verizon AP is there, should the power flicker the battery backups keep my network all just humming along. All of these small details make the entire house and internet within it, which so much relies on, dramatically more reliable than the average home, which in turn makes the automation far more reliable. Only thing it's really susceptible to is a long term power outage, not that most of the automated lights and such would be any good without power anyway. Now if I hadn't gone to streaming TV, running my own home server, IP video surveillance, working from home frequently, and automating damn near everything then spending what I did on "the internet" would be a waste of time and money.

You lost me at ubiquiti...

But yes, the part I understood sounds pretty robust. Clearly you're way more into the tech than I am. 

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, 2.ooohhh said:

Well that all comes down to how you set the automation and the underlying technology up. In my case(complete overkill) I'm running a enterprise grade firewall with cisco and ubiquiti managed switches, and managed ubiquiti APs. The internet is handled through a dual WAN router so it split multiple connections all on a battery backup. Should comcast go out, DSL will take over for the time being, should DSL go out the verizon AP is there, should the power flicker the battery backups keep my network all just humming along. All of these small details make the entire house and internet within it, which so much relies on, dramatically more reliable than the average home, which in turn makes the automation far more reliable. Only thing it's really susceptible to is a long term power outage, not that most of the automated lights and such would be any good without power anyway. Now if I hadn't gone to streaming TV, running my own home server, IP video surveillance, working from home frequently, and automating damn near everything then spending what I did on "the internet" would be a waste of time and money.

You are right by overkill. Did you plan based on Tier 3 data center specs? Work built one and I think it has less bells and whistles than you do,  except for the 2 tractor trailer sized generators they have out back.

[seez52]

when we built our house 12 years ago I installed an Omni automation system. That was about all that was available at the time. It relies heavily on X10. When first installed it worked pretty good. Seems like over time it has become unreliable. Great as an alarm system, but not so much on the automation part. I can program it, but the X10 is the killer. 

Can I integrate the zwave stuff into Omni or am I just better off starting over?

[2.ooohhh]

2 hours ago, seez52 said:

when we built our house 12 years ago I installed an Omni automation system. That was about all that was available at the time. It relies heavily on X10. When first installed it worked pretty good. Seems like over time it has become unreliable. Great as an alarm system, but not so much on the automation part. I can program it, but the X10 is the killer. 

Can I integrate the zwave stuff into Omni or am I just better off starting over?

If your Omni has the standardized RS232 interface the module below will integrate Z-wave control into your existing Omni controller. I used a similar one to integrate my ELK M1 into the x10 setup at my last house. It worked, and was reliable but was a bear to get set up.  It would likely be less expensive and less time consuming to start with a standalone hub such as the smartthings and add zwave and zigbee devices to it yourself as you aquire them.

http://www.homecontrols.com/Leviton-Vizia-RF-Serial-Interface-Module-LVVRC0P1LW 

 

Software such as smartrules on a cell phone or tablet really makes automation control simple enough that pretty much anyone can now do it if they are capable of understanding the if/then logic structures.

 

 

[seez52]

On 1/6/2017 at 8:21 PM, 2.ooohhh said:

If your Omni has the standardized RS232 interface the module below will integrate Z-wave control into your existing Omni controller. I used a similar one to integrate my ELK M1 into the x10 setup at my last house. It worked, and was reliable but was a bear to get set up.  It would likely be less expensive and less time consuming to start with a standalone hub such as the smartthings and add zwave and zigbee devices to it yourself as you aquire them.

http://www.homecontrols.com/Leviton-Vizia-RF-Serial-Interface-Module-LVVRC0P1LW 

 

Software such as smartrules on a cell phone or tablet really makes automation control simple enough that pretty much anyone can now do it if they are capable of understanding the if/then logic structures.

 

 

Thanks!!

[NoBanStan]

I know a bunch of guys who use an app called ITTT (If This, Then That) to help with triggering of IoT devices. Pretty neat results https://ifttt.com/

You can also be part of the next major hack of US internet infrastructure! https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/10/hacked-cameras-dvrs-powered-todays-massive-internet-outage/ If anyone remembers the attack on DYN a few months ago.

[analog_kidd]

My hub and first switch came in over the weekend, so I got it set up. It works very well. Set up a "goodnight: routine on it to make sure the lights are out every night before bed. Also set up a morning routine for me to have the lights come on, since I pass thru that room on the way to the shower each morning. Unfortunately, I set the turn-off period too short and ended up walking thru a dark room on the way out of the shower. I'll have to adjust that.

I mistakenly ordered the wrong switch, I wanted a dimming switch, but what arrived was a regular on/off switch. I really want a dimmer in this room since it will be a home theater, so I'm going to order the correct one to replace it. I think I'll use the one I have in another room with a three-way light. It's downstairs and we are always forgetting to turn it out, so adding it to the goodnight routine will be nice. It's also the room we enter the house from the carport, so I'll add it to the Arrival routine so that lights will come on when my wife or I come home.

That room and the lights were wired oddly - there are big fluorescent fixtures with three bulbs in each. The three way switch turns on two of the three bulbs, but a standard switch on a third door to the room turns on one bulb from each fixture. If you want all of the lights on, you have to walk across the room and turn on both switches. I'm hoping I can come up with a way to set turning on any switch as a trigger to turn on the other.

I linked it up thru my Amazon Echo, so now I just have to ask it to turn on/off the lights. That is very cool!

[peejman]

3 hours ago, analog_kidd said:

My hub and first switch came in over the weekend, so I got it set up. It works very well. Set up a "goodnight: routine on it to make sure the lights are out every night before bed. Also set up a morning routine for me to have the lights come on, since I pass thru that room on the way to the shower each morning. Unfortunately, I set the turn-off period too short and ended up walking thru a dark room on the way out of the shower. I'll have to adjust that.

Heh... I'm not allowed to turn on lights when I get up in the morning. 

[Capbyrd]

IoT is the hot ticket for "hackers" these days.  So just be careful if you start loading up your house with IoT devices.  The good news, though, is that router and firewall companies are paying attention and building some great devices specifically to protect your IoT home. A lot of devices announced this past weekend at CES.  

[TNMTBik3r]

Getting ready to move into a new place, one of the upgrades I plan to make is a smart thermostat. Current home I have a programmable thermostat but never invested in a Nest or anything as the place is fairly small. New place is 2 stories, but only a single HVAC zone, so I am leaning towards an Ecobee 3 system with a couple of remote sensors as the thermostat is upstairs (main floor, hallway) and a couple of primary rooms are in the basement.

I would like to add some smart lights in the den/rec room but that can wait. Smart locks, I'm not sure yet. Would be useful when family is staying with us or whatever.