Home Automation

[Yourshoesareuntied]

Been at this a while now and wondered if anyone here was doing this too, and what system they choose.. I currently have the Vera Lite

Home automation allows things like lights to come on at certain times, set detailed programs for a digital door lock.. for instance, say you're out of town and the guy feeding the dogs can have a temporary "key" to the house and the owner gets notified when that key is used... or with geofencing, I can say to the controller..if it's dark outside and I enter a determined perimeter turn on the living room lamps and kitchen cabinet lights.. with a motion sensor on the front porch I can make a program that says if its dark and someone enters the porch turn on lamps and living room main light..(to make them think someone is awake).. I can be coming home from being out of town and connect to my thermostat so when I come home the house is comfortable.. a person could even ditch their ADT security monitoring and self monitor their house with all the standard security products..like glass break sensors, PID, door/window sensors even I/P cameras.. think about this... you pay ADT 30.00 a month to call you when your alarm goes off...then you say call the cops or turn it off... for nothing a month your "alarm" can send a text or call you tell you what happened.. you can log-in check your cameras..and decide to call the police yourself or turn your system off.
I could go on... add a comment if you're wondering about certain capabilities.. most likely if you're dreaming it, it can be done..

Currently there are many new ways to automate your house, many..maybe most have tried to make proprietary devices that require a monthly subscription to operate...for me this is a deal breaker, things like Iris, Smart Things, I think Amazon has something... between Lowes and Home Depot there are possibly three different systems all have their service fee and devices that only work on there system...

However there is an alternative it doesn't have to be this way...Vera has made its mark on the Home Automation markit by developing high end, well supported, no-service fee systems. The lineup at getvera.com offeres an excelent lineup of controllers aka Hubs.. they sell some devices like switches and sensors..but their main product is the controller. Check Amazon for good deals too... anyway.. one thing most controllers including the Vera and the service fee guys have in common is most use a standard called "Zwave" there are a ton of Zwave devices available and Zwave is the primary standard I have stuck with..its non-proprietary and requires an industry standard to be labeled Zwave compatible.. Also check out some of "aeon labs" products all Zwave stuff and works great on the Vera.. they make a light switch that dims or acts like a regular switch and looks like a thin smart phone..hangs in place of your standard light switch and cost about 25.00 this "smart light switch" will give you control of say..your bedroom light, using capacitive touch technology, dimm, turn on or off your light, or you can lay down in bed.. grab your phone and turn the light off

With the Vera you can get all the automation gear you want without a service fee.. its not hard for the average computer person to setup either..youtube videos and easy phone apps helps broaden the demographic..

Anywho..
just nerding out today...my Zwave thermostat came in and has me thinking.. I thought I would see if any OSA members were doing this too..

 

[Frederick]

I think it would be cool to have all these things. I think Humans have been thinking of automated houses since the days of the Jetson's.

This might interest you for historical reasons;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoCCO3GKqWY

 

[tRidiot]

I definitely want to do this, but the cost to retrofit our 40 year-old home seems prohibitive. If/when I ever have a chance to build a new home, it will be totally wired for this kind of thing. Structured wiring with fiber and such. I know alot of this stuff is wireless, too, which would help... just had so many other things on our plate up till now. I looked into some of it a few years back, but never actually started the project. First thing I wanted to do was run ethernet to every room, but pulling cable made my blood pressure go up too much and I just decided to do wireless everything. lol

 

[120 Acres]

My company installs security systems from Honeywell. They integrate HA as well. Door locks, lights, thermostats, pretty much anything you can think of.

We set up a house at the end of a street, so that when the lady turns the corner to her drive (in her Jaguar), the lights come on, the curtains get drawn, the thermostat kicks on, system disarms and garage door opens.

Mostly we set the basic things up like when the smoke detectors trip, the lights come on and door unlocks (if the system is armed in the STAY mode).

The Z-Wave devices out there are almost unlimited. You can even set a time slot for children's video game usage. All can be accessed remotely too.

 

[doctorjj]

I definitely want to do this, but the cost to retrofit our 40 year-old home seems prohibitive. If/when I ever have a chance to build a new home, it will be totally wired for this kind of thing. Structured wiring with fiber and such. I know alot of this stuff is wireless, too, which would help... just had so many other things on our plate up till now. I looked into some of it a few years back, but never actually started the project. First thing I wanted to do was run ethernet to every room, but pulling cable made my blood pressure go up too much and I just decided to do wireless everything. lol

The retrofit isn't hard or expensive. All you need is new switches or outlets for whatever it is you want to control. They are about $50 each. They use your existing wiring. Then you need a controller which is like $80 and I run it all through my Mac mini. I use Indigo touch software. For a few bucks a year, you can use one of their servers and check the status or control devices from anywhere you have an internet connection through their App. You can set things to work automatically, you can use sunrise/sunset, you can use local weather to turn things on or off. It's very simple. SmartHome.com has everything you need.

 

[Yourshoesareuntied]

My house was built in the 50s, most of my light switches cost me about 35.00 each..they also have lamp and appliance modules that just plug in..no wiring needed. This is the Aeon in-wall micro dimmer it fits in the space behind a standard light switch or inside the box your room lights are attached to. I did a little at a time, started with the living room so we could dim the lights during movies
View attachment 52859

 

[CHenry]

Very interesting topic... I'm gonna look into this for my new casa.

 

[dennishoddy]

We haven't gone as far as previous posters, but have installed digital locks on all doors and motion sensor lighting in areas like hallways, utility room, and garage. Rooms we aren't in for very long.
I've heard a lot of advertising for the Simply Safe security system that doesn't require a subscription, and can be installed by the homeowner.

 

[CHenry]

Heck I got excited when I found out I can buy a garage door opener that I can control with my phone and see open/closed status. So many times have I driven off while in deep thought and gotten 2 miles down the road and suddenly think to myself "did I shut the garage door or not"? lol.

 

[KOPBET]

I used to get "garage door amnesia" also, until I got the Chamberlain MyQ system and connected it to my house WIFI. I love being able to monitor and control not only the garage door, but any wall light switch that I want to add to the network. I get push alerts when the garage door opens or certain lights come on. One room's ceiling light is synced to the garage door opener light at well so there are lights on when entering the house from the garage. This, coupled with the monitored SimpliSafe alarm system, and the NVR recorder and cameras that I can also view from my phone give me additional piece of mind.