Home Automation

[Tyler]

We have a few interested in this subject here (domonto and ejhartman) but I think Corey has the most advanced setup. Everytime I talk to him he has added something new. Corey, what is your complete inventory now? Yes, robotic vacuum cleaners count.

I'm starting to get into it a little myself. It took 19 months, but I've trained my chore-bot to throw away trash and to unload the dishwasher.

[Donomoto]

I'm starting to get into it a little myself. It took 19 months, but I've trained my chore-bot to throw away trash and to unload the dishwasher.

Dang, 15 more months of programming for me. Does the group have a general consensus of what system to go toward if I want to start getting into it?

[Tyler]

Source of the post Does the group have a general consensus of what system to go toward if I want to start getting into it?

I think SmartThings by Samsung is pretty popular (but I have never used). Works with Google Home and Echo and ZigBee/Z-Wave can tap into a lot of devices.

[Corey]

I use SmartThings and have the following:

Ring doorbell
3 3-way Z-Wave dimmers downstairs (3 dimmers with 3 add-on dimmers)
Z-Wave dimmer in kitchen
Z-Wave dimmer in dining room
Z-Wave dimmer in front entryway
Z-Wave garage door controller
Z-Wave motion detectors (that also report temperature) in bedroom and downstairs
Z-Wave open/close detectors on patio door, front door, side door, and garage walk-in door
Two ZigBee arrival sensors on our keys. I wanted to use these to automatically open the garage but the range was too little that we'd sit in front of the garage for 30 seconds then it'd open. Now they are basically to find our keys because there is a speaker in them that we can trigger.
Three lightbulbs connected to a Hue Hub.
Schlage Z-Wave deadbolt with keypad on side door
Honeywell WiFi thermostat
All the lights can be controlled by the Google Home or Google Assistant on our phones.
I use ActionTiles on our phones and on a tablet by the side door with the screen always on to turn lights on/off and the garage open/close.

Current automation:

Deck, front porch and side porch lights turn on when those doors are opened between sunset and sunrise. It automatically turns off after two minutes
Side door light turns on when the garage door opens between sunset and sunrise. Stays on while the garage is open and turns off when it closes.
Unlock side door when garage opens
Lock side door when garage closes
Side door automatically locks after 5 minutes (but not if the door is open).
There is some automation behind when we leave/arrive/go to bed/wake up to arm/disarm the smart home monitor security system

[blake]

badass Corey. Would love to do this in our next home

[Corey]

I still have 2 open/close sensors, a motion sensor, and two Hue bulbs that I need to find a use for yet as well. I'll probably put a open/close sensor on our shed after I fix it up.

[Tyler]

You keep your AC on 78?!

I knew you bought a lot for the house, but I had no idea you set all that up already. Do you ever find yourself using the physical switches on the wall? Do you have smart speakers all through the house so you never need to move or take out your phones?
What tablet do you have by the side door? Do you have the display always on and the tiles always up? You should get a Raspberry Pi, the official touch screen, and this wall mount

[Tyler]

Source of the post 2 open/close sensors,

Are they battery powered? How do you charge/what is the life?

Same question for the door video. How often will that need taken down and charged?

Source of the post two Hue bulbs that I need to find a use for yet as well

Do you think newbies should skip the Hues balls and just get smart switches to control existing bulbs? Do you have LED dumb bulbs in all sockets?

[bmyoungs]

Damn that's pretty sweet

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[ejhartman91]

Source of the post Z-Wave garage door controller

Where do I find one of these?

[ejhartman91]

My list pales in comparison to Corey's, but I'm planning on continuing to add to it as I go:

2 hue bulbs connected to hub (all the rest of my bulbs in my house are 'dumb' LEDs, so it's tough to justify replacing them with hue bulbs)
1 belkin we-mo smart "switch" (poorly named, it's actually just a 'plug-in' outlet that I can control power to)
1 google home
1 nest thermostat
1 nest cam

[Tyler]

What device does Belkin we-mo connect to?
Same question for you Ethan, why not just get smart switches to control the lights vs getting Hue bulbs? I would think it's cheaper and easier to just replace a switch vs multiple bulbs per switch.

[Corey]

Source of the post You keep your AC on 78?!

I knew you bought a lot for the house, but I had no idea you set all that up already. Do you ever find yourself using the physical switches on the wall? Do you have smart speakers all through the house so you never need to move or take out your phones?
What tablet do you have by the side door? Do you have the display always on and the tiles always up? You should get a Raspberry Pi, the official touch screen, and this wall mount

Heat is set to 70, it shows both heat and A/C on that tile.

We use the physical switches a lot still. We use the automation stuff to yell at google to turn on the downstairs lights so we don't need to turn on 3 banks of lights. It is nice to use ActionTiles to turn stuff off that you forgot to.

I use the tablet from my Vizio TV upstairs. The screen in always on and the app is always running.


I'll be getting a couple Nvidia Spots whenever those come out to have Google voice everywhere but we can 'Okay Google' our phones for now.

[Corey]

Source of the post

Source of the post Z-Wave garage door controller

Where do I find one of these?

I have https://www.amazon.com/GoControl-Linear ... controller

This works really well. Should work with almost any garage door opener as it just hooks into the spot that you connect a wired control.

[ejhartman91]

Source of the post What device does Belkin we-mo connect to?

We have a fake tree with lights connected to ours, and it is set to go on at sunset and turn off at 11pm every night. Also, it's connected to the nest cam so that when we are gone, if the cam detects motion it will randomly turn on and off to make it look like someone is home. The we-mo switch also works with Google Home.

Source of the post Same question for you Ethan, why not just get smart switches to control the lights vs getting Hue bulbs? I would think it's cheaper and easier to just replace a switch vs multiple bulbs per switch.

I can tell you that it's definitely not easier to replace a light switch than to replace a bulb. Replacing smart bulbs is as easy as replacing dumb bulbs (provided you already have a hub if needed - some smart lights don't require a hub). Switches require you replace the physical switch and do the wiring. All you have to do with a bulb is unscrew the old one, and screw in the new one.

I'm not as sure about the cost. You'd probably save money doing the switches, especially if you already have dimmable LED bulbs. I plan to investigate into the switches. Another advantage the bulbs have is some of them can do different colors.

[Corey]

Source of the post

Source of the post 2 open/close sensors,

Are they battery powered? How do you charge/what is the life?

Same question for the door video. How often will that need taken down and charged?

Source of the post two Hue bulbs that I need to find a use for yet as well

Do you think newbies should skip the Hues balls and just get smart switches to control existing bulbs? Do you have LED dumb bulbs in all sockets?

The open/close sensors and motion sensors use almost no power. All of them still show 100% battery life. Someone I know with the same ones has been using them for like a year and a half without changing the batteries.

I installed the doorbell two weeks ago with 72% battery and it is down to 52%. So at this rate it'd be every 10 weeks. It should last longer once I fix the angle on it because it is recording every garbage truck and school bus that goes by. I got a wedge kit that will angle it down between 5-15º so I can get the road off the video or at least more towards the top of the video where I can adjust it out of the motion sensor range. This is because my door is at the top of steps.

[Corey]

I'd go for switches if you are somewhere permanent (not renting) and have more than one light bulb to control in a particular spot. Our downstairs has 11 light bulbs so that'd be a fortune to replace those with smart bulbs. The spots we used them upstairs have 4-5 bulbs in each spot as well. The smart switches also don't care if you use the switch or automation or voice. With the bulbs, if some n00b comes over and turns off your light switch, your bulb doesn't work anymore.

With that said, the switches suck to wire up in 3-way situations. I followed instructions but there are like 10 ways a 3-way circuit could be wired so I ended up just randomly swapping wires around until it worked. The standalone switches are super easy. I did use a multi-meter to find the wire that connected to power and to the light fixture as the old switch didn't have it marked.

[ejhartman91]

Source of the post if some n00b comes over and turns off your light switch, your bulb doesn't work anymore.

This. Definitely this.

[Tyler]

Source of the post I use the tablet from my Vizio TV upstairs. The screen in always on and the app is always running.

That's a fancy stand!

Source of the post I can tell you that it's definitely not easier to replace a light switch than to replace a bulb.

It's by no means hard to swap out out a switch though, unless, like Corey said, it is a three way. I meant it is probably easier to connect 1 switch to your hub vs 5 smart bulbs.

Source of the post The we-mo switch also works with Google Home.

Gotcha, that is what I was wondering about. I wasn't sure if We-Mo needed a hub or if it just connected to a smart speaker.

Source of the post So at this rate it'd be every 10 weeks

That is kind of annoying, I would be interested to know what is changes to once you fix the angle.

Source of the post With that said, the switches suck to wire up in 3-way situations

Should have opened up the other 3 way switch and replicated that?

Source of the post It is nice to use ActionTiles to turn stuff off that you forgot to.

I don't have smart things and I never forget to turn off my physical switch...just sayin. Jocelyn though...
Plus put in LED bulbs and leave things on on 24/7. Who cares! 1/20th the power.

[Corey]

Source of the post Z-Wave garage door controller

Where do I find one of these?

The equivalent to mine is on sale

https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/280344