User Panel
Posted: 7/23/2014 1:10:08 PM EDT
I've looked at some home automation products and for the life of me I can't imagine the products being at all useful.
I have a security system, timer outside lights... I considered maybe putting something together so that when I walked around the house the music could follow me from room to room. It didn't seem worth the trouble. So what are some examples of home automation you find useful? |
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I've looked at some home automation products and for the life of me I can't imagine the products being at all useful. I have a security system, timer outside lights... I considered maybe putting something together so that when I walked around the house the music could follow me from room to room. It didn't seem worth the trouble. So what are some examples of home automation you find useful? View Quote My friend has a phone app that he can control his heating and air conditioning from. Saves him quite a bit in his big house on gas and electric. |
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I think it's just novelty for folks that want to live like the Jetsons
I can't imagine why you'd want to get an email from your refrigerator, or let a hacker unlock your front door |
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my door locks are synched with my alarm system. when I arm the system at night, my doors lock. if I forget to close my garage doors, I get a message. If I need to open a door for a service person I trust, I can do it remotely. when I come home late at night, I can have the hallway lights turn on when I unlock the door. I don't have to carry keys.
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I think the best use is flood/leak sensors for your hot water heater and other areas. Cost of water damage can exceed a burglary by an incredible amount. If you want to go all in, there is a shut-off for your main water supply. It's not a matter of if, just when you will have a serious leak for most homes.
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When you tie it in with video surveillance it has advantages for peace of mind.
I like the fact that when I travel I can press a button on my phone and it gives me a systems readout. I also like the fact that I can unlock doors for my parents when they drop in to check, or the fact that the cameras send me photo updates whenever motion is detected within a certain range. If someone were to rob my house I would know about it immediately and be able to call the police to intercept. |
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I think the best use is flood/leak sensors for your hot water heater and other areas. Cost of water damage can exceed a burglary by an incredible amount. If you want to go all in, there is a shut-off for your main water supply. It's not a matter of if, just when you will have a serious leak for most homes. View Quote My security system has those type of sensors as an option I'm probably going to pick up a couple in the next month or so. |
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Good. Most folks don't cover that very basic area. The sensors are inexpensive.
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I read about a fairly neat ( for some people ) use, someone had a sensor in their mailbox, it would send a test message when the mailbox was opened, or another message if the mailbox was opened and not closed due to a package.
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I read about a fairly neat ( for some people ) use, someone had a sensor in their mailbox, it would send a test message when the mailbox was opened, or another message if the mailbox was opened and not closed due to a package. Probably a federal crime. it actually probably is, if it's Federal property. If you own the mailbox then probably isn't |
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There was a story on the local news recently about some perps that were hacking into the brains of some smart homes in one particular subdivision where every home was wired for automation. Once they were in control of the system they waltzed in and cleaned out everything of value. I'm not convinced that technology is ready for prime time yet.
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it actually probably is, if it's Federal property. If you own the mailbox then probably isn't View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I read about a fairly neat ( for some people ) use, someone had a sensor in their mailbox, it would send a test message when the mailbox was opened, or another message if the mailbox was opened and not closed due to a package. Probably a federal crime. it actually probably is, if it's Federal property. If you own the mailbox then probably isn't you may own the mailbox outside but the government owns the space on the inside. FBHO |
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The benefit comes from the marketing potential of knowing everything you do.
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Set up one macro for a very successful single guy. Open property gate, drive up to house, fountain is on with colored lights, pathway is specifically lit to guide you(and your date/pickup) directly to the hot tub and pool and outdoor bar. Said it worked like a champ.
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My friend has a phone app that he can control his heating and air conditioning from. Saves him quite a bit in his big house on gas and electric. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I've looked at some home automation products and for the life of me I can't imagine the products being at all useful. I have a security system, timer outside lights... I considered maybe putting something together so that when I walked around the house the music could follow me from room to room. It didn't seem worth the trouble. So what are some examples of home automation you find useful? My friend has a phone app that he can control his heating and air conditioning from. Saves him quite a bit in his big house on gas and electric. What's the point with remotely controlling the temperature of your home? By definition you're not there. |
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Another favorite is sensing when you get close to home ( by reading the GPS on your phone ), then turning on exterior lights and porch lights. I was discussing this with a client, he told me that might be used to alert robbers he was coming home. Never argue with the deeply paranoid.
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If you are looking into cameras someone may have just listed some alarm.com wireless cameras in the EE in the audio video section........
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I dunno... but an old friend of mine makes a killing in that field.
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Love my system, with my i phone I can check/control my alarm, door locks, temperature, lights, and even smoke and CO detectors.
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You can get a Nest home thermostat which looks all Apple and bauhaus, then decides to run your AC and heat simultaneously for three weeks and run your energy bill into the thousands.
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Another favorite is sensing when you get close to home ( by reading the GPS on your phone ), then turning on exterior lights and porch lights. I was discussing this with a client, he told me that might be used to alert robbers he was coming home. Never argue with the deeply paranoid. View Quote Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean you're wrong. |
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Nest was easily hacked, and then began collecting data for google. Bad Nest.
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I have tested a few systems in my home (some were industrial from work). Most of it I have pulled out.
Having to wait for a tablet to connect and authenticate, wander across the house looking for that darn remote pad thingy, wanting to turn on something easily within reach but needing to use some gadget further away, someone who doesn't know how to use the system messing it up, and having to explain how to do every darn little thing until giving up and doing for the person makes me want to keep it simple and leave most of it out. Most of it ends up being a party trick and/or novelty though. Remote flood lights are great for coming home or activating from the night stand. Remote (or timed) indoor lights are nice for coming home late at night. Have dedicated remotes for certain spots (car, nightstand, back door.) Have lights that are ONLY used with the automation. Otherwise Grandma will click every light off upstream and you get to find this out when you need them. |
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What's the point with remotely controlling the temperature of your home? By definition you're not there. View Quote Yeah, it's worthless because you can't see a use for it. There is a lot of benefit to home automation for some people. Efficiency is the main thing. You have to be willing and able to adapt though. And if you're worried about getting hacked.... don't have wifi-enabled door locks Of course... I got into a relative's front door in under 20 seconds with a set of cheap lockpicks So maybe you guys should just lock yourselves in doorless basements just to be safe. |
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I have a very basic system.
A few automated lights that turn on when im (my phone) is in range. AC system controlled via phone (nest thermostat) Soon I will go keyless, Cant wait. I hate keys. As far as the question, "why would you want remote AC control" answer is this. Your laying in bed and your hot... grab phone and adjust temp. Watching Tv and its abit chilly, adjust temp. Its wonderful! |
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Yeah, I built in randoms for my paranoid friend. Don't know what his neighbors think.
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Nest was easily hacked, and then began collecting data for google. Bad Nest. View Quote Google owns Nest. Looks like they're buying DropCam now too. |
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Automated machine gun turrets seem quite useful to me. Anything from shooting some dinner to home security all in one convenient package.
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Home automation is actually home integration.
Security system, the contacts on doors and windowas are also used for automation tasks. When you change modes on the security system, it changes lights and HVAC settings, locks doors, closes the garage door, warns you if exterior doors or windows are still open. An alarm sends other signals Burglar alarm: all lights come on except for the Master Bedroom which go off if on, all fans in the house turn off, the driveway light blinks to attract police. Fire alarm: all lights come, all exhaust fans in the house turn on to remove smoke, HVAC goes off to prevent spread of smoke, the driveway light blinks to attract fire. Flooding alarm: secures master water valve and water heater power Freeze alarm: Secures master water valve and water heater power, increases HVAC heat setpoints IP cameras send e-mails with snaps when they detect motion in driveway, or in premises Security system sends e-mail/text messages for a variety of events. Open a closet door, the light goes on automatically, and off when the door closes. Walk in the laundry room with your hands full, the lights go on and turn off when you leave. The phone rings or someone rings the door bell and the volume on the sound system mutes. It starts raining and the sprinklers go off, they stay off for a number of days relative to the amount of rain received. Vehicle sensors give notice when a car enters driveway, brightens lights at night, send text message if you aren't home. Press one light switch and a bank of lights go on at various levels. Program reminders for filter replacements, HVAC, Water, refrigerator, and smoke detector battery. Operate Christmas lights on a schedule. The outlets are only hot during the period 1 Nov to 15 Jan, just hang the lights and plug them in. Cell Phone backup for the security system also operates as backup house phone. Lots of things can be integrated and interactive so one system affects another and the house oeprates holistically rather than a bunch of independent systems.. |
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What's the point with remotely controlling the temperature of your home? By definition you're not there. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I've looked at some home automation products and for the life of me I can't imagine the products being at all useful. I have a security system, timer outside lights... I considered maybe putting something together so that when I walked around the house the music could follow me from room to room. It didn't seem worth the trouble. So what are some examples of home automation you find useful? My friend has a phone app that he can control his heating and air conditioning from. Saves him quite a bit in his big house on gas and electric. What's the point with remotely controlling the temperature of your home? By definition you're not there. When I used to travel for work, about 1/2 the time I left for the airport I would forget to adjust the thermostat so for the week that I was gone I would be heating/cooling an empty house that expected me to be home at 5:00pm. With my iPhone app I can adjust my "arrive" home time and desired temperature so if I get stuck at work late I am not wasting electricity/gas. Or turn on the AC/Heat if I expect to be home early. Also my Honeywell thermostat will send me alerts via email if my thermostat does not check-in periodically or does not respond. That was great piece of mind for me when traveling. An alert saying "hey we cant talk to your thermostat" or "the temperature in your house is below your minimum temperature" would result in me calling a friend asking if they can swing by and check on the house to make sure no pipes had frozen and burst. [edit for spelling/grammer] |
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When we're on vacation i get a text when the cat sitter enters the house.
So I know she's coming over, and I have a log of what time. It also allows me to monitor the system to ensure it is rearmed after she leaves. There is only a certain window her code is active as well. |
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I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems.
Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. Sprinkler System- If it's raining it can turn off the sprinkler system. Solar Panel Monitoring- If your house is equipped with solar panels you can monitor their output. You can do anything you want really. Want the entry lights in the house to come on when the garage door opens? Want the garage door to close automatically when you leave the house and notify you if the door doesn't close? A coworker took one of our controllers and automated his house. He even put a valve on the shower line, so when his teenage kids took too long of a shower he could turn their water off. Crestron is a big home automation company. I'm too poor to use their stuff. I'm trying to get one of our controllers and do some of my own programming. If you just want to monitor your thermostat there are several wifi ones out now. I like the EcoBee thermostats. Nest just has good advertising. The Ecobee is way better than the Nest. For under $150 Honeywell has a wifi thermostat. |
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I have temperature sensors outside (with humidity) in each HVAC zone (with humidity), in the wine closet, in the attic and shop.
The HVAC system only comes on after comparing the inside to outside temperatures. If you open a window the HVAC system shuts off. Open a window when it's hot and the Whole House fan comes on. The WHF turns off if all windows are closed. I have a button in the Master Bath room. When pressed, it turns on the bath heater (if it's cold enough) turns on the exhaust fans and ramps the shower and main lights up from 0 to 100% over a period of 10 minutes so you aren't shocked by the sudden brightness. When you turn off the shower light the exhaust fan has a timer set that turns off after an hour. Turn off the master bath light and all lights, both closets, the shower, the main lights, the vanity and WC lights turn off. Turn off the Master Suite lights and all of the Master Bath lights AND the Master Suite lights turn off. Stair lights turn off after 10 minutes. Doorbell at night ramps the front porch lights up full. Open the front door at night and the foyer lights come on. Etc., etc. |
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I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems. Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. View Quote Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? |
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Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems. Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? Found Some Here You can put them on your washing machines and water heaters. I want to say though there is one made to go at the point where water enters the house. |
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Quoted: Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems. Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? Try here: |
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Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems. Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? WaterCop Elk Leviton/HAI I use the Watercop Valve. It's 110V, I have it plugged into a UPS for battery backup. The others are 12VDC and usually battery backed by the system itself. Water Cop will operate as a standalone with wireless transmitters. Mine is hard wirde through the security system. |
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I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems. Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? http://www.smarthome.com/_/index.aspx Specific Link Smart Home Water Valves |
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Automation means a robot or two to clean the house and chase the cats, cut the grass and do other landscaping work at the bare bones minimum. Painting inside and out should be included.
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Quoted: Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I work in commercial automation of HVAC systems. Door Locks - You can be notified when your kids get home from school with a text message and photo from security cam at front door. Thermostat- Change the thermostat setting anywhere you are with your phone. You could also do more monitoring with sensors on the fan, condensing unit, and measure supply temperature. If you see anything out of the ordinary you can investigate. Water Sensors- They detect major water leaks and shut off water to the house. Can you recommend an automated water shut-off that would be suitable for residential application? I have a WaterCop. It's a motor operated valve right after the main shutoff. It listens for a radio signal. There are water sensors throughout the house that will transmit the signal when they get wet. http://www.watercop.com/overview.aspx |
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Home automation is actually home integration. Security system, the contacts on doors and windowas are also used for automation tasks. When you change modes on the security system, it changes lights and HVAC settings, locks doors, closes the garage door, warns you if exterior doors or windows are still open. An alarm sends other signals Burglar alarm: all lights come on except for the Master Bedroom which go off if on, all fans in the house turn off, the driveway light blinks to attract police. Fire alarm: all lights come, all exhaust fans in the house turn on to remove smoke, HVAC goes off to prevent spread of smoke, the driveway light blinks to attract fire. Flooding alarm: secures master water valve and water heater power Freeze alarm: Secures master water valve and water heater power, increases HVAC heat setpoints IP cameras send e-mails with snaps when they detect motion in driveway, or in premises Security system sends e-mail/text messages for a variety of events. Open a closet door, the light goes on automatically, and off when the door closes. Walk in the laundry room with your hands full, the lights go on and turn off when you leave. The phone rings or someone rings the door bell and the volume on the sound system mutes. It starts raining and the sprinklers go off, they stay off for a number of days relative to the amount of rain received. Vehicle sensors give notice when a car enters driveway, brightens lights at night, send text message if you aren't home. Press one light switch and a bank of lights go on at various levels. Program reminders for filter replacements, HVAC, Water, refrigerator, and smoke detector battery. Operate Christmas lights on a schedule. The outlets are only hot during the period 1 Nov to 15 Jan, just hang the lights and plug them in. Cell Phone backup for the security system also operates as backup house phone. Lots of things can be integrated and interactive so one system affects another and the house oeprates holistically rather than a bunch of independent systems.. View Quote What protocol(s) do you use to connect all of the devices together? I looked at X-10, Z-Wave, Insteon and cant figure out which one would be best for me, If I were to just choose one. |
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What protocol(s) do you use to connect all of the devices together? I looked at X-10, Z-Wave, Insteon and cant figure out which one would be best for me, If I were to just choose one. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Home automation is actually home integration. Security system, the contacts on doors and windowas are also used for automation tasks. When you change modes on the security system, it changes lights and HVAC settings, locks doors, closes the garage door, warns you if exterior doors or windows are still open. An alarm sends other signals Burglar alarm: all lights come on except for the Master Bedroom which go off if on, all fans in the house turn off, the driveway light blinks to attract police. Fire alarm: all lights come, all exhaust fans in the house turn on to remove smoke, HVAC goes off to prevent spread of smoke, the driveway light blinks to attract fire. Flooding alarm: secures master water valve and water heater power Freeze alarm: Secures master water valve and water heater power, increases HVAC heat setpoints IP cameras send e-mails with snaps when they detect motion in driveway, or in premises Security system sends e-mail/text messages for a variety of events. Open a closet door, the light goes on automatically, and off when the door closes. Walk in the laundry room with your hands full, the lights go on and turn off when you leave. The phone rings or someone rings the door bell and the volume on the sound system mutes. It starts raining and the sprinklers go off, they stay off for a number of days relative to the amount of rain received. Vehicle sensors give notice when a car enters driveway, brightens lights at night, send text message if you aren't home. Press one light switch and a bank of lights go on at various levels. Program reminders for filter replacements, HVAC, Water, refrigerator, and smoke detector battery. Operate Christmas lights on a schedule. The outlets are only hot during the period 1 Nov to 15 Jan, just hang the lights and plug them in. Cell Phone backup for the security system also operates as backup house phone. Lots of things can be integrated and interactive so one system affects another and the house oeprates holistically rather than a bunch of independent systems.. What protocol(s) do you use to connect all of the devices together? I looked at X-10, Z-Wave, Insteon and cant figure out which one would be best for me, If I were to just choose one. I use an HAI/Leviton Omni Pro II controller/security panel I use the HAI RC thermostats (3) For lights I use UPB (approximately 70+ units) For locks I use Yale Zigbee. Distributed audio is the HAI HiFi2. Sprinklers are controlled by the Omni through a Rain8 UPB I have Vivotek and Brickcom IP cameras, and a Thecus NAS and 24 port POE gigabit switch. I use a few HAI wireless sensors but I prefer to use wired where I can. I use the Haiku IOS app and HAI 5.7e touchscreens Most of the programming is in the Omni itself which is very stable. It has UPB and zigbee interfaces, and a serial email board I like UPB for lighting because the switches operate independently of a master controller, which takes processing off the controller. But they are also interactive with the Omni which can send and receive UPB commands. |
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