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I guess I should put this in here? Anyone have solid experience with the new breed of smart thermostats? I'm on chilled water for air conditioning but electric heat and get murdered in winter on heating and it's supposed to be a colder than normal winter so I'm trying to avoid another $300 electric bill for my 1,000 sqft place. I think a smart thermostat would do a ton to bring that cost down, I just want my house warm is when I get home from work and wake up in the morning, but when I am asleep or at work as long as the pups don't freeze bring on the savings. I was going to go for the Nest but the Honeywell Lyric looks interesting from a product standpoint, especially with sensing presence by phone instead of motion which would be less than ideal as my thermostat is in the dining room area facing a wall of windows. I have also been looking at slowly doing some lighting automation and it looks like the Honeywell line in general is much more friendly towards third party support but really my goal is to get my heating costs under control going into winter and the less I have to program or think about that the better so it leans me towards the Lyric and Nest which seem less third-party friendly but more automated on their own. Oh, I might as well throw this in here too, for home automation I am really looking at the Wink hub, the forthcoming Wink Relay in particular, it looks to be a very solid offering that would let me slowly put more pieces in place and it looks like the system is much more friendly towards the non-Lyric Honeywell thermostats but I am completely open to other hubs. The thermostat is the pressing matter as we get ever closer to turning on the heat but I want to start buying things that will eventually play nicely together. Three Olives fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Nov 2, 2014 |
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Nov 2, 2014 20:18
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Dbhjed posted:At least Samsung didn't kill SmartThings when they bought them out like nest did revolv. I have a smartthings and love it. Always adding new things and they have a great community. The only thing missing IMO is Nest integration ironically Google has been talking about their grandiose internet of things open home automation system forever though, it makes sense that they would want the engineers to work on their thing and not attempt to entrench the kind of central hub somewhat proprietary system that they have been saying is dumb and wrong.
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Nov 6, 2014 01:44
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So as of today Nest is completely integrated into Google Now and it is completely awesome. The only reason I was considering the Honeywell Lyric over the Nest was geofences, Google Now is 1000% better: So Google Now already knows when you leave work and what the traffic is like so now that is tied into Nest so it figures out when you are leaving work and how long it will take you to get home and pre-heats or cools your house to be ready when you get home. 
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Dec 16, 2014 04:17
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I really, really want a smart lock because I hate carrying keys but I can't find a single one that supports mortise locks.
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Dec 16, 2014 19:32
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SLOSifl posted:I sometimes wear an Android watch and this makes it super convenient. Sadly Nest control doesn't work with Android Wear. I really don't understand any of the rhyme or reason why they choose what subset of Google Now works with Wear.
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Dec 17, 2014 02:03
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SLOSifl posted:Well poo poo. The odd thing is, and don't judge me but I use a Chromebook. My work is on Google Apps, my personal stuff is on Drive/Gmail/Chrome, I like having a cheap laptop that I just don't give a poo poo about. Anyways, it's totally integrated into Google Now everywhere including the Chromebook but not Wear, stupid.
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Dec 17, 2014 04:06
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So after thinking about it for years I decided to start automating my house so I purchased two Wink relays because it looks like they work well with Amazon, Nest, ITTT, Harmony and have added support for Fitbit and Uber. It looks like a great product. Plus for $75 each it also works as a smart switch so you are basically only paying $45 over a name brand ZWave switch anyways. However I can't find any recent reviews, especially after expanded device support, does anyone have any experience with the Wink Relay? Sidenote, looking into automation I see so much information on smart bulbs and almost none on switches, is there something that I am missing on why people are spending $15 on a smart bulb instead for $30 on a switch? I mean first of all it seems like it would be massively confusing and awkward to control the switch and bulb independently and a dimmable LED light costs like $3 now and most light switches I have seen in houses control multiple bulbs. Also can anyone recommend a quality source for cheap z-wave dimmers? I'm a cheap bitch, $30-$60 seems a tad excessive for what seems like commodity hardware at this point, $15-$20 seems more appropriate. Three Olives fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Jul 17, 2016 |
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Jul 16, 2016 20:26
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Have neutral wires in everything so good there, my house and needs are simple, 1,000 sqft and a highrise condo so I don't really need to tie into anything external. Right now my situation is Fire TV in the bedroom that I use a Moto E as a remote for (Also tied into my bedroom stereo and use as my alarm clock so I have Alexa support there. Living room has a Fire TV with voice remote for Alexa, Chromecast, TiVo and Harmony Ultimate hub, Nest Thermostat. I want to put in a smart door lock but I have a mortise lock and basically no one supports those but I am sure at some point they will. I am planning on putting automated blinds in but it's not a huge priority, maybe in the next year or two. What I am going for is I have loving light switches and dimmers everywhere, I can only assume a cokehead architect was involved in my place in the 80s because I have 8 dimmers including one in the bathroom for some reason on top of the backlit mirror on it's own light switch and 8 light switches not including closets. The same cokehead architect also converted the more traditional floor plan by removing a closet and foyer to the living and dining room which means if I want to have lighting in my open plan living space I have 9 light switches/dimmers. Not kidding, 9 freaking light switches when I want even lighting in my living room. So basically my primary goal is 1 button to turn all of the 16 light switches that might be on in my house at any given time off, one button to have even, bright lighting in my house come this fall when it gets dark at 6PM,one button for dim light and one for movie lighting, anything else is a bonus. So that's my primary goal which the Wink Relay seems perfectly suited for, then if I can tie in my other devices that is a bonus, I would love tie in the other devices so I can tell Alexa in my bedroom to turn all the lights off in my house at bedtime or come home and have my TVs playing Chromecast screensavers and have all the lights on
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Jul 17, 2016 20:46
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 So far Relay has been disappointing, it was a bitch and a half getting it installed because it had push in wire connectors on it's wires which refused to securely connect to my 12 gage wiring to be shoved back in the box, had to cut them off and use wire nuts. Now that it is installed the screen quality is, disappointing as well as it's IFTT support which turns out to be completely limited to triggering one IF to each physical button and exclusively, no widget or activity support. Uber app is useless, it keeps saying it wants me to input my home address into the Uber App even though it has been in there for years. Oh and inexplicably the Relay does not dim bulbs so now I actually have to buy smart bulbs. UGH! Other than that not a horrible device but it turns out it is not going to be a device to ease into home automation, I'm going to have to drop another $400 to make it functional and really another $150 to add 2 more Relays because if I am already $550 in I might as well put in the other $150 to get all the functionality that I want.
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Jul 22, 2016 05:55
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sellouts posted:Why are you calling an uber from your wall or am I misunderstanding something Well it's still kind of broken but will apparently be fixed in a shortcoming update but next to all the scene controls there is a button that will automatically all an Uber to your house. I mean it's not something I made a buying decision on but it's a neat feature if only because it will auto update arrival time on the display automatically if you have called an Uber from your phone. I'm not a big computer person, honestly my primary computer is a Chromebook and I like it that way so I went with a independant hub based home automation system. So right now I have one touch screen in the wall at my front door that can control all my smart home devices besides my TV which I use a Harmony for. It takes over control of my Next so I can hit "Away" on the touch screen and it will turn all my devices off (And eventually close the blinds if I want to invest that much) and set my Nest to auto away. Still messing with it but it has location sensing with my phone so I can say set it to turn all my lights on to dim when I arrive home after 1AM or full bright if I arrive home before dark, etc.
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Aug 4, 2016 19:18
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This conversation is 100% the reason why I went with Wink Relays and smart dimmers instead of an Insteon system and/or smart bulbs. When I have house guests over I want them to be able to work my lights without downloading an app or rebooting my computer because it locked up or figuring out why a loving light switch doesn't work. Come into my home and there is a screen with two buttons that will operate the lights that you expect them to work and giant buttons show up saying All Lights On, All Lights Off, Dim, I'm sure even my dumbest friend can come to my place drunk at 2 AM and figure out how to work my lights.
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Aug 12, 2016 03:11
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So I'm now $550~ in including 2 Wink Relays, 1 Wink Hub, 5 smart lightbulbs, 1 installed dimmer, 1 installed 3 way switch soon to become a dimmer since I was a dumbass and accidently ordered a three way switch instead of a 3 way dimmer, and 2 yet to be installed dimmers. I consider myself about halfway through this project which has been both the most aggravating and most satisfying project of my life. There is no simple smart home system, you want to kill yourself installing all of this poo poo and getting it to properly work together, setting up levels, lighting schemes, etc. But now that I have this controlling almost all of the lights in my main living areas it's amazing, all the switches I have had to use to get my lighting right are almost all automated now.
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Aug 16, 2016 03:20
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sellouts posted:poo poo man, I love this stuff too but most satistfying project of your life? Hopefully I over-exaggerated a bit about the most satisfying project but I'm in a bit of a unique situation, my home was converted from a traditional floorplan with a foyer, dining room, storage/utility hall to an open floor plan which means if I want to have the lights on in my living area I have 6 light switches. I don't mean all the lights in my house, I mean if I want to sit on my sofa and have even lighting in the room there are 6 light switches. Which are all on dimmers. And I am not including the kitchen which I probably want the lights on in when I come home and a short hall connecting my bedroom to my bathroom, so really, ideally, when I come home I want 9 light switches on. As far as annoyances in my life, and I know it's small in the grand scheme of things but just leaving the house, coming home, adjusting the lights for TV and going to bed, dealing with 9 god drat light switches every time is such a beating. Now I come home and hit one button and all the lights in my house are exactly how I want them, another button and everything is perfectly set up for TV, go to bed and one button turns every light off instead of having to turn anywhere between 9 and 14 lights off just makes such an improvement for just being at home.
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Aug 16, 2016 17:47
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chupacabraTERROR posted:I have considered simply using a homekit-enabled outlet plug to give it power remotely, but that would not actually turn the kettle on. Anyone have any ideas? That is a 1,500 watt kettle while almost all smart outlet plugs are rated below 600 Watts so be glad it won't work because otherwise your day might start with your home being on fire.
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Sep 12, 2016 19:45
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Keystoned posted:So if all I want to do is use an echo to turn on and off lights what is the easiest / cheapest method? At this point I dont care about colors or dimming or any fanciness. I just want to be able to tell alexa to turn off my kids lights when they forget to turn them off like always. How many lights? A smart bulb costs $15 each, a smart switch costs $35. Yes you need a hub but if you are like most people once you start automating a couple of lights you will love how well it works so much that you will want to add more eventually so you are really, really better off just dropping the $65 on a Wink hub now and be ready for any devices or more sophisticated automation you want to do than start from scratch and re-pair everything later.
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Sep 17, 2016 01:03
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Kalman posted:Or get a switch guard and a Hue wall switch and then it isn't an issue. This is dumb, how would this seem like a desirably situation to anyone sane? It costs $10 less than a Z-Wave wall switch and that doesn't even include the cost of the Hue hub. Buy a Wink hub and some z-wave wall switches.
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Sep 17, 2016 03:11
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Frank Dillinger posted:But if a room is lit by multiple bulbs, you can just add more bulbs and group them together as a "room" in the hue or home app. Unless you're using track lights or bulbs that aren't regular lights, then maybe you should consider smart switches instead. A room lit by less than 2 bulbs? We obvious in stupid early adoption phase of smart homes but come on, light switches should act as light switches, if you have to explain to someone how your loving light switch works in your home you have done something terribly wrong. I don't care if you have taped another one next to a guard, you screwed something up.
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Sep 17, 2016 08:40
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sellouts posted:I'm in agreement with you but weren't you also upset that you couldn't order uber from your wall switch? That's an equally silly use case to others. Upset? I thought my clear overarching argument was when you are getting into such intimate technology as a light switch it should just loving work. I'm not upset that I can't order an Uber from my light switch but if you are going to put a Uber button on my light switch it better drat work. We accept that "technology" doesn't work sometimes, I think almost all of us are fine with that, the issue is a light switch is not "technology", it should work as a light switch always. If you want to tack some additional functionality onto it great but that technology should work at the level of a light switch because it is a light switch. Do it right or don't bother doing it
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Sep 17, 2016 23:45
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durk onion posted:I have a switched outlet in my living room which turns on a lamp. On the other side of my living room I have a couple more lamps that I'd like to turn on with the same switch. Is there some sort of extender thing that I can plug into the switched outlet and whatever other outlet I want to control? Basically a comercialized version of this. You need a smart hub, then have the hub monitor the state of the smart switch and have it trigger the smart outlet based on the state of the smart switch. Three Olives fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Sep 20, 2016 |
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Sep 20, 2016 01:22
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HEY NONG MAN posted:I'm (re: my general contractor is) hardwiring my smoke detectors into my panel because my house is torn up right now anyway. I also have a wired security system with a basic Ademco panel. If I wanted to tie my wired smoke detectors into the security system, is that a huge undertaking or should I pay an electrician to do it? There are hardwired smoke detectors that don't have a alarm trigger, there are hardwired alarm systems that use standardized mesh wireless for connection, there are hardwired that use wifi for connection, there are completely proprietary ones. The simple answer is if you don't want to do some basic research on how your alarm sensor(s) are triggered hire someone, none of us know how your system is wired nor what detectors your contractor is planning on installing.
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Sep 28, 2016 03:22
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McPhearson posted:I want to get a few Z-Wave light switches but I think I may have a snag. I opened up my existing light switches to make sure I have a neutral wire in there (and I do!) but there was no ground; The switches just have a load and line connected, and there's a bundle of neutral in the back of the box. Is having a proper ground an absolute necessity for these to work or can I get away without it? They will still work without ground but if you have a metal box the ground might be a screw into the box.
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Nov 11, 2016 21:56
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Kalenden posted:What do people think of Control4 here? It's been pitched to me as the most mature and stable system of them all. Depends on what you mean by mature and stable? Control4 straddles the line between the ultra high-end, like AMX and Crestron where it is the least mature and stable but by far the most affordable and the nascent do it yourself, build as you go along home automation system. Yes, if you can and want to lay out the coin for a perfect home automation system Control4 is an excellent option that can be much, much more affordable than AMX and Crestron but it's an all or nothing proposition, there is no "starter" Control4 system, you have to go through a dealer and have it professionally installed and programed. My 5-10 year plan is to do a gut remodel of my home and I will probably put a Control4 system in but Control4 is a high 4 low 5 digit rip open the walls, run HDMI, put in an equipment rack project, not a slow do it yourself project.
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Nov 13, 2016 23:45
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Lawen posted:Nah, same power connectors as a dumb thermostat, they use wifi/mesh networking for the "smart" features. Some are still incompatible, https://nest.com/widget/compatibility/ will tell you if your system is compatible or not.
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Nov 14, 2016 20:16
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RevKrule posted:I'm disappointed I can't get a smart lock or a smart thermometer but there's enough out there in other forms to still make it worthwhile. Wait, why not? Generally speaking you are allowed to improve your apartment, the only stipulation that might be there is the landlord makes you leave it when you go. And they make smart locks that control a regular deadbolt and temporarily mount entirely inside. That is unless you are like me and have a mortise lock which are popular on high end properties so I don't know why they don't sell a smart lock adapter for them yet. I could find one on the entire internet but it looks like it never made it into production.
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Nov 16, 2016 21:14
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housefly posted:Also the place is really old so the wiring likely doesn't have a neutral. Not sure how important that really is. It's essential, without a neutral there is no way to power the switch when the lights are off since it is a closed loop meaning if the switch has power the light has to be on.
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Nov 16, 2016 23:10
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If you want to feel better about not being a billionaire Zuckerberg spent the past year developing a voice activated home automation system and it's apparently a piece of poo poo that does less than Alexa or Google Home. https://www.fastcompany.com/3066478/mind-and-machine/mark-zuckerberg-jarvis Scrapez posted:I'm trying to determine the best way to control all of my A/V devices which are a mixture of IR, RF and WIFI controlled. They also reside in different locations. Here's my setup: Harmony Hub with the Simple Remote solves all of your problems including using an Echo and controlling devices over IR both inside and outside of the cabinet. Three Olives fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Dec 19, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2016 21:19
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Scrapez posted:Well, Amazon has the Logitech Harmony Ultimate on sale for $170 today so I bit the bullet and went that route: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...d=ATVPDKIKX0DER Buy the Simple Remote Trust me. I get it, it's not as cool, it doesn't have an LCD, LCD remotes were the future promised to us. Buy the Simple Remote. You can even use it as an add on to the LCD remote, they will both work at the same time but I can almost promise you that the Simple Remote will be used more if not almost exclusively because it is a less cool looking but much better designed remote for 99% of use. Battery lasts forever, doesn't have to be recharged, better key layout, more intuitive function switching. Unless you are trying to control more than 6 activities and strangers need to be able to control more than 3 of them the Simple Remote,it is honestly such a better remote.
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Dec 20, 2016 03:28
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Scrapez posted:I've read that elsewhere. Is this the one you mean? Yes, buy this right now.
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Dec 20, 2016 04:26
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TraderStav posted:I have the regular harmony hub with that remote. My kids keep beating the poo poo out of mine and it's acting up. Can I replace it with this? Says ultimate hub only but wasn't sure if it's the branding and it's keeping people away who don't own any hub. Pretty sure it is any any Hub, however you can only pair one simple remote which makes no sense to me but that is how it is apparently. So basically you can have a screen remote and a simple remote both connected but that's it total, no two screens, no two simple, one of each.
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Dec 20, 2016 04:59
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Unless you rent or don't have a neutral do not buy smart bulbs. Put in smart switches, trust me, it's so much more worth the effort. I do not understand why smart bulbs are so much more popular that smart switches, trying to automate your home with a light switch that doesn't work is the stupidest thing I can imagine in home automation.
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Dec 23, 2016 05:15
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EugeneJ posted:Don't you need smart bulbs to do the changing-color and dimming? Dimming no, color changing? I mean really, do you need color changing? If that is important to you your automatic hub will handle the smart bulbs in conjunction with your smart switches But think long and hard on what your use case of color changing bulbs is because you almost certainly will be better off putting the switches in and then upgrading to color changing bulbs later on if budget is an issue and you must have them.
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Dec 23, 2016 05:35
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Dbhjed posted:In the rooms that I have the bulbs, I bought the Hue Tap or Hue Dimmer and put it right next to the light switch for people that don't have the app (also my automation takes care of A LOT if the light turning off and on) it has been years since I've touch a switch This is why people hate technology, a light switch is a light switch, it is one of the most fundamental understandings of modern technology. Don't gently caress up a light switch unless you have a very good reason to and adding a secondary light switch to the setup fucks things up. My home is very automated but my rule is if I have to explain to my mother how my loving light switches work I haven't improved anything.
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Dec 23, 2016 05:46
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smoobles posted:Can anyone recommend a smart z wave switch that doesn't require a neutral? I don't think such a thing exists, how would the switch be powered when the light switch is off without a neutral?
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Jan 2, 2017 22:56
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emocrat posted:Can anyone here point me to a comprehensive breakdown of major smart home ecosystems? I would like to get some basic stuff set up, but I am having a hard time figuring out what system to buy into. The cost of these things isn't trivial when you look at the number of outlets, switches and single purpose devices in a decent sized home and I am worried about sinking too much money into it and finding out its a dead end standard or whatnot. Wink sells inexpensive inwall touch screens with two assignable physical buttons and then giant touchscreen buttons for all of your scenes along with individual device status and control. It's kind of funny how I can control my Nest with the touch screen located directly below it in near instantly.
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Jan 7, 2017 04:06
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smackfu posted:Or is that style so out of date that everything uses the big rockers? Decora was like the highest end light switch/outlets you could buy in the I dunno, early 80s maybe? It was considered very high-end and fashionable and expensive. It's still slightly more expensive than the standard light switches but it used to be much more. At a certain point it just became the standard for a high-end home, especially after the design patents expired. The funny thing is it is slightly more expensive these days but one way you can tell if someone really cut corners on a house for perception is look at the light switches and the outlets, often the outlets will be the standard style but the light switches are the Decora style. They do this to save like, I dunno, $100, maybe a couple of hundred tops on a house.
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Jan 7, 2017 23:53
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Thermopyle posted:Why prefer smart bulbs over smart switches or vice versa? Some people are strange people but if you have a neutral wire and don't have some dracula landlord and plan to leave soon smart switches are the only way to go. They are cheaper, you can still put in smart bulbs if you have a burning desire to turn your lights orange for some reason and they are tons easier to use. If you don't fall into the moving soon or no neutral absolutely do no buy smart bulbs, they are less reliable, harder to use and more expensive.
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Jan 14, 2017 03:30
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Thermopyle posted:Am I alone in thinking these smart switches, receptacles, light bulbs are just too expensive? Lightbulbs, yes, the Hue color changing light bulbs in my opinion are horrendously overpriced as far as the utility goes. The dimmers? I dunno, a Leviton dimmer will set you back $20 and for the utility it seems very worth it to me. My house is plugged into in-wall touch screens, Google Home and my smartphone, don't underestimate how nice it is to come home and hit one button and all the lights in your house turn off or go to bed and say "Hey Google, turn my house off" and have all the lights in your house turn off only to wake you in the morning automatically.
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Feb 3, 2017 02:51
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WithoutTheFezOn posted:Am I missing something or are you guys using like Xmas sale/eBay/guy in a van prices? Both of these prices seem to be below half of their everyday price. I mean a Z-Wave dimmer will cost you $40-$50 but what the hell is $20-$30 on a long term investment in your house? I haven't done a complete breakdown but I know I have spent less making my house smart on everything from a Nest Protect to light switches, touch screens, Google Homes and Google Audios than I have on bar tabs. Like a lot less but I'm also kind of a lush. But honestly I'm under $1,500. My project will be complete with another <$200 in light switches to control little used lights and the only reason I haven't finished yet is Z-Wave light switches are kind of a pain in the rear end to install in my small gang boxes.
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Feb 3, 2017 04:27
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Thermopyle posted:Yes, I understand its worth it to us. I asked about whether the market will expand beyond those like us at the current prices. I don't think so. I guess I have to question the "like us" part. Who are you defining as "like us"? AMX, Crestron and Control4 have made quite a business automating homes for years for rich and often not particularly tech savvy people. I'm tech savvy and an early adopter but hardly a nerd, my primary computer is a Chromebook. I've invested under $2k in my home automation system which I get is a not insignificant amount of money but it is also isn't a hardship for a middle class person, especially as it was spent a few hundred dollars at a time. Home automation is a critical mass problem, you don't know how much better it will make your life until you really see how it works and I mean really works in a real home. I woke up this morning and said "Hey Google, All On" and all my lights turned on after I slept in, then I said "Hey Google, Play Pandora on Home Speakers" and my favorite songs started playing all throughout my house. That is the future of living that has been promised to us for literally decades and it is every bit as glorious as imagined for the price of a sofa.
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Feb 4, 2017 22:33
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https://www.brilliant.tech/ This looks pretty drat cool, starts at $199, HD color touch screen, video intercom, Alexa built in, supports Sonos, SmartThings and Wink If the reviews of this turn out well I think I'm going to replace my Wink Relays with this.
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Feb 8, 2017 18:28
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