Home Automation

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

I would say wait 5 years, then someone will tackle this. My guess is it will be Google.

Google is everyone's personal business.
They are not welcome in my home.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

Patience is required. We are just on the cusp of the smart phone taking over our world - even more than it already has. iOS & Android apps along with compatible hardware will make home control systems à la Crestron et al vastly overpriced & obsolete.

Ian

I agree. Full smartphone home automation is probably 1-2 years away and current all-inclusive systems are big $$$.

Stuff I like now that is simple yet effective:

-Smart T-stats to control HVAC are cheap and work very well.
-Motion sensor lighting for both indoor/outdoor.
-Wifi based security cams that will text you a photo of an event based on your schedule or awareness settings. Great for home-away security.
-Irrigation automation complete with rain and soil moisture sensors.

All this stuff is available now and can be DIY set up starting around $500. I sorta like automation that takes care of things so I don't have to continually input commands.

[Nickshu]

The good news is these systems will most likely be all WiFi based, so installation should be easy, as in not running wires, etc thru your home.

[petrolhead611]

I use Foscam cameras; simple to set up and inexpensive.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Nickshu

The good news is these systems will most likely be all WiFi based, so installation should be easy, as in not running wires, etc thru your home.

There is no likely about it. IP addressable is the route. Why anybody will need a controllable toaster or blender is beyond my comprehension but they are coming. Ditto every other convenience product you own or will own.

And future products will be able to access your network via hardwire, wireless or power lines & they will choose the best route automatically on the fly to eliminate any interruption.

Ian

[GH85Carrera]

Three years or so ago I had an alarm system installed by Alarm.com people. It was over a grand and that was mostly for two video cameras installed via Cat-10 cables to the cameras. I can turn my alarm on of off and monitor the cameras anytime. The camera are strictly outside. I will never have a camera inside my house watching my activities no matter how secure it is claimed to be.

The outside cameras are color but I would call them color-infrared. Trees and grass are red and they have great B&W night vision. They are handy when visitors are coming over. I can can see when someone has arrived. My driveway is on the side of my house as is the garage.

My biggest complaint is the video is not HD and it is one frame every .5 seconds so it is jerky and not real sharp. It is nice to be able to turn the system on or off from my phone or monitor it from anywhere.

I installed my sprinkler system 18 years ago. It is not a "smart" system but fully programmable. I can set the zone to run any length of time & it has four different programs that I can run. It has a rain & freeze sensor as well.

I don't see the need for a internet based thermostat. My thermostat has a program to fit our schedules. I just don't see the need to put it on the net. That goes for any appliance I have.

[lane912]

I designed a lighting system recently that has a photo sensor in each entry switch allowing you to sample light levels in each zone and adjust lighting levels according to exterior light conditions. have been talking to the manufacturer to take it a steep further and incorporate a color temp sensor too as the fixtures that I like to use can adjust color temp from 2000k-8650k.
the color of light changes through out the day and from day to day, this would make illuminated spaces seamless to outdoor natural light.
the systems are not cheep at this level-

[stealthn]

Funny, I'm replacing the brains of our home system now. It lasted 14 years and was cutting edge in it's day, actually still is (I love the slow comments here)

I started looking at home automation as a spin off company to mine years ago so dove into it head on. My system controls alarm, lights dimmers and timers, HVAC, and has x10. I can call in and turn up the heat, lights on, etc. two touch pads, motion, glass break, fob access, doors, blah, blah. I smartly bought extra dimmer packs and two extra control units when I knew the industry was struggling a few years back.

I just hooked up LED lighting in a up lighting Cornise in the basement last summer when we built in our basement, very hard to dim led strips that span 18 yards each, but it worked.

Overall really pleased with the system I have video but it's wireless and not connected. About 10 more years and Google or Apple may have figured it out.


Bob

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I will never have a camera inside my house watching my activities no matter how secure it is claimed to be.

There's already one there, on your smartphone. And probably on your laptop.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Gogar

There's already one there, on your smartphone. And probably on your laptop.

I don't own a laptop. I do have a iPhone and an iPad. They are turned off and face down every evening at bed time. There should be no video of our little Red Riding Hood or Alice in Wonderland antics. We never bring electronics in the dungeon!

[Deschodt]

Not a one size fits all answer to your question, but if you are looking for a cheap solution that works, a few items have done most of that for me...

Motion sensor lamps on timers exist that aren't connected to a system and cheap.
Nest for home thermostat - not cheap but really slick.
Regular IP cameras with motion sensing and cell-texting alert exist, also cheap.
Simply safe alarm for the rest: also cheap - get the most basic set and add whatever motion detector modules you need, and the water leaks modules as well and place them near your water tank or wherever it makes sense. The base station will also text you or call you ($350 or so for me but that included door sensors too).... IMO all that while not integrated under one umbrella is doable for cheap.

But each has a monthly fee if you want it to text you, in that sense an integrated solution might work out cheaper long term. Subscribed.

[bivenator]

My wife and kids have an automated system. ME. They rely on me to turn out the lights for them when leaving a room, turn down the A/C on request and reheat dinner. They live like the Jetsons.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by bivenator

My wife and kids have an automated system. ME. They rely on me to turn out the lights for them when leaving a room, turn down the A/C on request and reheat dinner. They live like the Jetsons.

Clearly they aren't paying for the monitoring monthly contract that limits complaining about it on forum boards ;-) Shut up and do your job ;-) Funny !! I'm there too...

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by bivenator

My wife and kids have an automated system. ME. They rely on me to turn out the lights for them when leaving a room, turn down the A/C on request and reheat dinner. They live like the Jetsons.

And the best part the "LET" you pay for the utilities and the service.

[jyl]

Just chiming back in with some opinions/info gathered after a bit of looking.

Starting later this year, Google and Apple will fight a war for your home.

Google's interest in the home is obvious. They paid $3.2BN for Nest (smart thermostat/smoke detector), $0.6BN for Dropcam (smart surveillance camera), some unknown sum for Revolv (hub to connect/manage home devices), and the companies who have signed up for the "Works With Nest" program. They also have Chromecast (sort of a lightweight Roku). Nest's CEO is one of only a handful of direct reports to Google's CEO.

Apple's CEO has said their next opportunities are health, car, home. Health is HealthKit, Apple Watch, iPhone apps. Car is Apple CarPlay, already showing up in some cars. Home is Homekit, dozens of companies that will make their products HomeKit-compatible/certified, and Apple TV. A new Apple TV is rumored to be coming this summer. HomeKit-compatible products will work with Apple TV in some undisclosed manner. It isn't confirmed that Apple TV will act as a home automation hub, but it will have an A8 processor, Wifi, Bluetooth, SDK and an App Store so it obviously could.

Google/Nest has gathered an industry group to popularize a new wireless communication protocol for home automation, called Thread (kind of a Zigbee derivative, and already used by Nest). Apple is using WiFi and Bluetooth, which are already pervasive. This seems like a VHS vs Betamax or Android vs iOS contest developing.

[jyl]

Well, I see why home automation hasn't gone anywhere, in a mass market sense. The systems are crap, from an ease of setup point of view.

I'm trying to setup an Insteon hub and IP camera. The hub was easy enough. The camera is a royal pain. The iPhone app that you are supposed to use to set it up can only handle a few things. For the rest you have to install and figure out a PC/Mac application that looks like it was developed in 1995. Then you need to log into your router and open ports. Who is really going to get down in the weeds with static IP, MAC, subnet, TCP UDP, and equally poorly written management software from Cisco and Comcast? Not enough people to make this a real market.

The new companies have figured out how to skip all that crap. The Nest thermostat takes five minutes to setup and all you need to know is the name and password for your wireless network. Dropcam doesn't need port forwarding. Etc. With new and smarter companies like this, I can see the market going somewhere.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by jyl

Well, I see why home automation hasn't gone anywhere, in a mass market sense. The systems are crap, from an ease of setup point of view.

Just like live streaming video via the internet... the tech has been able to do it for years but everyone controlling content wants a slice of the pie and holding up the show.

And speaking of cameras in the home, just logged onto yours jyl... love the Lion King PJ's!

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by chocolatelab

They have a pretty slick system at Lowes. Name escapes me.

Covers all the basics.

if i hadn't already gone with the nest I would look hard at that system.

Shop Iris Comfort and Control Kit at Lowes.com

[imcarthur]

You have summed it up well. We have seen it happen in the audio video side of the Consumer Electronics business over the last 10 years. We are rapidly moving from a standard handheld remote (or a spendy Crestron keypad) to an App on your phone or tablet which offers better control and far better content if necessary or desirable. Consumers will naturally gravitate to an inexpensive & easy diy plug and play solution so this is where real success will be found. As to format wars, iOS compatible products have been typically leading the charge with Android bringing up the rear so advantage is to Apple at this stage.

Ian

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

You have summed it up well. We have seen it happen in the audio video side of the Consumer Electronics business over the last 10 years. We are rapidly moving from a standard handheld remote (or a spendy Crestron keypad) to an App on your phone or tablet which offers better control and far better content if necessary or desirable. Consumers will naturally gravitate to an inexpensive & easy diy plug and play solution so this is where real success will be found. As to format wars, iOS compatible products have been typically leading the charge with Android bringing up the rear so advantage is to Apple at this stage.

Ian

My Crestron dealer has been trying to get me to upgrade my panels to using "Ipads" but I just can't get used to the idea. I don't like walking around looking for an Ipad when I just have my panels in wall-docks around the house.

Probably just something I'll have to get used to in the future.