You can get a Realtor lock box for about $12 online or $30 at your local home depot.

1/30/2014 11:09:40 AM

I can appreciate home automation (I had an x10 system even back in my college apartment rental days), and I can appreciate energy conservation that comes with true "learning" devices like Nest. However, I do NOT want any of my switches and appliances connected to the Internet, or even local WiFi network. And I certainly don't want my locks to be RF or WIFi controlled, or have any other type of non-biometric or non pin-based electronic interface, unless I am also OK with leaving my door completely unlocked (which is still the case in some areas of NC). One thing is having a tech-savy neighbourhood prankster switching your lights on and off as a joke, and another one is having someone in Macedonia unlock your doors for a local thief and disable your alarm for $10 payment in bitcoins.

http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2013/12/10/t-hackers-unlock-door.cnnmoney/index.html

[Edited on January 30, 2014 at 2:34 PM. Reason : .]

1/30/2014 2:33:36 PM

Installed the MyQ control panel and internet gateway so I can open and close my garage from my phone now. Super easy install and it works great. I am definitely interested in getting some of their light controls now.

2/8/2014 3:10:55 PM

Anyone using Philips Hue? I just bought the starter kit from Amazon, waiting for UPS to make it through the snow to deliver.

2/14/2014 12:06:27 PM

uh oh....light show at the brick house!

2/14/2014 2:22:17 PM

you goddamned right


shit is pretty nice, just got them. not as bright as I would've hoped, but I got em flickering to some Daft punk atm

2/14/2014 2:56:09 PM

What's is the length of those bulbs? From tip of the base to tip of the globe.

2/14/2014 5:13:10 PM

About the same as a standard bulb. Maybe 1cm longer/taller?

2/15/2014 11:27:53 AM

anyone use the staples connect (d-link DCH-G021)? it's free with the purchase of two compatible peripherals of $29.99 or higher...i got two door/window sensors for $32/each (8% off coupon popped up while browsing), bought a $10-off-$50 coupon from fleabay for $1, and so ended up getting the hub and sensors for less than $60

http://www.staples.com/D-LINK-STAPLES-CONNECT-HUB/product_1181115
http://us.dlink.com/products/uncategorized/staples-connect-hub/

given the features, it looks like one of the best bang-for-your-buck hubs/systems out there:

802.11bgn wifi
z-wave plus
zigBee
lutron clear connect
bluetooth
ethernet
USB port

thinking about adding a few more window sensors, an IP camera, and keypad deadbolt...then automating the whole thing based on phone location so that the house will lock itself when we're gone and unlock when we're there (where manual "home" and "away" designations will override)



[Edited on March 5, 2015 at 3:10 PM. Reason : image]

3/5/2015 3:04:42 PM

http://canary.is/

3/6/2015 12:18:39 AM

I started digging into this a bit more recently. I'm replacing all of the canister lights in my great room with LEDs.

It's got 5 pairs of can lights which are controlled by 5 dimmer switches. I guess it was the best way to do scene control manually before IoT existed.

Since i've got to replace the dimmers for LEDs anyway, I started looking into gadgetizing it, because my lazy ass hates doing a lap around the room to set all of the lights for TV/movies, or for when my kids are playing, or the worst of my first world problems: when i've passed out on the couch, and wake up at 4am and want to go to bed, and the effort to turn off all 5 switches located in 5 different parts of the room is far too fucking much.

My conclusions thus far:

* The intelligence should be in the switches rather than the bulbs, so the Philips Hue and similar are out.
* I like the lutron Caseta products, though it still has a few shortcomings, such as pre-setting dimmer settings, for example, or allowing one remote to individually control multiple switches-- though it is compatible with most of the various automation protocols via a hub, so not a huge issue.

3/24/2015 10:11:20 AM

what's the furthest someone has gone? i remember CarZin posting about redoing all light switches a while back

any lessons learned - things to avoid? i have some very basic items and looking to expand

an echo for alexa but primaily only use the logitech integration to turn the TV on / off for the kids
rachio for irrigation
nest for thermostats
wemo for a few plugs but the 2 primary use cases are to start my BGE while i'm at the pool and about to head home and for our christmas tree lights
i have an almond+ which can be a z-wave / zigbee controller but i have nothing hooked up to it

planning to get a wifi garage door opener in the next few weeks / months

4/9/2017 9:12:02 PM

I've got 3 wemo switches, hue bulbs in living room, den, and office, and 2 nests. I'd like to do rachio, but I don't know if we'll be in this house long enough to justify it. I use an Amazon echo to control it all by voice, and IFTTT to turn lights on at dusk / off at set times. My next item is a NEEO remote https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1227115988/neeo-the-thinking-remote?ref=activity (hopefully within the next 2 months, fucking kickstarter shit).

I also keep thinking about blinds, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the hassle of either running power to windows OR having to replace expensive batteries every few months.


For me, the novelty of all of this has really worn off and it has become more of an expected baseline of functionality. I couldn't imagine living in a "dumb" home. I do wish there were more practical, helpful things that you could automate - things like washing & putting away dishes, laundry, lawn mowing. I know those would be particularly hard to instrument, but we're really far away from those sorts of things and I don't really have any indication that companies are actually even working on those problems.

4/12/2017 8:49:29 AM

emerson was having server issues the other day and kept blipping my thermostat

4/12/2017 11:35:59 AM

^^^ So over the last 18 months I have gotten pretty deep into home automation. I went with smarthings because it seems to have the most versatility without too much work. The majority of my light switches are zwave. I have an amazon echo in all major rooms that can control all lights and dimmers. Overall it was pretty easy. You just need to make sure you have a neutral wire included with your wiring which is standard for a number of years. I have motion sensors that turn lights on in a room and off when I leave a room. I have it set up as my security system as well which monitors doors and windows. Overall I am pretty happy with it.

4/13/2017 9:40:16 AM

https://developer.apple.com/homekit/specification/

Homekit spec has been released for non-commericial hobbyist/hacker usage

6/11/2017 5:22:34 PM

I'd like to get a smart switch to turn my electronics off during the day, but I'm worried that constantly turning off my TV, etc each day might eventually burn out the power supplies. But I know my playstation is still chugging away at the energy consumption even on standby.

However the investment to buy an automated outlet is still far more than what I would save on energy consumption.

6/12/2017 8:41:24 AM

you can get them for around $20 from multiple brands

[Edited on June 12, 2017 at 5:28 PM. Reason : i have the same worry about using it on expensive devices though]

6/12/2017 5:27:32 PM

this isn't really about automation, but do any of yall have a central vacuum system?

I'm tempted to have one installed at least downstairs, but not sure what's all involved (need a pro, price, etc)

6/13/2017 10:17:50 AM

Quote :

"I'm worried that constantly turning off my TV, etc each day might eventually burn out the power supplies"

Is this really a thing?

6/13/2017 12:39:57 PM

I mean, it just doesn't seem like those devices were engineered for constant power-cycling. Especially the PS3, seeing as how it has to do an fsck every time the power gets removed.

6/13/2017 2:54:13 PM

fsck all that!

6/13/2017 3:53:52 PM