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Smart Home Stuff....Anything worth getting?

Scarpozzi

Scarpozzi

Lifer
I've been reluctant to jump on board with smart home stuff. I remember when the X11 stuff came out years ago and I got a few devices for cheap, but never really saw a 'need' for home automation. I had a coffeepot that was programmable, but that required me to set it up in advance...which wasn't really automation. The easiest part of making coffee is hitting the button to start it. =P

Prime day, I picked up 2 of the Chamberlain garage door controllers. I may get hacked and robbed by the Russians or Chinese, but it seems to work pretty well and it's nice that the app can tell me the status of the doors being opened/closed. I have Craftsman openers (made by Chamberlain) and the process literally took a minute to setup. I have to mount the hub, but quickly jumped through the steps to pair the hub to my network and then program the door opener. It got me thinking...is that it? I don't think light controllers make much sense, but just wondering what others think is worth setting up.
 
Thermostat. I have an older version of this Sensi that has no Alexa support and was 70 bucks at Home Depot: https://smile.amazon.com/Emerson-Th...&qid=1603322734&sprefix=sensi+,aps,141&sr=8-4

Although at that price point now I'd just get the Nest that's going to be a $129 model that you can order now and will ship on the 30th of this month. My Sensi works well though and is simple enough. A couple times in the last two years I've had to re-run the setup as it disconnected from the app and would not reconnect.

It's not just for when I forget to turn off the air when I leave, or to get the place ready for when I get home, it's really nice to change the temp from in bed or at my desk.
 
We have the ecobee system and I love it. I was all in for the smart home and had some hue lights, and a bunch of echo dots all over the house but I really don't take advantage of them. I don't even think they're connected to my network anymore. Actually, the hue light is for our front door. I have the porch light set to turn on like an hour prior to dark and turn off after sunset I think. We have a few smart tvs but I only connect them to the network to see if there are updates available but I disconnect them otherwise.
 
Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and a bit of C++ or python.

All the other stuff is a privacy nightmare and I would never touch it, unless it's to hack it to work with my own setup.

I have not done much myself tbh but I do plan to design a fairly plug and play solution. Right now I'm mostly monitoring my server stuff, mouse traps, temperature, and controlling hvac. I want to automate way more stuff eventually once I come up with my modular design. I would eventually go through a PCB manufacturer to get all the modules made.
 
Thermostat is really the only one worth a shit.

I mean if you really want, you can get those stupid light switches and stuff to turn on/off individual lights with your phone but it doesn't seem worth it IMO.

For security cameras I went with old school wired DVR. More secure, not cloud based, etc.

My other best investments have been getting a NAS setup with media player streaming that I can access from any of my Samsung TVs via Plex.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and a bit of C++ or python.

All the other stuff is a privacy nightmare and I would never touch it, unless it's to hack it to work with my own setup.

I have not done much myself tbh but I do plan to design a fairly plug and play solution. Right now I'm mostly monitoring my server stuff, mouse traps, temperature, and controlling hvac. I want to automate way more stuff eventually once I come up with my modular design. I would eventually go through a PCB manufacturer to get all the modules made.
Click to expand...


Lol give Home Assistant a whirl. I put it on a RPI4 for now, might vm it.
 
All of that crap is nothing more than foolish gadgets. The rule for me is simple, if it needs wifi, I don't buy it. I don't need or want a text message when my laundry is done. I don't have any desire to look in my fridge from work. I don't want my thermostat to decide I'm not home and turn off the AC.
 
I really enjoy smart home products when it has a tangible convenience to me. I have numerous lights that I've grouped together and lamps and things like that where I can control all together rather than rewiring my house. I use smart home products for my security notifications but they aren't good enough to serve as a complete replacement for a monitored system. I haven't seen a real benefit to a thermostat, since I pretty much program it and forget about it. I definitely wouldn't use any smart products for security. All my door locks are local keypad only, the only spot where I've broken this rule is with the garage door kit (I think chamberlain).
 
The garage door controls are nice. Basically, it's a multi-channel remote control that acts the same way as the remote in your car, but has a wifi side to interface with the app. They added a small puck you stick to the door that knows if it's horizontal or vertical to know if the door is open or shut. Works flawlessly and has alerts to let me know anytime the doors open or close. It will even trigger an alert if someone manually opens the door, so knowing garage door security... it's actually more secure having this in place(likely). More testing ahead with it.

I agree with light controllers and plugs to a degree being cheap gadgetry, but could see using a computer timer with a smart plug as cheaper/smaller than buying one of the old mechanical timers. I bought my wife a few of them for horticultural led lights, but we haven't used them yet because she was running the lights 24/7 eventually. I wouldn't install anything permanent, though a lot of people are putting in USB combo receptacles these days, but then I'm not even happy with 2.1 amp anymore.

I have a DVR with wired IR security cameras....was cheaper and handled power.
 
I have one such item, and happy with it. We must park off-street during winter, and that's spaces off our back lane at back end of our lot. We don't have electrical wiring out there, but I did mount a set of floodlights on a post and run an extension cord out to power them. Then I need a way to turn them on and off from inside the house. At first we had a small switch out on the end of the extension cord operated by a radio signal hand-held box, but somewhere in the neighbourhood someone has a device that interferes and kept turning it on. Then I got an exterior-rated smart switch and placed it in the end of the extension cord where the pole lights plug in. It talks to our in-house WiFi. Then I downloaded an app called Smart Life and paired it with that switch. My kids have the same app. Any of us can switch the lights, from in our house or anywhere there's internet access, and it tells you the light status. No "other people" devices to interfere because it only responds to digital instructions from authorized (our family) devices!

Added: a post below reminded me of anthoer smart device I have: a D-Link mydlink Water Sensor to detect and alarm a watrer leak near our basement hot water heater. It plugs into a wall outlet and has a sensor on a cable about 4 ft long which I placed on the floor in the low spot where water collects if there's a leak. I downloaded to my phone their myDlink Home app and used that to register the detector and my phone with D-Link. So, if a leak happens, it puts out its own alarm signal and sends an urgent message to my phone to tell me. The detector accesses the internet via our home WiFi, and sends an alarm by common cell phone message, so it works anywhere my phone has cell service. In addition, I got their D-Link WiFi Siren which is registered with their database also. That is plugged into a wall outlet near our upper-floor bedrooms, and it also gets a signal via WiFi from the detector to send out its own warning noise in case we can't hear the detector alarm in the basement.
 
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I had a few lights with X10 remotes like 20ish years ago maybe ... but, other than that, the talking google speaker that spies on us in the kitchen. Useful for setting timers or alarms when we are cooking/doing meal prep and want a bunch of handsfree timers.
 
Speaking of spy devices the show Next looks interesting. It's about a home assistant device that starts to take over. I guess kinda like Hal9000... which is what I named my home automation server lol.
 
We've a TON of GE Smart Switches. I love not having to worry about controlling light as the sun goes down/comes up, specifically when out of town. Also have:

MyQ Garage Door Openers
Rachio Sprinkler Controller
Deadbolt for front door
Nest Thermostats
Google Home Hub/Minis (blah blah blah security/spying)

Thinking of getting some water sensors for under the sinks/espresso machine/AC_Furnace/water heater to be alerted if there are any leaks.
 
I have a smart TV, so I don't need something additional like a Firestick to stream Netflix, etc..
I have a programmable thermostat to control the heat or AC for me. You actually have to go down the hall and touch buttons on it to make changes, I just don't know how I can manage, but I'm tough and up to the task.

I don't need to control my lamp from my phone, I reach out and turn if on/off. It's not like I have to go out into the woods and chop down a tree, split the wood, let it cure, then build a fire for light. I know there is another cold beer in the refrigerator without the need to check my phone to verify its presence. And if there isn't, I screwed up.

OBTW, I am not a techno-phobe, I went to work for a major computer company probably before most of the posters on here were potty trained, or even a gleam in their daddies eye.
 
chiming in because reasons

i'm in the camp of "just toys" but not because i think they are toys. I mean, yeah, you're spoiled if you need a thermostat that answers voice commands, but, in order to get house gadgets, you need to own your own house. No sense in kitting out a rental place.

And ..

if i had my own house, that's totally not the direction i would take. I'd build a bunker. I would be focused on stuff like security doors, fireproofing, etc, and plasticy little things that break or short would not be on my list.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Speaking of spy devices the show Next looks interesting. It's about a home assistant device that starts to take over. I guess kinda like Hal9000... which is what I named my home automation server lol.
Click to expand...
Don't you need the Internet for home automation? When did you get the Internet?
JM Aggie08 said:
We've a TON of GE Smart Switches. I love not having to worry about controlling light as the sun goes down/comes up, specifically when out of town. Also have:

MyQ Garage Door Openers
Rachio Sprinkler Controller
Deadbolt for front door
Nest Thermostats
Google Home Hub/Minis (blah blah blah security/spying)

Thinking of getting some water sensors for under the sinks/espresso machine/AC_Furnace/water heater to be alerted if there are any leaks.
Click to expand...
I forgot about leak detection. I may add that to my list of things to think about.
 
DigDog said:
chiming in because reasons

i'm in the camp of "just toys" but not because i think they are toys. I mean, yeah, you're spoiled if you need a thermostat that answers voice commands, but, in order to get house gadgets, you need to own your own house. No sense in kitting out a rental place.

And ..

if i had my own house, that's totally not the direction i would take. I'd build a bunker. I would be focused on stuff like security doors, fireproofing, etc, and plasticy little things that break or short would not be on my list.
Click to expand...
I hate plastic stuff. My garage door openers are compatible with MyQ openers and the installation was mostly passive....well-engineered product for cheap. If it breaks, I can throw it away. Double-sided velcro/tape is how the sensors mount.

Other stuff should be all solid state. I think a programmable thermostat is good enough.
 
Scarpozzi said:
Don't you need the Internet for home automation? When did you get the Internet?
Click to expand...

Only the consumer stuff that's designed to spy on you. There is zero reason to need internet for a properly designed system. Everything works locally. I can VPN in if I want to control it though, but the system itself is standalone and does not rely on internet being available.
 
Just smart TVs Hisense 65HF/Samsung 50" NU6900) and a Google Home Mini. No webcams, I'm trying to minimize on devices that can potentially spy/hack into the home.
Thinking of installing 4K wired cameras around the perimeter just for security sake even if crime around the immediate vicinity is "non-existent".
 
I just got some Wiz lights which shouldn't be as massive a pain in the ass as smart plugs and they are programmable. Christmas lighting, or for Dark Side of the Moon.

Or

They could suck.
 
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