Home Automation

NCMedic

NCMedic

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Maybe Home Automation isn't the right term, but I've been looking at trying to do some "automation".

What I would like to do is be able to control a few key lights via WiFi or other route....for example, if the wife is coming home and it's dark out, her be able to turn on the porch light before she gets home or before she gets out of the car, or if she is home alone, be able to control the lights from her phone.

I can use On.Here via our Google WiFi or can possibly use our alarm system app, however connecting anything requires me having to have them add it.
I'm not against adding a Google Home to have it voice controllable but that's not a need.
 
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Another option would be a connected outdoor light and the garmin speak powered by Alexa. Then when she pulls onto your street or driveway she can say Alexa turn on porch light. Or turn on all the lights. Lock/unlock the door. Etc. it essentially gives you an echo in your car. It will require connection to smartphone tho. I have an echo and a dot in the bedroom with hue lights inside. It has made me super lazy. But is convenient as hell.
 
While I’m thinking about it. One of you guys mentioned smart thermostat. The ecobee is constantly overlooked. It has more features than the nest. Has Voice control built in and they have remote room sensors you can adjust to if you are trying to keep a specific area of the home a certain temp. Or if your home is old like mine and the hall the thermostat is in is better insulated than the bedrooms etc.
 
Metalliman27055 said:
While I’m thinking about it. One of you guys mentioned smart thermostat. The ecobee is constantly overlooked. It has more features than the nest. Has Voice control built in and they have remote room sensors you can adjust to if you are trying to keep a specific area of the home a certain temp. Or if your home is old like mine and the hall the thermostat is in is better insulated than the bedrooms etc.
Click to expand...

NEST is accepting preorders on the add-on temperature sensors. I went with the NEST over the Ecobee because I wasn't fond of the Alexa issues at the time, I already had a Google Home, I use a LOT of Google services, and I am adding the NEST Secure Home Automation System w/NEST Camera. (I'm tired of typing NEST now.)
 
Metalliman27055 said:
While I’m thinking about it. One of you guys mentioned smart thermostat. The ecobee is constantly overlooked. It has more features than the nest. Has Voice control built in and they have remote room sensors you can adjust to if you are trying to keep a specific area of the home a certain temp. Or if your home is old like mine and the hall the thermostat is in is better insulated than the bedrooms etc.
Click to expand...

We actually have a Eccobee 3 that I picked up at Costco that came with 3 sensors for like $120. I've been really impressed with it so far, our electric bill actually has dropped about $20-30 a month consistently since I installed it in February.
Their customer support is excellent as well. I wasn't sure if it would work with our HVAC system, so before I bought it I checked their website, you can pull your current thermostat off the wall, take a picture and send it to them, I got a reply back in less than a day with confirmation that it would work and exactly how I needed it to be wired.
 
Try www.SmartHome.com. I've been using various home automation controls since the 1980's. Just be aware you're crawling down a hole as deep as the firearms and Lay's potato chips ones. ;)
 
X10 or PLC(power line carrier) gives you 1-16 and A-P for addressable fixtures. The signal rides the AC wave and there is no extra wiring to be done. You will need elec. outlets that are addressable then you have a controller to manage what you want.

Rooster
 
I'm still using X10 since I adopted it when the technology first came to market. I have countless dozens of switches, modules, sensors, hubs and controllers/remotes and there's a lot of stuff that "automatically" happens around my home. X10 was the only game in town in the beginning but I for sure wouldn't invest a nickle in the technology today were I starting from scratch. The only reason I continue is that I'd have to sell the house to afford to upgrade my entire system. :confused:
 
PLC is basis for new stuff....Zwave, others...they just dont call it X10 anymore. I met one of the designers of the technology in NY a few years ago doing research for my home electronics design. It was originally designed to allow remote control of a phonograph...lol. Whats old is new again.
 
I priced out a Crestron system....LMFAO...guy got done and handed me an estimate for over 100K. X10 is the best way to go for a budget and @Jeppo is the man to see as he is running it live. I still havent installed my system as X10 had problems covering the square footage and the technology kept changing in the 90's. I have about 10 miles of CAT5, RG6 and other cabling roughed for when the time comes though.
Try Worthington Distribution as they have classes where you build out a system under instruction and they also have the components for sale....their classes are worth taking if you have an interest. They offer audio, video, hvac, sound, security, lighting and about anything you can power up and control.
R
 
Visitors get their first impression of my system when they come down the driveway. Maybe 150 yards from the house, they trip an IR sensor that kicks on the 14 led floods under the eaves and lights up the living room. When we walk out of the bedroom in the dark, the kitchen lights fire up to lead the way.

Of course, I've got stuff all over inside and out that's running on schedules. Even if it is all X10, I can control it all with an app. Neat to turn on the lights from the other side of the world and see it happen thru my Nest Cams.

Kinda cool what you can come up with.
 
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Lets breath some life into this old thread. Lowe's was having a black Friday sale on Google Home Mini ($19) and Alexa ($22). I picked up two of the Home Mini's. Got them all hooked up to the app and have been enjoying playing music over them. I created a speaker group so that the music was the same between them. Then I bought a bluetooth receiver and hooked it up to my old whole house amp. Then paired one of the mini's to it and now have music all over. And it's all controlled from the mini. Music selection, pause, start, volume. These things are pretty cool.

I've ordered a couple wifi switches and will be able to control some lighting via those. Also getting a couple dusk to dawn wifi switches so that things can come on automatically. I'm wondering if I'll be able to create a routine that will be triggered by the dusk to dawn that will activate other switches. I'll experiment with that once I get them. Been playing with the Google Assistant/Home apps, Smart Life and IFTTT.

One of my other projects is to set up a geofence. I'd like for the garage doors to automatically open as we come up the driveway. Why? I'm the garage door guy and want to be able to have answers for my customers and........just because. I'll create another routine so that if we get home after dark and enter the geofence, it will turn on lights for us. Pretty basic stuff but new territory for me.
 
With those Wi-Fi switches and outlets, you name each one and can create routines. I have a bunch of lights that turn on at dusk and off at various times around normal bedtime. I also have one that turns on at 5am and off at sunrise. That lights the way when I wake up early and stumble from the bedroom to the kitchen.

You’ll find more flexibility and options than you could ever use.
 
Yeah, for a group that hates gov intrusion a lot of you aren't too concerned about putting all this "smart" stuff in your home. Hell, the FBI just recently told people to put tape over their smart TV camera!
 
Well if the Gov is listening in on my devices, they're going to be hearing music or dead air. I'll be sure to unplug them when the wife and I start to discuss overthrowing the government or illegal arms smuggling. Your mobile or house phones are just as likely listen devices as well. And the toaster too.:eek:
 
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