Smart Home & Home Automation discussion thread

[Kaido]

Other than looks, it doesn't seem like it does anything that current smart thermostats don't already do... Right?

It has a few additional features, nothing super noteworthy though:

In addition to basic heating and cooling functions, the Windows 10 IoT Core-powered Glas also pulls in data about energy usage, air quality, and includes basic 'smart assistant' functionality including calendar notifications.

 

[lupi]

Samsung kit on sale at amazon, matches lowest epp price I saw direct from Sammy.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...d2211e560f7e80INT&sa-no-redirect=1&pldnSite=1

 

[Kaido]

Tesla Model 3 is equipped with a driver-facing camera for Autopilot and Tesla Network:

https://electrek.co/2017/08/01/tesla-model-3-driver-facing-camera-autopilot-tesla-network/

#1984

Tesla confirmed to Electrek that the Model 3 is equipped with the camera, but it is not currently active. It will only become active after future software updates, which Tesla didn’t want to elaborate on.

In all seriousness though, that could be a pretty handy feature to have. My friend randomly had a seizure while driving & ended up totaling her car. I've heard about people having heart attacks while driving as well. It's rare, but if there was a camera monitoring you with machine vision & could kick over to Autopilot & call 911, that would be pretty amazing.

 

[boomhower]

I need a door sensor for an interior door. I don't want one connected to my alarm system, just to notify me on my phone if my bedroom door has been opened. I have a Google Home, Apple TV and a Harmony Hub. I'd really like to not have to buy another hub. Anything out there that will get the job done?

 

[Kaido]

I need a door sensor for an interior door. I don't want one connected to my alarm system, just to notify me on my phone if my bedroom door has been opened. I have a Google Home, Apple TV and a Harmony Hub. I'd really like to not have to buy another hub. Anything out there that will get the job done?

Hmm, good question. Among other things, a dedicated smarthome hub handles a few key things:

1. Wireless radio support for the door sensor (most have special dedicated radios like Zwave or Zigbee)
2. An if-then processing system (i.e. if sensor is tripped, then send your phone an alert)
3. Internet connectivity for relaying information (including a user account to tie your phone app into for notifications)
4. Notifications (including emails, chimes, app alerts, etc.)

So the typical workflow would be:

1. Door sensor gets tripped
2. Door sensor wirelessly sends signal to Hub
3. Hub relays that information to your app for a popup alert

I did a quick look at hardware support for Google Home, Apple TV, and Harmony Hub. It looks like Google Home has the most smarthome equipment support. However, I haven't seen any door/window sensors that natively work with any of them. I would say probably your best bet, budget-wise, is to go with a Lowes Iris system. Their hub is $55:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Iris-Smart-Hub/1000142105

The door sensor is $25:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Iris-Contact-Sensor-Works-with-Iris/999925302

So basically just look at it as an $80 door sensor that can send you a phone alert. It's not ideal, but it gets the job done. Alternatively, if you want more support for various vendors in the future, you can either get a Wink Hub (easy setup) or a Samsung SmartThings hub (more programmable), plus whatever various brands of door/window sensors they support.

 

[boomhower]

Thanks. Looks like I need to go ahead and invest in a hub. Smarthings seems to be the most open ended so will likely just go with it. I have no doubt down the road I will be expanding to other things so may as well do the hub now.

 

[Kaido]

Thanks. Looks like I need to go ahead and invest in a hub. Smarthings seems to be the most open ended so will likely just go with it. I have no doubt down the road I will be expanding to other things so may as well do the hub now.

Yeah, SmartThings offers the most turnkey control available. Think of Wink as an iPhone and SmartThings as Android. One is more hands-off and one is more hands-on. If you're going to buy a hub, it makes a lot of sense to get one you can expand in the future. The Lowes one is great if you're okay living in the Lowes ecosystem, but SmartThings offers a lot more support across various manufacturers, as well as more DIY programming support for doing custom things that you personally want.

 

[Charmonium]

you might want to look at HomeSeer. I don't have any direct experience with them but Samsung's hub leaves a lot to be desired. I have a couple of z-wave devices that simply don't work with it - or at least I can't figure out how to make them work. If your device happens to be in their library, cool. You're good to go. But if it's not, forget about using it.

 

[CAL7]

If your device happens to be in their library, cool. You're good to go. But if it's not, forget about using it.

I have found just the opposite. There is NO device I have wanted for which there was not a device handler for SmartThings. Just off the top of my head, some of the more "exotic" that I've implemented: Honeywell Vista alarm panel fully integrated with SmartThings, homemade $70 irrigation controller, Intermatic PE953 pool/spa controller ("Alexa, turn on the pool waterfall"), Dome water valve, Android/Tasker presence sensor that is 99.9% reliable, 4-speed fan controller, BloomSky weather station.

At worst, it takes a little effort with help from the community, but it's usually just turnkey.

 

[jtvang125]

Anyone using those smart locks for the front door? There seems to be this fear of them being susceptible to hacking. Is this fear genuine or overblown?

 

[AndrewK7]

Very valuable list! Smart Homes Digest website don't exist anymore, instead I suggest https://www.smarthomegeeks.co.uk/

 

[boomhower]

Amazon, walmart has the Smarthings hub for $50, no brainer at that price and picked one up.

 

[lupi]

Best buy having a smarthings sale, hub is 50 and starter kit 150.

 

[Charmonium]

I have found just the opposite. There is NO device I have wanted for which there was not a device handler for SmartThings. Just off the top of my head, some of the more "exotic" that I've implemented: Honeywell Vista alarm panel fully integrated with SmartThings, homemade $70 irrigation controller, Intermatic PE953 pool/spa controller ("Alexa, turn on the pool waterfall"), Dome water valve, Android/Tasker presence sensor that is 99.9% reliable, 4-speed fan controller, BloomSky weather station.

At worst, it takes a little effort with help from the community, but it's usually just turnkey.

I have 2 switches that it sort of recognizes but doesn't work with. One is a simple 2 button switch but when you press the buttons nothing happens. I have it linked to a lamp controller.

The other one is a multi-button switch that it only recognizes as a simple on/off switch.

I'm glad you've had good luck with your devices but the ones I've tried to use with it are pretty basic and it fails miserably.

 

[lsd]

I have 2 switches that it sort of recognizes but doesn't work with. One is a simple 2 button switch but when you press the buttons nothing happens. I have it linked to a lamp controller.

The other one is a multi-button switch that it only recognizes as a simple on/off switch.

I'm glad you've had good luck with your devices but the ones I've tried to use with it are pretty basic and it fails miserably.

You do know smartthings has an entire forum section dedicated to devices right? Custom device handlers posted there, have you tried looking there?

 

[Charmonium]

I started with the device manufacturers which was a pointless exercise. I can't remember if I looked for the ST forum. It seems to me that I did but maybe I couldn't find it. I don't remember. If you have a link that would be much appreciated.

 

[CAL7]

Start here and look around. It's admittedly complicated, but if you take some time to explore, I'd be shocked if you can't get your devices to work:

https://community.smartthings.com/c/devices-integrations

 

[Charmonium]

Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

[lupi]

Have my ST kit and a hue starter set, what do i need to know to set it all up.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Have my ST kit and a hue starter set, what do i need to know to set it all up.

Make sure you check out the ST community at https://community.smartthings.com. Also, look for tutorials or instructions on adding custom device handlers and smartapps via the IDE.

 

[lupi]

Got the ST kit up and everything installed. That part went fairly easy except I had to cut some blocks for the door sensors so they'd make contact, a small wood block under the sensor on the door about 2/3 the height of the magnet sensor and things mated up good. The hues bridge and lights that came with it went up fine. I also got a couple of the dimmer kits on sale and the bulbs with those and the dimmer switches not as easy to get hooked up to the hub so it will be another day to finish the lights and the add the hue bridge to ST.

 

[Kaido]

Amazon adds multiroom audio control to Echo devices:

https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/29/amazon-multiroom-audio-control-echo/

New multi-room skill:

Through the Alexa App, users can create groups of speakers -- like, for example, all of the speakers in the upstairs rooms of your house -- then when you want to hear music just through those devices, you'll just have to say, "Alexa, play Kesha upstairs." For now, this capability is offered with Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Pandora. Spotify and SiriusXM support is on the way.

Sonos also has a voice event coming up & Amazon has already mentioned integration.

 

[lupi]

Lost contact with one of my door sensors this afternoon, removed battery and it reconnected. It's now reporting as low battery @ 1 % even though it's only a couple days old. Then I notice an email from ST about them pushing an urgent firmware update for connectivity.

 

[Kaido]

Wellllllllllll I'm officially an Echo owner now! (three years after my original posting about it, haha)

I stopped by Whole Foods today to see what they had lowered their prices on thanks to the Amazon purchase (which turned out to be a LOT of things, yay!) & saw a big display of Echos on sale for $80 off right when I walked in. $99 bucks for black or silver/white. It's been on my list for awhile & for the price, I decided to jump on it. Went with the lighter-colored full unit with the speaker built-in.

The voice recognition is amazingly accurate. Lots of skills available...Wink, Spotify, Audible, etc. I'm not really a voice guy & don't like talking for commands, I vastly prefer manual entry via a smartphone or whatever, but the audio recognition system is just so far ahead of stuff like Siri that I've actually been using it quite a bit because it actually works...it really only takes the first day of using it to get the hang of it (ex. how loudly to speak across the room, the common phrases you can use, etc.).

I've used my buddy's when I've visited his house, so I'm familiar with them, but it is an amazingly handy little gadget for personal use. What's really super cool is how usable it is for older & disabled people. We got my grandma an Echo (speaker/tube model) a year or two ago & she absolutely loves it...she's going blind, is in a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home, is going on 100 years old, and we just added an Amazon TV with Echo to her room and she raves about it...she can operate the TV now all by herself without any fuss, use the Echo for reading audiobooks, setting wake-up alarms, and all kinds of stuff. It really is an amazing piece of technology with real-world useful applications.

 

[jtvang125]

Wellllllllllll I'm officially an Echo owner now! (three years after my original posting about it, haha)

I stopped by Whole Foods today to see what they had lowered their prices on thanks to the Amazon purchase (which turned out to be a LOT of things, yay!) & saw a big display of Echos on sale for $80 off right when I walked in. $99 bucks for black or silver/white. It's been on my list for awhile & for the price, I decided to jump on it. Went with the lighter-colored full unit with the speaker built-in.

The voice recognition is amazingly accurate. Lots of skills available...Wink, Spotify, Audible, etc. I'm not really a voice guy & don't like talking for commands, I vastly prefer manual entry via a smartphone or whatever, but the audio recognition system is just so far ahead of stuff like Siri that I've actually been using it quite a bit because it actually works...it really only takes the first day of using it to get the hang of it (ex. how loudly to speak across the room, the common phrases you can use, etc.).

I've used my buddy's when I've visited his house, so I'm familiar with them, but it is an amazingly handy little gadget for personal use. What's really super cool is how usable it is for older & disabled people. We got my grandma an Echo (speaker/tube model) a year or two ago & she absolutely loves it...she's going blind, is in a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home, is going on 100 years old, and we just added an Amazon TV with Echo to her room and she raves about it...she can operate the TV now all by herself without any fuss, use the Echo for reading audiobooks, setting wake-up alarms, and all kinds of stuff. It really is an amazing piece of technology with real-world useful applications.

I picked up an echo dot from craigslist to try since I didn't want to pay full price for something I wasn't sure would find useful. Before this my wife bought me a smart home kit (wifi camera, 2 smart LED bulbs and 2 smart outlets) that was from some unknown brand that surprisingly was compatible with the Echo. That got me curious which led me to wanting to try them out with the Echo. The kids were stoked and freaking out at the same time that I was able to control the lights in the house just by voice. LOL. While cool, we haven't used it much for controlling lights because we only have one echo and limited smart devices. Without sufficient coverage of the house with multiple Echos it's still easier and quicker just to use the physical switches. I think 2 more would be perfect, one for the kitchen and another for the living room. Also a few smart switches for the permanent lighting would be great too instead of relying on lamps to smart outlets or multiple smart bulbs.

Also since the Dot came out after the Echo, it has line-out and Bluetooth so you can connect to a better sound system or speaker. I think they're planning to release a new version of the Echo to include these and thus the huge discounts on the current one.