Question

Does anyone feel they've reached the end of their home automation. and Now your just coasting? If so what's your setup, how long you've been at it?  

Answer 1

When I can ask where a pet is and have it tell me and tell me what is moving instead of just motion I'll be close to done. Till then I'll be adding and upgrading.  

Comments

@timeous De@cropeared74is This is my dogs buffet style feeding station.  

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@timeous De@cropeared74is Camera watches the dog door to let me know when something came or went. Or did not go. Especially if not a cat or dog.  

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Might remove that Wyze Pan after I upgrade the room cam pointed that way.  

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This the from the cam looking the other way.  

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@waw1 Well I am covering 3 buildings totally about 6K sqft and a good bit of 7 1/2 wooded acres of which the dogs have access to about 3 acres.  

Answer 2

Not even close, and tbh I don't think there will be an end to it because there's so much new stuff becoming possible all the time that I'll probably keep on evolving as technology does too.  

Comments

@waw1 It depends on a lot of stuff. I spent last year learning about home automation and making sure I lay the right foundation. So I've gotten rid of some devices, went from a myriad of Chinese apps and cloud dependencies to full local control using home assistant and mqtt. Avoid any unnecessary hubs like the plague and went for WiFi devices (upgraded WiFi to ubiquiti equipment) But I understand that at some point if you're dedicated to a certain platform or technology and there's really not much you can do but either stick with it or replace the lot.  

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@waw1 try adding webcore and Alexa Speaks to ST. It eliminated most of my Alexa routines, gave me more flexibility and control and allowed me to tie everything together. I’ve got Alexa announcing when the dryer and dw are done among other things.  

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I do like he way that the Amazon Echo has moved from being a digital assistant (a poor one at that) to being what a lot of people seem to think is a home automation platform. For me home automation is about things happening for you without the need to interact with anything. When is gets dark because there is a storm nearby and I’m watching tv I want the lights in the living room to come on, but only bright enough to be comfortable. Once the storm has passed and it’s bright sunshine once again, the lights should go out by themselves. Asking Alexa to do that for me isn’t automation.  

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@waw1 I'm very happy i went this way, but it's certainly not for everybody. Home Assistant is unbelievably powerful, but you need to be willing to invest quite a lot of time and you shouldn't be afraid of editing configs in text (yaml). Stuff like Alexa, Google home or smartthings are way easier to work with. Fortunately we've come this far with smart home tech and there's a solution out there for every kind of user.  

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@waw1 I use IFTTT to tie those types of things into ST. Just added my Wyze cameras as motion detectors that way.  

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@waw1, nothing overly technical. Just have a lux level sensor and weather data. I’m still fine tuning after 12 months, but almost there. A few if this then that in my code and it’s all good. My problem is that I come up with loads of ideas that I’m not able to implement because either it’s not available or I’m not technical enough to do it myself.  

Answer 3

Can you turn your shower on to the temperature you want with Alexa yet?  

Comments

Moen has a product that will. It's call the Moen U. Quite expensive and requires a lot of labor to install. It's on my list.  

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@earthstar yep. I use it to turn on my shower every morning. Works great with Alexa although I haven’t set the temp with voice yet. Will try that!  

Answer 4

I'm budgetary constrained. Other then that, no.  

Answer 5

I don't think there is an end.  

Answer 6

I've replaced every switch in my house, door locks, irrigation system, voice control in each room, water leak detection and shut off, fire/smoke integration that lights all lights and shuts off HVAC, motion detection, multiple 6mp cameras, custom security system tied in. I even have over $10k worth of a Kohler digital shower system waiting to go in. Not sure theres anything left to do.  

Comments

@cards to name a few things. shades. garage. house audio. landscape audio. integration of TVs. how's the wifi coverage?  

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@imperturbation91375 Sanchez garage door is already connected via the security sys. Home theater is connected as well. Receiver, projector, screen, is connected. I have no landscape so nothing outdoor (might build a deck next year tho) Wifi is excellent. I'm a network engineer for the govt, so anything network is top notch. Shades - 1) I don't typically have the shades open, and 2) I've yet to find something that I considered to worth the expense. Lots of options for crazy $ to just open and close a blind. My whole automation system is run off a UD ISY-994i so I'm not pigeon holed into one product or another. I spent many hours doing the research to make sure products play well with one another :)

Answer 7

I am in the same spot. switches, locks, garage, thermostat, irrigation, harmony, fire/co2 alarms, leak detection . Not really sure what else to do. Besides doing all the switches, but some of that would be a major overkill.  

Comments

I did not include cameras as they serve me no purpose when it comes to home automation.  

Answer 8

Been doing it since about 2004 and no end in sight. Needs and wants evolve over time so my smart home evolves based on that.  

Answer 9

No there are many projects but I am in a good spot.  

Answer 10

Yes. The only thing missing is an Alexa controlled, single cup, Keurig machine.  

Comments

Although I'm not a Keurig fan I got a "smarter" coffee pot a couple years ago and it has Alexa integration. It's a game changer to tell Alexa to make my coffee.  

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@loren SwitchBot installed today

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@nadeen which coffee pot do you have? I need this.  

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@nadeen Yep those look awesome but a pot is too much coffee for me. I can’t believe Keurig hasn’t done this yet.  

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@kathrinkathrine42 I looked at those. Wouldn’t you need 2? One for power and 1 for brew start/cup size?  

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@loren I usually back it down to 4 cups. I like some thick thick coffee so Kuerig went in the garbage awhile ago. Your right, I can't believe they haven't!  

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@loren True but the longest wait is when you power it on so a semi automatic coffee maker is good enough for me

Answer 11

Pretty good at the moment. It's great to have proper automation so I don't have to open apps eg Smartthings for months and months

Answer 12

Yes, I have two old Lutron Maestro dimmers in my kitchen that I keep because I prefer the way they look and work over anything I can buy today that is Zwave. If Lutron ever added a Zwave functionality to their Maestro line I would buy two of them right away. Other than that I have storage areas and my laundry room that have LED lights in them. It would be cheaper to just wirenut the wires together and leave the LED lights on for THE REST OF MY LIFE. Than spend $40 USD on a smart switch.  

Comments

I have about seven grand just on Lutron Radio Ra2 select. Lutron shades. Savant to integrate it all with my AV and other devices.  

Answer 13

I have almost everything I want automated and now it's stupid things like smart plugs for the wife salt lamp. haha I don't think it ever ends!  

Comments

@upu7004 Every time she turns it on I say "Your welcome" I think that's wearing thing haha. It could buy you some points!  

Answer 14

@timeous De@cropeared74is what's the point of the echo auto? Serious question is it just so you can do everything you can with google assistant from wherever with Alexa now? I just don't know why I need it in my car when I have my phone

Comments

@rosser Hands on the wheel and not fumbling for the phone. Also music selection by voice. Especially for older cars like mine.  

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The point? So amazon can listen/record your conversation while driving too ‍♂️

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@cards My conversations aren’t that interesting, except for the occasional curse word to other drivers. They’re welcome to listen in.  

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@lona639 I have all that with my phone, I just bought a 15 dollar charger with a bluetooth tuner so it goes through my radio.  

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@rosser I’m betting my car’s older then yours. I still have a tape player, cassette not 8 track and what’s Bluetooth? LOL

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U just plug the tuner in to the cig lighter, go to you phone e settings, click the fish looking icon and pair it and put the radio onto a static station and match the tuner. Then your done, forever just sync when you get in your car. Total hands free cost me 15 bucks and it's a charger

Answer 15

If you truly do have everything. (like truly all smart home features) then the next step is energy independence and management. ☺

Comments

Yes easy at first. solar and battery. but then critical load management is necessary when power is out for more than a day.  

Answer 16

Apparently u havent been doing it very long wont be long and all that stuff wont be comparable or compatable amymore im my experience . for all those ingot eberything guys

Answer 17

In about 8 years, we are moving and will start all over again. Will be interesting to see what "new" technology will be available. My house is pretty "done" at this point. Don't run too many routines. Would love to have the mailbox wired but too far away. I have lights, harmony, door locks, garage door and Google hubs hooked up all over the house.  

Comments

@waw1 That is what I am hoping for!  

Answer 18

I'm really surprised to see so many people using devices that rely solely on RF (zwave, zigbee, etc). I'm sure there are others, but the likes of Insteon utilize the AC lines to communicate like the old x10 tech as well as RF.  

Comments

There is so much noise on the AC lines these days I'm amazed anyone can still use X10. Things like charers and UPSs REALLY mess with the signal. When I finally gave up on it back in 2014 (after using since ~1980) I had as many line filters as devices and was using test equipment almost daily trying to sort why something was not working. SO much better with Z-wave and Zigbee. Even WiFi stuff has less issues.  

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@samalla Abigt I only have issue with Zwave not working. They will frequently drop off line. Never a single issue with any of my Insteon stuff

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@cards Funny I've only had issues with a couple battery powered Z-wave things. Adding a plugin module between it and the hub always sorted it. Upgrading X10 to Insteon did nothing for reliability for me. Granted I did not replace everything since that just seemed like good money after bad after awhile. So I started replacing with Z-wave stuff instead.  

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@waw1 I wouldn't use WiFi that's just asking for trouble.