Home automation

[Dean P]

To allow me to Dashboard all devices on a webpage that I can control from a PC!

I like the idea of having a dashboard. That would be advantageous to have control via a PC or your phone.

I have the pro, it’s nice because it has a slimmer profile and it connects straight up to the existing hardwired bell wires.

I've been tempted too on the Ring cause I have no doorbell (excluding 6 barking dogs trying to bust thru the door). My front door faces South and is always in the sun. Do you think the sun/heat would cause issues with the unit?

 

[mark_m]

I like the idea of having a dashboard. That would be advantageous to have control via a PC or your phone.


I've been tempted too on the Ring cause I have no doorbell (excluding 6 barking dogs trying to bust thru the door). My front door faces South and is always in the sun. Do you think the sun/heat would cause issues with the unit?

I’ve had the unit for some time. Our house faces south too and is in the sun for most of the day and have not had any issues at all with it.

 

[Julian]

Are you aware and accepting of your automated home’s digital emissions?What your smart devices know (and share) about you

Yup...totally aware and accepting. Would I buy a wifi dildo....not likely. Their more interesting and relevant observations are the ones about user interfaces! Having to say some very strange and unnatural sentence to get the coffee maker to turn on is hilarious. But I'm not bothered by them collecting data from my usage of wifi/internet devices....it helps them reduce the price of the devices, and humans really arent very different from one another.

 

[JetPowered]

Some of the excess tracking can be mitigated with PiHole DNS filtering. Like 15-20%

Pi-hole – Network-wide Ad Blocking

pi-hole.net

 

[Betik]

Would I buy a wifi dildo....not likely

I would not think you have a use for a traditional dildo either, but good to know.

 

[Benny Sibbitt]

I looked at Nest, but the outdoor cameras from Ring seem to be a lot more practical. Not sure I'd use the talk back feature, but who knows. I'm probably looking at getting 2 doorbell cameras and one floodlight camera to start off with.

I have a wired 16 camera security camera system, but 2 cameras recently went offline and I suspect critters have chewed the wires.....so I'm looking at wireless now.

Anyone with Ring use it on something other than a phone or tablet or Alexa type devices? IE--specifically do they have apps for smart TVs?

Ring is compatible with fire stick.

I mounted a tv on my wall in between my kitchen and family room and put a firestick on it.
I leave the TV on all the time and have the firestick either streaming my wyze camera that is pointed out of my upstairs bedroom window or playing a family slide show. I can ask alexa to show me the front door and it will auto switch to my ring front door camera or say Alexa show me the backdoor and then switch to the backdoor camera.

 

[Julian]

So took the plunge with Ring and bought 2 doorbell pro's, a stick up cam and a flood light cam. They work great!

One thing I learned from a coworker on the doorbell pros is to make sure you get the latest version (v3). Unfortunately there is no version info on the box. I've attached a photo of the box as apparently it is a different size. You can tell if you have a v3 because it has cooling fins on the back. The earlier versions are prone to overheating.

Very happy with the install and operation. Can now do things like....turn on the outside lights if the door bell is rung. Alexa announces the doorbell on all the devices set for "announcements". This last part is actually a slight problem. I also use announcements as an intercom "Alexa, announce 'dinner is ready' ". But you can't differentiate doorbells from announcements, so the doorbell ring in my teens bedroom....oh well....that may get her up earlier every now and then!

 

[JetPowered]

If an Alexa device is in do not disturb mode, it won’t announce. Also, just had ring replace a Pro V1 with a V3 free of charge. Mine was always glitchy so a relatively short tech chat later showed that my unit was on a ‘recall’ list. FWIW.

 

[biglar155]

....that may get her up earlier every now and then!

Seems an awfully high expectation for something as simple as a doorbell.

 

[Julian]

If an Alexa device is in do not disturb mode, it won’t announce. Also, just had ring replace a Pro V1 with a V3 free of charge. Mine was always glitchy so a relatively short tech chat later showed that my unit was on a ‘recall’ list. FWIW.

This is what my coworker went through. They aren't recalling them, but replacing them when customers have issues. His would disconnect all the time and not record door bell events. Now it gets everything.

I'm very happy at this point....still working well. Need to tune motion alerts a little, and perhaps set up some other routines. My primary goal of replacing some dead hard wired cameras has been achieved....and now with cloud storage!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

This is what my coworker went through. They aren't recalling them, but replacing them when customers have issues. His would disconnect all the time and not record door bell events. Now it gets everything.

I'm very happy at this point....still working well. Need to tune motion alerts a little, and perhaps set up some other routines. My primary goal of replacing some dead hard wired cameras has been achieved....and now with cloud storage!

I get a motion alert every morning when the light level changes and the camera turns off the infrared lights on the Pro. I wish they could program something to avoid the daily alert at dawn.

 

[Julian]

I get a motion alert every morning when the light level changes and the camera turns off the infrared lights on the Pro. I wish they could program something to avoid the daily alert at dawn.

Yeah...I was also surprised the flood light settings for scheduled on/off times was a fixed time and didn't have "Sunset / Sunrise" options that are location specific and calendar adjusted. Hopefully that will come with future updates!

 

[Julian]

So the latest on my home automation front.....

• I expanded my Ring doorbells and cameras to include a Ring security system too. Why? Because the 24/7 monitoring of the security system comes with the Ring Cameras annual price tag. So by installing the security system I get both theft and fire discounts on my home owners insurance that equals the cost of cloud storage - so a wash! (except for the price of the security system).
• I continue to expand my Lutron wifi lights - and these can be linked to both Alexa and Ring devices. So I can, for example, have the camera pointing on the driveway turn on all my outside lights when it detects motion. Or have the outside and garage lights turn on when the garage door is opened.
• I have turned some lights to full auto now - meaning when a camera or motion sensor picks up motion in the kitchen, it turns on the kitchen lights automatically. Same for hallways.
• I have put Pico remotes by all the beds with stands for the rooms primary functions. By my bed I have the ability to turn on/off groupings of lights (House=all lights/fans except bedrooms/bathrooms, Upstairs=all lights except bedrooms/bathrooms), Fan is our ceiling fan, and lamps are freestanding lamps).
• I have also bought some cheaper Gosund wifi wall plugs - using these for fully automated lighting - for example xmas tree, or a curio cabinet. They are cheaper than Lutron lamp controllers. Downside is they have their own app. But they can all be controlled in the Alexa app too.
• Next up - need to replace our sprinkler system controller as the rain sensor died - so I'm going to upgrade to a wifi one.

 

[adrianp89]

The Rachio has worked great for me. I don't even think about my sprinklers anymore.

 

[Julian]

The Rachio has worked great for me. I don't even think about my sprinklers anymore.

I've been looking at the RainMachine Touch HD-12. Consumer reports ranked it top....but it is more expensive....

 

[adrianp89]

I've been looking at the RainMachine Touch HD-12. Consumer reports ranked it top....but it is more expensive....

I got mine really cheap due to one of my jobs. I don't have a fancy yard or anything. With that said I can't think of anything it could do better, or anything it does bad.

 

[Dean P]

I've had Rachio for 5 years now. Hasn't missed a beat and the app has improved a lot over the years. Would definitely recommend.

 

[Bizywk]

We've been into home automation for well over 20y starting with the old X10. Now using an ISY9941 as the central server driving many different technologies to simplify - not to complicate. It's so versitile that it will umbrella many disimmilar products and give you significant programming options in addition.

One programming example, is our Master bath. My wife goes in and closes the door. The program senses the door close, checks the time, natural luminosity of the room and humidity. If it is from 4am-noon, the vanity lights to to a low percentage, the shower goes to a medium percentage, the tub lights and sink lights go to a low percentage while the smart speaker says "Good Morning" and then begins playing her favorite FM station. If it's between noon and 8pm, the 4 light circuits go on at a level appropriate to the natural light coming in and the smart speaker says hi. Between 8pm and 4am, only the lights get turned on. Every 2 minutes after the door is closed, the system polls for humidity and will turn on the fan if needed. If it's after dark and the door isn't closed, only the trim lights under the vanity turn on. Occasionally, I'll change the greeting to say something a little rude just to get a rise out of her.

Another example is coming in from the attached garage. Lots of different outcomes based on very specific trigger events. Time, light, etc The sky really is the limit.

 

[Bizywk]

You have to change out the normal dumb switch for a hardwired insteon/z-wave/etc switch. Quick change. I was highlighting the additional inter-connectivity and programming ability you can get centralizing control of smart devices and AI and under an ISY994izwIR server.

I also have a program that allows me to click the ON button for my logitech tv remote, an IR receiver transmits the signal and copies it to the ISY994I/zwIR which executes an On Demand program which checks the time of day, senses light condition percentage, and will turn on my room celining lights and a lamp with a standard incandescent bulb automatically to an appropriate dim for the conditions. That part isn't perfect - It's limited to existing stereo/TV manufacturer IR code lists, but it works for my hardware.

 

[Mystic1906]

Latest thing I have done is I changed out most of the light switches in my house to smart versions. Much cheaper than buying smart bulbs. Slowly the whole house will be smart.