Yesterday, as part of Amazon’s Prime Day deals, their Echo device was on sale. I had mulled over buying one, and then took the plunge. (Thanks, Ben!)
The Echo can play music, but its big selling point is the Alexa voice-activated controls. It can tell you the weather and spit out other information, but it can also work with various brands’ home automation products.
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Shown above is Lutron’s Caseta light dimmer kit ($190 via Amazon), an example of “smart” connectable devices.
I like the idea behind what these products can do.
We have one room where there’s a light switch in a stupid place. I’ve been meaning to put in a 3-way switch on the other side of the room, but there’s an existing switch there controlling a wall outlet. It’s dumb. The Caseta dimmers are appealing even without the Wireless Smart Bridge, as it means I can attach the wireless dimmer remote to make the light switch behave like a 3-way.
Our upstairs hall light is also a bit dumbly designed. There’s a switch downstairs, which is good, but the upstairs switch is in the middle of the hallway. It would be better placed at the top of the stairs. Using a Caseta wireless dimmer kit, I could in theory add a 3rd control point, for 4-way-like lighting.
I could also add a sensor for turning on the light whenever someone is in the hallway.
With more advanced control, I could perhaps set the upstairs hallway light to turn on when it detects movement after say 6pm.
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There are now connectable:
- Light switches
- Light bulbs
- Wall outlets & appliance adapters
- Garage door openers
- Thermostats
- Door locks
- Sensors
- Blinds
Home Automation isn’t anything new, but smartphone control adds much more potential.
I’m really looking forward to getting things started!
A few years ago we went to Las Vegas, staying at the Aria for a short night before driving to Zion National Park in Utah. Everything was automated, and it was slow and clunky.
I’ll start exploring some more home automation tech, and hopefully it’s ready for prime time.
In the meantime, is your home connected? Smart? Pseudo-automated?
Do you have any recommendations?
What kinds of things would you want us to test out?
john
I have 3 echos and 5 wemo switches. I love it. Laying in bed the wife forgets to turn off the hallway light, I just say ” Alexa, turn off Hallway light”
jtr165
My wife got a Nest Cam as baby shower gift about a year ago. We already owned a nest thermostat, and I ended up buying one of the smoke detectors a few weeks after that shower. So far, that is all we have ‘connected home’, wise.
the products are good…but I can’t lie that i’m a little disappointed with how slow nest has been to integrate other products, or for other manufacturers to use the system’s api’s. Google is releasing an echo-like clone later this year, and Google owns Nest, but they have been completely silent on capabilities between the two.
As far as the camera, nest has a pretty ridiculous pay wall. It works perfectly fine as a live camera feed, which is all you need as a baby monitor…and the notifications sent to your phone when there is movement work pretty well for the most part. But, the app is due for a refresh, it’s slow, doesn’t allow any kind of background play (when you close the app there is no sound from the video feed), and locks built in features behind a subscription service (notification ‘zones’, better notification control, etc.)
Anyway, I’d invest in a few more things like light switch controls, bulbs, and things like that…but i’d prefer the ‘hub’ to just be my phone and tablet. Both have the option to be ‘listening’ at locations I choose (i.e. home) already. Just hoping I didn’t jump the gun and get into a product line that is dying, as they’re getting outpaced by competition relatively quickly.
Derek
I’ve been wanting to get a security camera like the Nest one, but don’t want to pay a subscription. Too many of these companies stop supporting the cameras or go out of business so I still don’t have one.
Stuart
I didn’t know Google was also coming out with a hub.
Google voice recognition has gotten really, really good. Since Amazon’s Fire devices are based on Android, I wonder if they use Google’s voice service.
But when it comes to customer service, Amazon is so much better than Google. I have problems with Google services sometimes, even ones where there’s money involved, and it’s usually impossible to reach a human being.
jtr165
@Derek, yeah, I don’t blame you. The nest cam was a gift, as some family members knew we had a nest themostat and did a little research. It was thoughtful and we appreciate it, and the device overall is very good (great feed quality, 2 way talking works with minimal delay, etc.). Its the software side, and business behind it that is annoying. No local feed storage; you can’t save any of the video to your local equipment…those kinds of things. It’s a very ‘closed’ system, and too heavily relies on Nest’s cloud services, and that could be bad if the company struggles like it’s been for most of this year.
@stuart
http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/05/18/google-home-is-a-googles-smart-home-hub-coming-later-this-year/
Notice how most of these articles point to casting services to TV’s and stereo’s, more than any ‘connected home’ like options. The way things are going with Google/Nest, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nest releases their own ‘hub’ separate of this thing, making everything even more confusing.
Also, from how I understand it, Fire OS is a fork of android, as apposed to an OEM reskin like most android phones and tablets, and does not use any of google’s software suite. So no location, machine learning, or voice assist features are embedded in Echo or Fire devices, Amazon builds that themselves.
Blake
I have a Nest which I actually only like for the interface and ability to make changes on my phone away from home. A lot of features like how it sets the schedule for you based on your changes just doesn’t work that well. I also have the Chamberlin connect device so that I can be notified if we leave the garage door open. This I installed after being woke up by the police at 3am to tell us we had left the door open. These two are about the only things I feel comfortable installing. I just don’t feel right connecting other items up to the internet that could possibly be hacked like cameras and the connected locks.
Drew
I have 4 Philips Hue color bulbs as accent lighting and Bloom table lamp. Totally worth the price. I can change colors of all them together or individually. Also a great feature is being able to accent lighting colors based off pictures. The iphone app is very easy to use and setup can be done in less than 5 minutes.
Bob
I have some Insteon modules controlled by an ISY994i. It controls my lawn irrigation system. We have strict irrigation restrictions where I live. The ISY994i determines the irrigation requirements by checking the weather conditions and only waters the lawn when it needs it while staying within the 3 days a week I am allowed to water.
I also have a leak detector connected to tell me if my water heater has sprung a leak. It emails an alert to me when it senses a leak. Thankfully I haven’t had a single email from it.
Finally I control some lights in the house with it. I picked up an Echo during Amazon Prime Day and I intend to integrate it with the ISY994i to add voice control to the lights.
I like the ISY994i as a home automation hub. It’s small, a little larger than a pack of playing cards. It’s very reliable, can be integrated with Zwave accessories and is well supported. The downside is that all of the automation actions must be programmed in an event based IF/THEN style.
Tom
I have two Nests, which are great. I have been thinking a lot about setting up a basic Home Automation system, but I really don’t know where to start. My understanding that even with the Echo you need to get another wireless hub for most things.
I am in the process of installing an ERV in my house, which I would like to control remotely. In addition, it would be nice to put most of my exterior lights on timers…. something like on at sunset and off at 10:30PM. That would be nice.
I am just nervous because I don’t want to spend a lot of money and time on something that is going to be obsolete in just a few years.
Stuart
Yes, it’s also my understanding that the Echo communicates with a hub, for devices that require one. I believe that some devices don’t require one.
The Echo can be used to play music and spit out weather info and the such, and ordering stuff from Amazon. So even if not used for home automation, it still seems neat.
What I’d like to figure out is how to control the TV and things like volume via voice recognition. It’s hard keeping remotes within reach while still being out out of reach of my son.
Tom
For me, simplicity is key. As I get older and older I am really having a harder time learning new tech systems. I had a blackberry for a year and couldn’t ever figure how to use the thing. ios has been great to me though.
One father to another, get yourself an RF remote. Being able to change the channel without the child seeing what you are doing is great. They don’t see you fiddling with the device, so it just doesn’t have much interest for them.
Justin
I have a 9 Hue Bulbs and a dozen Cree Connected bulbs attached to the system. Actually since we just moved from rented townhouse to owned Single Family house, many of the Connected Bulbs are in a bag.
With the Hue Tap, I basically have two rooms which have switched lights which aren’t on a switched circuit. The downside is that if the power blinks, the lights come back up in normal light mode. So if it’s night, suddenly all the bulbs are on.
If I had to do it again, I’d go with more of the Caseta, less Hue. The Hue bulbs can do every color and that’s nice to “paint” a room in light, but the Caseta is more practical.
I also have two Honeywill Wifi thermostats which can be controlled by from phone or laptop and they integrate with IFTTT. So if the outside temp drops below 55, IFTTT can flip the house to Heat mode. IFTTT also blinks lights in the house if there is a Severe T-storm or Tornado warning. But I mainly got them as it’s substantially easier to program a thermostat with a grid in a web browser than on the device itself.
Blind control would be nice on one of our “needs a 10-foot ladder to reach” windows but that’s a ways out.
BonPacific
I may get a Nest thermostat at some point in the future, but other than that, I don’t trust a single one of these devices. So few companies take security seriously, that I refuse to connect my doorlocks, garage door, or cameras to the internet.
Now, this isn’t just a luddite argument. I’m a programmer by trade, and most startup/silicon valley approaches leave security and accountability as the lowest priorities, when these should be the absolute first item on any companies priority list. Simply by connecting a product to the internet, you open it to a massive range of threats.
jtr165
I work in IT security, and I couldn’t agree more. The company I work for gets contracted by various businesses to handle remote security for various services. Some of the bigger accounts are for banks and even a few major universities. Most of our ‘work’ is as a redundancy, but even with that we get access to their in house systems and consult on vulnerabilities.
The main thing is that there is a conflict between the techs and the ‘suits’ from both our company, and the clients. Everyone is all about data security until they see the costs involved with doing it right and being dynamic enough to change with technology, and then all of a sudden it’s nothing but back burners and corner cutting. We’ve worked with universities that budget so little toward student data security I can’t believe it’s legal. We’re talking about less than a typical full time prof’s salary…per year…to securely handle 40,000 student’s personal information. Any graduates in here ever get letters about your university having a ‘data breach’, with directions to follow on preventing identity theft? I get these at least once a year since 2008, and the above is usually why.
So it’s always a push and pull between doing what is needed, then fitting it into this laughably small budget…then nothing but surprised faces when it gets blown wide open. I don’t know what kind of event needs to happen to get the general business side of ‘cloud security’ arranged in a logical way…but it’s getting worse before it’ll get better, i think.
Tim
I have done some Insteon devices at work and at home. The price point is great and you can program “manually” with out a hub if you just need a few simple solutions as you mentioned needing a 3-way with out running wires from switch to switch.
I also have done Lutron Radio Ra2 installs and it’s expensive and less home owner freindly.
And all the “other” z-wave products are quite popular for the people from the software end of things. Being an electrician though, the optoins for the switches appeal less to me though, because of the dimming options (maybe this has changed though)
MtnRanch
It’s ironic that many of these devices are sold for security but at the same time they are so poorly designed that the create huge network security holes.
Home automation devices should never be connected to the same network as your computers. Also be aware that it’s pretty simple to open a home automation doorlock without a key – but not as easy as a brick through a window.
Brandon
+1
John McLain
Thank you for saying this. I’d go one step further to say they should not be connected to the internet either.
The security problems are obvious to me, but also, homes last a long time and internet services (especially free ones) generally do not. If you make your house dependent on someone’s internet service, that part of your house will stop working when they decide to discontinue that service.
To me, a good home automation device is something you install once and forget about. No software updates, no need to tell it what to do, it just does it’s job reliably with minimal external dependencies and interaction.
BigDan
Got an Insteon set, since it works with windows 8/10 and all apple/android/winphone variants I believe. Used the camera on it, and some lights. Only downside is not recording with the camera, but it’s good for live feed and the interface is nice.
Waiting for a real industry standard which unfortunately is going to have to be defined by Apple since google can’t get their hands out of their arses. And then it’ll shift to Android and windows over time.
I know we have standards currently but they dont cut it for the masses.
And yes, real encryption that is as difficult to access through the web as possible.
Today you could probably use a router to prevent internet access to a certain access point/lan port on the network except by whitelisted devices you add. But again not for the masses.
David C
Standardization is the big thing right now that limits the amount of money that I am willing to put into home automation at this point. There are too many small players that are trying to get into it that require you to use their hub for products to work.
BigDan
Exactly! And I’ve seen the Foscam generic clone rotating pivoting camera in a hundred different offerings.
We need a “USB” standard for security gear. That way the monitored services can’t all offer their own crap too and make you get stuck with them.
rob
Stuart,
You won’t regret the Echo-I now own 3 Echoes, 2 Dots and 2 Taps in different locations. From listening to the radio to setting a timer you just learn to use it with everything. I’ve connected my irrigation system (Rachio) to it, Nest Thermostats, WeMo Switches, and Hue Lights among other things. I have a SkyBell but unfortunately I have v1 which won’t work with Echo. The Automatic Car adapter can tell you where you car was last when you ask Echo, also can tell you how much gas is in the car if the device can read your gas gauge. Rumors are Harmony Ultimate remotes will soon have the ability to work with Echo.
A few things I wish would also work with MLB at Bat, Honeywell Total Control Alarms, Chamberlain MyQ Garage Doors, and Bloomsky Weather stations.
Jimmie
I have a number of timers and dumb schedule controllers but I don’t have anything that would qualify as “home automation”.
I have difficulty motivating myself to buy into an HA ecosystem that relies on a third party cloud service that I do not control. What if the company decides to pull the plug 6 months after I spend hundreds of dollars on devices that use it?
David C
Exactly, and there are a few cases of this already happening with product lines. It then becomes the equivalent of owning an HD DVD player.
JSBSON
Think about it. How good do you think your network security is? Do you really want a hacker controlling your home?
David C
I am slowly getting into home automation. I have a Nest Thermostat (which works very well IMO) a Wink hub, some GoControl security sensors, and some crappy TCP connected LED lights.
My big concern is dumping more money into home automation before the industry is better standardized. It is very time consuming to figure out what works with what and if you need an additional hub for products to function correctly. The Wink hub seems to work with most home automation products and is really nice for setting up functions (they call it a robot) were if X happens then do Y and/or Z.
I was recently burned by TCP because as of 6/30/16 they stopped supporting their cloud functionality. You can no longer control their lights if you are not connected to your home network. It also prevents the lights from functioning with schedules or my Wink robots. My “smart” lights are now are pretty dumb lights. So now if I want to be able to have “smart” lights that function as they should, I have to purchase new lights.
I recently found 3 of the Phillips Iris lights at Home Depot on deep clearance and gave them to my brother. He said they are really nice and function very well for mood lighting.
Acalz
I’m in the same boat with the TCP Connect lights. I have about 60 light bulbs from them. I only have 4 connected…. for now but no big deal since they were all mostly a penny each from the Home Depot Clearance section, heck one girl gave me 34 of them for free when the rang up a penny.
but at least they still work on the home wifi .
Jon
I have the ecobee3 thermostat and the Quirky eros window a.c. unit. Both can be part of a “connected” home but I do not have a hub as of yet. It just seems like there are still bugs to work out with all of the various hubs on the market. I am waiting until one differentiates itself as the clear standard.
Samsung SmarThings seemed like the product to beat but it has had its own issues lately which made me skittish on it. We are not an Apple household so Homekit is not an option for us. Amazon echo looks very promising but I’m not completely sold yet.
Tyler
I’m wanting to get more into modern automation, but will do it as funds allow. Our current setup is from when we moved in to our current house and realized the sump pump ran very frequently in wet seasons. This was all before Z-Wave and other IOT devices really started to take off.
I set up a controller server and mPort modules from Ubiquiti. I have an A/C current sensor monitoring for power loss and tracking how often the pump runs. We also installed a battery operated backup pump for power outages or if the first pump couldn’t keep up with the inflow for some reason. Finally, I placed a moisture sensor and a float switch towards the top of the pit as a final danger threshold.
Some of the alerts I set up are: Pump hasn’t run for X amount of minutes (indicates switch failure or dry spell), main pump runs for more than 45 seconds (indicates switch failure or excessive water infiltration), backup pump run (triggered by a 12v relay), and finally the top level warning that the pit is almost full and something is clearly wrong.
This has allowed me to sleep comfortably at night and allows me to leave the home for extended periods without worry. It paid for itself before it was even fully installed. I was testing some of the sensors one night and left it running when I called it a night. I got a notice shortly after going to bed that the moisture sensor that I had just laying on the floor was triggered. It turns out the previous owner’s plumbing sprung a leak and was spraying water all over our utility room and the neighboring bedroom (framed in, not finished). We had overflow boxes from our recent move in that room. Our plans were to leave the next morning for a 3 day weekend out of town. I’m convinced we wouldn’t have known it was leaking till we got home from the trip and it would have destroyed some of our belongings and partially flooded that area of the basement since the pump was running every 8-11 minutes at that time.
Demetri
Bob – What kind of leak detector do you have?
I also have a leak detector connected to tell me if my water heater has sprung a leak. It emails an alert to me when it senses a leak.
I want to do the same as my main water line is far from washer/slop sink/water heater.
I open to any other recommendations
Thank you
Bob
It’s an Insteon leak detector, http://www.insteon.com/leak-sensor/
It connects to my ISY994i. The ISY994i monitors the out put of the detector and sends the email. I believe the sensor would work with any Insteon compatible hub.
Farid
This is not exactly home automation, but Illumra makes some nice wireless switches
http://illumra.com/products/wireless-light-switches/
What is unique is that you can install as many remote switches as you need for an existing fixture or outlet. The switches themselves require no power and no wiring! A hidden relay module is used to control the device. Mine is wired inside one of the existing wall switches.
I tried one after I needed one more switch added to an existing 3-way circuit and did not want to run new wires all over the house.
My next project would be to add one to control the outside flood lights from the bedroom.
They also carry Bluetooth and Zigbee devices.
Justin
I’ve used Lowe’s Iris in my last two homes. Its a very simple solution, everything that is labelled with Iris at Lowe’s will work. They have switches, buttons, outlets, sensors, irrigation controllers and a bunch of other stuff. The pricing is reasonable, but you do have to pay $10 a month for the premium service to get the rules to work (rules are what makes the whole system ‘smart’). The rules they have are limiting, but they work. I’ve been happy with it so far, but it is a bit limiting compared to the newer systems.
For our next house, I plan on switching to Wink. They can communicate with Z-wave, Zigbee, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so it has a wide acceptance of devices (the only other real choice is Samsung’s smartthings in that regard). I will get the wink hub, then add a handful of Wink Relays in the bedrooms and primary living rooms. That will control the primary lighting in the rooms, work as an intercom, and have a screen to control the system.
Something I found yesterday on Prime day, was a in-box switch relay (https://www.amazon.com/Enerwave-ZWN-RSM1S-Z-Wave-Convert-Enabled/dp/B00JW0G1A2/). You can install it behind the switches and then control it via the smart phone app or install a z-wave button where you want to control the light.
Justin
I forgot to mention, Amazon Alexa works with Wink, so you can use it to control whatever Wink can access.
Jay
Automation within the home does not interest us all that much. Outdoor surveillance and lighting is what we are looking into. Our gate is a couple hundred yards from the house so we are also looking into remote sensors that will alert us to any vehicular or foot traffic that occurs at that location as well as movement around any of our out buildings.
Benjamen
I bought a quirky hub with two lights bulbs when it was cheap so I could but a dimmer in my daughters room. The bulbs didn’t dim enough so I had to pick a a HUE light for her room.
I have to say it is the biggest POS there is. It was a nightmare to setup and networking was one of my hats in my old business. It’s not compatible with anything but the lights and only the wink lights. I had to trick it into being compatible with a Hue light. It loses track of all the bulbs in my house on a regular basis and has to be reprogrammed from scratch.
Still I was my daughters hero when I could dim her lights in Minnesota when I was in Baltimore. I didn’t have to, she could have done it from her tablet.
I used to have my outside lights connected, but last time I had to reprogram I didn’t reconnect them because I was sick of doing it. It never served the purpose of being able to tell me if the outside lights were on when I was in bed anyway.
I’ve been on the fence about getting a proper wink hub after my experience with the Quirky, but may have to if the Quirky isn’t compatible with the Echo.
I hate how these devices have to connect to the internet. I’d rather they use Wifi and connect to my phone. They say it would be slower, but having to press a button on my phone and go out to the internet to have a command sent to the lights isn’t any faster.
I have an Wifi Aria scale and it has worked perfectly for three years, it reports our weight and body fat measurements to which ever fitness program we’re using at the time.
Emma
I actually just started setting my house up for home automation this week. I went with the Samsung Smartthings hub (works with the echo) and am replacing switches and plugs with z-wave versions. TLDR I think its a good investment right now because you start with a little and then expand as you see fit and the prices are not all that bad unless you go with a high end proprietary system. Gives you a whole bunch of really useful functionality.
The good:
– Motion Sensors: Did not see a use for these initially (other than for security which I am not really setting up) but they are great. Most are fully wireless (like a lot of other zwave devices), batteries last several years, and are very simple to install. You can do all sorts of cool things with these like automatically turn on lighting at night to a dim level when it senses motion, or turn off lighting in a room after a while of no motion. The Fibaro version that I bought (a bit pricey but nice) also contain light and temperature sensors, which means that you can use this data to drive functionality.
– Plug in dimmers: These are super simple to set up and install. Instantly gives you dimming capability on any light you use them on.
– In Wall Plugs: Have not installed these yet but they are nice because they dont have anything external for kids to play with and have a much cleaner look than the plug in style.
– In Wall Switches: Allows both manual app control of on and off and dimming functionality. Some buttons give you “scene” capability (hit the button and a bunch of lights/other things come on to specific preset configuration). Some of the brands can be configured to do multiple functions with one switch like double tapping. Like you mentioned gives you the capability to add 3/4/5/etc way switch capability with no wires.
– Hidden micro controllers: These go behind existing switches to give control but keep your original switch. Great when you have switches you already really like.
– Smart bulbs: Have not tried this yet. Mainly going with switches and plugs.
– Smartthings hub: Open source and extremely configurable. Works with zwave, zigbee, and wifi devices. Tons of routines available (things like “turn on lights when I come home”). You can write your own “routines” to do anything you want if you want something very specific. There is also a large user base who seem to be extremely helpful, for instance you can as people to write a routine for you and it usually happens very quickly. Partial interface with other brands proprietary systems like Sonos, Nest, Harmony, Echo, Hue. etc. Because it uses z wave and other open standards that means that hardware (plugs, switches, sensors) you buy will still work even if you upgrade to a different hub system in the future.
The Bad:
– Plug in dimmers: You don’t get external control of the dimming functionality or plug on/off with most brands.
– In wall switches: There does not seem to be a wide variety of non-standard switch configurations. There are mainly only one or two switch configurations, dimmers in one switch configurations, and hard wired three way switches are very basic. I have a lot of 3 way switches with 2 switches in one where one is a 3way and one is a single switch for other lights.
-Hidden micro controlers: Lack of physical controls.
-Smart Bulbs: One switch can control a lot of dumb bulbs but smart bulbs need one for every lamp.
-Smartthings hub: Not the most user friendly interface. Setup is not good for non-technical people once you get past basic functionality.
Woodchuck
Get a Wink to pair with the Echo (my setup). It’s cheap and has a ton of connect ability. I have my thermostat, back door locks, and a bunch of lights set up on it, and can either use my cell phone, or the Echo as the controller. Pretty easy to do too. The Leviton plug in appliance modules make this very easy for lamps, and other small appliances. I’m slowly replacing key lights with GE Smart Switches (look similar to a normal light switch), and can pair them with a small Lutron remote control, using ‘robot’ commands. The wife LOVES the little remote.
Nathan
I ended up getting a non- branded controller system. IE not wink, not Link, not SmartThings etc.
Mine is a Vera and I’d also recommend the Zipato Zipabox. Reason is they sell the device without the need of additional service contracts or other needs. so it is open for you to use and customize on your own. Both have support for Zwave, and Zigbee devices as well as Wifi 2.4 ghz N connections. IE it can tether to your home network and then create it’s own separate secured wireless network for your smart home/security system items.
However for the novice with computer stuffs – Wink is far easier to use since their website and system does most of the heavy lifting.
I have a few outlets setup in my home they are on/off but also tell me power useage – which I use as an indicator to tell me what’s currently on or not. (wifey leaves the TV on – I can tell and then turn that side off)
garage door opener also in a nice feature. Not use to open and close but it tells me the state of the door.
light, temp, humidity sensors are my next purchase – I think. I’m still not 100% sold on the Door Locks but I know people that swear by them.
Steve
HomeSeer: http://www.homeseer.com/ . Local based control with no need for internet connectivity unless you want remote notifications/control and these can be securely configured. My own system relies on ZWave devices but numerous other standards can be utilized. Alexa, Nest, Insteon, X10 and many others are supported. HomeSeer has an active 3rd party development community that provides an extensive array of functionality through plug-ins. Of course with flexibility comes complexity and though HomeSeer isn’t difficult to use there is a slight learning curve. Thankfully they have excellent support including real humans, an active user forum and extensive FAQ’s and How-To’s.
I use my system to monitor for problems. Water leak detection, smoke/CO, door/window open and temp in outbuildings. It’s also easy to monitor dedicated alarm contacts on equipment (not exactly common in the home) but I do monitor my freezer’s alarm by monitoring the buzzer circuit.
Matt
I have installed both Lutron Caséta Wireless dimmers and Crestron pyng system (http://www.crestron.com/products/line/crestron-pyng-home-automation-ipad-app) within my house and like both products. I have used many lutron products and they all work great. I personally like the Crestron pyng system much better and use it in my entire house. I was able to program and install all the lighting controls, security cameras, and thermostats into a single system thru my iPad. I have a 10 inch touchscreen mounted on the wall which can control the entire house and view all security cameras. All cameras and touchscreens are POE (power over Ethernet) which I like that since you only have to run a single cable to all devices. Crestron componets need to be bought thru a dealer which are more expensive than lutron components. If you use lutron Caséta Wireless Pro hub you can connect that to a control4 system which gives you many similar functions as the crestron system.
dave
The day I’m too lazy to get up and change the lighting, put me in a nursing home. Thank you.
Rick
I have the iSmart home alarm system with montion sensors, contact sensors, extra alarm sirens, and color security camera. It’s not a monitored system which saves money. I can monitor it as can my wife with iPhones including see live camera feeds. We can set the system on/off with remote controls or using the iPhones. If the alarm goes off and we are away, we get phone calls, texts and emails saying not only that the alarm has been triggered but which sensor was tripped. The system also lets us know if a battery in the sensor needs replacing. We also get notifications if our smoke or carbon monoxide alarms are triggered. We’ve had the system over a year and had zero false alarms but every time we’ve forgotten to turn the system off and trip a sensor its worked perfectly.
Randy
I have several outdoor light fixtures on a common switch that I would like to separate control of via Z-Wave. Does anyone know of an in fixture switch that can be wired in to control each light separately? I am willing to eliminate the hardwired switch inside to provide constant power to the circuit. Thanks for any help in advance