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You can buy a zwave siren that will pair with smartthings that you can set off via motion sensors, window sensors, etc. Smartthings has an ADP model as well, but I've never really looked into that. Might be worth looking at.
Ok... I will check it out thanks. I was just thinking something that supported a google home device alarm would be great since we already have those spread throughout the house both upstairs and downstairs.
No. It's on my list. I don't have power near my house water shutoff for the valve. It's on my list...next time I have an electrician out I'm going to do it. But this little episode has taught me that in some situations like water heaters the auto-shutoff may not be critical. I have plenty of forewarning and time to react because of this sensor. If I didn't have the sensor I doubt I would have caught it until this thing failed catastrophically.
What water sensor are you using? We had a problem with our AC in our old house leaking water from the coils that could have been a long-term issue if we hadn't caught it. Having a water sensor would have allowed us to get a jump on it quicker. Don't want that same mistake in our new house.
I use the SmartThings zigbee sensor. But that's only because I already had the hub.
The wifi based stuff is great, especially with the increased automation capabilities of the Echo, Home, etc. But it lacks when it comes to non-powered sensors like door closed/open, motion, lux, etc. because wifi is too power hungry for batteries. The Echo and Home fall down with certain devices like zwave door locks, light switches, garage door openers, etc.
So with Christmas and "secret Santa" kinds of events, I have found myself the owner of a google home and some of these geeni plugs. Prior to this, I only had two ecobee 4 thermostats in my house. That was it as far as automation goes. I set up these plugs and they were really easy to set up. They seem to be relatively cheap compared to others as well. My question is are these things good? I can't find a ton of bad from reviews, mostly disconnect from the wifi etc. I don't have that problem as my house is fully covered between the cable modem router and an extender. Before I go down this path of home automation, I am wondering if anyone has experience with this line. They also have a toggle light switch that's $25 compared to others in the $40-$50 range. I am typically a "you get what you pay for" sort of person, so I am wondering what the difference is.
I'm not sure i am following. What are these hubs of which you speak? Something that you hook to via wifi but then the devices hook to it instead of wifi? I saw something like that for ceiling fans. It learns your remote then hook it to your wifi to control the signal. Fan isn't actually hooked in. That sort of thing?
The newest Echo and Home have some Hub like properties but they are limited in that they don't connect to zwave (Echo) devices or zwave or zigbee devices (Home). These two radio protocols are important for home automation for two reasons: they are low power use so battery operated devices are feasible, and they form mesh networks with each other so overall range is easily expanded. So, Hubs connet to primarily zwave and zigbee devices, and also allow a deeper level of automation and logic that what the Echo or Home allow. They can also themselves be connected to a Home or Echo to give voice interaction capability to their devices. They can connect to wifi devices, but typically do so server to server (Ecobee is a good example). Examples of Hubs are SmartThings, Wink, Vera.
I was struggling to understand the difference til here. Thanks for the info. I think, for now, I am good with a central place to control various things. I'm not sure I am to the point where I need my thermostat talking to my fans etc. The one thing I would REALLY like to accomplish is the turning on/off of the vent fans in the house. My wife and daughter just leave them running...drives me nuts. I THINK the best thing for that is the switch on the wall though. If I am reading correctly I can get a switch that is smart enough to turn off after X minutes of being turned on and/or smart enough to turn on/off based on humidity in the room.
They have fans that already do that with humidity without a smart switch. The timer switch isn’t really a smart switch either just a timer. I’ve enjoyed experimenting with the smart outlets. Awesome at Christmas and way better than my old remote/RF/clock battery/didn’t always work outlet plugs. That said for those fans you can do the timer switch or smart fan without getting into the stuff in this thread.The Commish said:
Correct, you can get a smart switch and motion sensor in the room. Fan automatically comes on when it senses someone come in, and tuns off after X minutes of no activity. My family likewise leaves the fans on all the time in our bathrooms, and i'm tempted to set this up in ours too.The Commish said:
Well, I am trying to avoid replacing fans. I did that in our last house and it didn't go well. I was replacing them because they didn't work but still.....if I don't have to replace fans, I'd be a lot more happy. I'm good with a simple timer too. Anything's better than just letting them run all the time. For our master though I have considered replacing the fan simply because it seems woefully small for the room. With the fans you are talking about, is it just a mechanism in the fan unit itself that determines humidity level or some such?
I'd probably be ok with this if I couldn't do it based on humidity. it just means the fan would come on every time I walked in that room even if it's just to brush my teeth and then would stay on for X amount of time.
The outlets I got are geeni outlets. You install an app on your phone...don't need google/alexa at all.
It is a sensor built into the fan, like this one that turns it on/off automatically. I think the timer option would work as well. Someone linked one earlier that was purely a timer. You couldn't turn it on and leave it on, you had to select a number of minutes. I will probably replace my master bathroom fan soon. I don't have an issue with my wife leaving it on, but the ones I have are the builder installed ones and aren't particularly quiet (that could lead to them staying on though!).
I can't recall the ones I got, but they worked with or without Alexa. I just use my Echo and FireTV cube (and app), so I made sure to get the outlets that supported Alexa as well. They work through an app, but the app gets linked to the Alexa app.
Wife just bought 2 WeMo plug in switches for some lamps. She got them at Costco. Easy to setup with the Google Home stuff. Can turn on/off with my phone.
There's a master smart switch and then a cheaper "Add-on" version for the other end of the three way.
I assume your house is a block house like mine. I bit the bullet and bought a wifi extender for my house (prior to this). There was no way around it for me. I don't have problems anymore.Osaurus said:Installed the geeni outlets and they work great. However, proximity to routers really jack up the signal at a pretty regular interval. The app is super easy to use so I like them.
You guys are going to have to speak English to me. I know just enough about electricity to kill myself. So, today, I have two three way paddle switches going to some can lights. We only really use the one switch though. Do I need two new switches to install or can I just install the one?Ron Swanson said:
Watch this video. He explains it fantastically with a demo.If you are still uncomfortable I would recommend you call an electrician.
Block home here too. I run a 2nd router (ASUS RT-AC86U) as an access point with a massive WiFi range in the back of the house. The smart outlet was making the primary router cycle power thus cutting out at a regular interval. Moved the smart outlet and no issues whatsoever. It was weird.
I have a Yale z-wave lock on my front door. Love it. Works great but also allows us to have different codes for different people (including temporary codes if necessary). That allows us to see who goes in and out of that door and when (we have teen boys - lol).
Schlage Z-wave smartlocks on all our doors. Have had them for years. Can't fathom why people would carry house keys anymore.
Also nice to know you never forget to lock your doors at night. When our nighttime routine automatically runs, it shuts off any lights that had been left on, locks our doors, and closes the garage door if it was left open.
Right way to do this is get smartthings, and install new GE Z-wave outlets. They look just regular outlets but you can control them with your phone and/or with automations.
Geeni outlets I have work great and was looking for minimal tech, but thanks for the suggestion.
I second these...and they are (were) relatively cheap when I was buying them.
This sounds like great advice. I have about 10 Philips Hue bulbs and they are very cool but I am looking at a home remodel in the near future and would have to purchase maybe 24 recessed lights and another 20+ standard A bulbs to upgrade the entire home. That's a hefty investment in bulbs that will eventually die.
. Google is doing much more than Wyze imo.
