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emocrat posted:Can anyone here point me to a comprehensive breakdown of major smart home ecosystems? I would like to get some basic stuff set up, but I am having a hard time figuring out what system to buy into. The cost of these things isn't trivial when you look at the number of outlets, switches and single purpose devices in a decent sized home and I am worried about sinking too much money into it and finding out its a dead end standard or whatnot. Wink sells inexpensive inwall touch screens with two assignable physical buttons and then giant touchscreen buttons for all of your scenes along with individual device status and control. It's kind of funny how I can control my Nest with the touch screen located directly below it in near instantly.
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Jan 7, 2017 04:06
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sellouts posted:I use this to make my Insteon stuff work without an Insteon hub. https://www.indigodomo.com/ It's what TraderStav is talking about. I use Insteon plugs and switches where it makes sense. An ecobee for thermostat. Harmony for electronics control. Philips Hue for the smart / color bulbs. Sonos plugin as well. All tied together with this software. It's solid. This would be fantastic. Would like to see that.
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Jan 7, 2017 04:12
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sellouts posted:I use this to make my Insteon stuff work without an Insteon hub. https://www.indigodomo.com/ It's what TraderStav is talking about. I use Insteon plugs and switches where it makes sense. An ecobee for thermostat. Harmony for electronics control. Philips Hue for the smart / color bulbs. Sonos plugin as well. All tied together with this software. It's solid. Overall, how satisfied are you with indigodomo? Worth the price? What about if I don't need to use multiple protocols? Any hassles or other things to mention about having to have a dedicated computer to run for it? TraderStav fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Jan 7, 2017 |
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Jan 7, 2017 05:34
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I am 100% satisfied. I run a Mac mini for Plex so it's already running and it's plugged into my power supply. The USB/power line modem works very well. My missed button presses are probably less than 1% and when I press again, it always works. The scheduled tasks always run, so my porch light comes on and off at sunset and sunrise. It lets me use python to write a few very basic scripts to manipulate the hues specifically. So I can do things like store the brightness, colors and color temps in variables so I can reset them in the morning and adjust the color temps during the day. If I were better at python I could probably do more. And if I don't want to it's about 15 seconds to set up a hue to turn on or off via a button on a panel. It lets me use Insteon, which is my preferred switch due to the 6 and 8 button panels. Which gives me a ton of options to control the lights that are not on wall switches, and have 2 "control panels" in my apt to control lights at a room level. Great for going to bed or going out when I can see if I forget to turn something off in each room. The plugin system hasn't failed me yet. Harmony, hue, sonos. The remote access is cool but very do it myself and I hated it so am in process of redoing it. Accessing every light remotely via app is neat. But a gimmick. Eventually I will get to the point where I put in motion detectors to set up the hues to turn on to 1% brightness in the room with motion as a nightlight. But for now I have 2 rooms to finish setting up and I am pulling a neutral wire into my kitchen because I need to wire the ballast at the switch level.
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Jan 7, 2017 07:33
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So it looks like the new Nvidia Shield TV not only does the regular streaming stuff, but also has Google Assistant so it works like a Google Home, and doubles as a smartthings hub. http://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-launches-new-shield-tv-the-most-advanced-streamer
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Jan 7, 2017 08:37
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Having (apparently, from reading between the lines of that press release) the always-on mic be on the controller is interesting. Wonder how the battery will perform.
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Jan 7, 2017 17:37
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Are there any smart switches that use old style toggle switches? Or is that style so out of date that everything uses the big rockers? Our house uses the old style, so if I could do a like-for-like replacement that would be nice.
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Jan 7, 2017 18:52
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There are toggle switches that are close, but I don't know of any that use a traditional throw. https://www.amazon.ca/GE-12727-Wireless-Lighting-Control/dp/B00PYMGOHM
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Jan 7, 2017 18:56
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You could also get one of those Zwave discrete switches that just sits inside the gang box. Enerwave Z-Wave Plus ZWN-RSM1 Hidden Switch, Wireless, NEUTRAL WIRE REQUIRED, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G7OD1F8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_IZuCyb7AAQBWS Edit: I guess i don't know how this would work with the switch position. Would it just not be consistent based on how you actuate the switch?
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Jan 7, 2017 21:17
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The questions on that linked page say the physical switch acts as a toggle of the current state.
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Jan 7, 2017 23:11
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Yeah, just like it's part of a 3-way setup.
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Jan 7, 2017 23:38
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smackfu posted:Or is that style so out of date that everything uses the big rockers? Decora was like the highest end light switch/outlets you could buy in the I dunno, early 80s maybe? It was considered very high-end and fashionable and expensive. It's still slightly more expensive than the standard light switches but it used to be much more. At a certain point it just became the standard for a high-end home, especially after the design patents expired. The funny thing is it is slightly more expensive these days but one way you can tell if someone really cut corners on a house for perception is look at the light switches and the outlets, often the outlets will be the standard style but the light switches are the Decora style. They do this to save like, I dunno, $100, maybe a couple of hundred tops on a house.
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Jan 7, 2017 23:53
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Got a Leutron Caseta kit, two dimmers, two remotes and a bridge. Good stuff. Didn't take much effort to get it setup on a 3way circuit in my no neutral house. Had to buy some dimmer bulbs before hand.
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Jan 8, 2017 03:04
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nm
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Jan 9, 2017 20:35
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Ok, I am looking at getting some Insteon stuff and I am hoping someone who knows more about it than me can give me some insight on a few questions. First, whats the deal with the different iterations of the Insteon hub? For example, I can buy this: https://goo.gl/k6qJgG which is a hub and 2 dimmers, for less than the cost of the hub itself as linked from Insteon. But I think it might be an older model? It is unclear. So, any advice on the Hubs? I don't care about Homekit. Second, I want to know if I can actually do what I want, and if so, DO I need anything additional. I have a room with 1 light switch, controlling 1 switched outlet. it has 3 lamps total. 1 on the switched outlet, and 2 on separate, unswitched outlets. I want to have the single switch turn on, and dimm, all 3 lamps. I want to be able to control it all from that switch without having to use my phone (beyond setup of course). So, how to go about this? Seems like I need 1 hub, 2 dimmer modules and 1 dimmer switch. I create a scene essentially that is all 3 lights and set the dimmer switch to control the scene on/off. What I am unclear on, is being able to then control the dimming level of all 3 at the same time. So, any thoughts?
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Jan 10, 2017 16:06
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emocrat posted:Ok, I am looking at getting some Insteon stuff and I am hoping someone who knows more about it than me can give me some insight on a few questions. That package is selling at Costco for $29.97 and yes, it's cheaper than the smarthome.com website. It's a steal for getting started with Insteon. The 'newer' hub supports homekit but apparently is a disaster in other respects. That one in the package with the dimmers is the one you want. Down the road you a can swap out the hub for newer/different solutions and use your existing switches/equipment. You can do what you are saying, essentially you would be having the smart switch be the controller and you'd have to set up the dimmer switches to be responders. It's not super straight forward as a process but it's very doable. There are instructions in the manual. You'll go back and forth between the switch and dimmer with key presses to get it right. I have this set up in my rooms with two switches for one ceiling light.
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Jan 10, 2017 16:29
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Someone was asking about the Hue Tap's longevity. Mine has died after six months. Gonna see if I can get a warranty replacement, but that's ridiculous.
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Jan 10, 2017 16:35
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TraderStav posted:That package is selling at Costco for $29.97 and yes, it's cheaper than the smarthome.com website. It's a steal for getting started with Insteon. The 'newer' hub supports homekit but apparently is a disaster in other respects. That one in the package with the dimmers is the one you want. Down the road you a can swap out the hub for newer/different solutions and use your existing switches/equipment. Awesome, thanks. I have a Costco membership too so thats fantastic.
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Jan 10, 2017 17:00
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emocrat posted:Awesome, thanks. I have a Costco membership too so thats fantastic. Yup, you're basically two months behind me so keep tossing out questions. Pick up an Amazon Echo while you're at it. It makes it SOO much better. I've heard complaints around Insteon (here and elsewhere) but overall I've been very happy with it for my purposes.
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Jan 10, 2017 17:16
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TraderStav posted:Yup, you're basically two months behind me so keep tossing out questions. Pick up an Amazon Echo while you're at it. It makes it SOO much better. I've heard complaints around Insteon (here and elsewhere) but overall I've been very happy with it for my purposes. Cool, Will do. The reason I'm gravitating towards Insteon, is that as far as I can tell, its got the best setup for keeping control off the smartphone. I really really want to avoid getting to a place where I have to pull out my phone to perform any operation that isn't very complex. I also want complete functionality for a guest and all.
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Jan 10, 2017 17:45
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emocrat posted:Cool, Will do. The reason I'm gravitating towards Insteon, is that as far as I can tell, its got the best setup for keeping control off the smartphone. I really really want to avoid getting to a place where I have to pull out my phone to perform any operation that isn't very complex. I also want complete functionality for a guest and all. Both Zwave and Insteon (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on Zwave) act as Switches first and should never/rarely require an app to operate. Some criticsms about Smartthings/Zwave are security concerns and challenges getting to remote areas of your home as Zwave does not use powerline AND mesh like Insteon does. Insteon has complaints about cost (not open market for their products like Zwave) and less flexibility in the app since Smartthings has an open market (which also leads to security issues). Hope that helps.
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Jan 10, 2017 17:50
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emocrat posted:Awesome, thanks. I have a Costco membership too so thats fantastic.
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Jan 11, 2017 00:41
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emocrat posted:Cool, Will do. The reason I'm gravitating towards Insteon, is that as far as I can tell, its got the best setup for keeping control off the smartphone. I really really want to avoid getting to a place where I have to pull out my phone to perform any operation that isn't very complex. I also want complete functionality for a guest and all. I have my setup going and dont have the app even setup.
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Jan 11, 2017 02:42
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Alright so have any of you stumbled across software for a raspi to run a drone gun? I need something that can shoot home invaders when I'm not there to do it myself.
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Jan 12, 2017 01:11
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Anyone have experience with the second gen Kwikset Kevo smart door lock? In theory it seems like just what I want.
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Jan 12, 2017 04:22
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My experience was that it didn't work with my thick door. 
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Jan 12, 2017 04:27
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I seem to have a pretty standard door so not too worried about that, although it does get pretty tight on cold days despite being a condo door.
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Jan 12, 2017 04:35
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Does anyone know what the Hue White Ambience bulb is? As opposed to the color and white bulbs.
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Jan 12, 2017 14:10
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smackfu posted:Does anyone know what the Hue White Ambience bulb is? As opposed to the color and white bulbs. The ambiance bulb allows for different color temperatures and brightness, while the standard bulb only does brightness at a fixed 2700K. From their description: quote:50 thousands shade of white, from warm to cold color temperatures The ambiance bulb also has a more 'spotlight' looking shape, and consequently has a slightly more focused beam.
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Jan 12, 2017 14:55
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smackfu posted:Does anyone know what the Hue White Ambience bulb is? As opposed to the color and white bulbs. I have one of these bulbs and a bunch of just standard white ones. I have to say I actually really like the ambiance control, and feel that it is worth the extra cost compared to the basic white. This is coming from someone who has never bought a color bulb because the price seems ridiculous for what in my mind is a gimmick. Currently we use the ambiance bulb in our nursery, and it is great for putting on nice bright blueish light when I need to see clearly for baby cleaning duty, and then dropping it down to a dim yellowish hue at night time to make the room very comfortable to sit in as the baby drifts off to sleep. I would definitely use ambiance bulbs anywhere that you want to be both a productive space, and a relaxing space at different times of your day.
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Jan 12, 2017 15:57
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Can anyone tell me what happens to Insteon products of my internet goes out? Will everything come crashing down, or will my wall switches still work? What if I have a wall switch configured to toggle a scene?
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Jan 12, 2017 16:53
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emocrat posted:Can anyone tell me what happens to Insteon products of my internet goes out? Will everything come crashing down, or will my wall switches still work? What if I have a wall switch configured to toggle a scene? Everything will work just fine. Scenes will probably work as it doesn't need to communicate to the cloud for those.
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Jan 12, 2017 17:32
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SpaceCadetBob posted:I would definitely use ambiance bulbs anywhere that you want to be both a productive space, and a relaxing space at different times of your day. Ah, interesting. That might be fun to play with, and a lot more useful than colors.
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Jan 12, 2017 20:10
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I really disliked the brightness of the non-ambiance ones, was depressingly dark in my north facing PNW condo. Didn't know the difference either. Still receiving them since "in stock" to best buy online apparently means shipping one bulb at a time from storess all over western Canada.
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Jan 13, 2017 00:21
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Yeah, the downside to Hue is the non-smart Phillips LED bulbs (example: 455709) are just... better light sources. It's too bad.
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Jan 13, 2017 01:16
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Why prefer smart bulbs over smart switches or vice versa?
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Jan 13, 2017 01:52
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Table lamps and floor lamps for bulbs. Things you normally don't control with a wall switch.
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Jan 13, 2017 01:56
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Thermopyle posted:Why prefer smart bulbs over smart switches or vice versa? On top of floor and table lamps, there're people like me who live in apartments and cannot install switches and not break lease. Also (and I'm very willing to be wrong on this) smart bulbs allow for color mixing in a room much more easily than smart switches, but if that's not your bag, it's moot anyway.
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Jan 13, 2017 15:45
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Does Hue even do smart switches? I have a couple of rooms that could use a switch over smart bulbs and i don't know what to look for in that department.
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Jan 13, 2017 17:37
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Happy Noodle Boy posted:Does Hue even do smart switches? I have a couple of rooms that could use a switch over smart bulbs and i don't know what to look for in that department. Holding out hope that hue finally does this is what has kept me from buying in on insteon or lutron. I would really like to keep my place under one MFG, but honestly it is probably a fools hope.
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Jan 13, 2017 17:43
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