Home Automation and Security Systems

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Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Not sure this is the right thread so if it isn't point me elsewhere please.

I just brought a house that's newish construction (2014) and the previous owner went in for a lot of home automation and left most of it as fixtures in the house. So I had the fun of dealing with all the IOT vendors and trying to get things moved to a different account. Anyway, as I was naming all of the Simplisafe sensors in the various rooms by opening windows, taking out batteries, etc... I noticed that there's also 3 Z-Wave Multi-Sensors Now AFAIK they're not compatible with the SimpliSafe and one of them is in the same room as a SimpliSafe motion sensor. I know Z-Wave can make their own mesh, but I haven't seen anything that would be a base station or integration point with another system, though it's possible the owners took that with them.

Why would you have 3 Z-Wave compatible multi sensors in a home? Could they extend the Nest Thermostat coverage to know the house temperature away from the thermostat? But even then two are within a dozen feet of it. What should I use them for now that they're mine?

# ¿ Jun 25, 2016 06:48

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 16:10

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Pitre posted:

^^^^
He could have used them just for automation scripts. I have a few of those multi-sensors spread out and use rules that can turn on/off various lights with motion during a certain time. I also use the motion sensors to trigger a Z-wave alarm strobe/siren when in away mode.

No, they won't be compatible with SimpliSafe or Nest directly but you could probably use IFTT to control your Nest with them but I doubt that would be necessary as Nest is quite smart. Z-Wave devices only make a mesh or signal repeater if it is a line powered device. Those multi sensors are battery powered and to not repeat the signals.

If you don't want the multi-sensors, I'll buy them from ya

Maybe. This is part of my bitch session about IoT and automation. The sensors were considered fixtures, but any hub / control wasn't? Now I even just found something new I can't identify in another room. anyone recognize ones of these?

Found it on the wall in another room, it's positioned in the center of the wall not a corner, there's also a simplisafe motion sensor in the same room. Couldn't see a manufacturer on it but didn't pull it off the wall either.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2016 17:53

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

spiralbrain posted:

At least one of those is probably being used as like an interior follower in a security system. In that situation when the system is in armed stay they dont trip, but if its armed away it does. I dont know what kind of system they were learned into but this sounds like its more of a security sensor. They could be using it for any of "loops" that a normal environment sensor use.

I would use it as a motion sensor in different parts of your house. You could have one setup in your garage, one near your panel and then maybe one outside somewhere.

Maybe, but they had SimpliSafe set with that already. And in the same rooms. (All motion sensors except the garage one were Armed Away only, garage was Armed Home/Away)

quote:

You typically dont put a motion sensor in the middle of a wall in a room, you would put it in a corner almost at the top of the wall but not quite. A lot of times what will happen is someone breaks into your house, opens a door, sees the motion sensor in the middle of the wall and then uses a screen of some sort to walk across the room. Remember these sensors are looking for heat, unless its a dualtec sensor.

I've worked with Aeon Labs ZWave light switches but I didnt know they made motions sensors. Looks like there are standalone hubs that interface with these like the VERA3.

Right, that's why I'm not sure what it is or what the brand is. And it's in the same room as a SimpliSafe motion sensor which is in the corner, which is why I pointed out the fact that it's in the center of the room that's confusing me. Plus it's a different type than the Aeon's I mentioned originally. If the seller wasn't such an a-hole to deal with I'd really like to reach out asking, "WTF did you have going here!?!?"

# ¿ Jun 29, 2016 21:29

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

spiralbrain posted:

Do you know what they had these setup as? If they were setup as monitoring lighting, they could have possibly had some sort of Z-Wave rule where if the lighting got to a certain point another ZWave-Light in the room would turn on, or some other rule would kick in like that. I've seen rules get really weird sometimes. Thats probably my best guess. It makes no sense to have two motion sensors setup they way they did, so maybe one of the other sensors beside motion was being used.

Sounds like whoever setup the Simpltec knew what they were doing.

No that's half the question really. The guy was into home automation to some degree, what was left as Fixtures were:
Nest 3rd gen Thermometer
Rachio 1st gen lawn sprinkler system
> $1000 worth of Simplisafe alarms and sensors. (2 keyfobs, 2 control panels, a panic button, 5 motion sensors, 20 entry sensors, 2 glass break, CO, Smoke, water detectors, extra loud alarm on separate floor from base station.)
5 'other' sensors of unknown use, 3 of those the Z-Wave multisensor I first found, one that other one I posted the picture of that I have no idea of, and 1 a second entry sensor just on the garage to house.

There may have been non-fixture items that they brought with them when they moved but I'm trying to think of why you'd go so deep with SimpliSafe and then add in just an apparent smattering of Z-Wave tech in places where there's overlap with SimpliSafe. I'd think you'd go with a Z-Wave alarm and keep a unified set-up.

They only had the place for 18 months, but maybe it was two generations, first Z-Wave then SimpliSafe? :iiam:

# ¿ Jun 29, 2016 22:08

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Looking for suggestions or a place to read on building a small but future proofed camera set up for home.

I have a server in my home-office that's on 24/7 with about a dozen TB of free storage. It's running a hypervisor so I'll add a new VM running whatever host.
I'd like to place a camera looking out a window within 5 feet of the server.
I'd like to be notified on motion to a smart phone (optionally not all the time) and be able to watch the feed from a phone tablet.
I'd like the system to be expandable to other cameras eventually but at the start only one is needed and it can be directly connected.
Being able to add in Wifi cameras would be a plus but not an initial requirement.

What I'm looking for basically is:
What's a good wired camera that can be used for security like this.
What's open source / low cost DVR software for the camera
And how does phone/tablet get brought in as well?

# ¿ Feb 18, 2017 00:38

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

I posted a long time ago about a home I brought where the previous owner was into some Home Automation. I have a new story for that Saga... I picked up a Smartthings hub and 2 Z-Wave switches to start dipping into Home Automation. I wire it up, and ask Smartthings to discover poo poo and...

It finds 37 separate GE Link LED bulbs throughout the house. (I believe this is ZLL not Z-Wave so in theory would work with a Hue Bridge.)

Each bedroom/den has 2. Bonus Room has 4, Outdoors has 6, Kitchen has 2, Hallway has 5 etc...

Never once disclosed or noticed.

So now my issue is... I really don't like the idea of the always on bulb in high traffic places with switches (Even 3 and 4 way switches!)
I had already planned to get into things with switches rather than bulbs so this is a bit of a downer...
My ideal world would be if there was a switch that always provided power to the lights so they could be controlled by the smartthings, and just had a rocker that acted as a scene controller to tell them to go on/off.
Is there anything like that on the market?

I guess this in general goes for adding Hue to an existing home. I'd like a switch to be a switch while still being able to address the bulb through home automation, and be up to code for fire/insurance purposes. What are the options?

# ¿ Jun 13, 2017 20:44

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Hughlander posted:

Maybe. This is part of my bitch session about IoT and automation. The sensors were considered fixtures, but any hub / control wasn't? Now I even just found something new I can't identify in another room. anyone recognize ones of these?

Found it on the wall in another room, it's positioned in the center of the wall not a corner, there's also a simplisafe motion sensor in the same room. Couldn't see a manufacturer on it but didn't pull it off the wall either.

Took a year but finally identified this POS.
https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=122&cp_id=12212&cs_id=1091804&p_id=15902&seq=1&format=2

Looks like previous owner was trying to put multisensors in each room and got two batches of them. Now to figure out what I want to do with them. Maybe some motion sensing to lights but that doesn't work well for the rooms.

Speaking of, anyone have any problems with 2nd gen SS hub and those "GE" Z-Wave switches https://www.amazon.com/GE-Wireless-Lighting-Control-12722/dp/B0035YRCR2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503960968&sr=8-3&keywords=z-wave I added one this weekend, and it'll go on 100% of the time in response to Alexa or SS app but only turn off occasionally. Physical button works 100% of the time though.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2017 23:57

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Having a problem where a lot of the Zigbee lights stop responding to my Smarter Things 2 hub. To the point where there's 2 lights in a room, one works the other doesn't. There's 5 lights in a hallway, 4 does 1 doesn't. I just yanked the battery, and power for 45 minutes and plugged it back in with having all lights in the house on, but after an hour there doesn't seem to be a change. Any thoughts as to what to do next? Are there better Zigbee hubs? I don't think it's a mesh issue because one of the hallway lights is probably literally the closest bulb to the hub.

# ¿ Nov 4, 2017 19:38

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

azurite posted:

I have the same issue with the hub a GE Link bulb in one corner of the house. Everything else seems to work fine, including other Zigbee devices. Personally, I just think the bulb isn't that great. All the Z-wave stuff I have is rock-solid, though.

Yep It's GE Link bulbs, but as I said one of the troubling ones is literally right next to it. I'm going to play a bit more with it today. Like I see in the web page that at least some of them are getting pings and responding correctly. Just that they're not getting their commands. I may move the hub but I'm worried about my very limited Z-Wave if I do that. I only have two devices that are Z-Wave and 30 that are Zigbee.

EDIT: Read a few places that those GE Links don't repeat for anything even themselves. So I ordered a pair of repeaters/plugs that I'll put around the house and see if that improves it. Not sure why 2 key ones dropped off the network still but will figure it out.

Hughlander fucked around with this message at 15:33 on Nov 5, 2017

# ¿ Nov 5, 2017 14:56

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Anyone having problems with Alexa and Smart Things scenes? I wonder if it may be related to assigning an echo to a group/room thing. My bedroom Dot no longer recognizes 'Good Night!' but when I look at Scenes in the app it's listed there. I'm so used that "Alexa, turn on Good Night" is the last thing I do that it's jarring.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2017 15:02

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Heners_UK posted:

Now I know I've made the right decision (to get an Echo)

As for home automation, general question but I can't think of that many actual uses for my controllable outlets. The Coffee Maker, fan by the front door and some outdoor lights are the only uses so far.

Not sure I'd go that far. Having an Echo with a family means most of the features go unused. No I don't want something someone in the family says added to my calendar. Google at least allegedly can tie voice profile to google account.

For controllable outlets, I've done:
Outdoor christmas Lights
Christmas Tree
Reading lamp in living room.
Reading lamp in master bedroom.

So yah pretty much what you've already covered. Though my previous owner installed 35ish GE Link bulbs so there's that at least.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2017 03:05

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Don Dongington posted:

The whole point of zigbee is that it's a mesh, so each device is a repeater. Just make sure you have enough to carry the signal upstairs I guess?

Doesn�t mean they actually are though. The GE link bulbs in theory use ZLL but in practice don�t forward packets. I added some zigbee outlets to act as repeaters in my house.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2017 15:01

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

ManSedan posted:

Well thanks to the inlaws I have an Echo now. I dipped my feet into smart home stuff a while ago with an Ecobee thermostat but haven�t gone any further than that. I have a few questions if anyone can help.

What seems to be more important, whether I buy into SmartThings, Lutron, Hue, etc... or Z-wave or Zigbee?

It looks like most things require a hub or bridge. What�s the difference between a hub and a bridge? Is one hub good enough or doneach product/line need their own thing?

I�d like, for fullback purposes, to also have things be HomeKit compatible. Is Homekit a standard like Zigbee or something else, and is it unrealistic or cost prohibitive to try to keep things cross compatible like this?

I�m sure these are pretty basic questions but I�d like to future proof things as much as possible if I decide to make such a wife-angering investment.

Edit: posted to the right thread this time.

Well I had a huge post written up and the iOS app ate it. So this may not be as advanced as you wanted it.

If you have an Echo Plus it has a Zigbee radio built in. So from that perspective buying all Zigbee products would be your easiest way.

Hub vs Bridge is pretty much marketing, Hue calls their product a Hue Bridge, SmartThings calls it a hub. If you use the right Hub you will be covered with just one devices or the most part. IE: SmartThings does Z-Wave, Z-Wave+, Zigbee, Zigbee Light Link and can talk to every major 3rd party things and just not the minor ones that uses 2.4Ghz poo poo. Harmony Hub has a similar but smaller feature set and there are others but when I did the research I went with SmartThings so I can�t comment too much on that.

HomeKit works only with HomeKit compatible devices and is a bit limited. However if you are a bit technical you can get a NodeJS open Source project called HomeBridge that will talk with SmartThings and most other hubs and pretend to be HomeKit. Throw it on a VM or a Raspberry Pi and you can get the overlap.

One downside to all this is that you�ll be setting up the same device in 3 places. IE: Add a new light and then you need to:
Go to the Hue Hub and add it
Go to SmartThings and add it. Then tell SmartThings that because it�s in the Den, it�s part of the Routine that turns off all interior lights.
Go to the Alexa app and tell it to find new devices, then tell ALEXA that it�s in the �room� Den. So you can tell Alexa to turn on new devices.
Go to the HomeKit app, and since it�s room based fully, move it to the Den so you can do the same with Siri.
Repeat this any time that you need to rediscover devices where with the Cheap GE Link bulbs the previous owner installed is about once every 3 months per bulb. I get so exhausted with this I never bother with HomeKit anymore.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2017 16:19

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

azurite posted:

I've had hit or miss results with Zigbee devices. My GE Link bulbs in particular are finicky and one of them kept falling off the network. I moved it closer to my hub, in case reception was a problem. It fell off the network again, this time talking my Zen thermostat with it. I'm assuming maybe it was because it was now the next closest Zigbee device in the mesh?

Half the time my bulb stopped working, I had to delete it and pair it again. Other times it only needed to have the power supply toggled. After the thermostat incident, I ditched the bulb. Then, my thermostat only needed to have the c-wire and batteries momentarily yanked and reconnected.

I guess my suggestion to you is to reset the devices themselves and troubleshoot from there. If you have a device known to be iffy, try removing it from the picture. If nothing helps, maybe your hub is bad.

EDIT: By comparison, my Z-Wave devices have been great.

I'd love tips for keeping GE Link bulbs in network. House I brought had something like 33 of them. For some fortunate reason (knock on wood) none of the outdoor ones have ever fallen off the network but every other bulb seems to have multiple times. I even got 3 Zigbee outlets and put them around the house to try to strengthen the network since I read that GE Links won't relay messages by themselves. But things are still falling off.

# ¿ Feb 21, 2018 15:17

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

That Works posted:

Anyone know of a pre-made or method to program a "sunrise" and "sunset" type automation for an RGB smartbulb in HomeAssistant? (or if you have an automation code block to share that would be cool)

I have one of those Phillips alarm clocks that basically starts out with very dim very red/orange light and over 30 mins brightens and shifts to white light. It also has a bedtime function that does the opposite. In winter in the northeast I find that it helps a ton for waking up early while its still dark af outside. I want to mimic this same operation for a couple of different bulbs and/or a light strip.

I am gonna test this out with an INNR zigbee RGB A12 bulb and their other stuff has played nice with HA integration so expecting few issues there. I just have not done a long automation that also uses color like that so wasn't sure where to start.

I think this is the gold standard: https://community.home-assistant.io/t/wake-up-light-alarm-with-sunrise-effect/255193 if you just want the gist: https://gist.github.com/sbyx/96c43b13b90ae1c35b872313ba1d2d2d

# ¿ Oct 31, 2023 18:40

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Henrik Zetterberg posted:

Lutron Caseta starter pack for $97 at Walmart:
https://slickdeals.net/share/iphone_app/t/17047108

2 dimmers (no neutral required)
2 picos
2 pico pedestals
Smart bridge

Bought 2 and this brings my bridge total to like 8, haha.

Expired already.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2023 03:40

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

I�m annoyed ikea replaced their 5 button lithium battery switch with a 4 button AA. I was using all 5 buttons drat it.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2023 00:43

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

priznat posted:

I like those too but drat they chew through CR2032s annoyingly fast. It looks like the new ones went to AAAs which is definitely an improvement there.

I hadn�t changed for 2 years then it stopped working. Then when I changed it didn�t start working. Not sure what I�m going to drop.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2023 08:04

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

priznat posted:

Yeah they�re a pain sometimes too, sometimes you can just swap the battery out and it reconnects, other times you have to go thru the full pairing process again.

Overall I like the tradfri line but they have their irritating quirks for sure but they are drat cheap!

Yah it wouldn't repair, that's why I went to get a replacement. And They're not so drat cheap now since they're not being sold

# ¿ Nov 26, 2023 19:40

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Anyone have any recommendations for a Zigbee color changing BR30 bulb?

I started with the crappy GE bulbs over a decade ago that would just constantly drop off the network. Almost all now have been replaced by SYLVANIA SMART+ ZigBee Full Color bulbs, but their price went from $20 a bulb in 2020 to $32 a bulb today. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196M5YAS/ is the one I mean.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 19:43

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 16:10

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

That Works posted:

I have some of the Sengeled A12 versions. I think they make br30 also. Happy with them so far.

huh, my notes say that I do use those for a19. from what i remember they're 'ok' though sometimes I have to tell alexa to turn them on then turn them off as just telling them to turn off doesn't work.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 05:59

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