Smart Home

[Rusty Edge]

I started this thread to discuss Smart Home technology. So that everybody could compare notes and learn from mistakes and benefit from one another's research.

There are some black Friday bargains around. We are sliding into it after primarily wetting our feet with the SkyBell HD. My wife loved it while it worked. The color night vision in HD was amazing. I'm trying to get it working again. That said it's a perfect metaphor for smart home stuff in general, from what articles and reviews I've read. Some of the tech is amazing. Most of it eventually has dependability issues. Sometimes that's when the free trial subscription runs out.

I have a Samsung Smart Things hub ordered ( it's versatile, and will boost  the range. I suspect that is the challenge connecting with the SkyBell.), and a dimmer switch, too. My wife has an Echo coming that was free with some other deal she was working. So hopefully, she'll  soon be able to bring up the lights by voice command to walk to the bathroom.


I suspect the next upgrade will be a thermostat, before the winter is over.   More on that later.

[Geo]

So hopefully, she'll  soon be able to bring up the lights by voice command to walk to the bathroom.

Movement sensor is too much old tech?

[Unorthodox]

What's a smart thermostat do a regular one don't? 

I get the doorbell thing, really, for the camera, but a lot of the voice stuff is what's the point? 

Some of the phillips lightbulbs that let you set programs for while you're away on travel look nifty, with the color change crap being a silly bonus. 

About the 'smartest' thing we have is the fish tank light.  It simulates sunrise/sunset, moon, etc.  I CAN hook it to a weather station to simulate the weather as well.  And for all that, it can get REALLY annoying if I miss a feeding time by an hour and need to set the lights up so they can eat.  I have to power cycle just to get it to recognize the remote imputs again, but it goes right back to schedule with one press after I'm done altering temporarily. 

[Rusty Edge]

So hopefully, she'll  soon be able to bring up the lights by voice command to walk to the bathroom.

Movement sensor is too much old tech?

Thanks for playing! Actually, I had been contemplating smart home upgrades for some time, and I wanted to get something my wife could appreciate on a voice command to start with, once she told me  a couple of days ago that we were getting an Echo and to start researching products. Frankly, I didn't even consider it before you posed this question. Now that you have, I think that yes, you are right, because motion sensors seem to be some of the most reliable aspects of these smart home gadgets. So that may well have been cheaper and simpler.


Well, normally.  The fixture in question is a Waterford chandelier with 9 lights. I don't want to mess with the ceiling junction box. The thing is heavy and expensive and they don't make them any more. So replacing the chandelier is out of the question, too. Unless you replace the switch with a smart one, the thing probably turns off every time the cleaners clean the faceplate. Same if you put in those Phillips brand smart bulbs Uno mentioned.


But as I proceed, I will ask myself if a simple motion sensor can do the job. Now I'm wishing I had that kind of thing with my basement lighting. I normally only go down the basement once or twice a day , but I nearly always enter or leave with my hands full .

[Rusty Edge]

What's a smart thermostat do a regular one don't? 

I get the doorbell thing, really, for the camera, but a lot of the voice stuff is what's the point? 

Some of the phillips lightbulbs that let you set programs for while you're away on travel look nifty, with the color change crap being a silly bonus. 

About the 'smartest' thing we have is the fish tank light.  It simulates sunrise/sunset, moon, etc.  I CAN hook it to a weather station to simulate the weather as well.  And for all that, it can get REALLY annoying if I miss a feeding time by an hour and need to set the lights up so they can eat.  I have to power cycle just to get it to recognize the remote imputs again, but it goes right back to schedule with one press after I'm done altering temporarily.

Good questions, I'll get back to you with general answers later Friday when I have more time. By general I mean features of device types, not specifics about which brand does what.

[Geo]

No worries.

But as I proceed, I will ask myself if a simple motion sensor can do the job. Now I'm wishing I had that kind of thing with my basement lighting. I normally only go down the basement once or twice a day , but I nearly always enter or leave with my hands full .

The movement sensors we have here in my condo block are a godsend in some ways. There's a burglar gang invading the county, and the lights in the parking lot passage and house front automatically pop up when someone/thing passes by. Very discouraging for persons with less noble intentions.
For the ones we use in the stairwell, I discovered we could 'program' them separately per floor. Since my bedroom window is next to the stairwell, I of course let it program to a short cycle compared with the ones on the other 2 floors.

Regarding voice-operated light sensor, you could also ask yourself if using your voice while loaded with stuff AND climbing a stair will have it recognize your voice command.
I can only compare with the voice tech used at work, but when out of breath for whatever reason (or even having a severe cold) it doesn't work too well.
Then again, the voice tech at work uses unique voice profiles programmed in for each operator. I don't know if the run-of-the-mill stuff used in domestics does the same thing, but instead simply reacts to a more wide-band audio signal, whoever the source is (a dog for instance, or mother-in-law visiting).

[Rusty Edge]

What's a smart thermostat do a regular one don't? 

Potentially a lot. Reliably, perhaps little.


A smart thermostat can be a little Alexa/Google home, so it can become an intercom station, a weather station. It has a motion sensor to know when you're in the room. It can have remote wireless thermostats in various rooms. It can analyze your home and away patterns and adjust accordingly to save energy. It can analyze your temperature variation within the home and make reccomendations. It can know when you're 10 mins or whatever away from home and adjust the temperature. It can prevent the baby sitter or whoever from changing it. It can work with smart vents, smart window shades, and smoke/CO detectors to , say, turn off your air conditioning during a fire. Or turn off the furnace when there's CO, and turn the fan on if you wanted.


And of course, do this over the phone, internet, or by voice command. 


That's the potential. As to what works with which, and stays online, or works automatically, or with a 24 hour security service subscription,  rather than simply texts you to do it.... remains to be seen.



What I know is from reading articles on the internet and wading through comments on product reviews, for what it's worth.  Okay, back to putting up lights.

[Rusty Edge]

I get the doorbell thing, really, for the camera, but a lot of the voice stuff is what's the point? 

As one reviewer wrote "It makes me feel like Judy Jetson!"  I imagine others feel like their favorite Star Trek characters in the privacy of their home, or movie directors calling for "Lights! Camera! Music!"  But really, unless you're blind, it's probably not nescessary. You'll just do what you've always done.

 I could see myself using a voice command when my hands were busy or messy - eating or typing or cooking. Aside from not being able to handle the heat in the kitchen, and asking for air conditioning,  I'm not sure what kind of multi-tasking I'd do.  I try to be in the moment rather than multi-task, at least I remember everything I've done. I'd probably use voice commands more often when my phone is charging or I can't find my glasses.

My hope is that the intercom aspect works well. I'm frequently on a different floor/room  from my wife when she wants to tell or ask me something, and with my impaired hearing and no line of sight to read lips, communication can be a challenge sometimes. Also, I would enjoy having the system read me and audiobook when I go to bed, rather than straining my eyes on a screen. Yes, I could do that now, but I'd like something more robust than a kindle speaker when I take my hearing aids out at night. When I'm sleepy enough I could say "ECHO, stop" or something without moving, and not have to fumble around the night stand or turn on a light to shut down the device, both of which would make me more awake.  Back to Christmas lights.

[Rusty Edge]

Some of the phillips lightbulbs that let you set programs for while you're away on travel look nifty, with the color change crap being a silly bonus. 

About the 'smartest' thing we have is the fish tank light.  It simulates sunrise/sunset, moon, etc.  I CAN hook it to a weather station to simulate the weather as well.  And for all that, it can get REALLY annoying if I miss a feeding time by an hour and need to set the lights up so they can eat.  I have to power cycle just to get it to recognize the remote imputs again, but it goes right back to schedule with one press after I'm done altering temporarily.

I'd be interested to see what you could do with those lights.  I've read about people having troubles when they connected too many smart devices.  In that regard having each bulb connect, rather than an entire circuit, is something to avoid when I can.


Your aquarium lighting sounds pretty cool!

[Unorthodox]

Thus far I only really see people making music light shows with the thing, both christmas and Halloween, but I'm sure there'd be prop things I could do with them. 

[Rusty Edge]

Thus far I only really see people making music light shows with the thing, both christmas and Halloween, but I'm sure there'd be prop things I could do with them.

I've read that the Phillips lights can be rigged with smoke detectors so that they flash red whenever there is an alarm.

**************


I guess that's a Segway for smart home fire alarms. https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-smart-smoke-alarm/#the-competition

Wirecutter- [ " We believe a smart smoke alarm is the most important safety device currently available for the connected home, one even smart-home skeptics should consider. A smoke alarm, smart or not, should alert you to potential danger, but a smart alarm can do this even when you’re not home. For most people, that makes it worth the price premium.
Also, smart alarms address one of the biggest problems with regular smoke alarms—that they can stop working without you knowing about it. According to a 2014 report, almost a quarter of all home-fire–related deaths in the United States from 2007 through 2011 occurred in homes with nonfunctioning smoke alarms. Most smart alarms let you silence “nuisance” alarms either through the app on your phone or via a button on the device (rather than pulling the battery out), so you’re less likely to end up with a nonworking alarm in your home. " ]


Actually, they just updated their recommendations about a week ago. On the cheap, you can buy a Roost 2nd generation smart 9V battery for $35 which will notify your phone when the detector it's in goes off, or the battery is low. It should last 3-5 years.
 
For full smart home applications, they reccomend the Nest Protect. On the plus side- ["We tested all the currently available smart smoke alarms and have no hesitation in recommending the second-generation Nest Protect as the best smart smoke alarm you can buy. It’s the simplest to install, easiest to use, and most reliable of all the models we tested, with a sensor design that detects both slow- and fast-burning fires while cutting down on false alarms. It also has the widest array of useful smart-home interactions for added safety and protection. It’s the only smart smoke alarm worth considering, unless you really want a HomeKit– or Z-Wave–compatible alarm."]

The down side is that because the thing works as a motion sensitive night light, if the Nest isn't set on the lowest light setting, or hardwired, it eats pricey lithium batteries.

Well, I have hard wired smoke alarms about 10 years old. One in the basement and one on each floor.  Actually, I was researching with an eye to replacing them with smart detectors about now, the trouble was that One of the CO alarms went off while we were away, scaring the house-sitter. So we replaced everything with old tech rather than wait. Well, not everything. I forgot about the one in the basement.  I have the Samsung Smart Things hub, so I have another option.


["The First Alert’s Onelink Safe & Sound is a good-looking if huge device (6.8 by 6.8 by 2.6 inches). Expensive and only available hardwired, its big selling point is an Alexa–enabled omnidirectional Bluetooth speaker. It makes sense to have your voice assistants in speakers in your ceiling rather than in black cylinders on the coffee table, but existing wiring for smoke alarms tends to be in hallways or areas where people don’t hang out. If and when the promised AirPlay2 and multiroom Alexa grouping arrives, it will be more useful as a speaker. Onelink S&S is the only HomeKit–compatible smoke alarm, plus it will connect to some existing wired interconnect systems. Its glowing LED ring turns blue when you’re talking to Alexa, red when muted, and flashing red when it detects danger. It also works as a night-light with an ambient light sensor. There is no early warning for an alarm, just a siren followed by a voice and location warning after about 30 seconds. You can silence certain alarms from the app or a button on the top of the device. There’s no self-testing feature, but you can test it through the app.]


Well, I guess we'll see how we like these Echo devices. The basement is short on outlets because the walls are cinderblock. An Alexa/Echo intercom station could prove useful, and if so a cieling mount makes more sense.   

[Unorthodox]

I don't think they are smart, but the fire alarm/detectors in one of the buildings at work are the most hilarious thing I've ever heard.  I forget the specific phrases, but it is this extremely british voice asking if you wouldn't mind kindly clearing out of the building.  If it weren't for the flashing lights, I don't think it would register as 'alarm' at all. 

Back to the thermostat...None of that really would help our situation.  We're literally a set a temp and let it hold family.  I have 3 adults and 2 teenagers.  4 different sleep schedules in the house.  There is, quite literally, not a time when someone isn't in the house, and approximately 3 hours a day where no one is awake.  So, even the sleep/wake/away schedule of a regular thermostat doesn't do much for us. 

Theoretically, if I were to get smart vents and shutters and a thermostat in every room it might help individual rooms feel better, but my lord, that's a lot of investment and devices trying to operate.  I frankly wouldn't trust wireless for that and am not about to rewire the house for it. 

Motion sensor anything would go haywire with the cats. Though I am curious to put a trap camera in the back yard just to see what all is lurking outside. 

The doorbell is interesting.  As is a few of the security camera options.  But I don't need those "smart" either.  And the whole commercial of remotely unlocking the door for the fedex guy to shove your package into your house, FORGET IT.  Not interested.  I'm quite happy with the UPS surepost stop solution to that problem, and ship everything possible UPS to use it.  Considering buying one of their addresses even. 

[Geo]

I'm quite happy with the UPS surepost stop solution to that problem, and ship everything possible UPS to use it.  Considering buying one of their addresses even.

You mean buying a postbox in their local office?

[Unorthodox]

I'm quite happy with the UPS surepost stop solution to that problem, and ship everything possible UPS to use it.  Considering buying one of their addresses even.

You mean buying a postbox in their local office?

It's an actual street address, not a PO box.  Though functionally about the same.  It's just more 'prestigious' to have a non-po box address if you're a small business.  Which I'm kind of working towards. 

https://www.theupsstore.com/mailboxes/personal-mailboxes

Mostly for small businesses.  I don't trust people to not steal packages left on my doorstep, for instance, so if An Unorthodox Halloween has this mailbox at the UPS store, I have packages delivered to that address where someone is always there to sign, and pick them up on my way home. 

Presently, I use the UPS surepost service to do the same thing, but it only works with UPS deliveries.  Renting the mailbox address would allow me to do the same with all carriers. 

[Geo]

So, does using this service means your incoming parcels are kept in the general storage room, or in a private vault to which the staff has access?