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[pantsattack]

I'm looking for help on setting up a smart home. There are too many different communications and protocols for me to make sense of. My number one top priority is that I need two doors with smart locks that can be app-set with multiple pass codes. I have two keypad locks now but they are both glitched out in different ways. They aren't connected and need to be replaced. I do have a Nest as well that could connect. I am interested in some assistant/speaker set-up but am not committed to brand (I have Prime). Maybe hook up cameras down the line. Help, please! What has worked for you and what should I avoid?

 

[The_Inquisitor]

What phone do you own. Android or iOS?

 

[pantsattack]

What phone do you own. Android or iOS?

I have an android and will stick with it.

 

[Earthanoid]

I don't think there are any clear winners for smart home hubs right now. I've been wanting to get a smart lock for a while also but haven't been impressed with anything currently on the market. I ended up getting a regular old Kwikset keypad lock and its actually very easy to set new codes, although it's not done through a phone.

I have a Nest too and I highly recommend the Nest Cams. They're a bit pricy (as is the subscription) but you can easily view the video feeds through the Nest app. Recently they added a person detection feature and it is pretty great as you can set it to alert you if it sees a person. I have Protects too although really the only exceptional thing about them is that you can set them to light up when you walk by, which is awesome when walking around the house at night. Other than that they're just really expensive smoke detectors.

I have a Google Home and it works well with Nest. My bro has an Echo and it also works well with his Nest. Echo might work better for you depending on what else you buy though, Google is still behind on smart home integrations.

 

[The Albatross]

It's pretty easy. I added a bunch of smart technology over the last 2 months. I don't have a smart lock but have considered buying The August Smart Lock, the style just doesn't fit my house (mid century ranch) so I haven't bought one.

Here's my setup:

• Android Phone (Google Pixel XL) with the Google Home app
• Google Home speaker unit
• Philips Hue Started Pack Generation 3 + extra bulbs
• Philips Hue remote light switch/dimmer
• Nest Thermostat (newest)
• Nest Protect Smoke & Co2 Detector (newest)
• Honeywell Alarm system
• Roomba 650

Setting up the system is really pretty effortless. I started with Google Home, the app for Android that Google provides, which allows you to quickly add devices to your house. You do this by downloading the apps for the devices that you buy. Philips Hue has an Android app and you register for an account through Philips and then in the Google Home app, you ask that Google home can control your Philips Hue system. Likewise with Nest. You download the NEst app or register for the NEst website and then use Google Home to request control of the Nest App. You could use all of the apps separately, but it doesn't make sense and it's better to just use one to do everything for you.

My Honeywell alarm is connected to Google home but it's not well supported by Honeywell. I can set and release the alarm and check a very basic history, but the Honeywell website login thing is much more detailed, so I'd use that if I wanted to.

Beyond that, because I have a GOogle Home speaker, I can tell the speaker to do things and it pretty much just works.

"Hey Google, turn off the lights" -- turns off my living room lights.
"Hey Google, set the lights to light blue, at 60%" -- does exactly that...
"Hey Google, what temperature is it in the house?" -- "It's 62 degrees," -- "Ok, turn it up to 70 degrees." -- "Okay, setting temperature to 70 degrees."
"Hey Google, test the smoke alarm." -- "Ok, testing..." (beeeeeeeep)
"Hey google, turn on the stay alarm" -- "Ok, setting stay alarm to ON" ('Alarm Set')
"Hey Google, ask roomba to start cleaning" -- "Ok, starting the Roomba"

It all works, basically, flawlessly. There's some added features Google home needs to add... Like the stuff we use the most with Philips Hue is the ability to make "Scenes" with multiple lights, where it spreads a color gradient evenly across the whole room using multiple light sources, and Google home does not allow you to set scenes yet, so I have to use the Philips Hue app for that...... but it's like 3 taps.

As you add more devices, you just add more stuff to Home, and it works really well, and it all communicates with each other. Using free services like If This Then That (IFTTT.com), you can easily add "recipes," so let's say you get home on a friday and say, "Hey Google, it's beer time," then you can have that phrase trigger relaxed lighting, set the air conditioning to 62, have your Chromecast play the football game, and then have the speaker start playing a preset playlist. Now, that's kinda exhibitionist and silly, but some of them are great... like a recipe that, at 6:45am, sets the heat to 68, slowly starts turning up the brightness of your lights, and then starts to quietly play your morning radio brief from NPR... Or, as soon as your phone is, say, 15miles away from your house on your commute home, it triggers the AC to turn on and the outside lights so that the house is comfortable and well lit when you get home.

Other systems like smart coffee makers, washer or dryer, etc, can be added and that's probably my next big investment in this stuff. I really get a kick out of it and I like it a lot. It's all completely unnecessary but it's one of those stupid things I enjoy.

-- edit --

ALso you aren't tied to just one ecosystem, though I like that Google's is cross-platform. Apple HomeKit is similar to Google Home (App/service), but of course, it's iOS only. I currently have Google Home on my iPad and even though I don't have Hue / Roomba / Nest / etc on my iPad, I can still do all of the commands from that and it works with the services I've synced to it. Amazon Alexa will also work with all of these devices as well, and I think Alexa even supports setting 'Scenes' in Philips Hue, something that Google Home doesn't support yet.

 

[reKon]

It's pretty easy. I added a bunch of smart technology over the last 2 months. I don't have a smart lock but have considered buying The August Smart Lock, the style just doesn't fit my house (mid century ranch) so I haven't bought one.

Here's my setup:

• Android Phone (Google Pixel XL) with the Google Home app
• Google Home speaker unit
• Philips Hue Started Pack Generation 3
• Philips Hue remote light switch/dimmer
• Nest Thermostat (newest)
• Nest Protect Smoke & Co2 Detector (newest)
• Honeywell Alarm system
• Roomba 650

Setting up the system is really pretty effortless. I started with Google Home, the app for Android that Google provides, which allows you to quickly add devices to your house. You do this by downloading the apps for the devices that you buy. Philips Hue has an Android app and you register for an account through Philips and then in the Google Home app, you ask that Google home can control your Philips Hue system. Likewise with Nest. You download the NEst app or register for the NEst website and then use Google Home to request control of the Nest App. You could use all of the apps separately, but it doesn't make sense and it's better to just use one to do everything for you.

My Honeywell alarm is connected to Google home but it's not well supported by Honeywell. I can set and release the alarm and check a very basic history, but the Honeywell website login thing is much more detailed, so I'd use that if I wanted to.

Beyond that, because I have a GOogle Home speaker, I can tell the speaker to do things and it pretty much just works.

"Hey Google, turn off the lights" -- turns off my living room lights.
"Hey Google, set the lights to light blue, at 60%" -- does exactly that...
"Hey Google, what temperature is it in the house?" -- "It's 62 degrees," -- "Ok, turn it up to 70 degrees." -- "Okay, setting temperature to 70 degrees."
"Hey Google, test the smoke alarm." -- "Ok, testing..." (beeeeeeeep)
"Hey google, turn on the stay alarm" -- "Ok, setting stay alarm to ON" ('Alarm Set')
"Hey Google, ask roomba to start cleaning" -- "Ok, starting the Roomba"

It all works, basically, flawlessly. There's some added features Google home needs to add... Like the stuff we use the most with Philips Hue is the ability to make "Scenes" with multiple lights, where it spreads a color gradient evenly across the whole room using multiple light sources, and Google home does not allow you to set scenes yet, so I have to use the Philips Hue app for that...... but it's like 3 taps.

As you add more devices, you just add more stuff to Home, and it works really well, and it all communicates with each other. Using free services like If This Then That (IFTTT.com), you can easily add "recipes," so let's say you get home on a friday and say, "Hey Google, it's beer time," then you can have that phrase trigger relaxed lighting, set the air conditioning to 62, have your Chromecast play the football game, and then have the speaker start playing a preset playlist. Now, that's kinda exhibitionist and silly, but some of them are great... like a recipe that, at 6:45am, sets the heat to 68, slowly starts turning up the brightness of your lights, and then starts to quietly play your morning radio brief from NPR...

Other systems like smart coffee makers, washer or dryer, etc, can be added and that's probably my next big investment in this stuff. I really get a kick out of it and I like it a lot. It's all completely unnecessary but it's one of those stupid things I enjoy.

This is pretty boss.

I'm assuming Alexa will do all the exact same stuff right?

 

[Falcs]

Subbed!!! What perfect timing. I am building a new house and literally just started looking into this just a few days ago.

What are peoples thoughts on Z wave? From what I've read it's quite popular, and it looks like there's a lot of devices. Anyone have any experience with it? I'm particularly interested in it because it's wireless, so no need to worry about cables.

 

[captive]

I don't think there are any clear winners for smart home hubs right now.

Yes there is. Insteon with an ISY for brains.

Insteon and the ISY support: light switches, fans, window and door sensors, water sensors, irrigation systems, garage doors, motion sensors, doorbells, keypad locks, thermostats and nest, hvac dampers, Amazon echo.

I have my system setup to do things like automatically turn on over cabinet lights at sunset. Yes the system know what time sunset is for my location. I programmed one button that turns on every outside light in case of emergency.

You can program context as well. Like if window open, turn off air conditioner.

No special wiring required, the light switches create a mesh network using both RF and the existing electrical wires.

 

[captive]

Subbed!!! What perfect timing. I am building a new house and literally just started looking into this just a few days ago.

What are peoples thoughts on Z wave? From what I've read it's quite popular, and it looks like there's a lot of devices. Anyone have any experience with it? I'm particularly interested in it because it's wireless, so no need to worry about cables.

I haven't used it but the z wave stuff can be used with the ISY controller I mentioned above. Can use Insteon and z wave together via the ISY.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

Just bought a place and trying to do this...

Ordered an August Home Lock and Keypad and installing next week.

 

[The Albatross]

This is pretty boss.

I'm assuming Alexa will do all the exact same stuff right?

Yep, I'd imagine Alexa is probably a little better than Google Home at this point for smart control. I have a Home because I'm deep in the Google ecosystem, but I've heard Alexa is a little better at a lot of the controls and has some features Google home doesn't yet have with some smart devices... Like it can set 'scenes' with Philips Hue, something Home can't do yet.

 

[otakukidd]

I don't think there are any clear winners for smart home hubs right now. I've been wanting to get a smart lock for a while also but haven't been impressed with anything currently on the market. I ended up getting a regular old Kwikset keypad lock and its actually very easy to set new codes, although it's not done through a phone.

I have a Nest too and I highly recommend the Nest Cams. They're a bit pricy (as is the subscription) but you can easily view the video feeds through the Nest app. Recently they added a person detection feature and it is pretty great as you can set it to alert you if it sees a person. I have Protects too although really the only exceptional thing about them is that you can set them to light up when you walk by, which is awesome when walking around the house at night. Other than that they're just really expensive smoke detectors.

I have a Google Home and it works well with Nest. My bro has an Echo and it also works well with his Nest. Echo might work better for you depending on what else you buy though, Google is still behind on smart home integrations.

I keep seeing people say that it's behind in smart home integration but what is missing that it can't do the echo can? My set up is:

Google home
Nest
Nest protect
Smart things hub
Harmony hub
Ring doorbell
Various light bulbs and outlets

I created a ITTT recipe that when I told Google home "set me up" it will reply with "done". It will then turn on my projector, turn on my receiver to the right input and volume, lower my projector screen, turn on a second tv(for when I game) and a fan. And when it's time to go to bed I say "turn off down stairs and it does". I cant think of anything it can't do it's competitors can. 90 percent of stuff works with ITTT so even if it doesn't officially support it, it can still work

Yep, I'd imagine Alexa is probably a little better than Google Home at this point for smart control. I have a Home because I'm deep in the Google ecosystem, but I've heard Alexa is a little better at a lot of the controls and has some features Google home doesn't yet have with some smart devices... Like it can set 'scenes' with Philips Hue, something Home can't do yet.

But you can if you set up ITTT. My Harmony hub wasn't supported at all till this last month but if been using it with Google home since launch cause of ITTT

http://mysmarthomegear.com/hue-scenes-google-home/

 

[The_Inquisitor]

People posted a lot of suggestions I was going to make for Android. I am on iOS and TBH homeKit has been very poor up until recently. But I think homekit is starting to come along nicely. I live in an apartment right now so I haven't really done much (My Sesame smartlock doesn't have Homekit but they promised it soon somehow via software). I really wish I didn't have to buy a separate hub for the lights but I guess something has to house that proprietary chip.

 

[Earthanoid]

Yes there is. Insteon with an ISY for brains.

Insteon and the ISY support: light switches, fans, window and door sensors, water sensors, irrigation systems, garage doors, motion sensors, doorbells, keypad locks, thermostats and nest, hvac dampers, Amazon echo.

I have my system setup to do things like automatically turn on over cabinet lights at sunset. Yes the system know what time sunset is for my location. I programmed one button that turns on every outside light in case of emergency.

You can program context as well. Like if window open, turn off air conditioner.

No special wiring required, the light switches create a mesh network using both RF and the existing electrical wires.

Yes, Insteon is capable. So is Smarthings. Heck, you can make a pretty capable smart home setup just with Wemo plugs and IFTTT. None of them is a clear winner though, each has strengths and weaknesses but there isn't one dominant system that is clearly better in all categories. It's really going to depend on what you want to do and how much effort you want to expend doing it.

I keep seeing people say that it's behind in smart home integration but what is missing that it can't do the echo can? My set up is:

Google home
Nest
Nest protect
Smart things hub
Harmony hub
Ring doorbell
Various light bulbs and outlets

I created a ITTT recipe that when I told Google home "set me up" it will reply with "done". It will then turn on my projector, turn on my receiver to the right input and volume, lower my projector screen, turn on a second tv(for when I game) and a fan. And when it's time to go to bed I say "turn off down stairs and it does". I cant think of anything it can't do it's competitors can. 90 percent of stuff works with ITTT so even if it doesn't officially support it, it can still work

But you can if you set up ITTT. My Harmony hub wasn't supported at all till this last month but if been using it with Google home since launch cause of ITTT

http://mysmarthomegear.com/hue-scenes-google-home/

It's not so much that Google Home can't accomplish the same things, it can. But right now Echo has more direct compatibility with more devices than Google Home does and generally requires less fidgeting with IFTTT. But you can certainly do all the same stuff, you are just a bit more limited with your choices if you want direct compatibility. But it does support most of the major ones. Speaking of Insteon, it is probably the biggest one missing from Google Home.

Don't get me wrong, I have a Google Home and I think it's great. And it does support Smartthings which is one of the better hubs available now. I also think it'll be better in the long run since Google's voice recognition and parsing is way better than Alexa. Alexa got a head start but Google will catch up eventually.

 

[captive]

Yes, Insteon is capable. So is Smarthings. Heck, you can make a pretty capable smart home setup just with Wemo plugs and IFTTT. None of them is a clear winner though, each has strengths and weaknesses but there isn't one dominant system that is clearly better in all categories. It's really going to depend on what you want to do and how much effort you want to expend doing it.

again i disagree. The ISY devices (not made by Insteon) makes it that much better. No need for IFTT integration. Why am i going to send stuff out of my home to automate back in the home? As someone who automates data centers, that would be like requesting a server build, but it has to go out to google to get the specs or some shit. Ridiculous imo. The Insteon system supports pretty much everything a beginning or advanced user could want.

 

[Veritigo_X]

If you're not afraid to fiddle around with stuff Home Assistant is pretty good. Everything runs locally so you don't have to worry about things not working if the internet goes down like you do with IFTTT. It isn't as easy to set up as other home automation platforms, but I like how customizable everything is.

It's still in beta but they are updating it regularly with both features and new compatible devices. I've been using it for about a year now and haven't run into any major issues.

 

[bionic77]

It's pretty easy. I added a bunch of smart technology over the last 2 months. I don't have a smart lock but have considered buying The August Smart Lock, the style just doesn't fit my house (mid century ranch) so I haven't bought one.

Here's my setup:

• Android Phone (Google Pixel XL) with the Google Home app
• Google Home speaker unit
• Philips Hue Started Pack Generation 3 + extra bulbs
• Philips Hue remote light switch/dimmer
• Nest Thermostat (newest)
• Nest Protect Smoke & Co2 Detector (newest)
• Honeywell Alarm system
• Roomba 650

Setting up the system is really pretty effortless. I started with Google Home, the app for Android that Google provides, which allows you to quickly add devices to your house. You do this by downloading the apps for the devices that you buy. Philips Hue has an Android app and you register for an account through Philips and then in the Google Home app, you ask that Google home can control your Philips Hue system. Likewise with Nest. You download the NEst app or register for the NEst website and then use Google Home to request control of the Nest App. You could use all of the apps separately, but it doesn't make sense and it's better to just use one to do everything for you.

My Honeywell alarm is connected to Google home but it's not well supported by Honeywell. I can set and release the alarm and check a very basic history, but the Honeywell website login thing is much more detailed, so I'd use that if I wanted to.

Beyond that, because I have a GOogle Home speaker, I can tell the speaker to do things and it pretty much just works.

"Hey Google, turn off the lights" -- turns off my living room lights.
"Hey Google, set the lights to light blue, at 60%" -- does exactly that...
"Hey Google, what temperature is it in the house?" -- "It's 62 degrees," -- "Ok, turn it up to 70 degrees." -- "Okay, setting temperature to 70 degrees."
"Hey Google, test the smoke alarm." -- "Ok, testing..." (beeeeeeeep)
"Hey google, turn on the stay alarm" -- "Ok, setting stay alarm to ON" ('Alarm Set')
"Hey Google, ask roomba to start cleaning" -- "Ok, starting the Roomba"

It all works, basically, flawlessly. There's some added features Google home needs to add... Like the stuff we use the most with Philips Hue is the ability to make "Scenes" with multiple lights, where it spreads a color gradient evenly across the whole room using multiple light sources, and Google home does not allow you to set scenes yet, so I have to use the Philips Hue app for that...... but it's like 3 taps.

As you add more devices, you just add more stuff to Home, and it works really well, and it all communicates with each other. Using free services like If This Then That (IFTTT.com), you can easily add "recipes," so let's say you get home on a friday and say, "Hey Google, it's beer time," then you can have that phrase trigger relaxed lighting, set the air conditioning to 62, have your Chromecast play the football game, and then have the speaker start playing a preset playlist. Now, that's kinda exhibitionist and silly, but some of them are great... like a recipe that, at 6:45am, sets the heat to 68, slowly starts turning up the brightness of your lights, and then starts to quietly play your morning radio brief from NPR... Or, as soon as your phone is, say, 15miles away from your house on your commute home, it triggers the AC to turn on and the outside lights so that the house is comfortable and well lit when you get home.

Other systems like smart coffee makers, washer or dryer, etc, can be added and that's probably my next big investment in this stuff. I really get a kick out of it and I like it a lot. It's all completely unnecessary but it's one of those stupid things I enjoy.

-- edit --

ALso you aren't tied to just one ecosystem, though I like that Google's is cross-platform. Apple HomeKit is similar to Google Home (App/service), but of course, it's iOS only. I currently have Google Home on my iPad and even though I don't have Hue / Roomba / Nest / etc on my iPad, I can still do all of the commands from that and it works with the services I've synced to it. Amazon Alexa will also work with all of these devices as well, and I think Alexa even supports setting 'Scenes' in Philips Hue, something that Google Home doesn't support yet.

I just can't get excited over controlling the lights. The Nest and other smart thermostats are definitely there but beyond that and maybe a camera for the door there is not much that really interests me.

I have a Roomba too and I don't know if I would call it a smart device, but it is definitely convenient.

We need more innovation in this space. Its been a lot of promises for the past 20 years but no one has yet come up with a home run product (IMO) or a perfect solution.

 

[i3allistic]

I want to dive into the smart home scene, but there too much right now and not everything compatible with each other, so I'm just gonna wait and see right now

 

[SpookyFries]

Yep, I'd imagine Alexa is probably a little better than Google Home at this point for smart control. I have a Home because I'm deep in the Google ecosystem, but I've heard Alexa is a little better at a lot of the controls and has some features Google home doesn't yet have with some smart devices... Like it can set 'scenes' with Philips Hue, something Home can't do yet.

I can't speak for the Google Home specifically but I can attest to Alexa vs Google Assistant on my phone and watch. Google seems to process natural language much better than Alexa. With my Echo I have to say things very specifically or it won't work. Example, I have Alexa set up with my ADT system. I have to say the exact phrase "Alexa, ask ADT to arm my system stay". If its not exact, she will just say she doesn't understand.

Maybe its just the ADT skill that is shit, but even asking Alexa to play certain songs. She often plays something completely unrelated and sometimes doesn't even respond to her wake word. I don't have these issues with the Google Assistant at all. I can dictate entire messages with just voice and its pretty much spot on with the voice recognition.

Alexa does have some things that Google Home doesn't, but Google's AI and voice recognition is leaps beyond what Amazon has at the moment.

This screenshot I took is enough proof to back that up

 

[pantsattack]

Yes there is. Insteon with an ISY for brains.

Insteon and the ISY support: light switches, fans, window and door sensors, water sensors, irrigation systems, garage doors, motion sensors, doorbells, keypad locks, thermostats and nest, hvac dampers, Amazon echo.

I have my system setup to do things like automatically turn on over cabinet lights at sunset. Yes the system know what time sunset is for my location. I programmed one button that turns on every outside light in case of emergency.

You can program context as well. Like if window open, turn off air conditioner.

No special wiring required, the light switches create a mesh network using both RF and the existing electrical wires.

How well does Insteon (never hear of it before now) work without ISY? That's an extra $200 bucks I'd rather keep. Both Insteon and ISY say they're Alexa compatible but the chart on ISY's page says it takes a $50/2 year sub to get that feature. Can Insteon set lock codes from your phone? The compatible lock selection seems sparse. I might be missing something.

 

[captive]

How well does Insteon (never hear of it before now) work without ISY? That's an extra $200 bucks I'd rather keep. Both Insteon and ISY say they're Alexa compatible but the chart on ISY's page says it takes a $50/2 year sub to get that feature. Can Insteon set lock codes from your phone? The compatible lock selection seems sparse. I might be missing something.

it works fine without the hub, heck you can program them without a Insteon Hub or ISY, it sjust more difficult.
As for alexa i dont know, i dont have one. I'm not sure what you mean lock codes from your phone? For a keypad lock? I have no idea.
Id recommend checking out this guys blog, he shows and talk about everything Insteon and ISY homeautomationguru.com
you can also email him, he'll answer. I asked him a bunch of questions before i bought.

 

[TedHub]

If you're not afraid to fiddle around with stuff Home Assistant is pretty good. Everything runs locally so you don't have to worry about things not working if the internet goes down like you do with IFTTT. It isn't as easy to set up as other home automation platforms, but I like how customizable everything is.

It's still in beta but they are updating it regularly with both features and new compatible devices. I've been using it for about a year now and haven't run into any major issues.

+1 to this. Home Assistant's made my whole setup super slick and consistent.

 

[snacknuts]

It's pretty easy. I added a bunch of smart technology over the last 2 months. I don't have a smart lock but have considered buying The August Smart Lock, the style just doesn't fit my house (mid century ranch) so I haven't bought one.

Here's my setup:

• Android Phone (Google Pixel XL) with the Google Home app
• Google Home speaker unit
• Philips Hue Started Pack Generation 3 + extra bulbs
• Philips Hue remote light switch/dimmer
• Nest Thermostat (newest)
• Nest Protect Smoke & Co2 Detector (newest)
• Honeywell Alarm system
• Roomba 650

Setting up the system is really pretty effortless. I started with Google Home, the app for Android that Google provides, which allows you to quickly add devices to your house. You do this by downloading the apps for the devices that you buy. Philips Hue has an Android app and you register for an account through Philips and then in the Google Home app, you ask that Google home can control your Philips Hue system. Likewise with Nest. You download the NEst app or register for the NEst website and then use Google Home to request control of the Nest App. You could use all of the apps separately, but it doesn't make sense and it's better to just use one to do everything for you.

My Honeywell alarm is connected to Google home but it's not well supported by Honeywell. I can set and release the alarm and check a very basic history, but the Honeywell website login thing is much more detailed, so I'd use that if I wanted to.

Beyond that, because I have a GOogle Home speaker, I can tell the speaker to do things and it pretty much just works.

"Hey Google, turn off the lights" -- turns off my living room lights.
"Hey Google, set the lights to light blue, at 60%" -- does exactly that...
"Hey Google, what temperature is it in the house?" -- "It's 62 degrees," -- "Ok, turn it up to 70 degrees." -- "Okay, setting temperature to 70 degrees."
"Hey Google, test the smoke alarm." -- "Ok, testing..." (beeeeeeeep)
"Hey google, turn on the stay alarm" -- "Ok, setting stay alarm to ON" ('Alarm Set')
"Hey Google, ask roomba to start cleaning" -- "Ok, starting the Roomba"

It all works, basically, flawlessly. There's some added features Google home needs to add... Like the stuff we use the most with Philips Hue is the ability to make "Scenes" with multiple lights, where it spreads a color gradient evenly across the whole room using multiple light sources, and Google home does not allow you to set scenes yet, so I have to use the Philips Hue app for that...... but it's like 3 taps.

As you add more devices, you just add more stuff to Home, and it works really well, and it all communicates with each other. Using free services like If This Then That (IFTTT.com), you can easily add "recipes," so let's say you get home on a friday and say, "Hey Google, it's beer time," then you can have that phrase trigger relaxed lighting, set the air conditioning to 62, have your Chromecast play the football game, and then have the speaker start playing a preset playlist. Now, that's kinda exhibitionist and silly, but some of them are great... like a recipe that, at 6:45am, sets the heat to 68, slowly starts turning up the brightness of your lights, and then starts to quietly play your morning radio brief from NPR... Or, as soon as your phone is, say, 15miles away from your house on your commute home, it triggers the AC to turn on and the outside lights so that the house is comfortable and well lit when you get home.

Other systems like smart coffee makers, washer or dryer, etc, can be added and that's probably my next big investment in this stuff. I really get a kick out of it and I like it a lot. It's all completely unnecessary but it's one of those stupid things I enjoy.

-- edit --

ALso you aren't tied to just one ecosystem, though I like that Google's is cross-platform. Apple HomeKit is similar to Google Home (App/service), but of course, it's iOS only. I currently have Google Home on my iPad and even though I don't have Hue / Roomba / Nest / etc on my iPad, I can still do all of the commands from that and it works with the services I've synced to it. Amazon Alexa will also work with all of these devices as well, and I think Alexa even supports setting 'Scenes' in Philips Hue, something that Google Home doesn't support yet.

This is a good post. I have pretty much the same setup, minus the security system and the Roomba (I have a Neato, but not one of the wifi models that you can set up to do things), but I also have two Nest outdoor cameras. I've been very happy with everything. A smart lock is probably my next addition. I would also like to be able to control my garage doors. I need to see if I can add an aftermarket controller for them.

 

[Cheekygrin]

Just remember: the 'S' in 'IOT' stands for 'Security'

Spoiler

and the 'P' stands for Privacy

 

[Future]

Never had the balls to get smart locks. Too worried of people hacking that shit

 

[Mendrox]

I have Alexa with some things in my house so that I don't have to do much anymore:

- Alexa
- Spotify with Bluetooth combined with Alexa
- Philips HUE lights in every room
- Xiaomi Robot Vacuum
- WiFi Power for Coffeemaker and Dishwasher+Washing machine

When I wake up the coffeemaker automatically prepares my coffee. If I am at work and will take two hours home I will start the dishwasher remote. The robot vacuum cleaner cleans my whole apartment every day spotless. Alexa is used for music, cooking tutorials and of course for controll of everything else (also TV).

I only have to wipe the floor every second week, do some dusting every week for a few minutes and clean the bathroom completely every second week which doesn't take long.

Almost nothing to do anymore except cooking.

 

[Theonik]

Smarthome stuff is really not ready for primetime right now. As is the whole IOT ecosystem. I'd personally wait another 5-10 years.

 

[Future]

Smarthome stuff is really not ready for primetime right now. As is the whole IOT ecosystem. I'd personally wait another 5-10 years.

Disagree, I mean if you are waiting for Apple maybe. But even people in this thread are doing cool stuff with what they got.just depends on how painless you want it to be.

Lights
Thermostat
Tv control
Voice control

For me these are the main pillars of a smarthome and they work flawless for me.

Locks like the OP is talking about work too as long as you aren't worried about hackers or glitches

 

[Theonik]

Disagree, I mean if you are waiting for Apple maybe. But even people in this thread are doing cool stuff with what they got.just depends on how painless you want it to be.

Lights
Thermostat
Tv control
Voice control

For me these are the main pillars of a smarthome and they work flawless for me.

Locks like the OP is talking about work too as long as you aren't worried about hackers or glitches

Trust me. I have worked in that industry. They are a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Goodlife]

Just bought myself the nest thermostat and a Google home.

Pretty cool, possibilities are definitely there.

How would one get a coffee machine linked up to the morning alarm?

 

[Future]

Trust me. I have worked in that industry. They are a disaster waiting to happen.

What part though? Is it that eventually things will have a more universal protocol? Or that security is weak?

Cuz all I meant was that right now, base use case of a smarthome setup can be pretty flawless and reliable

 

[pantsattack]

Just bought myself the nest thermostat and a Google home.

Pretty cool, possibilities are definitely there.

How would one get a coffee machine linked up to the morning alarm?

Through a connected outlet or wall plug. It's a pretty lofi solution, but there are smart coffee makers too.

 

[Veritigo_X]

Just bought myself the nest thermostat and a Google home.

Pretty cool, possibilities are definitely there.

How would one get a coffee machine linked up to the morning alarm?

There are smart coffee makers, but I just use a good old fashioned timer set for the same time as my alarm. Not "smart" but it works and lets me use the coffee maker I want.

 

[AndyD]

Im thinking of starting with a Home too.

Does it support multiple bluetooth speakers and/or a bluetooth receiver? Say I have a speaker outside, can I just say "Google, play party music outside!" or "everywhere" or "in the living room". Or would I need the Audio cast at each speaker?

 

[Theonik]

What part though? Is it that eventually things will have a more universal protocol? Or that security is weak?

Cuz all I meant was that right now, base use case of a smarthome setup can be pretty flawless and reliable

Both are issues in urgent need of addressing. Security moreso though since many of these devices have mid-90s level of security if you're lucky. The standards issue is also important since you want to be adding things to your home ecosystem not worry about upgrades, it's more a personal point that I don't want to change my coffee maker as often as my phone.

 

[Veritigo_X]

Im thinking of starting with a Home too.

Does it support multiple bluetooth speakers and/or a bluetooth receiver? Say I have a speaker outside, can I just say "Google, play party music outside!" or "everywhere" or "in the living room". Or would I need the Audio cast at each speaker?

Google Home relies on casting at the moment, but you can create speaker groups. Bluetooth support was announced recently but it's not out yet and I'm not sure if it'll work the same way as cast devices.

 

[Earthanoid]

Smartthings is having a sale right now, the sensors are all 20% off and the lighting kit is $40 off on the official store. I went to Best Buy and everything, including the base hub, is 20% off so I splurged and got one, a few sensors, and a few bulbs. I already had a Google Home, Nest thermostat, Protects, Nest Cams and some Wemo plugs. While I was at it I got a Schlage Connect lock for the garage.

Set up is a bit clunky, even without the IFTTT applets that needs to be done to make everything work. But once its up and running the hub is pretty good. I can remotely lock and unlock the door, and I can check status on doors and windows quickly in the app. I can say "OK Google lock the door" and it'll lock. Lights can be remotely activated or voice controlled too although I could do that before with the Wemo plugs.

All this is great but I agree with a previous poster that this stuff isn't ready for prime time. Set up was not difficult, but not simple enough for the average user. It is not standardized enough yet; not everything works with everything else. Nest and Smartthings still need their own app. IFTTT and Google Home bridge the gap but some of it is more of a novelty. Also I've got a bunch of Sonos speakers and they're not well integrated into anything (they kind of work with Smartthings but not really).

It makes for a good DIY alarm system though.

 

[pantsattack]

OK, smart protocols. Do you commit to one and stick to it or mix and match? Track sales and pick up pieces as they are available?

There is a wall dimmer switch that doesn't need a hub and runs on wifi, vs a dimmer that runs on zwave and needs a hub. Both can use Alexa.

 

[mrklaw]

I picked up a smart things hub and some arlo cameras.

Smart things takes some getting used to with the rules. Still not sure on the home/armed(home)/armed(away) on the dashboard. All the security settings seem to be based on armed (away) but I want to set some things up when people are still home. I'm using routines for those but then do I just ignore the 'smart home monitor' part completely?

 

[Pejo]

Hey guys, not sure if anyone still checks this thread, but I'm just getting into the smart home family (albeit a bit late). I just acquired an Echo recently, and I've been toying around with using it for various things. If any of you have suggestions for the following things, I'd really appreciate it:

- Lighting - I think I'm going to go with the Philips Hue system here. Seems to be good value to price ratio going on, except the damn strip lights for some reason. Any of you use this system? Are there better (cheaper) alternatives that also provide strip lighting?
- TV remote - I'm thinking maybe the Logitech Harmony hub here. I can control both of my TVs with wifi, but the remotes are both very unreliable. I also tried Anymote on the Play store for free, but it stops working when I leave my house and come back home. I want something that will work 99% of the time and for all of my devices. (TVs are WiFi, the rest will need an IR Blaster).
- Robot Vacuum - I'm thinking the Neato Botvac Connected since it was rated highly for pet hair (which is my #1 reason to buy a robot vac)

Since I rent, I don't want to look at security or Nest type stuff yet, so I think that's where I'll start. Any opinions on this stuff or alternate suggestions?

 

[n0razi]

Im 100% on the Google ecosystem

- Google Home mini's in all the smaller rooms and Google Home in the larger rooms as a voice interface
- All HDTVs are either Chromecast native or hooked up to nVidia Shield (Cast enabled)
- All speakers and soundbars are cast enabled
- Samsung Smartthings interfaces with all my lightswitches, dimmers, door locks, garage door opener, motion sensors, door sensors, leak sensors, smoke detectors, etc
- Nest Hello for doorbell and Nest Cams throughout the house for video surveillance
- Nest thermostat
- My phone is a Pixel 2 which has 24/7 Google Assistant and acts as a Presence sensor for Smartthings (auto enables/disables alarms when i enter or leave the house)

 

[mckmas8808]

Subbed!!! What perfect timing. I am building a new house and literally just started looking into this just a few days ago.

What are peoples thoughts on Z wave? From what I've read it's quite popular, and it looks like there's a lot of devices. Anyone have any experience with it? I'm particularly interested in it because it's wireless, so no need to worry about cables.

Z Wave to me is a MUST HAVE! It's universal and simple. From door locks, to light switches, and motion devices have Z-wave. And each time you add one to your network, it extends the range within your house.

OK, smart protocols. Do you commit to one and stick to it or mix and match? Track sales and pick up pieces as they are available?

There is a wall dimmer switch that doesn't need a hub and runs on wifi, vs a dimmer that runs on zwave and needs a hub. Both can use Alexa.

Always go with the switch that has Z-Wave, because it'll a protocol that will be around for many years to come.

 

[Fnord]

All I have are some lights and some smart outlets, but everything works together pretty well. I don't have any hubs (if I were getting more than a few lights, I would probably have gone the Hue route). The only thing that doesn't do everything I want to is my TV. It's a set from the first year that Sony did Android on their TVs and support for the built-in Chromecast isn't available for smart home control (yet?). I have my 3D printer rig connected to one of the smart outlets. So I can say either "Alexa, turn on/off the 3D printer" or "Hey Google, turn on/off the 3D printer," so that's cool. I ended up with both an Echo and a Google Home, because Amazon and Google aren't playing nice still. Everything except the Echo is in the Google ecosystem - TV, car head unit, phone, etc... But I use Amazon for a ton of services, too.

My first light was a Lifx color bulb. It actually crapped the bed, but Lifx sent me a new one after very little troubleshooting (I had already done a fair amount before talking to them). That one is still alive and kicking. But I wanted another for my ceiling light in my bedroom and, instead of dropping the $50-$60 for it, I decided to look around. Ended up getting a TP-Link. It works just as well as the Lifx and does all the same things. And it was $40. I'll probably go that route if I get any more.

The downside to the smart home stuff is that there are so many standards. The upside is that, because there are so many standards, there was a need for unification, which Google and Amazon (and things like IFTTT) have mostly addressed. So even if things weren't designed to work together, you can usually make them do so. Now, if only Chamberlain would get rid of their ridiculous fee for Google Home/Alexa support on their garage door openers, everything I want to work smart would work smart.

 

[mckmas8808]

The downside to the smart home stuff is that there are so many standards. The upside is that, because there are so many standards, there was a need for unification, which Google and Amazon (and things like IFTTT) have mostly addressed. So even if things weren't designed to work together, you can usually make them do so. Now, if only Chamberlain would get rid of their ridiculous fee for Google Home/Alexa support on their garage door openers, everything I want to work smart would work smart.

What is this fee from CHamberlain that you speak of?

 

[dorkimoe]

Hey guys, not sure if anyone still checks this thread, but I'm just getting into the smart home family (albeit a bit late). I just acquired an Echo recently, and I've been toying around with using it for various things. If any of you have suggestions for the following things, I'd really appreciate it:

- Lighting - I think I'm going to go with the Philips Huesystem here. Seems to be good value to price ratio going on, except the damn strip lights for some reason. Any of you use this system? Are there better (cheaper) alternatives that also provide strip lighting?
- TV remote - I'm thinking maybe the Logitech Harmony hub here. I can control both of my TVs with wifi, but the remotes are both very unreliable. I also tried Anymote on the Play store for free, but it stops working when I leave my house and come back home. I want something that will work 99% of the time and for all of my devices. (TVs are WiFi, the rest will need an IR Blaster).
- Robot Vacuum - I'm thinking the Neato Botvac Connected since it was rated highly for pet hair (which is my #1 reason to buy a robot vac)

Since I rent, I don't want to look at security or Nest type stuff yet, so I think that's where I'll start. Any opinions on this stuff or alternate suggestions?

I like my Hue system, I need to get some strip lights still only got blooms and regular lightbulbs

 

[Zoe]

What is this fee from CHamberlain that you speak of?

It's a dollar a month subscription to connect it to other services

 

[mckmas8808]

It's a dollar a month subscription to connect it to other services

I need to see if I have a Chamberlain garage door opener.

 

[Zoe]

I need to see if I have a Chamberlain garage door opener.

I don't know what the relationship is between Chamberlain and LiftMaster, but they both have MyQ and both do the stupid subscription bullshit.

So the husband and I just use the same account on the MyQ app for each of our phones. They don't even allow you to link a device to more than one account.

 

[Pejo]

I like my Hue system, I need to get some strip lights still only got blooms and regular lightbulbs

Thanks, I ended up moving forward with the Hue Hub + 4 White 60w equivalent bulbs, just to try it out. I've been really happy with the functionality of it so far, now I just need more.

A quick review for those on the fence:

+ Easy to set up
+ Very accurate with Echo
+ Good brightness
+ Mobile app is pretty good

- App takes longer than it should to load. If I'm out of earshot of my Echo, and I want to turn the lights on, I don't wait to wait the 3-4 seconds of startup time
- In middle dim settings, the lights flicker a bit. Not sure if this is standard or not because it happens to 2 of my bulbs, but not all 4.
- Have to update bulbs, and it takes a long time/seems like its not working. Never in my life did I expect I'd have to run updates on a light bulb, but the future is now. One bulb in particular kept failing the update, so I set for an auto-update schedule and the next day when I got home from work, it was finished.
- Renaming rooms/bulbs don't auto-populate over to the Alexa app. If you change a name/layout/room you need to manually update it in Alexa for it to work with voice commands. This was really fucking me up for a while.

Anyways, it's super handy and fun to use. I still plan to get another 5-6 white bulbs and a few color/strips for messing around with.

 

[LOLCats]

Alexa is better than google. I have both and just stopped using the google mini. we now have 3 alexas, probably will get a fourth. The intercom feature is great.

Don't rush out and spend 500$ on Hue Lightbulbs. Get a starter kit on sale then buy some each year at Black Friday (they go on sale then). I have built my Hue bulb collection over the last 8 years or so.

- App takes longer than it should to load. If I'm out of earshot of my Echo, and I want to turn the lights on, I don't wait to wait the 3-4 seconds of startup time.

you can add your favorites off/on/scenes to the widgets in your device OS. don't have to start the app to do basic off, on, red room, blue room.