Home Automation ideas.

1,327 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Garrelli 5000
suprafly03
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AG
I am building a home as we speak and am looking for some ideas in the world of Home Automation.

What are the must haves? I think HVAC controls, garage door, whole home audio.

Any others? Bonus points for HomeKit compatible. We are a fully Apple home…yeah,yeah.

Thanks in advance!
YouBet
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AG
Garage door and audio for sure. Although I haven't used it, we have a back door with an automated lock that can be used for housekeeper, etc if you aren't home. We also have SkyBell (Ring), but we don't use it either.

I don't get HVAC since I don't need to touch it that often. Paying a subscription for that seems like bad ROI, but maybe you can do it without having to pay for it.
tlepoC
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The ones I use the most are front door lock, front door camera, HVAC, and basically all lights and fans (especially any lamps).


Garage door would be next.

I guess whole home audio is connected as well.
txyaloo
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I'd add an equipment closet with ethernet runs for hardwire external cameras. POE image quality is leaps and bounds above wifi cameras, your video isn't mined in someone's cloud, and there's no monthly fee. I'd also add outlets with built in USB ports next to any beds and a bidet outlet in any bathrooms.

I'd go smart bulbs over switches so you can control colors. Bond works well for controlling fans or other devices with RF remotes. Wiring for smart blinds in the casing so you don't have to rely on batteries would be nice.

I think hard wired whole home audio is out dated. I'm not an audiophile. Google and Amazon both allow you to link their speakers allowing whole home easily and you have voice controls wherever.
txyaloo
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YouBet said:

I don't get HVAC since I don't need to touch it that often. Paying a subscription for that seems like bad ROI, but maybe you can do it without having to pay for it.
I touch mine multiple times a day. Ecobee and Nest both have no subscription fees. It's super nice when you wake up in the middle of the night hot/cold to just tell Google to adjust the temp a degree or two w/o having to get out of bed
92_Ag
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txyaloo said:

I'd add an equipment closet with ethernet runs for hardwire external cameras. POE image quality is leaps and bounds above wifi cameras, your video isn't mined in someone's cloud, and there's no monthly fee. I'd also add outlets with built in USB ports next to any beds and a bidet outlet in any bathrooms.

I'd go smart bulbs over switches so you can control colors. Bond works well for controlling fans or other devices with RF remotes. Wiring for smart blinds in the casing so you don't have to rely on batteries would be nice.

I think hard wired whole home audio is out dated. I'm not an audiophile. Google and Amazon both allow you to link their speakers allowing whole home easily and you have voice controls wherever.
Equipment closet with home runs +1.

Run Ethernet (6e) everywhere you can afford, prioritizing work areas, play areas, and bedrooms as well as locations you might want cameras. Anything more is bonus (garage, basement, kitchen, etc.)

Personally I prefer switches to bulbs (e.g. Leviton) except in lamps. I rarely have a desire to alter the color of a whole room, but accent lighting sometimes.

Smart blinds are an optional luxury as there aren't a lot of great controllers (yet) unless you are spending some big $ (e.g. crestron). However wiring in advance isn't a bad idea if this is your forever home.

Local wiring for audio to a cabinet is still valuable if you want more options, but again here I agree that whole home is pretty passe' and just do it for the rooms you want the immersive experience.

Edit to add: alarm.com for monitoring, chamberlain myQ for garage door control, ecobee thermostats, Leviton switches where needed, hue bulbs for those few lamps you want color/more control, local NVR + PoE cameras is how I'm setup … all HomeKit. [forgot to add Rachio for sprinkler control]
YouBet
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AG
txyaloo said:

YouBet said:

I don't get HVAC since I don't need to touch it that often. Paying a subscription for that seems like bad ROI, but maybe you can do it without having to pay for it.
I touch mine multiple times a day. Ecobee and Nest both have no subscription fees. It's super nice when you wake up in the middle of the night hot/cold to just tell Google to adjust the temp a degree or two w/o having to get out of bed
See, that's just over engineering your own comfort IMO. I'm not paying yet another sub just to do that.

I touch mine twice a year. Summer and Winter.
adamsbq06
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Depends on how nerdy you are. HomeKit and Zwave only scratch the surface. HomeAssistant is a must if you want to have say your Subaru tire pressure change the color of your lights in the garage
andy@andrewadamsav.com
tomtomdrumdrum
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This video has some good ideas:

We're thinking about getting the lutron smart shades, but they're pricey.
agdoc2001
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I have the lutron shades in my media room. I use either Alexa or harmony remote to engage "Watch Movie" and they come down automatically. Pricey, but without a doubt, my favorite piece of home automation.
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Sweet Kitten Feet
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S
Having a smart switch doesn't prevent you from having RGB bulbs.

Leviton or Lutron Caseta smart switches throughout home would be my highest recommendation.
92_Ag
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YouBet said:

txyaloo said:

YouBet said:

I don't get HVAC since I don't need to touch it that often. Paying a subscription for that seems like bad ROI, but maybe you can do it without having to pay for it.
I touch mine multiple times a day. Ecobee and Nest both have no subscription fees. It's super nice when you wake up in the middle of the night hot/cold to just tell Google to adjust the temp a degree or two w/o having to get out of bed
See, that's just over engineering your own comfort IMO. I'm not paying yet another sub just to do that.

I touch mine twice a year. Summer and Winter.
Ecobee doesn't require a subscription fee.
txyaloo
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YouBet said:

txyaloo said:

YouBet said:

I don't get HVAC since I don't need to touch it that often. Paying a subscription for that seems like bad ROI, but maybe you can do it without having to pay for it.
I touch mine multiple times a day. Ecobee and Nest both have no subscription fees. It's super nice when you wake up in the middle of the night hot/cold to just tell Google to adjust the temp a degree or two w/o having to get out of bed
See, that's just over engineering your own comfort IMO. I'm not paying yet another sub just to do that.

I touch mine twice a year. Summer and Winter.
I see you missed the bold statement..

All "home automation" is over engineering for our own comfort. None of us needs the ability to automate lights, shades, music, locks, etc, etc, etc.

I'm glad you touch yours twice a year. For me, and millions of other peple, the $150 cost for a smart thermostat was well worth it.

You sound like my parents. They were very much against home automation. Said it wasn't needed. Then my dad fell in the living room at night several times because he refused to turn a light on and the switch was on the wrong wall. Then I installed a smart switch with a motion sensor setting the lights to come on at 30% brightness after 9pm when motion was detected. They loved it. Then they wanted a motion light in their laundry room. Then a smart thermostat. Then a switch to turn on the front lights at night when they're coming home after dark.

You don't know how great the convenience is until you've used it.
92_Ag
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Just something else, the ecobee (and likely the Nest) provides automated adjustments for when you are away/home and/or times of day, metrics on how your system performs over time, comparisons to power consumption averages in your locale, external temp vs interior temp vs equipment runtime data, and service reminders (should you want that) as extra features. The ecobee also has remote sensors you can mount in other rooms to help measure and balance temperatures. It obviously won't change the dampers for you, but I've found the information helpful 4-6 times a year to adjust the dampers and then let the ecobee average the temps. My wife appreciates the ability to turn off the units remotely whenever she opens the windows in the home as well.

I find the extra data about how my equipment operates the most useful feature.
ExPLK
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I have automation throughout my house. Light/fan switches, cameras, home audio, garage door, door locks, certain devices (lamps, air cleaners, arcade games, etc.), etc.

My biggest recommendation is to install smart light switches throughout the house. Kasa (TP-Link) switches are great, inexpensive and work consistently. We've replaced every switch with these and use them constantly to turn on/off lights and fans. We have certain routines like "tv time" and "bed time" that turn on/off certain devices that make it easier to jump right into the activity. Whole home audio, garage door and door locks are probably the runner ups. Thermostats are nice to have but we usually let the smartness of ecobee control the temps.

HTH
YouBet
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txyaloo said:

YouBet said:

txyaloo said:

YouBet said:

I don't get HVAC since I don't need to touch it that often. Paying a subscription for that seems like bad ROI, but maybe you can do it without having to pay for it.
I touch mine multiple times a day. Ecobee and Nest both have no subscription fees. It's super nice when you wake up in the middle of the night hot/cold to just tell Google to adjust the temp a degree or two w/o having to get out of bed
See, that's just over engineering your own comfort IMO. I'm not paying yet another sub just to do that.

I touch mine twice a year. Summer and Winter.
I see you missed the bold statement..

All "home automation" is over engineering for our own comfort. None of us needs the ability to automate lights, shades, music, locks, etc, etc, etc.

I'm glad you touch yours twice a year. For me, and millions of other peple, the $150 cost for a smart thermostat was well worth it.

You sound like my parents. They were very much against home automation. Said it wasn't needed. Then my dad fell in the living room at night several times because he refused to turn a light on and the switch was on the wrong wall. Then I installed a smart switch with a motion sensor setting the lights to come on at 30% brightness after 9pm when motion was detected. They loved it. Then they wanted a motion light in their laundry room. Then a smart thermostat. Then a switch to turn on the front lights at night when they're coming home after dark.

You don't know how great the convenience is until you've used it.



I clearly did miss that statement so that might change things for me although thermostats would be last on my list of priorities since I have no need to fiddle with them like everyone else wants to do. You also missed the statement in the very first response on this thread that I also have some level of home automation.

The only example I questioned was the thermostat. And now suddenly I hate old people and want them to break their hips.
Garrelli 5000
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AG
We have several smart switches - primarily in the media room so that lights on/off/50% at pause, etc. I also have them for my exterior lights so that it is easy to program them however I choose.

We use Lutron Caseta for the smart switches and no problems. Can also control via Alexa or phone.

For our exterior lights I had outlets boxes routed to each corner of the house that are controlled by interior switches. That made it easy to then replace the builder's switches w/Caseta for programming purposes. I only have low voltage junction boxes on 2 of the corners (1 front 1 back) for landscape lighting, so the other 2 corners are just face plates for now.

Note: Many smart switches require a neutral wire! If you try to install a smart switch that requires a neutral in a location w/out a neutral wire you are SOL. Try to determine which switches you want in advance so that your electrician knows whether or not to include neutral wires at locations, or ask them to just run neutrals to every switch (electricians please correct me if that is a bad idea).



Take the trash out staff.
txyaloo
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Garrelli 5000 said:


We use Lutron Caseta for the smart switches and no problems. Can also control via Alexa or phone.

Note: Many smart switches require a neutral wire! If you try to install a smart switch that requires a neutral in a location w/out a neutral wire you are SOL. Try to determine which switches you want in advance so that your electrician knows whether or not to include neutral wires at locations, or ask them to just run neutrals to every switch (electricians please correct me if that is a bad idea).




+1 on Lutron. Wish I had bought into their ecosystem years ago. i just got onboard in the last 2 years. It just works and the pico remotes are awesome! I've been able to add switches in closets and rooms that never had 3 ways without extra wiring in ~2 minutes. I'd skip wifi switches unless absolutely necessary and if running a lot, I'd put them on a segmented network.

I don't think switch loops with only 2 conductors are code anymore so no neutrals really isn't a concern in new construction. If a switch loop is being run, it'll be with 14/3 or 12/3
Garrelli 5000
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The only issue I've ever had is periodically lights don't turn on or off as programmed, but I've had that happen with lamps plugged into a non-lutron external smart home plug.

I chalk it up to a Alexa since I program all Caseta and non-caseta smart plugs as Alexa routines.

The only downside is if you have a bank of switches it can be a ***** to install because smart switches are so big that you run out of room with all of the wires.

I haven't done much else other than hole home audio. Plenty of stuff I can control via phone or voice but no other automations.
Take the trash out staff.
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