Smart home recommendations

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jonoooo125

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ive just bought the nest thermostat and short of wifi bacon cooking app, what else do you recommend?

I was thinking of the nest smoke alarm but it's a bit steep at £99. I also like the Phillips hue stuff, I'm probably gonna get a starter set with 3 bulbs but that only covers the kitchen and again a bit steep at £140.
 
That's like saying I've just bought a TV, what should I watch? Or I've just bought a car, where should I go in it?
 
Its not really though is it... I'm asking if you have any smart tech in your house you would recommend? Any experiences with nest protect or hue bulbs? Or any other information regarding any other smart tech such as doorbells or security cams etc..
 
Thanks for reminding me! I'm not at home and I need to turn my bedroom light off.
I use Philips Hue and love it. Using a mixture of bulbs and a light strip. Voice control through Alexa and lots of programming options e.g. If I arrive home after sunset the hall light is turned on by the time I open the door.
 
Ricardodaforce said:
Thanks for reminding me! I'm not at home and I need to turn my bedroom light off.
I use Philips Hue and love it. Using a mixture of bulbs and a light strip. Voice control through Alexa and lots of programming options e.g. If I arrive home after sunset the hall light is turned on by the time I open the door.
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That's a cool feature but I was wondering if you can set it like a light alarm in the bedrooms. To start off really dim and brighten up like a sunset kind of thing? There's an alarm clock that does it but I can't remember what it's called
 
jonoooo125 said:
That's a cool feature but I was wondering if you can set it like a light alarm in the bedrooms. To start off really dim and brighten up like a sunset kind of thing? There's an alarm clock that does it but I can't remember what it's called
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Yes you can, that's what I do.
 
jonoooo125 said:
That's a cool feature but I was wondering if you can set it like a light alarm in the bedrooms. To start off really dim and brighten up like a sunset kind of thing? There's an alarm clock that does it but I can't remember what it's called
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It's called a Lumie. I've had one (the older version of below) for about 10 years. Works really nicely. Cheaper than Hue and probably more reliable....

https://www.lumie.com/collections/wake-up-lights/products/bodyclock-starter-30

In general though, I think home automation is a solution looking for a problem ATM. "Oh no - I've left the light on at home should I (a) fire up this app, connect to the net and tell my 60 odd quid controller to turn it off (and that's assuming I only have one controller and it's the right light) or (b) just forget about it and waste the 5p worth of 'leccy?"

If I had a home with it plumbed in I'd probably use it now and again but I can't see a single feature that I'd pay the money for. Unless of course, like Ms Rantzen used to say, you know different....
 
JonathanRyan said:
In general though, I think home automation is a solution looking for a problem ATM.
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Agree totally. And I think the OP demonstrated that - "I've got a home automation system, now what shall I do with it?"
 
Except for the WiFi enabled cat flap, of course, which I shall buy as soon as the manufacturers launch it. That's a rare example of a problem looking for a home automation solution.
 
JonathanRyan said:
It's called a Lumie. I've had one (the older version of below) for about 10 years. Works really nicely. Cheaper than Hue and probably more reliable....

https://www.lumie.com/collections/wake-up-lights/products/bodyclock-starter-30

In general though, I think home automation is a solution looking for a problem ATM. "Oh no - I've left the light on at home should I (a) fire up this app, connect to the net and tell my 60 odd quid controller to turn it off (and that's assuming I only have one controller and it's the right light) or (b) just forget about it and waste the 5p worth of 'leccy?"

If I had a home with it plumbed in I'd probably use it now and again but I can't see a single feature that I'd pay the money for. Unless of course, like Ms Rantzen used to say, you know different....
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Yeah, that's the alarm clock I was basing the idea on, I think the lights are a good idea, with a child I can set the light low like a night light and without opening the squeaky door, turn it off once I know she is asleep from the monitor, obviously I do go in as well but it's one less time I have to go in. The nest thermostat is just cool, it looks nice and I can turn the heating on before I even get out of bed, as first world problems go, that's high on my list.

I think the only other thing I would need/want are wireless speakers but that would be a solution looking for a problem haha
 
jonoooo125 said:
Yeah, that's the alarm clock I was basing the idea on, I think the lights are a good idea, with a child I can set the light low like a night light and without opening the squeaky door, turn it off once I know she is asleep from the monitor, obviously I do go in as well but it's one less time I have to go in.
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Plug it in to a socket outside the room (if necessary just drill straight through the wall and feed the flex through). Then flip the switch to turn off. Way cheaper ;) Also, I trust physical switches.....

jonoooo125 said:
I think the only other thing I would need/want are wireless speakers but that would be a solution looking for a problem haha
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Srsly, get a Sonos (or several). You deserve it.
 
StewartR said:
Agree totally. And I think the OP demonstrated that - "I've got a home automation system, now what shall I do with it?"
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not to mention the rising security implications being caused by the IoT. the race to the bottom cost wise of "smart" tech that often uses cheap chinese electronics with massive security flaws. not that most change the default security details anyway. it's a scary time.
 
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srichards said:
The wifi kettle is pretty daft.
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Unless you struggle standing, a two minute wait to an able bodied person isn't a problem, when you are 90, it could possibly be debilitating, inclusive design is very important and although lights and thermostat are a gimmick to me, it might be the difference between being thirsty or leaving the house cold because you physically can't get out of your seat.
 
My HA is based around samsungs smartthings in my house. I think its fantastic.

Philips Hue, Sonos and Alexa. With various dimmer controls.

My garden lights and my exterior lights come on 22 mins before sunset and go off 30 mins before sunrise. When I leave the house the lights will turn on/off around the house at random with a random max/min amount of lights.

Thats just some of the lights that are controlled by smartthings. My landing lights come on just as I get to the stairs. I have a single spotlight in our bathroom hall which comes on dimmed after midnight if someone steps onto the landing.

I have my hue bulbs in the ensuite come on dimmed and red in colour (after midnight) so they don't disturb the sleeping partner.

My doors also have sensors that tell me if they have been left open. You can get a proximity sensor that you can fit on your dogs collar so if like mine he's an escape artist you can be notified as soon as he wanders out the door
 
mattyg said:
My HA is based around samsungs smartthings in my house. I think its fantastic.

Philips Hue, Sonos and Alexa. With various dimmer controls.

My garden lights and my exterior lights come on 22 mins before sunset and go off 30 mins before sunrise. When I leave the house the lights will turn on/off around the house at random with a random max/min amount of lights.

Thats just some of the lights that are controlled by smartthings. My landing lights come on just as I get to the stairs. I have a single spotlight in our bathroom hall which comes on dimmed after midnight if someone steps onto the landing.

I have my hue bulbs in the ensuite come on dimmed and red in colour (after midnight) so they don't disturb the sleeping partner.

My doors also have sensors that tell me if they have been left open. You can get a proximity sensor that you can fit on your dogs collar so if like mine he's an escape artist you can be notified as soon as he wanders out the door
Click to expand...

All of that sounds pretty cool.

I guess my real issue is that I don't think I'd actually pay money for any of those individual features (except the lost dog thing, obvs). If I bought a house with them in I'd use them every day, but rather than buy any I'd think "meh, I can just use the switch...." :)
 
jonoooo125 said:
Unless you struggle standing, a two minute wait to an able bodied person isn't a problem, when you are 90, it could possibly be debilitating, inclusive design is very important and although lights and thermostat are a gimmick to me, it might be the difference between being thirsty or leaving the house cold because you physically can't get out of your seat.
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I guess. But it's something that could be more easily (and actually better) fixed by designing a kitchen unit with a seat in it. That way you fixed the kettle and the grill at the same time.
 
jonoooo125 said:
Do you have a google home or amazon echo too? Or will Siri manage it? It's only £50 extra to get the echo so it's not a big outlay if it useful
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Yes - have echos Dots around the house.

A bit about my journey :) and yes, I don't need home automation but it's fun and occasionally useful!

I started off with HIVE when it first came out. I needed a replacement controller for my central heating / hot water, and thought it looked cool, so ended up with that one. It didn't do anything other than the heating for the first year or so to be honest - just a handy and easily adjustable system.

I then added some Hue lights - I say added - they were obviously completely separate from the Hive, but I wanted some 'mood' lights for the living room so bought a starter kit.

Then I added some sensors to Hive - door sensors mainly - just wanted to check whether doors and windows were closed because, you know teenagers are a bit crap at that. That said, until they release a door / window closer, you have to hope they pick up their mobiles! They are good for keeping tabs on comings and goings though :)

More hue lights (lots more) and some HIVE smart plugs followed, as did the Hue motion sensors to turn off the lights when the kids leave them on.

Amazon echo made the biggest difference though, all of the above are now controlled by voice 9 times out of 10. No need to pick up phone or press a switch, it's become second nature to ask Alexa to do it, and sometimes have an argument with her when she refuses!

It's all functional to a point. What I have not got working well yet is any sort of programmatic approach to automation with all this IoT kit. I've Node-Red running on a Pi, but support of Hive is crap. Hive generally is crap at 3rd party support - only recently having released IFTTT integration, but even that's limited.

For example, I'd like to sound a tone if the front door is opened while the cloakroom window is still open, just as a reminder to close it if you're heading out. Not possible yet, which is stupid as it really should be.

Also, when you pull all the registers and sensors from the HIVE smart plugs for example, there is loads of information what isn't surfaced by the British Gas app. Every sensor (door and plugs etc) also have temperature sensors so it could be used to monitor the invidividual room temps, but it's not in the official app. The plugs monitor power usage, but again it's not available in the official app.

It's all fun if you want to tinker, but it's of no real use as it's 'crippled' for the consumer market at the moment.
 
I have Philips hue but didn't opt for the cheesy coloured stuff. You can get a starter kit with two dimmable white bulbs for £50
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Pe...F8&qid=1499674397&sr=8-2&keywords=Philips+hue

Then add additional bulbs for £14 each.

I have a couple of tplink smart plugs and a harmony Hub and remote to control all the AV stuff. Everything can be controlled by Alexa. I also use a few connected apps to run linked tasks.

For example saying Alexa, goodnight will turn off the AV stuff, waits 10 seconds then turns off the livingroom lights, then waits 30 seconds allowing us time to get upstairs before turning off the hall light.
 
mattyg said:
My HA is based around samsungs smartthings in my house. I think its fantastic.

Philips Hue, Sonos and Alexa. With various dimmer controls.

My garden lights and my exterior lights come on 22 mins before sunset and go off 30 mins before sunrise. When I leave the house the lights will turn on/off around the house at random with a random max/min amount of lights.

Thats just some of the lights that are controlled by smartthings. My landing lights come on just as I get to the stairs. I have a single spotlight in our bathroom hall which comes on dimmed after midnight if someone steps onto the landing.

I have my hue bulbs in the ensuite come on dimmed and red in colour (after midnight) so they don't disturb the sleeping partner.

My doors also have sensors that tell me if they have been left open. You can get a proximity sensor that you can fit on your dogs collar so if like mine he's an escape artist you can be notified as soon as he wanders out the door
Click to expand...

Welcome to 2117 haha

I also didn't know they did garden lights so I'll have a look at that
 
srichards said:
The wifi kettle is pretty daft.
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jonoooo125 said:
Unless you struggle standing, a two minute wait to an able bodied person isn't a problem, when you are 90, it could possibly be debilitating, inclusive design is very important and although lights and thermostat are a gimmick to me, it might be the difference between being thirsty or leaving the house cold because you physically can't get out of your seat.
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If you physically can't get out of your seat, how do you fill the kettle?
 
StewartR said:
If you physically can't get out of your seat, how do you fill the kettle?
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A carer or relative could have done it before they left, a kettle will hold enough water for 5 or 6 cups, it would just be re boiled each time, it's not that hard, or they could fill it up after each use before they go sit down again.

 
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jonoooo125 said:
Very expensive compared to just using a wifi kettle and not even connected to your phone, no fun
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No. But if the hard bit of your day is standing there waiting while a kettle boils then this will fix that in a far more elegant way than a wifi kettle. Also, it's likely to work even when your phone runs out of battery.
 
JonathanRyan said:
No. But if the hard bit of your day is standing there waiting while a kettle boils then this will fix that in a far more elegant way than a wifi kettle. Also, it's likely to work even when your phone runs out of battery.
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It is a better solution to the problem I mentioned above... prime day has dropped the echo dot to £35 too
 
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