bushwacked Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I am looking into automated things around the house and NEST seems to be the best at the moment with the amount of home automation options you can link with it. Does anyone have experience with any of the home automation stuff and have any input on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-MattK- Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 we have 3 HVAC zones in the house and all are on Nests - they're terrific. Incredibly easy to install (package even ships with a screwdriver). You take off your old thermostat, label the wires (and take a pic), then it tells you where to plug each of them. When you put the thermostat on the wall it double checks your wiring.You can log in via a web page or an app on your phone. You can control it remotely. So when we go on a trip, I set it to "away" then have a reminder in my calendar about 2 hours before we get home reminding me to turn the AC or heating back on.I bought one for my parents as well - they love it, too. I also have a dropcam, a company they recently purchased. Equally as simple to set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I have a NEST Thermostat, and 2 NEST Cams. Their stuff is awesome, everything ties into one app on your phone. I have my thermostat schedule set from my phone, and I actually have saved a bit each month on heating/cooling. The cams are awesome as well, since they have motion sensing abilities and can send you alerts to your phone when there's noise or motion. You can click on the alert on your phone and watch that event on your phone or from a web browser. You can rewind and fast forward your videos and review your history as well. All videos however are stored on the NEST service and you have to pay a few bucks a month per camera to have it saved. A smart and annoying move since if someone robs you and steals the cam, the video is still available, annoying that you don't have other video storage options. The camera also lets you talk through your phone to ha ev your voice come from the camera. Works great on my dogs when they are acting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 These systems are useful and convenient, but exercize a bit of healthy paranoia. If YOU can look inside your house, unlock your doors, etc... via remote, so can ANYONE ELSE that has enough interest to try. "Network Security" is a pink unicorn with a golden tail and glttery mane. I would not put network-enabled cameras inside my home for any amount of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 There are also Insteon thermostats that will integrate with the entire Insteon family of home automation products. You're not tied to one vendor, since Insteon is an open standard. The downside is that you have to design the system and program it yourself.For me, the big choice was between a system that "learned" my schedule (Nest) vs one that I programmed. I'm capable of programming my thermostat, and when I've programmed it, I don't want it to change unless I decide to change it. I chose Insteon over Nest because I was already using Insteon light switches and motion detectors, and (at the time, several years ago) there were some bad reviews and I had some concerns about Nest. Nest has probably fixed a lot of the early problems, but I'd recommend googling and reading a lot of reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisG-Canada Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I have 1 Nest thermostat and 4 of the combo smoke/CO detectors. I've had a thermostat for past 3.5 years and smoke/CO detectors for last 1.5 years.The system works great as several others have identified and has saved me lots of unnecessary heating/cooling costs - like when I'm not home, etc.Also, if you don't want the system to 'learn' your heating/cooling habits you can turn those features off. I set a schedule but also allow it to learn. It's been great so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I would never have an internet or bluetooth doorlock. The cameras, however are fine. Unless NEST gets hacked and someone can access them, but the chances of this happening is very very minute. You're less safe using your debit/credit card anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mzdadoc Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I don't have Nest so I can't speak about that. My thermostat is connected to my home network and I have an APP for it which I like but how often do I really need to see what's going on. I also have the MyQ garage door opener. Both of these items came with the house we just bought. The garage door I would pass on cuz it's real iffy. It works most of the time and never when I'm in a hurry. It's great when you have subcontractors coming by like I did. My buddy insulated my garage and I let him in from 200 miles away. I did research on home automation because I love techy stuff but there just wasn't enough that seemed worth the price.I'm using my money to replace all the bulbs with LED. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vyrolan Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 There are also Insteon thermostats that will integrate with the entire Insteon family of home automation products. You're not tied to one vendor, since Insteon is an open standard. The downside is that you have to design the system and program it yourself.For me, the big choice was between a system that "learned" my schedule (Nest) vs one that I programmed. I'm capable of programming my thermostat, and when I've programmed it, I don't want it to change unless I decide to change it. I chose Insteon over Nest because I was already using Insteon light switches and motion detectors...I wouldn't exactly call Insteon an "open standard"...does anybody make Insteon devices except Smarthome? There are the independent controllers (e.g. ISY) but I don't know of any other vendor for basic switches/outlets/etc (although Insteon stuff will speak X11 which is an open standard but also an old crappy outdated one).Despite that, I would wholeheartedly recommend Insteon for DIY home automation. I've used it a lot and really like the quality of the devices and the customizations that are possible. Being a tech guy in real life, I want something I can completely control and customize and Insteon provides that...so many of the other solutions are either completely non-DIY or are very limited in what you can do.I'm also with Chip in that I don't need or want Nest's learning features... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rodger. Posted December 2, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 i just turn my thermostat down before i leave, and turn it up ahain when i get home. it only takes 3 seconds, and is oretty effective! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestor Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 I use a Honeywell Zwave thermostat with my home automation system. With a geofencing app on my phone, my thermostat will change according to whether I am home or not. I've also set up a couple of remote geo-locations so that if I'm leaving work, my furnace/ac gets a head start by the time I get home. At night, I press a button on my app that shuts off lights and adjusts my thermostat for bedtime for about 5 hrs. This may sound complicated but the only time I'm ever adjusting the thermostat is at bedtime. The big advantage of geofencing is that as much as a thermostat can "learn" it can't predict with 100% accuracy that you are home or not. Geofencing takes care of that. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted December 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 I looked into the insteon as well and it has some solid features/product line as well. It looks to be a tough decision between the insteon line and the nest line ... prices seem to be about equal overall on the products. @ Nestor, what did you use to connect your lights with? wireless switches? Which ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.