Did I make a mistake?

[Hurting2Ride]

Perhaps its just because its 4am (again) and I'm struggling (again) but...

I used Homeseer v1.x for many years. In the last few of years I pretty much ignored my HA hobby and just used my house as it was. Recently I've put a focus on "going green" with solar for the house and pool so decided to get going with HA again. Since HS has worked fairly well over the years, I just plunged in and upgraded to HS Pro.

And now I'm wondering if this was a mistake. I find the documentation is extremely poor, much of the product feels like it's still beta, the interface is the same clunky interface I've looked at for 10 years, instead of phone support I've got e-mail only support for a fee, and I paid a whole lot more money for more functionality (i.e. HS Touch, TED integration, etc) to find these that the functionality of those items really isn't much better than what I get out of the box with HS and they're not exactly user or configuration friendly. My therm plugin is refusing to talk to my AC. My HSTouch plugin is yelling and freezing up over an inability to connect to the server which is on the same machine (I've checked this 8 ways to Sunday and it is definitely NOT on my end). I feel like I've already put in enough time that I should have a completely up and running system and at the moment I have less than I had with HS1. Ugh.

I've worked in the software industry for 15 years so I understand how things take time to develop - but in this case that knowledge is what makes me worried.

So, please, someone reassure me that its worth the time I need to put in to get past all of these struggles with HS Pro. It's not like I'm a novice at this type of stuff. My home is functioning okay with my old HS1 and 40+ X10 items (switches, outlets, inline controls, A/C, lights, phase coupler, Audiotron, etc). I will be spending money anyhow with migrating away from X10 plus adding a whole bunch more functions (2x gate automation, low voltage controls, more lamps and appliances, electric usage info integration, etc) so I'm nearing the point where I'm considering walking away from HS even if that's money down the drain. The amount of time it looks like this is going to take me makes it a positive return to walk away.

So...yeah...make me feel better.

[Pete]

I migrated to HSPro a few years back and I guess have evolved with the changes; all works fine for me today.

I am currently using an Atom D510 based 4Gb PC with one USB port out to 16 serial / 2 USB devices.

You stated what you are looking to do with HSPro / investment. Take it one step at a time.

Provide some granular details as to what you want to achieve first. Don't get frustrated.

[Uncle Michael]

Perhaps its just because its 4am (again) and I'm struggling (again) but...

So, please, someone reassure me that its worth the time I need to put in to get past all of these struggles with HS Pro. . . .I'm nearing the point where I'm considering walking away from HS even if that's money down the drain. The amount of time it looks like this is going to take me makes it a positive return to walk away.

Well, the 4AM part could be a contributor. Not a good time to make important decisions.

I am not surprised that the conversion from v1 to v2 looks daunting now. The 'easy' conversion window is pretty much closed. As Pete noted, though, it isn't really difficult if you tackle one task at a time, but it probably will take some time to get it functioning the way you want.

If spending time on HA is not enjoyable, then the option of walking away makes sense. My guess is that the suddenness of the transition is a major part of the problem. You've enjoyed a stable system, now you are faced with rebuilding that system with new components, each of which has its own learning curve. Some will be quick, some - like HSTouch will take more effort. Once you start seeing some successes, and realize the added capability v2 offers, you may decided the hobby is fun again.

But it is a hobby. HS is not an appliance, and it definitely can consume time.

[heatvent]

But it is a hobby. HS is not an appliance, and it definitely can consume time.

Couldn't agree more. There are probably more plug n play solutions out there but they won't do everything you are looking to do. You could go through a systems installer and outsource the setup workload.

Hopefully, you can achieve some equalibrium once you get your system established just like with your v 1.x system. I, for one, seem to be always adding tweaking so it's a constant state of almost fully functional. There are periods where I give it a rest and don't have issues.