What Smart "home automation" features have you made?

[Raptor]

Hello all,

i was reading a post about 6 months ago about how many Home Automation features are mainly a remote for the house and not really automation.

this made me think, what is really "smart" or automated in the house outside of just being able to switch things on with a remote or a phone, the answer came back hardly anything.

so i decided to make the home smarter by trying to add features. what i want to know is what have you guys and girls done in this area.

I'm looking for things that the house does for you outside of just remote access.

thanks
Raptor


Here is my current list:

Virtual thermostat for the bedroom fans:
uses an oregon temp sensor and a few virtual devices to switch on the fan if the temp goes above a certain temp

Disarm the alarm when the door keypad get a valid code
uses a zwave lock and an event where if the user code is valid and the alarm is armed disarm

Pause music in my home office when the phone rings
this uses hsphone and swtiches off the russound audio in my office when the deskphone rings.

Run wake up event when the alarm on my cellphone goes off
this uses tasker, tasker hs plugin and alarmpad to trigger an event when my phone alarm rings.

[waynehead99]

Interesting Question and this is something that I have thought about a lot myself. I use the rule that if I had to pull my phone out to do something, I missed an automation opportunity and try to resolve that.

I do the same with my ceiling fans, I also have them just plain turn off on the lower floor at night.

I have my lights connected to the weather to help turn some of them on if the clouds start to roll in.

I have a whole house fan that is tied to all the windows, only turns on (and at certain speeds depending on the amount of windows open) depending on the temp outside vs inside.

House modes are mainly dictated by time of day and current activity and used to automate other things.

One thing that I want is the blinds, but can't justify the cost. I open them every morning and close them every night.

[happnatious1]

In the spring and fall it is not uncommon for it to be hot when I go to bed at night and cold in the morning, so if the fan is running and the heat comes on during the night I have the ceiling fan in my bedroom turn off. I haven't woken up cold since.

[randy]

Interesting Question and this is something that I have thought about a lot myself. I use the rule that if I had to pull my phone out to do something, I missed an automation opportunity and try to resolve that.

I do the same with my ceiling fans, I also have them just plain turn off on the lower floor at night.

I have my lights connected to the weather to help turn some of them on if the clouds start to roll in.

I have a whole house fan that is tied to all the windows, only turns on (and at certain speeds depending on the amount of windows open) depending on the temp outside vs inside.

House modes are mainly dictated by time of day and current activity and used to automate other things.

One thing that I want is the blinds, but can't justify the cost. I open them every morning and close them every night.

I want blinds as well, that is the one thing that would be universally appreciated (read high WAF) in my household. I hope to find a reasonably priced option somewhere down the road. My wife said she really likes the idea of a solution that leaves the windows unobstructed when open. We currently have mini blinds and it would be acceptable to just control the angle. It would be preferable to be able to raise them as well.

The other option that she seemed to like was dual roller shades, one shade as room darkening and a second that is light filtering. This would seem to be the best choice for true automation.

One thing You mentioned that I would like more information is your whole house fan. We currently have and use one as well. It is a 1/2HP belt driven fan with a 2-speed split phase motor. The high speed moves a bunch of air, but also is a bit noisy. Low is fine most of the time, but the two speeds are somewhat limiting. Even automating the two speeds will require some outside the box thinking, since there is no Z-Wave device designed for High-Low-Off. My ideal would be continuously variable speed from a whisper to full speed. How do you control your fan?

[waynehead99]

I want blinds as well, that is the one thing that would be universally appreciated (read high WAF) in my household. I hope to find a reasonably priced option somewhere down the road. My wife said she really likes the idea of a solution that leaves the windows unobstructed when open. We currently have mini blinds and it would be acceptable to just control the angle. It would be preferable to be able to raise them as well.

The other option that she seemed to like was dual roller shades, one shade as room darkening and a second that is light filtering. This would seem to be the best choice for true automation.

One thing You mentioned that I would like more information is your whole house fan. We currently have and use one as well. It is a 1/2HP belt driven fan with a 2-speed split phase motor. The high speed moves a bunch of air, but also is a bit noisy. Low is fine most of the time, but the two speeds are somewhat limiting. Even automating the two speeds will require some outside the box thinking, since there is no Z-Wave device designed for High-Low-Off. My ideal would be continuously variable speed from a whisper to full speed. How do you control your fan?

My fan is a quiet cool and can hardly hear it except the wind passing the windows .

The version I bought actually has 2 fans (on/off) and as such has 2 switches.

I bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Enerwave-ZWN-R...ilpage_o07_s00

It's basically a dual relay that is zwave controlled and fits in the gang box behind the normal switch.

I have a script that is checked each time any window is opened and based on the number of windows opened and temp comparisons, it turns either one or both switches on.

Both fans only pull about 350 watts a piece so the relay is enough. I wish there was a way to have a "dimmer" affect for fans, but no one builds one that I have found.

[waynehead99]

Other ideas and what I am doing:

I have an awning that is motorized... again attached to the weather to deploy or retract.

House locks up and arms when no one is there for 10 minutes (using PHLocation), in case someone forgot to do it on the way out.

Heater/AC is tied to the windows and doors as well. If opened for at least 2 minutes, it shuts off until house is closed up again.

What I would really like to see and I think would be more valuable vs time of day, is a plugin or script that actually tracks the position of the sun and use this to light up parts of the house in the evening vs the time of day. It seems that I have to adjust +/- on sunset in the summer vs the winter to keep the lighting proper, and this would eliminate that.

Vera had a plugin for this at one point, but haven't been able to find this for HS.

[AgileHumor]

Every light/room is controlled by motion or gestures (doors closed or open)...or a combination (turn off lights/TV on no motion IF bathroom door is open).

Every room has a Bedtime, Dim (night), Bright (day) mode...as well as an off. Going into a room for the first time in the day will cause the Somfy blinds raise in that room. Shades lower at 15 minutes after sunset.

Except for activating a virtual switch bedtime (via voice or wall tablet), kids bedtime, party mode (bright mode) and kids bath time...I never control anything. Z-Wave locks are locked automatically (if unlocked for at least 5 minutes and alarm is armed).

From my wakeup (bedtime mode off, alarm disarmed, TV On, Play NBC Today Show)...to bedtime automatically enabling at 11pm (unless party mode turns on).

Every room has Russound audio and TV home run via HDMI to Kodi Media Center to provide a single audio or video program which turns on with the light when you walk into room (turning off the russound in wall control for the room will also turn off the TV). Outdoor motion sensor trigger camera overlays on the Kodi Media Center for 15 seconds.

If motion or time based automation is you definition or extension of the word "remote"....then I don't automate too much

PS - Next project is using my Z-Wave HVAC registers to help get the hot/cold air to the needed zones. I'd say this may classify as non motion or time based "true" automation.

[randy]

My fan is a quiet cool and can hardly hear it except the wind passing the windows .

The version I bought actually has 2 fans (on/off) and as such has 2 switches.

I bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Enerwave-ZWN-R...ilpage_o07_s00

It's basically a dual relay that is zwave controlled and fits in the gang box behind the normal switch.

I have a script that is checked each time any window is opened and based on the number of windows opened and temp comparisons, it turns either one or both switches on.

Both fans only pull about 350 watts a piece so the relay is enough. I wish there was a way to have a "dimmer" affect for fans, but no one builds one that I have found.

2 questions:

1. What model of Quiet Cool?
2. Did you purchase it direct or from a reseller?

I had heard they were very quiet and I like the idea of isolating the fan by a duct. When I last looked at them they were quite expensive.

[sirmeili]

2 questions:

1. What model of Quiet Cool?
2. Did you purchase it direct or from a reseller?

I had heard they were very quiet and I like the idea of isolating the fan by a duct. When I last looked at them they were quite expensive.

I second this. I also have been considering one and like that it uses ducts. The cost has kept me away though. Also, do you do anything for when doors in rooms are closed (like a pass through vent between rooms and the common area)?

As to automation in my house, I am adding a little all the time, but what I have so far is:

Kitchen lights are automated (via motion sensors) and the level of light is dictated by the time of day (during the night, they only turn on to 20% as to not blind anyone). This is also controlled by a virtual device so when the kids are playing with play do on the kitchen floor or one of us is doing something that doesn't require a lot of motion, we can ask Alexa (Amazon Echo) to turn off the automatic kitchen lights for a certain amount of time ("Alexa, tell homeseer to turn off the automatic kitchen lights for 1 hour").

The hallway for the kids rooms also is automated, but only at night. If motion is detected OR one of their doors is opened, the lights turn on for them. They turn off after either a timeout or until there is no motion for so long.

The front door had an "auto lock" which is turned on all the time. It locks the door as long as the door has been unlocked for 10 minutes AND the door has been closed for 2 minutes (in case you are going in and out a lot). This also has a virtual device to turn it on/off, however it is automatically turned on again at 8PM and can't be turned off again until 7AM.

I have my house modes change mostly on time, however on the weekends, the house does not come out of night mode into morning mode until someone opens their bedroom door or there is motion in the hallway, etc.

My outside lights are all based off of motion (though have a switch override to turn them on).

In my living room, the ceiling fan will turn on when the TV is on. I at one point had it based off of temp, but I took it out for some reason and haven't put it back. In addition, if the house is put into "Night mode" by someone, but someone else is watching the TV in the living room, the living room lights and fan will stay on utnil they TV is off for 5 minutes. This way we can put the house in night mode while our teenage daughter is watching TV without giving up the ability to make sure all the lights are off.

Though not "automation", most the rooms have an "all off" mode that is controlled by doing a "fast off" on the insteon KPL for the main lights. This way when someone leaves the room, they can turn everything off (including TVs) with pretty much literally the touch of a button.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head.

[rmasonjr]

I love these threads - so many good ideas...

Right now, my lights are mostly automated with occupancy or if the alarm is armed/disarmed.

Pool pump is automated and I recently added support to switch it off for 1hr if the dryer is turned on. I got the idea from another user on the board.

The usual TTS alerts on driveway activity, outdoor motion, reminders, etc.

[sirmeili]

Not really automation, and something i plan on expanding on later is this:

I work from home 4 days a week, but the other day I drive 90 miles to work. So my wife and I use Motorola "Loop" for automatic checking in when we come home/work. However, that doesn't help her know when I'm gonna get home. So I use PHLocation and Imperihome (with spuds plugin) to have a tile that tells her how far away I am in minutes. This way she can check on me on my drive home and know when to expect me (dinner, etc).

At some point, I plan on putting in a screen somewhere that will show this an other data as well (where I am currently on my drive, family schedules, etc). I'm still hoping someone creates a nice sized e-ink display because it could be left on 100% of the time but use VERY little power overall.

I also might at some point add TTS notifications to let he know when I'm close, but so far the family has HATED the TTS notifications (Welcoming them home, other stuff). I love it, but them not so much.

[jhearty]

Every light/room is controlled by motion or gestures (doors closed or open)...or a combination (turn off lights/TV on no motion IF bathroom door is open).

Every room has a Bedtime, Dim (night), Bright (day) mode...as well as an off. Going into a room for the first time in the day will cause the Somfy blinds raise in that room. Shades lower at 15 minutes after sunset.

Except for activating a virtual switch bedtime (via voice or wall tablet), kids bedtime, party mode (right mode) and kids bath time...I never control anything. Z-Wave locks are locked automatically (if unlocked for at least 5 minutes and alarm is armed).

From my wakeup (bedtime mode off, alarm disarmed, TV On, Play NBC Today Show)...to bedtime automatically enabling at 11pm (unless party mode turns on).

Every room has Russound audio and TV home run via HDMI to Kodi Media Center to provide a single audio or video program which turns on with the light when you walk into room (turning off the russound in wall control for the room will also turn off the TV). Outdoor motion sensor trigger camera overlays on the Kodi Media Center for 15 seconds.

If motion or time based automation is you definition or extension of the word "remote"....then I don't automate too much

PS - Next project is using my Z-Wave HVAC registers to help get the hot/cold air to the needed zones. I'd say this may classify as non motion or time based "true" automation.

Wow! Several great ideas. You must be allowed a very healthy automation dollar and time budget! I like this thread, never much liked the idea of pushing buttons to make things happen. At most being able to speak commands to make things happen.

John

[petez69]

I was tired leaving my Weller soldering iron on, once I left it on for a week while i went on holidays... its temp controlled but it burnt out my tip, its a VERY bad habit I have....

So now it has a solid state relay switching it and there is a scheduled event to turn it off at midnight incase I forget :-)



Have just added an event to give me the status via SMS message..wellerstatus :-)

Pete

[sparkman]

A few things I do:

- turn alarm clocks (Squeezebox Radios) on/off automatically if it's a work and/or school day for the kids based on schedule
- "sunrise lights" come on automatically based on the time the alarm clocks are set to.
- HVAC setpoints are controlled by occupancy/geofencing
- doors lock automatically if we've left and forgot to lock them.
- get notified of the garage door being open too long via pushover with pictures on an ftp server and it auto-closes after a while too (without bypassing the safety features).
- AV equipment gets turned off automatically based on lack of motion
- lights in bathrooms come on automatically with appropriate brightness based on light levels outside the bathrooms - I use the Squeezebox Radios to detect the brightness
- lights turn on/off based on motion/occupancy and also for security
- outlets get turned off if we are gone for extended period of time (based on occupancy and geofencing)
- sprinklers are enabled/disabled based on soil moisture and weather forecast
- HS sends a pushover message with the best commute route when I leave in the morning
- pushover message to my wife when she needs to leave (based on traffic) to drop the kids off
- outlets for appliances get turned off if water leak detected in same room
- night time routines kick in when bedside lights in master bedroom get turned off
- "dust off" routine for ceiling fans - they come on every day (if not already on) for a few minutes to ensure dust does not collect on them.

New automated blinds are on my to do list as well, but will likely not do that until next year as we have some other (non HA) improvements projects that we need to do this year.

I also plan to turn off outlets automatically if lightning is detected close to the house. Should have that implemented soon (just waiting for a thunderstorm to finish calibration and testing).

Cheers
Al

[petez69]

Al (Sparkman)

I was going to use the Squeezebox plugin for the Alarms but I'm old skool and using "squeezer' on Android to set the alarm :-)

The Wiegand door reader on Arduino has worked out fairly well, using the keyfob to turn the alarm on/off. AllanMar has gotten the ESP8266 Arduino WIFI devices to work, I'll be automating stuff forever now !!

I noticed you aren't using SMS at all ? :-) C'mon you know you want to !

Pete