Hey folks!
We just bought a new house and before we move in I plan on getting all my automation dreams done. Last house I never got around to doing "everything" and then eventually we realized we were going to move and it seemed pointless.
Since I'm doing so many things all at once I was really hoping for some feedback from the community to help me pick hardware that will work with Homeseer.
My setup HS:
Interfaces:
The challenge! Here's the list of things I plan on getting done before we move in to the house. Thoughts, feedback, comments welcome!
That's my project list so far. If you have strong recommendations please let me know. Bonus points for sharing how you're using them in your current system. Any projects that I'm missing that you can't live without? Let me know!
I'll be sure to update this thread with progress and share some finished photos/videos once I get everything done. It's going to be a ton of work, but so worth it!
Blackbeard
We just bought a new house and before we move in I plan on getting all my automation dreams done. Last house I never got around to doing "everything" and then eventually we realized we were going to move and it seemed pointless.
Since I'm doing so many things all at once I was really hoping for some feedback from the community to help me pick hardware that will work with Homeseer.
My setup HS:
- Hometroller S6 Pro - Bought last year
- Insteon USB PLM
- Homeseer znet z wave interface
Interfaces:
- HSTouch on iPhones/iPads
- Several Alexa devices
- Siri from the phones and watches courtesy of homebridge
The challenge! Here's the list of things I plan on getting done before we move in to the house. Thoughts, feedback, comments welcome!
- Light switches and outlets - I've used Insteon in the past and been really happy with the results. There was a sale on Black Friday so I bought a bunch of switches in preparation for the move. I think I'm good there.
- Blinds - I recently read here on the forums that the new Bali Autoview blinds from Lowes/Home Depot have z-wave per blind by default. If that is true then I think I'll go down that route.
- Door Locks - I used the Yale Touchscreen z-wave locks at my last place and I loved them. Actual key as a failsafe, remote access via phone/HS, and I could assign PINs to family. Unless there is something substantially better I'll probably use these again.
HERE IS WHERE THINGS GET TRICKY. PLEASE HELP.
- Smart Vents - I've been looking at both Ecovent and Keen. They both have zigbee support. There was a thread about both of them here.
I don't think anyone ever mentioned if they could get either of them to work with Homeseer though. I would like to be able to read status and change temp per room from HS. Voice control through Alexa/Siri nice to have. Any advice or experience here would be appreciated. - Main Thermostat - The vents above both seem to work with Nest or the Zen thermostat which is zigbee. I like the Honeywell thermostats as well. Mainly it needs to work with HS and whatever vent above.
- Heated Floor Thermostat - There are heated floors in the master bedroom/bathroom. I need two of these thermostats that I would like to be able to read/change from HS. This is the thermostat they recommend with the floors. I can't find much information on it though. I've also looked at the Nu Heat wifi thermostat. I see a few requests for them to be supported by homeseer, but don't know if anyone ever accomplished this.
- Window and door sensors - In my last house I installed a few Insteon door plungers and some of the older motion detectors. They were maybe 80% reliable, which as a security feature seems not good enough. I also had voice alerts set up for doors that were left open. We did not appreciate being constantly woken up for doors that were actually closed anyway. If anyone has recommendations for door/window/motion sensors that are EXTREMELY RELIABLE I would be all ears. Hardwired is fine in some cases, but will also need to be some wireless.
- Cameras - I have a few Insteon IP cameras. They work alright. I don't know if there are benefits to doing the CCTV hardwired cameras. If so, what are they and do you have recommendations? I'd like to set up cameras both indoors and outdoors and have them record video when motion is detected. WAF is important too. Should be able to keep them out of sight and out of mind. Seems like it should be pretty easy, but I could never get it to work well with HS at my last place.
- Landscape Lighting - I'm looking for landscaping lighting that I can control through HS. Multiple zones and dimmable. Bonus points if it also supports color changing LEDs. I found a crazy expensive system called FX Luminaire. Then I found this z-wave rgb controller and some cheapish RGB landscape lights. Anyone have experience here that can lend me a hand?
- Holiday Lights - We are hardcore holiday people. I'd like to install permanent Holiday lights that work with HS and are dimmable/color changing. There are commercial solutions like Everlights. I have no idea how well they work or if I can get them to talk to HS.
That's my project list so far. If you have strong recommendations please let me know. Bonus points for sharing how you're using them in your current system. Any projects that I'm missing that you can't live without? Let me know!
I'll be sure to update this thread with progress and share some finished photos/videos once I get everything done. It's going to be a ton of work, but so worth it!
Blackbeard
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