Help me figure out how to make my home smart

[sakau2007]

So it's been several years since I've done a real tech overhaul in my home... and now I am ready to make my home "smart".

I've already added a few pieces, but now that I have a new iPhone X and series 3 watch (and my very generous sister is begging me for a Christmas list ), I figured it was time to get my home ready for 2018.

First, I'll just list what I already have. This stuff is probably not going anywhere because I am satisfied with how it is functioning... I just want to add to it. Then, I'll list a few things I want to be able to do but currently can't. It is yall's job to tell me what products I need to get to make everything work well together. The choices are overwhelming and I don't know which way to go.

Amazon Echo Devices - I have the first Echo, a few dots, and the Echo Show. I love the voice control. I love how developed the Amazon Ecosystem is, and I like Amazon's steaming music service so I am satisfied with this. I don't want to jump to the Apple HomePod or whatever that competing product is coming out. It seems late to the game, and I'm already down the Amazon rabbit hole. However, it is imperative that everything I get work well

Sharp 4K Smart TV - Bought this last year and it is great. Connected to my 7 year old Onkyo receiver/home theater system... the receiver which may need an update, but it may not because if all my other devices are smart, I feel like this probably won't need an upgrade. Long story short... I want to be able to play anything... video, pictures, music, etc. from my phone (I think this is Airplay? But I've never used it) (and ideally, Windows 10 computer) to this TV when I entertain. I think an Apple TV device of some sort could work very well in this system, but I've never seen this demo'd and am unsure exactly what hardware I should be getting.

The big thing I want is a smart home, where I can control everything remotely through apps/the internet... and also through voice by Amazon Alexa... I already have a Honeywell thermostat that works great... a Roomba vacuum cleaner that I can do this with. I can lock and unlock my door.

What I can't do as of right now is do anything with my lights. This is a big piece of the puzzle. I want to be able to turn on/off/set the brightness of every light in my home. I just don't know what ecosystem to go into. I don't really know that much about any of them... but I don't think I want to pigeonhole myself into one brand where I have to buy products from that brand to make things work. Is SmartThings the way to go? Or am I still better off with Apple HomeKit? Or something else? Is Philips Hue a thing?

Also, I notice the bulbs are very expensive for this type of system. I don't mind spending several hundred dollars, or even a thousand+ to get everything working... but if the lights burn out after 6 months and I am constantly having to replace them with $20 bulbs instead of $2 bulbs... well... that probably isn't going to work for me... so I want to make sure I go with the right system. Or at least be flexible.

Thanks a lot in advance guys for any suggestions you guys have about where to go from here!

 

[Moi Ici]

Make sure you set everything up from scratch. Don’t rely on “auto” set up. Your WiFi will be overwhelmed with “me too” devices clamoring for bandwidth on same ip addresses. It’s more time consuming first time, but you’ll be thankful for smooth running WiFi.

Our Hue lights are running well with no blowouts after 2 plus years btw.

 

[sakau2007]

Okay good to know. I guess I should also mention in addition to lights, I'd also like to add a couple security cameras and be able to control them and view them from my phone/TV. If possible, I'd like to be able to store some amount of footage to my PC which has many TBs of available storage. I know a cloud service would probably be ideal, but I'm not sure I want to pay a monthly service charge for that.

 

[cynics]

The pros to HomeKit are, high level of security requirement for devices that work with it. Siri control. The home automation control is baked into the OS which should aid reliability when it comes to things like geofencing and such (however that isn't always the case).

There are cons too. The devices typically are more expensive. Apples Home.app isn't as powerful as some home automation software. And there is as many devices available compared to more open source software.

The Echos and Dots give you voice control (at least when you are home). And in my experience the device automations for them seem to work just fine depending on your choice of software used (that is the software Amazon will access). So if you are happy with them I would sick with them.

My only suggestion for automating your house is to pretend like yours parents, grandparents, and/or the least techie person you know lived with you. Can they still operate things after they are "smart"? For example I've been slowly selling my Philips Hue bulbs in place of smart switches. Everyone knows how a switch works however requiring a smartphone (or some oddly placed magnetic dimmer) to turn on a light? Nice in a lamp that doesn't have a wall switch but I don't care for them as much as I once did. Definitely still have their place just fewer and farther between for me now.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

Well.. one thing that I’ve noticed with the Phillips lights... I assumed it was designed this way on purpose... but if I turn the switch off and back on, the smartbulbs come on like normal. So, I just installed some smart bulbs on my basement stairs today, and I’m not in the habit of using them. So I flick the switch, nothing happens (because it was already “on”), then flick it back up and the lights go on.

The pros to HomeKit are, high level of security requirement for devices that work with it. Siri control. The home automation control is baked into the OS which should aid reliability when it comes to things like geofencing and such (however that isn't always the case).

There are cons too. The devices typically are more expensive. Apples Home.app isn't as powerful as some home automation software. And there is as many devices available compared to more open source software.

The Echos and Dots give you voice control (at least when you are home). And in my experience the device automations for them seem to work just fine depending on your choice of software used (that is the software Amazon will access). So if you are happy with them I would sick with them.

My only suggestion for automating your house is to pretend like yours parents, grandparents, and/or the least techie person you know lived with you. Can they still operate things after they are "smart"? For example I've been slowly selling my Philips Hue bulbs in place of smart switches. Everyone knows how a switch works however requiring a smartphone (or some oddly placed magnetic dimmer) to turn on a light? Nice in a lamp that doesn't have a wall switch but I don't care for them as much as I once did. Definitely still have their place just fewer and farther between for me now.

 

[cynics]

Well.. one thing that I’ve noticed with the Phillips lights... I assumed it was designed this way on purpose... but if I turn the switch off and back on, the smartbulbs come on like normal. So, I just installed some smart bulbs on my basement stairs today, and I’m not in the habit of using them. So I flick the switch, nothing happens (because it was already “on”), then flick it back up and the lights go on.

Thats how I felt at first, but there is a few problems I noticed.

Guest sometimes wont reflip a switch that didn't do anything. So they turn it off and go immediately (and obnoxiously) to flipping other philips hue equipped light switches.

The bulbs revert back to their default state when you turn the power off and back on.

To me that setup felt half baked. Like you I would often flip a switch out of muscle memory, I would realize it and then flip the switch back on. So essentially I paid more for a light that required double the effort (I know flipping a switch doesn't require any real effort) and then reset it back to the settings I liked.

The color and white ambiance were nice at first but now that I have them set I never change them. It turns out I don't have a good reason to make my house purple.

And I haven't had a power outage in forever but if the power flicks off for a minute do all the lights in the house come on when you get power back? None issue for me but if that is the case and I had power outages occasionally that could be a deal breaker. Picturing myself unplugging lamps and unscrewing lightbulbs just to get some sleep in the middle of the night during a storm. Lol.

They are a good product, I'm not knocking anyones decision of using them. Mine have been very reliable, incredibly easy to install, operated incredibly quickly, and other than the point of control I have no problem with them (aside the hub failing a firmware update and taking me an hour to fix but this could happen to a smart switch too). Personally I just find them to be better in lamps without switches and in lights/lamps with switches I use a smart switch. I use one on my porch because I can adjust it to a very warm yellow to minimize bugs while I'm out there and set it back to soft white when I come back in.

 

[DoubleFlyaway]

I want the colored ones, but yeah..$50 per bulb is too much. I’ve just got the cheap ones.

 

[IHelpId10t5]

In all seriousness, the best way to may your home "smart" is to never connect anything in it to a network. In my opinion there should be a law that prevents the word "Smart" from being used in any marketing context when related to IoT devices. The current state of security in home routers and IoT devices is abismal at best and is not only a major risk to you and your house but is a threat to the Internet in general.

 

[vondo]

For your lighting, I think you want to be looking at Lutron Caseta (or RA2(?) connect if you have large house). I have that and some Hue smart bulbs. The Lutron stuff NEVER fails to get signals from HomeKit. The Phillips stuff works 95-99% of the time. There is also the Leviton system. I have no experience with it. I'm curious to hear how people who used both compare them (not that I'd switch at this point, too invested).

AppleTV is the hub in all this. You'll need one for the home automation and it will be great for all the media stuff you outline early in your message.

 

[vipergts2207]

In all seriousness, the best way to may your home "smart" is to never connect anything in it to a network. In my opinion there should be a law that prevents the word "Smart" from being used in any marketing context when related to IoT devices. The current state of security in home routers and IoT devices is abismal at best and is not only a major risk to you and your house but is a threat to the Internet in general.

Posts like this make me wish macrumors had a downvote button like reddit.