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What is your HomeKit Setup? What do you want to add?

xraydoc said:
Adding to my post above. Amazon and Wink recently added Echo control of any Wink-compatible thermostat, including the Nest, so I currently have voice control over my thermostat. I just tell Alexa what temp to set (though the Nest usually knows anyway).

And apparently, Amazon and Nest are bringing Nest control to the Echo even without a Wink hub by the end of March.

I've also recently set up IFTTT triggers via Echo to control my Harmony remotes. So I can now say, "Alexa, trigger living room TV" and she'll turn on the TV for me, set the channel to CNN and set the Hue lights in that room to TV-watching mode.

I've pre-ordered two Echo Dots to bring voice control on-the-cheap to a couple other rooms where a high-quality music speaker isn't necessary.
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Yeah, looking forward to the Echo integration with the Nest as well, I don't have Wink as of yet. I also ordered the Dot, we're going to let it connect to our BT speaker upstairs, it'll be a nice addition. As for the IFTTT stuff, for the most part having to remember the commands combined with latency makes it pretty unusable for me, although I really like that Amazon baked it into their product.
 
ericgtr12 said:
Yeah, looking forward to the Echo integration with the Nest as well, I don't have Wink as of yet. I also ordered the Dot, we're going to let it connect to our BT speaker upstairs, it'll be a nice addition. As for the IFTTT stuff, for the most part having to remember the commands combined with latency makes it pretty unusable for me, although I really like that Amazon baked it into their product.
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At least with Harmony remote commands, there's zero delay running thru IFTTT.

Saying "Alexa, trigger cnn" executes the command instantly.
 
xraydoc said:
Adding to my post above. Amazon and Wink recently added Echo control of any Wink-compatible thermostat, including the Nest, so I currently have voice control over my thermostat. I just tell Alexa what temp to set (though the Nest usually knows anyway).

And apparently, Amazon and Nest are bringing Nest control to the Echo even without a Wink hub by the end of March.

I've also recently set up IFTTT triggers via Echo to control my Harmony remotes. So I can now say, "Alexa, trigger living room TV" and she'll turn on the TV for me, set the channel to CNN and set the Hue lights in that room to TV-watching mode.

I've pre-ordered two Echo Dots to bring voice control on-the-cheap to a couple other rooms where a high-quality music speaker isn't necessary.
Click to expand...

I agree that things are definitely heating up with Echo right now. I also ordered a dot to check it out.
 
For those that have the Lutron Caseta setup, how has it performed for you? I want to replace my wemo controllers as I have not been happy with them and this is what I am looking to upgrade to.
 
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rhett7660 said:
For those that have the Lutron Caseta setup, how has it performed for you? I want to replace my wemo controllers as I have not been happy with them and this is what I am looking to upgrade to.
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While I don't have experience with Caseta specifically, I use Hue and WEMO. Can I ask what you don't like about WEMO? Personally, I've had excellent experiences with it over the years, I use the switch, plugs and motion sensor.
 
ericgtr12 said:
While I don't have experience with Caseta specifically, I use Hue and WEMO. Can I ask what you don't like about WEMO? Personally, I've had excellent experiences with it over the years, I use the switch, plugs and motion sensor.
Click to expand...

I had four light switches, now down to two, and I have one of the plugs. Two of my switches were bricked during a firmware upgrade. I was out of warranty so they were basically done for. I have had them for a while but I figured they should have lasted a little longer than they have. So I want to move away from them. When they work, they work flawlessly, but the last few firmware updates have not been very kind to them!
 
rhett7660 said:
For those that have the Lutron Caseta setup, how has it performed for you? I want to replace my wemo controllers as I have not been happy with them and this is what I am looking to upgrade to.
Click to expand...

The Lutron Caseta stuff is really solid, I have around 10 switches setup now and they are very reliable and easy to use. I like the Pico remotes also as their solution for Three Way switches. I would say this would make a very nice replacement of the WeMo switch. I also have one of those in my office and gave up awhile ago on keeping it online. Now its just a very expensive standard lightswitch
 
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amjustice said:
The Lutron Caseta stuff is really solid, I have around 10 switches setup now and they are very reliable and easy to use. I like the Pico remotes also as their solution for Three Way switches. I would say this would make a very nice replacement of the WeMo switch. I also have one of those in my office and gave up awhile ago on keeping it online. Now its just a very expensive standard lightswitch
Click to expand...

The three way switching is another thing I was looking for since I have quite a few throughout my house also.

Yeah, the staying online with my WeMo has not been very good lately either. Again your mileage may very.
 
rhett7660 said:
The three way switching is another thing I was looking for since I have quite a few throughout my house also.

Yeah, the staying online with my WeMo has not been very good lately either. Again your mileage may very.
Click to expand...

Have you tried any of the HomeKit plugs yet?
 
amjustice said:
Nope its WiFi Connected and HomeKit. You can use it through our app or any other HomeKit app that supports the outlet profile.
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Questions: Are timed triggers stored in the device so they will execute w/o the need for having an iOS device in the home? Can the brightness of a lamp plugged into the ditch be controlled / dimmed?
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amjustice said:
The Lutron Caseta stuff is really solid, I have around 10 switches setup now and they are very reliable and easy to use. I like the Pico remotes also as their solution for Three Way switches. I would say this would make a very nice replacement of the WeMo switch. I also have one of those in my office and gave up awhile ago on keeping it online. Now its just a very expensive standard lightswitch
Click to expand...
With Caseta - can you mix 'pure' HK devices and Lutron switches in the same scene? Do any of the apps now available (Lumify, Home or PowerHouz) recognize and work with the Lutron switches too - or just HK devices?
 
robnbill said:
Questions: Are timed triggers stored in the device so they will execute w/o the need for having an iOS device in the home? Can the brightness of a lamp plugged into the ditch be controlled / dimmed?
[doublepost=1457562711][/doublepost]
With Caseta - can you mix 'pure' HK devices and Lutron switches in the same scene? Do any of the apps now available (Lumify, Home or PowerHouz) recognize and work with the Lutron switches too - or just HK devices?
Click to expand...

Timed triggers are stored on the iOS device so it either needs to be there or you need to have an Apple TV to execute them through. The brightness on the LED in our device can be dimmed but the brightness of a lamp cannot be dimmed through our device. If you want to do that Lutron has some lamp dimmers specifically for that purpose. As far as timers set up through Lutron I am not sure but they may have separate timers through their app that are non-homekit and do not require an iOS device or Apple TV. I will have to set something up as a test.
 
7 Caseta Wireless switches working great for me too.

I do have to say though, I miss the simple on-off motion and feel on basic switches. The 'presses' feel a bit flimsy compared to solid presses I am used to. And there is no 'favorite brightness' button on the main switch similar to the one on pico remote.

Apart from those two (minor) issues, and that they should be a bit cheaper, they work great. All the apps I have tried so far - Home, Elgato Eve and Lutron of course - recognize and control the switches perfectly.

Hope they add native Echo integration to these without need a hardware change. Lots of requests for these on Lutron forums.
 
rhett7660 said:
For those that have the Lutron Caseta setup, how has it performed for you? I want to replace my wemo controllers as I have not been happy with them and this is what I am looking to upgrade to.
Click to expand...
15 Lutron Casetta dimmers and lamp modules. All 100% solid.
 
rhett7660 said:
If you don't mind me asking how are you controlling them? i.e. via phone app, if so which one? Via the remotes for the system itself?

Thanks again and this looks like the way I am going to go.
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For me it's a combo of 4 things
1. Siri voice control
2. ConnectSense App
3. Physical buttons
4. Timers and other triggers
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sargein said:
7 Caseta Wireless switches working great for me too.

I do have to say though, I miss the simple on-off motion and feel on basic switches. The 'presses' feel a bit flimsy compared to solid presses I am used to. And there is no 'favorite brightness' button on the main switch similar to the one on pico remote.
Click to expand...

The problem here is when you can control something remotely or from other interfaces you can't really have switches that are tactile and flip like old school switches. The result would be switches that were constantly out of sync and not intuitive to people. There may be a middle ground but for now push buttons are the best way to do this.
 
rhett7660 said:
If you don't mind me asking how are you controlling them? i.e. via phone app, if so which one? Via the remotes for the system itself?

Thanks again and this looks like the way I am going to go.
Click to expand...
I have a Wink hub, so I can control them either thru the Wink app or (via Wink) by voice with my Amazon Echos.
 
I have a lot of HomeKit devices.


What I am most looking forward to is a HomeKit security system. That way I could arm the security system at night, it could make sure all my doors are locked, and also set my bedroom up for it's nighttime scene.

I'm also waiting for the Kwikset HomeKit solution. My house has six doorways, and my locks are all Kwikset at this time. I don't want to change them all to he Shlage locks, which are not compatible. So I've been waiting.
 
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rhett7660 said:
Interesting, I have never heard of Wink before. Thank you. Yet another product to look at using! :D
Click to expand...
Wink and SmartThings are the two biggest home automation hub. Wink, while more selective on compatible devices than SmartThings, has great Amazon Echo compatibility -- and works with Lutron switches/dimmers, where SmartThings does not.

Lutron switches are highly reliable, easy to pair/unpair/re-pair and don't require a common wire (just hot, load & ground), so they're good for older homes and older wiring.
 
OCDMacGeek said:
I have a lot of HomeKit devices.


What I am most looking forward to is a HomeKit security system. That way I could arm the security system at night, it could make sure all my doors are locked, and also set my bedroom up for it's nighttime scene.

I'm also waiting for the Kwikset HomeKit solution. My house has six doorways, and my locks are all Kwikset at this time. I don't want to change them all to he Shlage locks, which are not compatible. So I've been waiting.
Click to expand...

Hi - You may be able to answer my questions:
  • Timed Triggers -- on the HK iDevice Switch I've found that triggers are stored and executed from the switch itself (all my iOS and ATV devices were powered down - plus iDevice confirmed this)
  • What about timed triggers for other HK devices - e.g., Luton and Phillips Hue Hubs - is it the same - are they stored in the hub and executed from there?
  • Triggers - seems that the actual setup for the triggers are stored in the app on the iOS device that created them in the first place - true?
  • Triggers - any additional info will be appreciated
  • Kwikset Premis lock - if it comes in shiny brass we may get those; had planned on Schlage Sense - but not in shiny brass yet
 
Easier to post a screen shot of my HMCatalog app :)
I have:
Philips Hue (New bridge)
2x Wemo Switches
Nest Gen2 Thermostat
Raspberry Pi2 running Homebridge
RedEye wifi infrared transmitter
433mhz plugs.

Loving the cmd plugin for Homebridge. Let's Siri execute command lines on the Raspberry Pi.

image.png
image.png
 
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