Anyone else doing home automation?

**bjl584** · 12-13-2018, 10:28 AM

you can automate everything if you get smart plugs and link them to the WIFI. You can turn on the coffee pot remotely, lights, anything you want really.

my house is not automated. Short of my xmas lights being on a timer, there is no automation going on.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 12-13-2018, 10:48 AM

We've done all of that. My husband did the garage door and locks in case I forgot I check my phone and can close and lock the front door. Works also for locking door after cleaner. WE just got the chromecast, not sure about it. I don't like the casting to the chromecast yet.

**disneysteve** · 12-13-2018, 01:01 PM

Nope. Not a bit. We got 3 Google Home Minis as gifts last year. My wife insisted on setting one up in the family room. That lasted about a week or so before we unplugged the thing, never to reconnect it. And the other 2 are still sealed in the packages. I'll probably give them to Goodwill when I think of it.

I honestly just don't see the appeal. I can close the garage door and lock the house door myself just fine. I do it every time I come or go. I can turn the lights on or off and don't find it a burden to push the button on the tv remote rather than saying, "turn on the tv". I almost never even use the voice option on the Apple TV remote. I can find what I want easily enough with a few clicks. Adjusting the thermostat involves one push of one button. I can handle that all by myself.

**Singuy** · 12-13-2018, 01:37 PM

I have nothing automated and this is coming from a Tesla owner. I find automation in my car to be a safety feature(as in talking to my car for nav/changing music/etc etc). Everything else I do on my own. I have a nest and haven't even set it up the online part of it. It's pretty much there just to look pretty.

I find the setting up part to be a pain, and if one day there's a firmware update or something goes off line, I find it more of a pain just to fix it.

I have these LED lights that are hooked up to a Wifi thing. Set it up and used it a few time, then the thing stopped working. Spent 2 hrs fixing it and now I barely turn those LEDs off separately vs the other lights(which was the initial purpose). So I found that all this automation stuff just ends up be an novelty I get bored of and then eventually never use again once something goes offline.

**greenskeeper** · 12-13-2018, 02:44 PM

"HAL, open the pod bay doors"

**james.hendrickson** · 12-13-2018, 02:53 PM

Actually its not a joke. Artificial intelligence should never be put in the position of making decisions that require any kind of moral component. For example, would you really want an AI to make sentencing decisions in a legal context or would you want an AI making kill decisions in a military context?

I think they're fine for asset allocation in a robo-investing model, but for more complex moral decisions they're probably not appropriate.

**Jluke** · 12-13-2018, 03:54 PM

Nest thermostats - love the new temperature sensors so I can place them in rooms that matter and gives me more control over when the system runs.

I think someone misses his wife

**corn18** · 12-13-2018, 04:11 PM

Originally posted by Jluke View Post

I think someone misses his wife

Affirmative.

**scfr** · 12-13-2018, 04:12 PM

We have a smart thermostat (ecobee4). It has Alexa.
We like the sensor system (resulting in more accurate temperature control).
We voluntarily participate in an energy savings program to help our provider prevent brownouts when energy consumption is in danger of exceeding capacity (here in Texas that means hot summer days in the late afternoon) - our A/C setting automatically goes up 4 degrees higher during those times whether we are home or not - we would have the option to opt out but so far have not. Because of family experience, I know how important it is for folks who are medically fragile or seniors to not lose their A/C due to brownouts, so I'm happy to do my part.
We can control the temperature from our phone which really came in handy when we were travelling recently - our house is for sale, and we were able to adjust the temperature while on the road when we had showings and an open house.
Less important, but we can also ask for the forecast, play the radio, or ask for a joke or even a translation.
There are other features that we don't use (add items to a shopping list, etc.)

This thermostat qualified for a rebate from our electricity provider.

**corn18** · 12-15-2018, 04:55 AM

The security system is activated and works with Google. Also added 2 outdoor cameras. Added some lights. Will add more today. Looked at a robot lawn mower but those seem to be too immature for prime time right now.

**MonkeyMama** · 12-15-2018, 06:19 AM

We got a smart thermostat when our old thermostat died last year. We don't use it much, but once in a while it's nice to turn off the heat or a/c from bed.

We did buy some automatic door lock (for house to garage ~ the door we use the most) but it is not working well and we need to return it. That was spurred by buying a newer car that just requires the car keys to be with us or in our pocket (key fob). So it now feels like an extraordinary PITA to dig out keys to open the door to get into the house. Even though it's not working very consistently (is supposed to automatically unlock when we arrive home) it is still better. Because I can just push a button on my cell phone to unlock. So even the broken door lock one is a huge upgrade. But we will probably return it and buy the more expensive one. That one we can lock and unlock remotely. We had decided to go cheap first and to see how we feel about it.

Oh, and we have an Echo which we *love*. I mostly use it for cooking timers and music. This reminds me, we have a family friend who has fallen and been stranded in his house twice this year. We offered to buy him one or two Echos. You just have to be able to command Alexa to call for help. He is resistant to the idea, but I think the technology is amazing for that kind of situation. We also bought a second/third Echo so that we could have an intercom system in our house. I know that's very out-dated for most, but my kids and I aren't big cell phone users so we use the intercom feature more than we'd use our cell phones.

**~bs** · 12-19-2018, 02:29 AM

Not too much other than a motion sensor plug that turns on the kitchen lights when I walk into it and a roomba to clean my floors. Nothing that would require more complex programming or things of that nature. Basically if its plug and play, i may consider it.

Sometimes the problem with too much technology is that when it breaks or malfunctions, it's pretty irritating to fix. Also, there's a fine line between convenience and laziness.

But hey, whatever floats your boat right? Corn, at least you recognize it serves no real purpose other than being cool. I mean, when I bed down for the night, my doors are already locked, I dont care that much about the weather unless there's a freak hurricane or something, my tv is off (I dont watch tv), I flick the light switch and slap my (old) alarm to set the alarm. If I was really curious what the 7 day forecast was, I'd simply unlock my personal computer, also called a phone. the info is on my main display.

Its almost like it would take a lot more effort to train myself to program and use these gizmos well than it does to simply do the tasks manually.

**disneysteve** · 12-19-2018, 01:36 PM

Originally posted by ~bs View Post

there's a fine line between convenience and laziness.

I was trying to think of a polite way to say that.

**corn18** · 12-19-2018, 01:42 PM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

I was trying to think of a polite way to say that.

All the automation I have installed is just silly, except the motion sensors for the rooms that are dark and hard to find the light switch. Those have been quite handy and as it turns out, the cheapest part to install.

Once the giggle factor wears off, the rest of it will just be another silly hobby of mine.

Anyone else doing home automation?