Belkin Wemo In-Wall Switch LIFX (White 800, Color 1000) LIFX BR30 (White 800, Color 1000) Philips Hue & Philips Hue Lux (A19, 600W & 800W) TCP Connected Smart LED Aeon Labs Smart Energy Switch Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Home Energy Monitor Ecolink Z-Wave Wireless Garage Door Tilt Sensor First Alert Smoke Detector GE In-Wall Dimmer Toggle Switch GE Wireless Lighting Control Outdoor Module GoControl Home Security Suite (Essential) GoControl LinearLinc Led Light Bulb Linear Z-Wave Wireless Door/Window Sensor Linear Z-Wave Wall Dimmer Switch Linear Z-Wave Single Wall Outlet Leviton DZPA1-1LW 15-Amp Plug-In Appliance Module Leviton DZPD3-1LW 300-Watt Plug-In Dimming Lamp Module Z-Wave Light Dimmer Plug In Schlage (Camelot & Century) Vision Z-Wave Electronic Door Lock Z-Wave Garage Door Sensor Belkin WeMo Smart LED Bulb Lightify LED Classic A19 Tunable White, RGBW Lightify LED BR30 Tunable White, RGBW

Lightify LED Flexible Strip RGBW Lightify LED Gardenspot mini RGB Lightify LED RT 5/6 Tunable White, RGBW Quirky + GE Tapt Smart Wall Switch A19 8w (60w Equivalent) Dimmable LED Par38 12w (75w Equivalent) Dimmable LED Remote Control Dimmer Keypad 8-Button Remote Control Dimmer Keypad6-Button Remote Control On/Off Keypad6-Button Dimmer Keypad with Tabletop Enclosure6-Button Dimmer Switch High Wattage Plug-In Lamp Dimmer Module Plug-In On/Off Module Outdoor Micro On/Off Switch Adapter Micro Dimmer Switch Adapter 240V 30A Relay Switch Normally Open 240V 30A Relay SwitchNormally Closed Ecolink TILT-ZWAVE2 Garage Door Tilt Sensor Default Title - $ 34.99 USD data-inventory-policy="deny" data-inventory-management="shopify" data-max="7" The Ecolink Z-Wave Garage Door Tilt Sensor allows users to monitor garage door status using HomeSeer and other Z-Wave enabled home control systems. The sensor is easy to install and includes battery and all mounting hardware.

Monitor Garage Door Open / Close Status Compatible with HomeSeer and other automation systems Quick and Easy Installation Includes internal screw terminals for dry contact sensor applications Operating Frequency: 908.42 MHz Wireless Range: Up to 100 feet (3.5 m) line-of-sight Operating Temperature: 32 to 120°F (0 to 49°C) 908.42 MHz Z-Wave system (US/Canada) Ecolink DW-ZWAVE2 Door / Window Sensor Ecolink PIR-ZWAVE2 Z-Wave Motion Sensor From troubleshooting to compatibility questions, find the answers you’re looking for.For years Hollywood has teased us with fantasy versions of the future.  They depict wild concepts such as flying cars, deep-space travel, and a common presence of artificial intelligence.  Most days it seems like we are barely inching along towards our realization of many of those digital day-dreams.  But as this blog post shall prove, smart-homes are becoming less movie-magic, and more reality than ever before.

Over a decade ago my folks built a home full of the latest in home lighting automation using Lutron Radio RA.  Lutron is now on their second generation RA2, as they continue to supply this market segment with high quality options.  linear garage door opener schematicThe spectrum of home automation products has grown to include such items as window blinds/shades, smart thermostats, light bulbs, home security, motion sensors, cameras, smoke/fire detectors, and many other “intelligent/connected” products.  garage door repair plantation flAll of these can be had with wired/wireless connectivity that go beyond the old, stand-alone products they once were.auto glass replacement sioux falls sd

For years I’ve wanted to dabble in the automated lighting arena, but always felt the costs were too prohibitive.  It made sense for my folks, because the house was being custom built to their specifications.  sliding glass door clamp latchBut to retrofit my 58 year old home never fit my budget, at least not for the level of quality I wanted from the products. reclaimed wood doors denverFor years there have been cheap options, but never ones that met with my relatively high expectations, especially when compared to my benchmark of the Lutron system down the road at the parents dwelling.  screen door repair tulsa okToday that is no longer the case, with a plethora of cost-effective options to choose from.

NOTE: This is one of the more PICTURE-HEAVY blog posts that I’ve made.  This was an attempt to help capture the essence of all the various iOS apps and give you, the reader, a better feeling of what the app felt like inside.  As is always the case, feel free to click any photo here to view a LARGER version of that image.   After years of running lamps on manual outlet timers I finally took my first step towards automation just over a year ago.  By purchasing a set of Belkin WeMo Switch devices we found ourselves able to automate things like our fish tank lights, or a lamp in our living room.  (See my in-depth WeMo review HERE)  Although this kept me happy for over a year it has been hard for me to ignore all the new devices cropping up, as well as the lowering cost of entry to add more goodies to my arsenal. So where we begin then is just that– an automated fish tank and lamp, and a desire for more.  At the core of this was essentially two primary goals.  First was the geek in me wanting to explore, test, and learn about the options available to consumers.  

Secondly was the more practical goal/need of wanting to ditch the existing lamp we had, and instead automate the fixed lights in that room.  Any additional robotization in our home would be viewed as purely an added bonus. Based on what I saw during my shopping at local big box stores it seems like there are four primary items that ring most popular in this growing niche.  First and most obviously is lighting, primarily in smart bulbs, though increasingly so with in-wall switch options.  Second would be smart thermostats, where some stores have dedicated displays now for units such as those from NEST and Honeywell.  Third comes in the form of intelligent door locks, such as the Kwikset Kevo unit.  And finally home security, ranging from cameras, to smoke alarms, to motion sensors, and even door open/close monitors.  Other lesser options like automated window blinds and garage door openers exist (and I’ll talk more about those later), but aren’t as popular as these four groups.

SIDEBAR: When our old home thermostat gave up the ghost last year we upgraded to a NEST unit and have loved it ever since.  So I guess you could say we’ve already had some home automation in place, though we use the schedule rather than home sensing, due to the “not so visible” placement of our unit (with regards to where we reside in the home).  We also already have a wired alarm system that uses cellular service to communicate with a monitoring company. Sadly integrating other systems with that alarm are still in their infancy stages. Below are the items tested, listed in order of purchase and review.  Rather than lull you to sleep with more boring paragraphs of text (because trust me I could go ON and ON about these units)– I’ve decided to utilize an alternate method here.  See below for bullet points that hit the key aspects of each unit, explaining the pros/cons in a more itemized list under each heading.  I’ve included links at the end of each device to the item that was tested, so you can easily pick one up if you want to try it out for yourself.  

Let me remind you that what works for me MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU!  If you desire a single app that controls all of your devices, and if your list of connected goodies at home varies from mine, you may find a better match.  For example, the Wink & Staples hubs both work with the Lutron Caseta hardware, but the Revolv and SmartThings hubs do not yet.  Only some of the units support NEST (some unofficially, with more official integrations being added swiftly).  And only about half of them work with geo fencing features at this time.  (Even the Wink which offers it rarely works right). And let’s not forget that the Apple HomeKit is coming, which may in some ways eliminate people’s desires for a smart hub.  My understanding of the HomeKit, however, is simply an easy way to control devices from your iOS product.  In iOS 8 you can already ask Siri to close your garage door and it’ll tell you no HomeKit link exists (yet).   Though you’ll be able to control devices on a discreet basis, you will still need a central hub to automate and schedule things based on each individual device.  

In this case I feel like the units, such as the Wink, Staples Connect Hub and Revolv, may compliment the Apple integration.  Google and Samsung are also pushing hard for more software and hardware in this segment. So in the end it comes down to three basic questions.  First off, what hardware do you want to automate in your home.  Secondly, what brand of those devices do you want (all the same, or many different ones).  And finally, do you want to be able to tie them in to work together?  If the answer is yes to that final question, then figure out what hardware you want and find a hub that works with those.  If all your hardware is a single brand, the manufacturer’s hub may work fine (ie: all you want are smart bulbs then Philips, or just switches and eventually GE bulbs, go Lutron).  Chances are you’ll find yourself wanting multiple devices, from various brands, and in that case the Wink Connected Home Hub is my top choice, followed closely by the Staples Connect Hub.  

If you just want to do light switches, the Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge and accessories are my favorite from my testing time. Remember that even with a hub to aggregate your smart devices, in most cases the app from the manufacturer won’t be something you can just delete.  It will still offer a richer deeper experience that you’ll need (such as setting up your thermostat schedule, or fine-tuning your irrigation system).  Having a hub that aggregates your devices isn’t just about having one application to run, it is actually more about being able to have them talk to and work with each other.  So that when you leave your house the lights automatically switch off.  Or when your fire alarm is triggered, all your lights turn on.  Or when a door sensor is tripped, a camera starts recording who entered. Just like in a Hollywood movie, the goal here is artificial intelligence, by way of devices interconnecting (and a smart brain/hub).  All these devices that were once just appliances in our homes have become connected members of a larger family.