Smart and connected homes... What have you got?

[Wolfie]

I went to IFA and Berlin recently (Europes biggest consumer electronic show)... Every other stand was talking about the arrival of the connected home and Internet of things... Frankly day to day I've seen little evidence of being adopted...

I currently have

Sonos - love it, great UI and works seamlessly

Hive - I helped launch it... Great user interface, but, has a tendency to drop out... I really haven't used it too much other than to demonstrate (generally in a work capacity) that I have it

I'm about to install Lyric - thermostat, Motion detector (let's you know when someone in a room) and door and window sensors (let's you know if you've left Windows and door openers). I might get an outdoor camera and can see the advantages to having one indoor (keeping an eye on the dogs) but, my teenage kids have declared that they'd be unhappy with this and I will respect their right to privacy... I might also get some zonal thermostats so I can programme the heat inc retain rooms... No smart lights yet, but, might consider them...

So....

what have you got?
How do you use it?
What's missing? I.e. What do you think would be useful and should be invented?
Is the connected home going to happen? Or do you think it's just a marketing pipe dream?


For full disclosure I have a brand new job at Honeywell and work in developing the global connected home product, but, I am genuinely interested in what you all think about this area... In case people are worried that I'm abusing the forum for cheap insight I've just lobbed a tenner into the fundraiser!!! But, I know there are many techy types here and am interested in your thoughts...

Ben

[alex]

We have Sonos and love it. Currently have it in 5 rooms and will no doubt be adding more in the future.

We also have a Nest thermostat and a couple of the protect alarms. It's great being able to set temp when on the way home etc. It's definitely saved us money on our gas bill. Nest have recently released their outdoor cameras too so may add one of them.

After coming home from holiday to find a hole in the ceiling after the water tank in the loft decided to leak I've been looking at the smart things products and will be getting it soon. Will obviously use the water leak detectors and quite like the idea of the motion sensors to trigger lights. The wireless plugs will be handy too as the gf always worries if she left her straighteners on!

[mjc1216]

The next big disaster are smart meters being pushed out by the companies/govt and what people should do is read up on the problems other countries that have introduced them have.

I won't be having one as they can't make you.

[stuie-t]

Our house is quite well connected I guess. We currently have:
Nest thermostat- to be honest it just does it's thing and never gets touched.
Smart meters - as above
Plex media server - used daily
Sonos - used frequently
Fire tv /stick - all TVs and projector has one, used frequently
IP cctv - its had its uses (caught the cleaner stealing, someone trying to break into the car, seeing who is at the door without having to get up)

None of the stuff is essential but does all make life a bit easier I guess.

[pitbull666]

Sonos
Nest thermostat & smoke detectors
Arlo
Samsung smart TV's (home hardrive & cloud storage)

[Gyp]

Not quite sure where the IOT/gadgets boundary lies, but I'll have a go...

Hive heating, motion sensing, lighting and power sockets.

SMS controlled (Homeeasy) power sockets to control kitchen, living room and bedroom mood lighting and the slow cooker.

HD CCTV with remote alerting (one burglar imprisoned so far)

Neurio power monitoring of electricity consumption and solar generation.

And the normal stack of smart TV, Roku, Chromecast, Chromecast audio, raspberry pi media centre, raspberry pi high bit rate streaming etc

Most of which is connected together using powerline/PoE and in some cases humble wires.

[acg]

Just installed a pair of Philips Hue lights in the living room.

Excellent so far and a huge improvement on the 2 banks of 4 halogens that were up previously. I can see more being added

Chromecast, chromecast audio and roku take care of the entertainment.

Nest or similar will be next though the house is so warm I'm not convinced we'll need the heating on at all

[smokey99]

I have Sonos in 4 rooms and whilst I appreciate its connectivity and quality I do miss having more buttons on each device when I go from room and having to rely on having my Smartphone in my pocket all the time. At my just want need a Radio 2 and volume button!

Really tempted to buy a Nest Thermostat or similar as our 'old fashioned' thermostat is unnecessarily complex so I either just put heating on full and try and remember to turn it off or put on another jumper if its cold. This is a likely next purchase if for no other reason it looks 'cool'.

Smart TV - 3 year old Sony Bravia which as of last week now can't play YouTube videos which is a real pain as that's all No.2 son wants to watch these days. It has NetFlix app which plays for about 10 mins and then freezes. Thank goodness I have a PS3 to access the workable versions of the Apps.

[CaptainSlow]

HIVE.

Reason being, I got it for free because I'm an engineer for British Gas.

[jcm3]

At home I'm running Savant Pro as the systems controller for Sonos based audio distribution, Savant Thermostats, Hikvision CCTV, Audio Design Associates A/V control, Kaleidescape and AppleTV 4 Media players, and Lutron Caseta for lighting.

[raringtogo]

I currently use:

Nest thermostat (upgraded from the Honeywell piece of Poo talking one).
Nest smoke and CO2 sensors x 4.
Nestcams x 2
Amazon Echo x 2.
Harmony Ultimate remote & hub.


The Amazon Echos are capable of controlling all of the above and are so ooooooooooo cool.

[acg]

And available in a couple of days over here I notice.

Tempting

I currently use:

Nest thermostat (upgraded from the Honeywell piece of Poo talking one).
Nest smoke and CO2 sensors x 4.
Nestcams x 2
Amazon Echo x 2.
Harmony Ultimate remote & hub.


The Amazon Echos are capable of controlling all of the above and are so ooooooooooo cool.

[raringtogo]

And available in a couple of days over here I notice.

Tempting

Bought mine in the States and did a very easy hack to get everything working with a UK address etc.

Highly recommend them.

[funkstar]

I will be updating all etchnology if / when I buy a new place as above, except Sonos which isn't for me.


This too:

http://www.yale2you.com/LinusLock

[Wolfie]

I currently use:

Nest thermostat (upgraded from the Honeywell piece of Poo talking one).
Nest smoke and CO2 sensors x 4.
Nestcams x 2
Amazon Echo x 2.
Harmony Ultimate remote & hub.


The Amazon Echos are capable of controlling all of the above and are so ooooooooooo cool.

Yep... Amazon echo is THE platform for the future... Starting off @ £49 too...

Do you use it a lot... I.e. daily and do you find it genuinely useful?

Ben

[alfat33]

I'm a techie myself and have rigged up bits and pieces around the TV, music and home security. I have my eye on a thermostat system as well, just waiting for the next version. That said, I want all of this precisely so that I don't have to be checking and controlling things all the time. Controlling my CO2 sensor doesn't appeal at all. I'd just like everything to run as simply as possible.

I'm interested in what some of the previous posters think, is it the daily control that appeals or the 'set and forget' simplicity?

[raringtogo]

Do you use it a lot... I.e. daily and do you find it genuinely useful?

Ben

I use it constantly throughout the day. I make shopping and to do lists, listen to music and check facts.

The Nest is good kit but hasn't been overly used in the last 6 weeks due to the weather.

With the thermostat and smoke /CO2 sensors I like to set it up and forget about it (although the smoke sensors auto test every month) whereas I love the "fiddling"nature of the Echo.

I forgot that I also have a Ring doorbell which does video / speech and can be answered from anywhere in the world.

[Backward point]

I would be tempted by the Ring doorbell. For now I have Philips Hue lighting around my apartment, and Amazon Fire (if that counts).

I was tempted by an internet-enabled heating controller, but the wireless Siemens thermostat/programmer I have does the job perfectly well now that I've mastered the art of programming it.

[stuie-t]

I'm interested in what some of the previous posters think, is it the daily control that appeals or the 'set and forget' simplicity?

For the Nest thermostat the set and forget appealed to me - the auto sensing when you are away from home means you don't have to remember to turn it off when at work or turn it on when working at home. The only time when this is too clever and a pain in the **** is when you are on holiday and want the house warm for your return - we have a reasonably large (200sqm) Victorian house, and if the heating has been off for a while it takes hours if not days to get properly warm again. I can turn the heating on remotely, but then it would sense that no one is there and turn it off again resulting in a cold house to return to :(

[Vanguard]

For the Nest thermostat the set and forget appealed to me - the auto sensing when you are away from home means you don't have to remember to turn it off when at work or turn it on when working at home. The only time when this is too clever and a pain in the **** is when you are on holiday and want the house warm for your return - we have a reasonably large (200sqm) Victorian house, and if the heating has been off for a while it takes hours if not days to get properly warm again. I can turn the heating on remotely, but then it would sense that no one is there and turn it off again resulting in a cold house to return to :(

Are you saying if you turn it on remotely, say when you landed at the airport on the return home from holiday,this wouldn't override the motion sensor on the Nest thermostat. You could just as easily be in another room for a few hours and not walk past the thermostat which would be longer than it took you go to get back from the airport. Can you turn the learning function off ?

[Alansmithee]

The next big disaster are smart meters being pushed out by the companies/govt and what people should do is read up on the problems other countries that have introduced them have.

I won't be having one as they can't make you.

I've had one for a year - what is the problem????



I did get given some Samsung Smarthomes gear for free and it wasn't even worth that amount - very complex, buggy and was a solution looking for a problem.

[raringtogo]

Are you saying if you turn it on remotely, say when you landed at the airport on the return home from holiday,this wouldn't override the motion sensor on the Nest thermostat. You could just as easily be in another room for a few hours and not walk past the thermostat which would be longer than it took you go to get back from the airport. Can you turn the learning function off ?

If you turn off the auto sense (using the phone app interface) when you manually turn it on then it won't be overridden.

The auto "stuff" uses your phones location as part of its input.

My cameras also interface with the thermostat and tell it when no movement is sensed.

One of the best things "smart" wise is that if my smoke detectors sense a fire then they inform the boiler control unit to block the ignition cycle meaning there is less gas about to cause problems. They also auto test monthly and report back their status.
I have 4 units on 3 different levels and they all talk to each other and tell me on which floor the problem is. That's smart.

[Vanguard]

If you turn off the auto sense (using the phone app interface) when you manually turn it on then it won't be overridden.

The auto "stuff" uses your phones location as part of its input.

My cameras also interface with the thermostat and tell it when no movement is sensed.

One of the best things "smart" wise is that if my smoke detectors sense a fire then they inform the boiler control unit to block the ignition cycle meaning there is less gas about to cause problems. They also auto test monthly and report back their status.
I have 4 units on 3 different levels and they all talk to each other and tell me on which floor the problem is. That's smart.

Thanks for the explanation, I've been thinking of either going Nest or Honeywell for the individual room temp control for this coming Winter. Honeywell is twice the price but I like you can set different rooms at different temps from the app.

Does anyone have the Honeywell and have an opinion?

[raringtogo]

I had (still have in a cupboard somewhere) the all singing and dancing voice activated Honeywell unit and can only say it was pants.
Poor voice recognition and even poorer software app made it unusable.

[Wolfie]

I've had one for a year - what is the problem????



I did get given some Samsung Smarthomes gear for free and it wasn't even worth that amount - very complex, buggy and was a solution looking for a problem.

Yep... Samsung smart things has been pulled from the market and I do have sympathy with the final statement... Lights for example... Light switches are just fine! Linked to your security system I understand, but, day to day operation it all seems a bit superfluous

[Wolfie]

I had (still have in a cupboard somewhere) the all singing and dancing voice activated Honeywell unit and can only say it was pants.
Poor voice recognition and even poorer software app made it unusable.

Yep... A blot on the copy book...!

[NickRed71]

Bought mine in the States and did a very easy hack to get everything working with a UK address etc.

Highly recommend them.

Pre-ordered mine today, intro offer of £100 (RRP is £150) for Prime customers for the next few days

[bonzo697]

This looks interesting and it's £99 for Prime members who pre-order by tomorrow . It appears to do everything including controlling lighting, thermostats and playing music by voice command.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GAGVI...P4Z40A067QP4GB

[dizz]

Order placed for the Amazon 'Echo Dot', starts shipping on October 20th, lm off down another rabbit hole!


'Echo Dot (2nd Generation) is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, provide information, read the news, set alarms, and more'


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Wolfie]

^^^^^

Dizz you beat me to it...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DFKBL68/ref=fs_bis

you can buy 5 and get one free... basically the idea is that you can control your entire home through voice commands... no link with iTunes though which is a real bugger, because the Apple Homekit is comparatively rubbish

[Captain Morgan]

^^^^^

Dizz you beat me to it...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DFKBL68/ref=fs_bis

you can buy 5 and get one free... basically the idea is that you can control your entire home through voice commands... no link with iTunes though which is a real bugger, because the Apple Homekit is comparatively rubbish

A link to sonos expected early next year got me to pre order one.

[Wolfie]

Not quite sure where the IOT/gadgets boundary lies, but I'll have a go...

Hive heating, motion sensing, lighting and power sockets.

SMS controlled (Homeeasy) power sockets to control kitchen, living room and bedroom mood lighting and the slow cooker.

HD CCTV with remote alerting (one burglar imprisoned so far)

Neurio power monitoring of electricity consumption and solar generation.

And the normal stack of smart TV, Roku, Chromecast, Chromecast audio, raspberry pi media centre, raspberry pi high bit rate streaming etc

Most of which is connected together using powerline/PoE and in some cases humble wires.

interesting... how do you connect them together... I know apps like IFTTT creates recipes and scenarios... in what ways do you use them to work together?

[Wolfie]

Just installed a pair of Philips Hue lights in the living room.

Excellent so far and a huge improvement on the 2 banks of 4 halogens that were up previously. I can see more being added

Chromecast, chromecast audio and roku take care of the entertainment.

Nest or similar will be next though the house is so warm I'm not convinced we'll need the heating on at all

how do you control the Hue lights (through an APP?) do you no longer use the humble light switch to turn them on?

[Wolfie]

HIVE.

Reason being, I got it for free because I'm an engineer for British Gas.

I remember! top man... had my boiler serviced last week - served two cups of coffee and had a chat for 30 mins, eventually Dean serviced my boiler...

would never be without HomeCare!

Ben

[Wolfie]

I will be updating all etchnology if / when I buy a new place as above, except Sonos which isn't for me.


This too:

http://www.yale2you.com/LinusLock

love how it says coming in 2016 in the video and 2017 on the website...! I feel the pain of working with sloooow R&D teams

for smart locks, I'd look at this... http://august.com/

[Wolfie]

I'm a techie myself and have rigged up bits and pieces around the TV, music and home security. I have my eye on a thermostat system as well, just waiting for the next version. That said, I want all of this precisely so that I don't have to be checking and controlling things all the time. Controlling my CO2 sensor doesn't appeal at all. I'd just like everything to run as simply as possible.

I'm interested in what some of the previous posters think, is it the daily control that appeals or the 'set and forget' simplicity?

thermostats should generally be intelligent i.e. in the case of nest it will have a motion sensor and work out when people are in and out of the home and set itself accordingly... so, yes, for thermostats it should be set and forget unless you're on holiday or feel chilly!

[Saint-Just]

I am tech curious and would like to be able to justify getting into the 'connected house' thing but for the life of me cannot see how I would use it and how it would make my life any better. The only things I've found with a little potential would be the smart lock, allowing you to give access to your house remotely, and smart alarms (smoke or CO@ detectors for example). It is true that being able to adjust the thermostat as you leave your house and come back from your holidays is interesting but by the time you've recup your costs with the gas savings your systems would sell as collectibles on some sort of antique tech auction, like an old Apple 2 or Mac +.

Please enlighten me

[Wolfie]

A link to sonos expected early next year got me to pre order one.

good to know, but, I end up using line in and playing my iTunes through my airport express as inexplicably a load of my iTunes music disspears on Sonos... anyone else had this problem?

[Wolfie]

I am tech curious and would like to be able to justify getting into the 'connected house' thing but for the life of me cannot see how I would use it and how it would make my life any better. The only things I've found with a little potential would be the smart lock, allowing you to give access to your house remotely, and smart alarms (smoke or CO@ detectors for example). It is true that being able to adjust the thermostat as you leave your house and come back from your holidays is interesting but by the time you've recup your costs with the gas savings your systems would sell as collectibles on some sort of antique tech auction, like an old Apple 2 or Mac +.

Please enlighten me

yes... this is the $million question... currently a lot of the smart accessories have independent platforms... several Apps to control things... the thing that appears to be changing is that manufacturers are starting to work together, part of my role is to bring partners into our 'eco system'... the possibilities of automating your house then become endless... lots of user scenarios...

Arming your house alarm and ensuring everything is locked and secured
tagging your kids in and out so you know when they've go back from school
I recall that you are a dog man? keeping an eye on your pets when you're not at home...
turning your lights on and off when you have set your home to 'holiday mode'
even things like ensuring your robotic vacuum cleaner doesn't clean the floor because it knows your on holiday

Apps are too cumbersome, but, voice control makes sense... Amazon echo has sold by the bucket load in the States...

its all about bringing these disparate bits of smart tech together to create a cohesive and useful solution

I haven't seen anything yet that I've seen as being a massively life changing development, but, eventually getting more stuff to work together more effectively, will make homes more secure, comfortable and fun!

I just can't see adoption by the masses yet, but, time will tell...!

technology always runs a course, but, if its a simple function I can't see people replacing it unless its broke!

[Saint-Just]

Thank you.

I also see things like pre-heating the oven so that I can start the roast when I come home something of value. I am sure many people will find a smart fridge (that reads bar codes / expiry dates) a good way to keep on top of what they have and reduces waste by expired sell-by date, while avoiding the missing ingredient syndrome when you start a dish, just because you thought there was some left...
Being able to ask for a tune rather than go to my keyboard is interesting, in the same way that a remote was progress over standing up and pressing on the channel button but I must say I like to browse more often than I want to play a specific tune.

[Wolfie]

Thank you.

I also see things like pre-heating the oven so that I can start the roast when I come home something of value. I am sure many people will find a smart fridge (that reads bar codes / expiry dates) a good way to keep on top of what they have and reduces waste by expired sell-by date, while avoiding the missing ingredient syndrome when you start a dish, just because you thought there was some left...
Being able to ask for a tune rather than go to my keyboard is interesting, in the same way that a remote was progress over standing up and pressing on the channel button but I must say I like to browse more often than I want to play a specific tune.

smart fridges? check this out!!! they had people singing and dancing around it in the Berlin Cube, so, I am guessing they think its good! my wife loved it...

http://www.samsung.com/us/explore/fa...-refrigerator/

[Saint-Just]

That looks fun

[Geoff W]

Hive user - love it. More useful when away or during winter (boiler is currently off) to heat the flat up before I get home.

[bonzo697]

Order placed for the Amazon 'Echo Dot', starts shipping on October 20th, lm off down another rabbit hole!


'Echo Dot (2nd Generation) is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, provide information, read the news, set alarms, and more'


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I was looking at ordering the speaker to play my Prime music, but can I connect the Dot to my main Hi-Fi to do that?

[dizz]

I was looking at ordering the speaker to play my Prime music, but can I connect the Dot to my main Hi-Fi to do that?

I believe it has a 3.5 socket so you can use one of the 3.5 to Twin RCA leads (see pic)
That's what I'm going to do, problem is it won't turn on the amp and if it's plugged in then I think it will mute the echo Dots speaker and with the hifi turned off you won't hear a thing.
Do like the idea of asking for a track and it playing with no other interaction though.

[Neil.C]

None of it - I must be living in the stone age.

Or possibly not in the thrall of useless gadgetry?

[Gyp]

interesting... how do you connect them together... I know apps like IFTTT creates recipes and scenarios... in what ways do you use them to work together?

I don't at the moment; the key thing I'd like to do is use sunset times + delta to switch lights on using Hive, but ifttt doesn't support that yet.

The thing I wanted to do with the Neurio was send an email when the kettle or microwave came on in the morning (elderly parent proof of life) but that's not yet working either.

[acg]

The light switch remains on but the lights are controlled through an app on the phones and tablets.

On iOS you can talk to siri and have her turn them on, off, dim etc.

I'm going to get a small remote that allows dimming too.

Also I was weak and ordered an echo dot which allows spoken control.

Interested Google home too. Should be out soon.

how do you control the Hue lights (through an APP?) do you no longer use the humble light switch to turn them on?

[jcm3]

I don't at the moment; the key thing I'd like to do is use sunset times + delta to switch lights on using Hive, but ifttt doesn't support that yet.

The thing I wanted to do with the Neurio was send an email when the kettle or microwave came on in the morning (elderly parent proof of life) but that's not yet working either.

Lutron's Caséta lighting control suite would give you that capability. Its got astronomic and standard timeclock functions built in, it works with Amazon Echo (and Dot), and also Apple's HomeKit. Unfortunately, I don't believe its available in the UK yet, though many other Lutron products are.

Control4 just announced (yesterday) Amazon Alexa compatibility, and I do believe their lighting controls are available in the UK, but it is not a DIY oriented product, and requires professional install.

[Gyp]

Lutron's Caséta lighting control suite would give you that capability. Its got astronomic and standard timeclock functions built in, it works with Amazon Echo (and Dot), and also Apple's HomeKit. Unfortunately, I don't believe its available in the UK yet, though many other Lutron products are.

Control4 just announced (yesterday) Amazon Alexa compatibility, and I do believe their lighting controls are available in the UK, but it is not a DIY oriented product, and requires professional install.

I already have 12 smart light bulbs. I don't need more tech. I just want the existing tech to play nice. They were expensive enough; when Lutron suggests £100 a lightswitch plus professional installation then they can jog on. Sorry.

To be honest, that's why I've got so much Homeeasy stuff; it may be last generation but it's a (relative) bargain. It doesn't integrate or play nicely with IFTTT, but I've got all of one house sorted for not much more than one Lutron light switch