Home automation hub

Hi everyone,


My wife and I plan to start construction on our new home in a few months and I have started researching home automation/control hardware and software as well as home security options.


Has anyone had experience with any of the leading hubs, such as Smarthings and Wink? Anyone have experience with Frontpoint for home security? It looks like some hubs cross over many platforms but none are as intuitive as the native app for that component (e.g. Sonos).

Any recommendations?
Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Anzir,
as the topic says, everything bases on what you want to do at your home, what you want to change. It's not important if you already have a house or you are just planning to build one, because nowadays most of the home automation systems are based on wireless connection using devices you already own. Some of them use only ZigBee or Z-wave, however I'd recommend you the system based on Bluetooth which is highly energy efficient, especially Bluetooth SMART. What's more you can connect and control many more devices that way. Security is highly important so check the protocol which each company uses to secure the data.
When it comes to recommendation I'd suggest to take a look at oort. It works basing on Bluetooth SMART and wifi so that you can control your devices in the range of bluetooth via free mobile app or from anywhere in the world with internet access via web browser. Additionally you can not only use oort smart devices, like smart light bulb, socket, lamp or beacon which tracks lost items, but also you can connect to almost any electronic device with Bluetooth SMART. What's more oort system allows you to turn any device into smart one if you have a little bit of technical skills
Generally there are many home automation systems and everything depends on what you want to do. You can control your devices at home, monitor your energy usage, turn them on or off whenever you are or even open and close blinds or gates remotely. You can mix some of the smart devices from different companies, however you need to check if they work together or plan to do that in the nearest future.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I'd answer all of them with pleasure

Good luck!
Monica

 

Thanks for the information. I was looking for experienced feedback on different platforms but I will keep your system in mind.

 

We purchased a home that had Crestron already installed. As we have made upgrades and modifications to how we want it to work, we have learned that it is very capable and configurable/customizable, however we have to pay big bucks to an expert to make even the smallest change, and upgrading parts is very expensive. I can access everything on my laptop or smartphone or touchscreen. If I were to start from scratch, them I'm not sure I would have chosen Crestron - very expensive and I have to hire someone to make changes.

Hope this helps...

 

Much depends on what and how much you want to automate, and how well you want the individual systems to play with each other. No one company does a great job at automating everything, so you'll likely end up with multiple systems from multiple vendors. As a loose rule, the better systems have more interfaces, and cost more in time and money to program, but can generally be made to behave as you want them to.

Just based on my personal experience, the top 3 things you need to decide on prior to "Closing your walls" is the level of control you'll want for the following:

1) lighting
2) media distribution
3) security perimeter

Also, if you want "one system to rule them all", than a 4th consideration is running wires for control interfaces. As far as "Wired" vs "wireless" goes, I'm in the "wired is more reliable" camp.

I decided I wanted top-end lighting control, so I chose Lutron Homeworks QS. As far as lighting goes, you can do pretty much anything, and it is (after many software updates over the past 2 years) a very established system. Lutron also makes a simpler system called Radio Ra 2, which is an RF-only system that is not as programmable by itself, but is perfectly serviceable if you only need limited configurability.

I went with Elk for security, and wired each window and door with a wire to detect open/closed state. It's flexible enough to interface with pretty much anything. Elk and Homeworks have enough combined interfaces that I can pretty much get them to coexist with few issues. For example, I use a Lutron Pico to control the skylights, so it looks like a normal wall switch. But what happens behind the scenes is that Lutron tells Elk the skylights are opening, that way Elk can bypass the sensors for those windows, and the alarm doesn't go off if it's set.

Both of the systems above are fully accessible over the internet, so with just these two, I can do things like open my garage door, turn my water supply on and off, turn on my sprinklers, alarm, any light in the house, etc.

A far as media distribution goes, I punted, and ran 4 cat6 and L/R speaker wire to a junction box in each room in the house where a media center was likely to be, with a few extra runs from there for the in-room speakers.

One note: I've had Crestron systems before, and while they are sleek, and can be made to perform limitless tasks, the overhead cost involving changing anything is large. For example: Buy a new TV? You'll need an authorized dealer to reprogram all your remotes. This time around I'm attempting to eliminate the "Master Control Program", and instead I'm using iPhone as my user interface, running several apps for lighting, security, and media control. So far no issues/roadblocks.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I posted this up on the Tesla board as well and they turned me towards Control 4, which is like Crestron. I don't like the idea of having to bring in a dealer for changes but I've heard that mostly everything can be updated remotely nowadays if I add any functionality. I'd like security, media distribution, and lightning/accessory control to be centralized.
I'm not a fan of any of the home automation hubs out there right now but I'm planning on wiring everything with future expansion in mind. The guys at the Tesla board say the more Cat6 cable drops the better.

 

Control4 is a decent system - if you're going that route, the most important component to secure, by far, is a top programmer who has done many installs, with many satisfied clients - I would suggest getting a list of 3 clients who have a similar component setup to what you envision, and ask them about their satisfaction with the programmer's service level.

Also be sure to make a list of what should continue to function if the power goes out - it's worth it at the initial step of home construction to provision for a UPS or some other temporary power source so key home-control systems remain operational during a power failure.

 

If you're considering Control4 or Crestron, you may also want to look into Savant Systems. They're an apple based system. They basically took the route to avoid building too much hardware and they focus on software. They use a mac mini and iPads as the main interfaces. They have a lighting control system but I would suggest looking at Lutron as someone else has suggested. It integrates with Savant. Savant can control audio, video, lighting, shades, etc. Pretty much works with most stuff (except Crestron).

I would second the suggestion to wire everything during construction.

 

If you are putting in or thinking about lighting control , it's much better to do that up front because the switching is completly different- your rough in wiring home runs would go back to a main panel box and not to a switch leg. Then all of your local switching is done via low voltage... It works incredibly well and is very reliable and low maintence - my system is crestron but control 4 and Lutron are both worth considering - honestly it's more about the local dealer and service at that point - I've heard that crestron is still preferred on bigger projects as its easier to expand but I don't have any details to support it- what I can say is it's nice to control lighting from a single button anywhere in the house - time for bed? Hit good night on the wall and all the lights in the house adjust-

 

Your post is quite timely as my low voltage guy says I need to consider panelized lighting now as we're planning the low voltage runs. I thought that Crestron/Control4/etc. had switches that would replace wall switches so you could choose which lights you want to control.

Here is my list of lights that I want to control, please let me know if I am missing anything:

Front lights
Carriage house lights
Foyer
Kitchen
First floor hallway
Master bed
Master bath
Family room
Kitchen
Upstairs rec room
Patio
Pool

Your post is quite timely as my low voltage guy says I need to consider panelized lighting now as we're planning the low voltage runs. I thought that Crestron/Control4/etc. had switches that would replace wall switches so you could choose which lights you want to control.

Here is my list of lights that I want to control, please let me know if I am missing anything:

Front lights
Carriage house lights
Foyer
Kitchen
First floor hallway
Master bed

 

Seems like you are thinking about controlling just some of the lights? In our home we control all of the lights in the houses as well as the lamps with the crestron system including picture lights - and within a room , there are several 'zones' or groupings of lights that can be controlled and dimmed separately, creating different 'scenes' -

Networks wall switches are an option but not nearly as optimal in new construction and I've seen them be problematic over hard wire solutions. They also cost more- and I think are uglier on the wall to have banks of switches - imagine a room without lots of light switches and a small discreet switch that has custom labeled scenes on it- it's very cool-

Look up crestron cameo light switches and that's what we have-

 

Crestron, control4, and lutron all can give you the type of lighting system you are looking for. Crestron is probably the most configurable and expandable of the three.

With respect to which lights to control, I'd venture to say you'll be happier if you at least provision for having every load controllable via whatever system you choose (including things like fans hand space heaters), except perhaps the smaller closets, which you can put on a magnetic door-jamb switch. And even if you don't have every load on the system for starters, most systems have retrofit switches which are designed to replace an existing regular wall switch, and communicate via RF back to the central processor.

Before you settle on any system, you might consider finding a dealer who can show you in the flesh what a typical switch looks and feels like to the touch - they don't all have the same feel to them, and you just might find yourself preferring one over another.

Just for reference, at each room entrance, I installed a 2 gang box at switch level with a cresnet wire (for lighting) and provisioned for a 2 or 3 gang box at shoulder height with two cat6 plus cresnet wire. This turned out to be overkill, but my installer charged the same per pull, so I only had to pay for the additional wire. Since I didn't know which systems I'd be installing in the future, I just left the wire in the wall. I know it's there if I need it for something in the future.

 

We recently installed Clare Control. It is cloud based and we run both the theaters ( indoor and outdoor) from our iPhones/ipads.
We have had a problem with it dropping off the network but when working it is neat. Anyone else using?

 

I have a good friend that works for Control 4 & I can try to put you in touch with him to give you a hand if you need it.

 

I PM'ed you a while back but never heard from you. If your Control4 friend is amenable I'd like to speak to him. Thanks.