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Let's talk about "smart" homes

berth said:
Why isn't this your generic motion sensing light switch?

When I bought my condo, first thing I did in the garage was put in a motion sensing light switch. The only nit about it was that the sensor couldn't see me at the washing machine, and it was only set for, like, 5 minutes. So, it was quite possible on rare occasions for the light to go out on me.

Do modern light switches simply not go up to 15 minutes? Or does the sensor not see you primary work space?
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I you used a smart switch(Zigbee/Zwave/WiFi based), you could build it out to work exactly how you need it.

Install a smart switch, and then install a battery powered smart motion sensor. You can program your smart hub to ensure the light stays on when motion is detected. You can put the motion sensor right near your washing machine so there's no doubt it will detect that motion. You can also set the "stay on" time when the motion detector stops seeing motion. Same switch can also get the benefits of garage door automations I mentioned in a previous post.
 
P, do you wanna just put up some LED troffers with light sensors in them? I put 8 up in my garage w/ light sensors that are chained together. If you want that, text me and I'll get you them at my cost. IMO, it's the way to go in a garage. I NEVER touch a light switch.
 
insyder said:
Install a smart switch, and then install a battery powered smart motion sensor. You can program your smart hub to ensure the light stays on when motion is detected. You can put the motion sensor right near your washing machine so there's no doubt it will detect that motion.
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Yea, see, that's the thing. I get exactly what you're saying, but here's what stands out.

"install"..."install"..."battery"..."program"...

2 things to install, where there was one before (that means wiring and holes and other fun house things). Battery to watch slowly die on its schedule, not mine. "Program" to do at least once, and maintain, and the tic tic tic of bit rot. Where will this be in 2 years? 5 years? 10 years?

vs

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Maest...3491968&s=lamps-light&sr=1-4&ts_id=6291361011

for $20 and replaces what you have now (and this can be set to 1, 5, 15, or 30m).

Part of it is just me. All I see with home automation is a geometric explosion of complexity and fiddling with stuff, no doubt there are folks who enjoy the fiddling part. I happen to hate it.

I've been a computer programmer for ever. I love computer programming. I HATE computers. How I hate messing with computers.

I hate it when the printer is fiddly. I hate it when the router needs to be kicked. I hate it when the computer or software or whatever updates and Changes Something. I hate restarting my Apple TV. I hate spamming the fast forward button fruitlessly on my PVR as it stares at me blankly. I hate downloading apps. "Just get the app". My heart sinks, oh no.

My light switches want my LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE! To set the sundown timers and what not. I have, like, 9 of them that came with my house. It's CODE. "Astronomical Light Timers" they're called. There's more computer processing power in my light switch than what powers Voyager for crying out loud. Thankfully, they've been pretty much set and forget. So far. I'm fully confident they'll betray me at the convergence of their earliest convenience and my worst. For the moment, they seem to work and aren't blinking.

So, anyway, yea, automation -- not for me. :)
 
The stuff I’ve automated so far took some setting up to be sure, but runs reliably and has made things enough nicer that I’m glad I did it. None of it is necessary of course and I completely get why other people wouldn’t want to.

Some of the applications:

Lighting scene for reading by the fire, which sets living room lights to pre-set levels.

Scene for having company that sets living room, kitchen, dining and accent lights to pre-set levels. Turns on the living room amplifier and plays the same jazz station in the living room, front porch and back yard.

Panic routine that turns on all house and yard lights, exterior floodlights and sirens.

When exterior cameras detect motion, they turn on yard lighting (if it’s off) and some zones turn on exterior house lights after a delay to emulate someone in the house responding.

Vacation routine that turns lights on and off on a similar pattern to how we would if at home.

I forget to shut off my air compressor at the end of the day. It leaks down and inevitably kicks on in the middle of the night. I never use the thing after midnight, so a routine shuts off the compressor if it’s on.

Some interior lamps switch on 35 minutes before sundown. I could use ambient light sensors, but the routine works satisfactorily this way.

A routine that plays a fart sound in my son’s bedroom on command. This is my favorite.
 
Andy, do you have an intruder panic scene? I've set one at our Clearlake place that lights every room in the house except the master bedroom.
 
Holeshot said:
Andy, do you have an intruder panic scene? I've set one at our Clearlake place that lights every room in the house except the master bedroom.
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I'm curious on the thinking of lighting up the house upon intruder entry. Your familiarity with the house offers significant advantage in the dark. Why even the playing field by giving the intruder light?
 
insyder said:
I'm curious on the thinking of lighting up the house upon intruder entry. Your familiarity with the house offers significant advantage in the dark. Why even the playing field by giving the intruder light?
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Because it's always better in the light. Even in the light, the intruder doesn't (necessarily) know the layout of the house, and the light can, perhaps, startle them and make them run away (always a good outcome).

I think running down dark hallways with spotty flashlights work great in movies, but I have to think when the chips are down and the heart rate high, the lights still give the homeowner an advantage.
 
Holeshot said:
Andy, do you have an intruder panic scene? I've set one at our Clearlake place that lights every room in the house except the master bedroom.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's essentially what our panic scene does, along with lighting the whole exterior and activating sirens. There wouldn't be anywhere unlit for an intruder to hide, other than the occupied bedrooms.
 
Holeshot said:
P, do you wanna just put up some LED troffers with light sensors in them? I put 8 up in my garage w/ light sensors that are chained together. If you want that, text me and I'll get you them at my cost. IMO, it's the way to go in a garage. I NEVER touch a light switch.
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This is a good one.

KISS is the rule of automation for many of us. If something can go wrong, it absolutely will, and at the worst possible moment.
 
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