The Home Improvement Thread
- Thread starter texasislandboy
- Start date
Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
I have Ring setup (12 cameras, alarm, doorbell, garage door sensors, door sensors, motion detectors), myQ garage door openers, and the Alexa Shows. They all tie together. You can tell Alexa "Hey Alexa, show me garage east" and it will open the camera on the east side of the garage. I have not pulled the trigger on the smart thermostat yet, I need two of them and just haven't had the need for them. I also have a Rachio 16 zone sprinkler controller, I need to look into it, to see if Alexa can control it. Its WIFI.
MatthewMay1
amateur professional
I just learned that my ADT Control panel functions as a Z-Wave hub. I think I have decided to get Kwikset Z-Wave door locks and I can set up automation to disarm the home alarm and unlock the door at the same time, or vice versa arm the system and lock all the doors at the same time. I see that several thermostats are Z-wave compatible too so maybe I can get the alarm, door locks and thermostat all in the ADT Control app. I don’t think i can have camera feeds in that app though.
Update. I guess my ADT control app will only allow me to monitor the status of Z-wave locks and if I want to have the ability to set up an automation to arm the system and lock the doors through the app, I will need to upgrade my ADT plan. That’s annoying, but glad I called before buying and installing the locks. I’ll have to do more research and see if just upgrading my ADT plan will be the easiest solution, but it isn’t my first preference.
Update. I guess my ADT control app will only allow me to monitor the status of Z-wave locks and if I want to have the ability to set up an automation to arm the system and lock the doors through the app, I will need to upgrade my ADT plan. That’s annoying, but glad I called before buying and installing the locks. I’ll have to do more research and see if just upgrading my ADT plan will be the easiest solution, but it isn’t my first preference.
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Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Oh, I have Kwikset locks as well. Although I never use my phone to unlock anything.
I have the Kwikset door locks. I really like them and the simple app.
MatthewMay1
amateur professional
I was looking at Ecobee instead of Nest because it seems to be compatible with Apple HomeKit
edit - Yall with Kwikset locks. Are they the WiFi locks? Do you have MyQ garage doors? Allegedly I can pair Kwikset locks with MyQ garage app but the internet seems to disagree
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I have Ecobee for my HVAC. I have really liked it and have had noticably lower bills with it doing minimal managing.
The Kwikset - yes, they are wifi door locks. I do not have MyQ garage doors to test .
Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
My Kwikset lock is WiFi. It interconnects with my Ring alarm system. If I set the alarm it locks the lock. As for the My-Q, it too connects with the Ring system. But I have to use the MyQ app to open or close the doors. I can see the status of the door in the Ring app, I can click on it and it opens up to more details. But if I hit the open/close it then opens the MyQ app.
Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Another thing I have, a shitload of WiFi enabled outlets and lights. They can be controlled through Alexa although I typically just use the app. But the lights can change colors and the outlets are nice because a couple of them are behind a large piece of furniture or out of the way and not easy to get to. I can tell Alexa “turn on fireplace lights” and it does. You can also say Turn on all lights. But that doesn’t always work. She doesn’t seem to turn them all on. Kasa is the app name. I think it’s maker by TP Link… but I also have SYLVANIA smart bulbs. They can simulate a flickering candle. I have like 16 of them in the light fixture above our dining room table.
PSU Taco85
Well-Known Member
I’ve been pretty happy with the Kasa app as well. I have a few lights and smart outlets set up the same as you. As far as thermostats I use the nest for my shop and house. I only use it on the app to raise or lower the temp, it recognizes if I’m not home and moves to an eco temp. I don’t see the need to do any manual programming of it. The smart portion of it seems to save my utility bills with little input from me.
+1 for Kasa app. I have a number of items on managed power around the house. The outdoor Kasa power strips are great for Christmas decorations as well.
balakay
BabyMax
I went through a couple versions of Nest, Honeywell, and some cheaper thermostats before finally spending the money on an ecobee. It was by far the best one. I'm completely happy with it.
My garage door has the MyQ capability but I've never set it up. Haven't had any reason to.
Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
I have my MyQ setup that it automatically closes the garage door at 8AM, 8:30AM and 9AM.. then again at 9PM, 10PM and 11PM. Its just to ensure nobody leaves the garage door open after they leave for work or before bed.
CowboyTaco
Well-Known Member
I'm somewhat in the same boat.
I've had a mix of products over the years. Some that I liked more than others.
I have the Schlage Connect front door lock. It worked well with Wink, which I thought would be a long-term solution. It wasn't. So I need to find something that uses z-wave to control it. Overall, I like the lock.
I had wired cameras in Fort Worth, but went wireless at the current house. The cameras work well, but only on motion since they are battery operated. Initially, I would get 3 months between recharging the batteries. That's down to a few weeks. The cameras are now 7 years old, so I can't really complain about them, but I do wish that they recorded all the time because they do sometimes miss motion or stop recording before the "event" is over. Wiring cameras was easy in the ranch style house. Much harder in a 2 story.
MyQ has been hit or miss for me. Mostly hit, but I need to reset the opener and register a new account.
I have a first gen rachio that has never been installed for irrigation. We moved out of the house it was intended for, and I haven't had an irrigation system since.
I'd like to add an alarm system, but don't really want to add to my monthly expense category.
I honestly wish the Wink system still worked. I was kind of bummed when it went subscription and then again when it got sunset. I've read of people rooting the wink hub and using that for various local controls. I'd ultimately like to do this, but don't really have the time to mess with it.
I've had a mix of products over the years. Some that I liked more than others.
I have the Schlage Connect front door lock. It worked well with Wink, which I thought would be a long-term solution. It wasn't. So I need to find something that uses z-wave to control it. Overall, I like the lock.
I had wired cameras in Fort Worth, but went wireless at the current house. The cameras work well, but only on motion since they are battery operated. Initially, I would get 3 months between recharging the batteries. That's down to a few weeks. The cameras are now 7 years old, so I can't really complain about them, but I do wish that they recorded all the time because they do sometimes miss motion or stop recording before the "event" is over. Wiring cameras was easy in the ranch style house. Much harder in a 2 story.
MyQ has been hit or miss for me. Mostly hit, but I need to reset the opener and register a new account.
I have a first gen rachio that has never been installed for irrigation. We moved out of the house it was intended for, and I haven't had an irrigation system since.
I'd like to add an alarm system, but don't really want to add to my monthly expense category.
I honestly wish the Wink system still worked. I was kind of bummed when it went subscription and then again when it got sunset. I've read of people rooting the wink hub and using that for various local controls. I'd ultimately like to do this, but don't really have the time to mess with it.
Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Check out the Ring alarm. Right now I have just the $10 a month which just records video. But I can upgrade to them monitoring for a month when we go on vacation. It’s only like $20 a month. I don’t recall but they had several tiers of monitoring.
I'm running Eufy on all of my stuff (cams, locks, etc)... no monthly anything
Silverback
Lima Gulf Bravo Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
Does it save to the cloud or local?
I'm running Google Nest cameras and Schlage locks. I'm not the biggest fan of the Schlage locks because if you have thick weatherstripping (as exterior doors typically have), it'll fail to fully lock a lot of the time unless you hold the door shut.
I'm running the Nest cameras because I wanted a system that was stupid simple to setup and an app that was stupid simple to use for my wife in case anything happens to me. She loves it and that's what matters at the end of the day
And I'm pissed that MyQ failed to update their security policies so Google Home had to drop the app support for them. So now I have to use the MyQ app to open my front gate instead of the Google Home app. Fuckers.
I'm running the Nest cameras because I wanted a system that was stupid simple to setup and an app that was stupid simple to use for my wife in case anything happens to me. She loves it and that's what matters at the end of the day
And I'm pissed that MyQ failed to update their security policies so Google Home had to drop the app support for them. So now I have to use the MyQ app to open my front gate instead of the Google Home app. Fuckers.