Update: So far, here's my investment spanning a couple of years. I definitely ramped up my system in 2017, as I discovered my hobby in home automation and enhancing my home with some practical and not-so-practical feature:
$50 for the SmartThings Hub
- Main hub to interconnect the majority of my devices together.
$250 (or $125 ea.) for 2 x Schlage Smart Lock with Alarm
- Both main doors leading to the garage and front are now keyless, can remote locked/unlocked and I can see lock/unlock status of my lock as long as the hub is up.
$230 (or $10 ea.) for 23 x Door and Window 'Open'/'Close' sensors
- I have door sensors placed on all doors and windows leading to the outside. Any time a door and window is opened or triggered by vibration or unusual temperatures whenever away from my house or during my sleep ours with my SmartThings alarm system setup, I'm alerted right away. Of course, still relying on an internet connection.
$60 for Dome valve actuator for my main water valve.
$160 (or $20 ea.) for 8 x Samsung Water Sensors
- The combination of these devices, I am alerted whenever the leak sensor, placed under major potential leak spots such as under sinks, my washer and my water heater in my boiler room will alert me immediately and also automatically shut my mainline water valve.
$65 for Chamberlain Automated Garage Door Opener
- This provide me with status and the ability to open and close my garage door.
$180 ecobee4 Smart Thermostat with Alexa built-in
- This allows me to remotely control the temperature remotely, as needed. The ability to add additional temperature sensors allows my HVAC system to compensate for cold/hot spots in my house.
$90 (or $30 ea.) for 3 x Echo Dot's
- Pretty neat addition of adding Alexa to my home at every level of my house.
$130 Skybell Video Doorbell
- Video doorbell, no subscription fees compared to Ring Pro.
$130 RainMachine Smart Irrigation Controller
- Basically I can monitor my sprinkler system, water usage, etc. remotely and through my phone.
$60 (or $20 ea.) First Alert Wireless Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
- On top of my existing wired system, I added a detector for each level of my home as added safety measures to alert me on my phone, especially when I'm away.
Various smart plugs (varies between $5-20 ea.)
- So far, I have these plugged in various area of my home such as my printer, Crockpot, lamps, Christmas tree, Christmas lights, etc. I can set a schedule, remote control the on/off, etc.
Some future additions I'm still brainstorming the best solution for my situation:
1. A backup data feature in case Internet with my provider is down. I want to craft a backup feature that allows me to tap into my existing data plan as a backup for the off-chance Internet is down at my home. To roll into my continuing thought on backup internet, I may consider a backup power source mainly for the hub, as the majority of the sensors run on batteries.
2. A camera system that implements well economically and efficiently with my existing sensors. I haven't figured out a proper solution yet.
3. A media hub with a RAID system for my media collection. I can simply connect an external HD right now, where any computer connected to my router can access the HD; however, I want to build a more sophisticated system that automatically backs itself up for any potential HD failures. I want each room that has a TV to have a media PC feature to connect to this media server. As of right now, I was able to collect Chromecasts for all 7 TV's in my house, which makes it convenient to 'cast' any media I need to those TV's.
4. 'Smart' switches for my movie room where lighting, TV settings, etc. can be automatically set with a push of a button.
5. An economical way to implement 'touchscreen' controllers for every major room in my house to control specific features of the room, whether it be the TV's, lighting, etc. I'm currently scoping out cheapo tablets to do the job. Still a concept though, but the vision is to have these tablets with a wall mount in each of my rooms. Each of these tablets can answer the video doorbell, be alerted to any alarms I setup in my system, etc.
Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!