I jumped on the bandwagon....

Stocked up on 'smart' locks, door and window sensors, thermostats, sprinkler controllers, etc. this year and excited to get everything installed!

When I first saw the title, I thought this was started by DavePi!!

Anyhow, some of the home automation stuff gives me cause for concern when it's all computer controlled. I'd rather be able to control things myself. Too much can go wrong if the grid goes down. Just my 2 cents.

I try to keep the EMF exposure to a minimum. I'm okay walking over to the thermostat to change it. And manual deadbolts can't be hacked.

Good for you! I have the smart locks and, although I'm just a renter right now, I have all of the lights, thermostat, tv and even coffee pot controlled by my phone. I use Xfinity for the alarms because I rent two other apartments to use as air bnb and the cameras are recording video 24-7 and it comes with all of the tv programming and will automatically call the police if anything ever happens. Eventually, I'd like to get those cameras under my control so I don't have to pay so much for the tv part. I can throw the wifi and tv cords through the wall from my apartment to the two others. It's fun. The thing is when I go to a hotel or stay over somewhere I really feel antsy about not having all of the control.

I just ordered an Echo Dot does that count?

HA has been an interest of mine for close to 20 years. It's exciting that it's getting to the point where it's both easy to use and affordable.

Be careful what you do with your microwave oven... you remember what Bradbury wrote about that...

But seriously. What do insurers think about these security measures? Are they giving discounts or preferences for people who use these devices and techniques?

During the winter, when it's very cold, I use the microwave to heat up my high-voc paint so I can continue with my apartment renovations.

@spicy1 wrote:

Good for you! I have the smart locks and, although I'm just a renter right now, I have all of the lights, thermostat, tv and even coffee pot controlled by my phone. I use Xfinity for the alarms because I rent two other apartments to use as air bnb and the cameras are recording video 24-7 and it comes with all of the tv programming and will automatically call the police if anything ever happens. Eventually, I'd like to get those cameras under my control so I don't have to pay so much for the tv part. I can throw the wifi and tv cords through the wall from my apartment to the two others. It's fun. The thing is when I go to a hotel or stay over somewhere I really feel antsy about not having all of the control.

Yeah, that’s my main issue with going with a dedicated security system... the subscription needed. I’m a cheapo and prefer to defer subscription costs, where I can. Still doing stuff me digging on a security camera system and haven’t found a clear solution quite yet.

@iShop123 wrote:

I try to keep the EMF exposure to a minimum. I'm okay walking over to the thermostat to change it. And manual deadbolts can't be hacked.

Where do you draw the limit? Having a computer or cell phone alone puts you at some kind of security risk, so what makes these additional ‘smart’ devices any worse?

@guysmom wrote:

When I first saw the title, I thought this was started by DavePi!!

Anyhow, some of the home automation stuff gives me cause for concern when it's all computer controlled. I'd rather be able to control things myself. Too much can go wrong if the grid goes down. Just my 2 cents.

All devices such as the locks, thermostat can be manually controlled and/or controlled without internet, if needed.

@bgriffin wrote:

I just ordered an Echo Dot does that count?

HA has been an interest of mine for close to 20 years. It's exciting that it's getting to the point where it's both easy to use and affordable.

Yes, it does! I’m pissed at myself because I missed out on a great deal during Thanksgiving on Amazon... 3 Dots for $70!!

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Be careful what you do with your microwave oven... you remember what Bradbury wrote about that...

But seriously. What do insurers think about these security measures? Are they giving discounts or preferences for people who use these devices and techniques?

No discounts on my end (State Farm). An actual security system would be different, but requires a pricey subscription that’ll add up. I’m OK with the sensors because they’re so cheap and will hopefully last for a while with minor maintenance with batteries.

@Tarantado wrote:

No discounts on my end (State Farm). An actual security system would be different, but requires a pricey subscription that’ll add up. I’m OK with the sensors because they’re so cheap and will hopefully last for a while with minor maintenance with batteries.

Pricey subscription? Monitoring is available under $10 a month. We get it free but that option isn't available to most people.

I got 3 dots but didn't see the 3 for $70 deal.

@bgriffin wrote:

Pricey subscription? Monitoring is available under $10 a month. We get it free but that option isn't available to most people.

I got 3 dots but didn't see the 3 for $70 deal.

$120 a year for basic service and a set number of cameras adds up over time. I believe it’s pricier from what I’ve seen in my neck of the woods. As opposed to investing a couple hundred dollars for all the equipment and remaining free of subscriptions.

Yes, it was a short deal the morning of Thanksgiving through Amazon. I was distracted by my family

If you want to add video monitoring I suppose it would be more. I wasn't even aware you could get video monitoring. I'm talking about just basic alarm monitoring. Also most monitoring isn't local. You can get monitoring from anywhere you want. Your initial post seemed to indicate the cost of the equipment wasn't a concern but the monthly cost was. At $8.95 a month (I saw one online at that price available anywhere) and an average insurance savings of 20% you breakeven if your insurance is $570 a year or more. I guess the "costly" was the sticking point for me. At less than Netflix I don't consider it "costly."

Now, if you want high end all the way around and video wizbang stuff then I would doubt it's cost effective at all.

@bgriffin wrote:

If you want to add video monitoring I suppose it would be more. I wasn't even aware you could get video monitoring. I'm talking about just basic alarm monitoring. Also most monitoring isn't local. You can get monitoring from anywhere you want. Your initial post seemed to indicate the cost of the equipment wasn't a concern but the monthly cost was. At $8.95 a month (I saw one online at that price available anywhere) and an average insurance savings of 20% you breakeven if your insurance is $570 a year or more. I guess the "costly" was the sticking point for me. At less than Netflix I don't consider it "costly."

Now, if you want high end all the way around and video wizbang stuff then I would doubt it's cost effective at all.

I'll have to do some more digging myself. Thanks!

Xfinity has 24-7 video monitoring and if the door or window are open and triggers the alarm the system texts me, the app provides an alarm on my phone so I can see in my apartment and they call me. If I don't answer or I answer and say I don't know what's going on they call the police. They charge $9.00 a month. It's worth it to me.

@Tarantado wrote:

@iShop123 wrote:

I try to keep the EMF exposure to a minimum. I'm okay walking over to the thermostat to change it. And manual deadbolts can't be hacked.

Where do you draw the limit? Having a computer or cell phone alone puts you at some kind of security risk, so what makes these additional ‘smart’ devices any worse?

Not necessarily "worse", but it's cumulative. I don't rest my laptop on my body, I use speakerphone on my cellphone and don't carry it against my body, turn off the computers at night (still working on getting the s/o to let me turn off the router at night), unplug appliances not in use, have a plug-in phone for the house, cut the breaker on the automatic heat, don't have a microwave or "smart" meter, and opt-out at the airport. It's nearly impossible to avoid in today's society, but there are enough doctors, scientists, and engineers that are warning of long-term damage that I choose to reduce exposure where possible.

I'm far more concerned with the hacking possibilities. It doesn't take much for someone to hack into your system and take over control, see what there is to see etc. My husband absolutely refuses to have any home monitor equipment in the house. Even Echo is off limits. I suggest checking out the potential problems you can have.

There's potential problems with everything, though. Driving my car, flushing the toilet with my phone in my back pocket................

@spicy1 wrote:

There's potential problems with everything, though. Driving my car, flushing the toilet with my phone in my back pocket................

This is true. It is not about avoiding risk completely; it's about mitigating it.

When I was in high school and college I sold electronics at Sears. It was right around the time cordless phones dropped to a price almost everyone could afford. The big thing then was making sure no one could over hear your conversations and we sold a lot of more expensive phones because they were more "secure." My thought every time was......"if someone is so bored they want to listen to my phone conversations by all means please do."

If someone hacks my echo then by all means please do. You might get to see how many times I ask it how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon. You will not have access to my computer but even if you did the most interesting thing you would find would be a gigs of photos and whatever episodes of Game of Thrones and Newsroom I forgot to delete after I watched them.

Ah...What did we do when we had party lines for the phone?

Okay, so I finally got my SmartThings hub set up with my ecobee thermostat and front and garage door locks installed as well. All is working amazingly so far! I can easily control my temperature and add additional sensors throughout my house to compensate for hot/cold spots. Now I’m patiently waiting for my multiple door/window sensors, video doorbell kit, garage door controller and Echo Dots to officially kickstart my smarthome! I already have a WiFi controller for my sprinkler system that I haven’t installed yet, but it’s blown out for the winter either way.

Next things I plan to add:

1. “Smart” smoke/carbon monoxide detectors.
2. “Smart” light switches, dimmers and fan controllers. I’m not a fan of smart bulbs themselves though, unless I’m convinced otherwise.
3. Remote controlled main water valve actuator and leak sensors placed at all potential water leak areas.
4. Tablets/cheapo smartphones placed throughout major areas of the house as ‘controllers’ for the house.
5. A network of speakers throughout the house to connect to.
6. A home intranet media system synced to work with Alexa or Google via the hub.
7. Smart plugs conveniently set up such as making coffee in the morning.
8. Roombas and/or Neatos to help mitigate the frequency for vaccuuming or sweeping.
9. Security cameras, both indoor and outdoor.

Anything else I’m missing?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2017 07:46AM by Tarantado.

@Tarantado wrote:

Anything else I’m missing?

An EMF meter. [healthybuildingscience.com]

@iShop123 wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

Anything else I’m missing?

An EMF meter. [healthybuildingscience.com]

Can you link me to any peer-reviewed studies to support your views on long term damage for EMF exposure? If not, I’ll spend my money on more EMF devices instead of an EMF meter



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2017 02:38PM by Tarantado.

@Tarantado wrote:

@iShop123 wrote:

@Tarantado wrote:

Anything else I’m missing?

An EMF meter. [healthybuildingscience.com]

Can you link me to any peer-reviewed studies to support your views on long term damage for EMF exposure? If not, I’ll spend my money on more EMF devices instead of an EMF meter

Dug up some peer reviewed articles and only found ‘links’ of damage due to EMF exposure, not necessarily direct causes due to EMF. Not convinced, especially the low levels any of my device emit, even combined.

It reminds me of some debates I got into with vaccinations for children. But that’s another topic altogether.

Several weeks ago my neighbors were are one of the warehouse stores. There were video surveillance systems on sale so they decided on a whim to get one. It was a Sunday and they installed it as soon as they got home. My neighbor called me Wednesday morning to tell me a couple of guys had been on our block Tuesday night/Wednesday morning trying to steal cars. 48 hours after they got the camera. They were only checking unlocked vehicles and didn't approach any houses. The only thing stolen was a gun from a car somewhere else in our subdivision. Yes, a gun left in an unlocked car overnight. SMH.

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.

You need a girlfriend.

@iShop123 wrote:

You need a girlfriend.

I already have one? This is the stuff I get into when I'm alone. Music, home improvement projects and working out.

P.S. installed this awesome valve actuator on my mainline water valve last night, along with a handful of water sensors spread throughout my home. All this EMF exposure in my home has probably melted my brain by now.

Anyways, off to some New Year's parties! Happy New Year, everyone!

Have a nice time. Watch out for weirdos.

lol....That's what we always say at work. "Watch out for weirdos. Nevermind, [insert co-worker's name] is still here."

I admit I'm limited on this subject, being a woman alone and busy shopping, but my house has fire sprinklers that were installed when the place was built 15 years ago, fire alarms run on battery. Place is also built on bedrock, so for earthquakes and fires, i get a bit of an Ins. discount. Tech stuff, I have an alarm system which I had installed when I bought it.....camera's no need, we are patrolled every couple hours. Having a police officer for a neighbor helps...but, my place is off the street and can't be found let alone seen. I feel safe.