Anyone got any Home automation kit - Nest thermostat, Hue lights, WeMo power sockets etc etc ?

TimmyO

I admit to a geeky burgeoning interest in such things - anyone go tony experience with them? 

jamiexsilver

My mums got the Nest thermostat and smoke alarm fitted. In a week or so I'll also be having a nest stat and smoke alarms fitted, I sell them and they are by far the easiest stat to program that's why I sold it to me mum. Plus they look cool too.

TimmyO

Look very good.

I like the look of the doorbell and Yale lock too :-) 

And the Hue lights. 

octatonic

We tried to do Nest or Hive but because we have multiple (3) zones with our boiler & a mixture of regular and low voltage thermostats, it wasn't possible.

Iamnobody

I'm interested in the thermostat side of things at the moment - hoping to get something in by Sept. I could see myself getting drawn into more home automation as it becomes cheaper and more accessible.

Sporky

Sprocket sometimes turns the XBox on with her nose. Does that count?

TimmyO

Sporky said:

Sprocket sometimes turns the XBox on with her nose. Does that count?

Yes

im intrigued by hooking things in to IFTT type systems - when I arrive home, put the light on, or turn the thermostat up when my train is 15 mins away etc 

Sporky

I've been looking at the Hue stuff for a while; it's started to drop in price (or, rather, there are occasional offers now where there never seemed to be before). It does sound like Philips dropped a lot of 3rd party support though. Lifx looks worth a look too as it's more open - also reports that the Philips doesn't do very accurate colour, there's always red mixed in.

TimmyO

I saw a lifx IFTT recipe to flash the lights blue when you are mentioned on Facebook lol

Sambostar

I made some prototype blinds using roller motors with limit switches that run off a 240V/12V  radio transmitter controlled relay circuit and light sensor and use those cheap plugs to turn the mood lights / hifi on etc.  That operates on a different frequency.  Also have a camera with a bluetooth link to the router.  Anything else, like Iphone / IPad controlled stuff is asking for trouble if you ask me.  Even the Nest and Google cam go mad occasionally.  Although it's basically similar technology.  Been to some footballers and posh, massive houses where everything is automated, but it's so much fuss.

fretmeister

I've got Hive heating control.

I like it a lot. It's fun to annoy the wife in the winter by turning the heating off from afar.

FelineGuitars

I have some Hive colour lights but only to experiment with for photography

chrispy108

I've got a Vailant smart thermostat. It doesn't do the location aware stuff, but it is so much easier to program, and it looks at the weather forecast to decide whether to turn the heating on.

I've got a few Google Chromecast Audios around the house, but not played with them too much, and I want to do a few lights too, but expensive

thisisguitar

I've got a shedload of Hue lights, I love how they can completely change the mood of the space you're in. Don't think I could back to normal lighting. One nice use is to set them as your alarm (especially in a bedroom with blackout blinds), it helps ease you into the day as they can start dim and ramp up over a set time... if they don't wake me, my Sonos system comes on with some gentle music. 

Sonos makes cleaning the house less of a chore, and as you can keep the overall level down (by not having to turn one central source up loud to cover other rooms) it's more neighbour friendly. Also enjoy having music to fall asleep too. 

grungebob

I have hive stat. Works well can even do outside temp compensation which works well.