I installed Smartthings in my new home in Texas about 3 weeks ago after having reviewed several systems. Even this short time it has proven very helpful. I had only a week with it in the house but like the motion sensor for the bathroom (although the cats keep triggering it!)
Where I’m finding it very useful is this time I’m spending away from my house. I can monitor the thermostat. I can tell when my petsitter gets there by when the front door is unlocked, and then locked. I’ll be able to unlock the front door for some house guests that will arrive before me in a week, and lower the thermostat for them.
One issue I have right now is the lights. Although I like the idea of programming them, I need a way to turn the lights on and off without my phone (for guests and myself when the phone is charging. ) Right now I’m thinking about the minimote, and am excited about exploring this when finally moved to my Texas home.
Glad to see a new user here, and you certainly have come at a very exciting time. Let us know about your updates to your house and the things that you enjoy (SMILE).
Many of us use remotes here for exactly what you are discussing. I actually went another direction. Since I had an old Android phone, I use that instead. I do have to keep it charged up, but it allows me to have full access to all the devices in my home that way.
Why not use your mobile phone? Is it due to the power requirements (need to recharge?), In our case, we contacted a local company that had many used smartphones from people upgrading. Used those and mounted near lights or areas of convenience. Also for the living area, we are using a 10 inch android tablet that allows us to monitor or change modes around the house.
Because this is not a user friendly way to turn stuff off and on. Everyone knows how to use a light switch, not everyone knows how to use a smart phone and if they do there is still a learning curve and explanation that is needed to sift through the number of “things” and how to use the app.
I honestly don’t even like the idea of using remotes and scene controllers but it’s much better then using a smartphone. I live on my smartphone and computers, but even so there are times that using a device is not convenient.
On a side note, I am slowly getting my HA project built out. Even so, some things cannot be automated with current technology. Some are better than others but of the 3 different motion sensors I’ve bought none are 100% accurate in motion detection, false positives, pet activation, not seeing motion etc.
This may not be the case for you but short answer is sometimes switches are better.
Agreed. The time I had in my home with Smartthings, I found it inconvenient to turn on my smartphone, navigate to the app and turn off the lights to go to sleep. It would be so much better to be able to hit a button as I go to bed to turn everything off.
It’ll be interesting to see if my ~70 yr old mother and her ~80 yr old husband can figure out the ST connected lights when they get there a couple days before me.
I can see the issue, but when I presented my Grandmother with a tablet she became all excited and started to learn all about. Now, if she comes over, she knows the switches work as normal, but will just bring up the tablet and use it. I made it easier for her though, I gave her a ST Presence Tag, and when she arrives the house configures to her liking (SMILE)
I also agree, physical switches are absolutely necessary. Remote control via app is great when you’re outside of you home or when you want to turn something on/off in another room. Hand-held remotes are also great, but they tend to be misplaced or out of your reach exactly when you need them. I do keep two remotes - one on my desk and one on the hight stand and don’t let anyone touch them. But the rest of the family is using wall switches and I want to keep it that way. That’s why I’m not that hot for Hue and TCP lights.