Automated Apartment Advice

Hi all, first time poster!

Looking for some advice on where to look to achieve some nice clean automation results… for the past 12 months or so i have been using Roomie Remote to do all AV control as well as automation of lights / blinds etc. It works pretty well, but cant help but think it could be snappier if i take the automation tasks off roomie and give it to SmartThings / possibly HAM Bridge in parts.

Im thinking if i rattle off what i have to play with some of you can help point me in the right direction…

SmartThings Gateway
4 x Aeon Labs multi sensors
23 x Hue Globes
Global Cache IP2CC (Currently controlling blinds and fishtank light)
2 x Global Cache IP2IR controlling power on for 3 x Samsung TV’s and an HD Anywhere Matrix
Sensibo Split System AC gateway and 2 Pods (just got these, work great!)
8 x Cooper RF9500 wireless switches (want these to trigger scenes housed on Hue Bridge or HAM Bridge, as well as some global automation tasks)
6 x Sonos Zones, basically a playbar on each TV and a few other speakers around the place
8 x Wemo plug packs controlling some exhaust fans, strip lights etc.
2 x Parrot Flower Power (seem to be average at best!)

The major thing i am trying to achieve at present is scene and global automation control via the RF9500 switches.

Any help appreciated!

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@creepazario - Sound like you know about your kit, but i would say if you are making the jump to SmartThings then this setup can all be majorlyyyyy simplified…

1.) id personally get rid of all the expensive IR control equipment and buy a Harmony Ultimate Home Hub & remote and take advantage of the SmartThings / Harmony integration to trigger scenes that involved AV equipment (its also easier to control RF products from IR bridges than from SmartThings direct) this will also control all tvs turning on and your HD anywhere matrix.

2.) the sensors and hue bulbs will all work direct, as will all sonos (you will be able to add some cool sound features from within SmartThings like talking alarm clocks and security deterrents etc plus much more)

not to sure about the PARROW FLOWER POWER & WEMO PLUGS support but others may know more on that subject . . . i take interest as i run my apartment also on smartthings as was always thinking of the best equipment for everything, but soon realized smartthings worked best because simple was effective and gave the best results, now i wont buy anything unless it is already or can possibly be integrated with smartthings or something already bridged to smartthings.

Hey mate, appreciate your reply… i do want a hard button remote actually, i have checked both these and the neeo out but as far as i can research neither has routed IR out. At the moment all my gear is in a rack, i just have 3 samsung TV’s on the wall with Playbars… so i need routed IR out because the samsung TV’s all have identical codes.

Unless i have missed something?

Samsung not allowing ‘on’ over IP is such a prick.

Any advice on triggering some complex global scenes with smartthings? At the moment i have Roomie doing things like - ‘welcome home’ turn on all hue lights to preset levels, blinds up, TV on in living, group sonos to all rooms… well, its complex the way i have had to do it with roomie… 92 commands just to do all the lights for each global scene :expressionless:

This is all possible with smartthings / harmony etc . . .

i have two identical samsung tvs and it works a treat, you will need to do a little research on here and harmony forums as its not something to basically be described, it worth learning yourself the basic and it will all make sense quickly… im not technical and managed it haha

but very much possible :slight_smile:

you can also do routed stuff with harmony :tada: it has two IR ports out, which can then be split down even further and it also emits from the hub . . . so id say initially your best plan is.

Harmony Hub facing the first TV
IR Port 1 goes via cable into the second tv
IR Port 2 goes via cable into the final tv

that way you can say only send living room samsung tv commands through the hub, and only send samsung bedroom 1 tv commands through port 1 . . . and bedroom 2 samsung tv commands through port 2

you could also have several things on port 1 in a splitter aswell and several in the port 2 and several facing the hub . . . aslong as anything you have duplicates of you make sure one is on ir port 1 and other on ir port 2 or facing hub directly.

kyle

Check the HAM bridge topic, @scottinpollock wrote the HAM bridge and is an IR master. :wink:

One caution: the ST/Sonos integration is still in beta and lumpy at best. Check the forms for discussion with people who have them.

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perfect! i think HAM firing IR is the way forward as i really have my heart set on the neeo remotes!

i have actually been chatting to scott already on google+ about HAM :slight_smile:

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