Building a New Home. Need Help & Advice!

[JDRoberts]

Welcome! I’ve moved this to project so you can get individualized responses based on your own needs and interests.

It sounds like a very ambitious project! Should be lots of fun in the planning.

The first thing we should mention is that not all of the brands you listed are compatible with each other. The August locks don’t work with smart things, for example. Nor do the haiku fans. Nor does MyQ. There are other brands with similar features which do work with SmartThings, so it just comes down to what you specifically want.

It sounds like a very ambitious project! Should be lots of fun in the planning.

The first thing we should mention is that not all of the brands you listed are compatible with each other. The August locks don’t work with SmartThings, for example. Nor do the haiku fans.

There are a lot of different things to discuss i’m pretty tired today so I’m just going to toss out a couple of things to start with.

You might begin by looking and the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki in the project report section on the list for “whole house” and for “get started”. You’ll find a lot of discussion about some of the issues that you have raised there.

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section#Quick_Browse_Links_for_Project_Reports.2FQuestions

You should also definitely look at the device class features thread (this is a clickable link)

Bulbs, switches and sensors, oh my....what to buy (device class features FAQ)

So, I’m pretty new to this internet of things world. Originally bought 2 OSRAM tunable LED bulbs with the Wemo Hub and a WEMO insight switch, now I’ve “upgraded” the hub to the SmartThings hub, and looking at ditching the WEMO insight switch for the SmartThings plug, just so I have have support now and not have to wait or deal with adding custom code to the IDE. I’m on Amazon and etc pretty much every day trying to decide what I want to play around with next, or what’s better, etc. I’m here to see what your opinons/preferences are for plugs bulbs sensors: motion, open/close and temp It’s a confusing world out there…Just for bulbs I’m finding LIFX, WEMO, OSRAM, GE Link, Phillips Hue, Cree. For plugs I’m finding WEMO, SmartThings, Aeon Labs, GE…etc It’s hard to decide which is the way…

As far as the question of switches to use with smart bulbs, there’s an FAQ for that which should answer pretty much everything:

FAQ: Philips Hue and Other Smart Bulbs - What sort of light switches to use with them? (Long FAQ)

Thinking on a big move to Hue lights, the real question is - what switches to use with them? If they’re all automatable via ST and other devices, do I really want to put them all on controllable switches too? There’s the advantage that I can arrange to ensure those switches are on so that the the Hue bulbs would be too…but it also leaves open the ability for folks to just turn them off and leave them off. Hmm. Thoughts?

As far as hub placement, you want to place your hub centrally both horizontally and vertically in order to get the most efficient message transmission. Start with post 11 in the following thread, and then after you read that when you go back and read the entire thread:

A Guide to Wireless Range & Repeaters

One more thought. While I understand the marketing reasons for the decision, the fact that SmartThings gives customers zero guidance on how to set up a network backbone does lead to a lot of frustration that shouldn’t have to exist. if people knew that .1) The hub should be located centrally in the home, both vertically and horizontally. Don’t put it in a garage or basement as those have concrete and pipes and metal objects which will reduce signal. If your Internet router is off in some inaccessible corner, you can use a Wi-Fi access point that has a ethernet port on the side and plug into that. Also, the hub should not be put in a cabinet. You just want to make it as easy as possible for signal to spread around your house. .2) you need one device that can repeat about every 40 feet…

Well, that’s more than enough to get started with and I’m sure a lot of other people will chime in as well. Good luck with the project, it sounds very exciting!