Integrators/Consultants/Installer Wanted In SF Bay Area (Feb 2019)

[MrGP]

I am looking for an Integrator/Consultant/Installer in the SF Bay Area that can help me set up a new SmartThings installation with Konnected Alarm, ecobee4 Thermostat and some tablets set up to control things with buttons.

[JDRoberts]

Tagging @heythisisnate

[Studio38 (David)]

Hello,

My name is David Domenichini with D.R. Domenichini Construction. I stumbled across this forum while researching Samsung SmartThings which I will be using to demonstrate all things “smart home”, in our upcoming Home Design Center, in the Bay Area, California. We are in the process of doing a major renovation and it is our goal to have the best Home Automation design center in the Silicon Valley.

I REALLY am hoping to talk to a local Smart Guy/Gal so that I can make sure that we are doing this properly. It’s the ol’ expression: I don’t know what I don’t know. What I DO know is that we are purchasing all Samsung appliances, we will have a dozen security cameras, we are show-casing lighting, as well as Sonos (or equivalent), Schlage locks, Lift-Master garage door, Bryant HVAC, etc…

At this point I am a complete novice but am willing to spend money in this venture and need help. I thought this forum would be a great place to start. However time is of the essense and I am really hoping that I can find local people that nerd-out on this type of thing. I don’t see any search function for me to look for local people. ??

Thanks,

Dave

[GSzabados (Gabor Szabados)]

Hi Dave,

You might can find someone who can help you personally, but home automation is a personal decision, how you like the design and functionality of things, and what are your budget and needs. It applies for the system itself and the connected devices too. Some might like SmartThings, but others prefer Hubitat or HA.

There is topic with official third parties in the community forum. You can look at their products and functionalities, and you can reach out for local sellers in your area.

List of official representatives from Third Party Companies?

Is there a post or FAQ anywhere listing reps from SmartThings and third party manufacturers / developers / distributors who are active on the forums? Search didn’t turn anything up but It might be a helpful resource to check who to tag into a discussion without having to rely on @JDRoberts and the other experts to weigh in. Or would this just lead to those folks getting overwhelmed with DMs like JD does?

If you are thinking of smarting up a demonstration house, look for appliances (Samsung, but other manufacturers have plenty options too), locks (Schlange, Yale, August, etc.), blinds and sun shades, thermostats, irrigation systems, lawnmowers, and of course lights (smart bulbs, switches, pocket sockets, relays etc.) The variety of products is almost endless. (And not always the most expensive is the best, and any can have vulnerabilities or other annoying issues.)

The option for SmartThings connected cameras are limited at the moment.

As you listed speakers you want to consider voice control as well, ie. Google Home and Google Assistant, and Amazon Echo/Alexa devices.

@JDRoberts is one of the most experienced, or probably the most experienced home automation guru in the community forum. Look out for his posts, and of course use the search engine and the FAQ section.

Good luck with your business idea!

Best Regards,

Gabor

[JDRoberts]

Thanks for the shout, but definitely not true. I just happen to have a particular interest, network protocols, which not many people share and which most home automation users never need to learn in detail. That makes my posts stand out, and I’m glad people find them helpful, but there are lots of hands-on folks in the community with much more experience than I do.

Just as three examples, I’ve never used webcore (it’s not voice friendly), and I don’t use Google home. (One of my housemates has one, but I know very little about it.) I also stay out of almost all the discussions of the rules engine in the new V3 mobile app.

Also I myself don’t use smartthings as a primary home automation system, as I don’t find it reliable enough for my purposes. Again, just as an example, two updates ago the mobile app suddenly became much more voice navigable, which was great. First time in over a year I could do some work with it myself. But then the most recent update, less than two months later, is back to being almost unusable from an accessibility standpoint. The platform changes all the time and not all the changes are for the better.

These days I mostly participate in discussions of device specifications which would apply to any platform using the same protocol. I find those details very interesting and most people don’t, so Just because this community is so active it’s always an interesting place for me to visit. But I’m definitely not a “guru” in any sense. Hopefully some of the real ST gurus will chime in soon.

[Juan_David_Gonzalez]

Estoy interesado en trabajar, revender los productos smarthings en Colombia