Converting home to "smart home" tips

[Topkek]

Ive been considering converting my house into a smart home, meaning replacing many of the main aspects of my house such as locks, lights, and the thermostat with "smart" versions that can be controlled by computers and smartphones all linked together by a central computer and I don't completely know where to start Any tips? 

Any advice? 

[GigaSnow]

Not to be a downer, but you might want to rethink that. 

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/nest-smart-home-problems-1.3410143

 

I wouldn't want basic functions of my house, such as locks and thermostats to be controlled by smart technology. That's just me though.

[GN103]

I am running a Vera3 home controller and Z-WAVE compatible products. I have most things connected and really like the setup. The Vera/Zwave setup is more all inclusive than just buying a Nest, for example. Zwave is a 900Mhz control protocol. Now that most of us don't use cordless phones anymore, that's a perfect place in the spectrum. http://getvera.com/

[johnny5c]

I have a Crestron system that controls everything from lighting to A/V and HVAC, if you're looking for a complete system it's probably one of the best but it requires most things to be hardwired and wouldn't recommend a DIY installation. 

 

Another system I've had a lot of experience with lately is Insteon, been slowly changing over stuff at my parents house and have been really impressed with what you get for such a low cost.  Installation is really straight forward and programming is easy, just added a Amazon Echo so they can use voice commands for everything and they absolutely love it.  So far I've swapped out most of their light switches for keypads and dimmer switches plus added a thermostat and garage door controller, the fact that it uses both powerline and wireless signals makes expanding the system painless.

[LittleCarrot]

Control4

[Scheer]

I've been really happy with Smartthings so far, but you have to tinker with it and get into some of the "developer" options to really make it worthwhile. They allow you to do custom device types and modify how they report/behave. http://www.smarttiles.click/ Is excellent for controlling the house, I currently have it running on some cheap Fire 7 tablets, and they will eventually be mounted on the wall in a few spots around the house.

 

If you do Z-wave light switches, you will need to make sure the switches are wired with power containing a neutral wire, rather than the older way of doing it where they ran power to the light and broke line with the switch, this is because the switch will need power to be able to communicate even when the switch is off. Personally I wouldn't bother with the smart bulbs, really they are only good for remotely dimming, since you'd have to leave the switch on all the time to be able to remotely turn it on and off.

 

 

I'd just stay away from Wink... I had nothing but problems with it.

 

OpenHAB looks really nice and neat, but is a complete PITA and required a lot of time playing with it to make anything work. 

 

Vera lacked a lot of fit and finish last I played with it, but it looks like they have updated everything recently. It almost looks like a Smartthings clone now, which is kinda funny considering Vera was one of the originals.