Home Automation

[Simlec]

Ahh yes the old A-Bus system in its many forms... I remember them, most had US keypads/back boxes.  This was around the same time a Living control & philips pronto.

You can still buy new systems.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Simlec

[james.wilson]

I played with this a few years ago and when i get round to it will use it properly

 

http://getvera.com/

[datadiffusion]

[I know this is an old thread but resurrected for @james.wilson]

 

 So, update, yes @Simlec you were right, and the X10 kit luckilly I binned off before it got too unreliable, I admit defeat!

 

I'll stick with the A-bus forever though, I am one of these people that prefers the radio to playlists and just want to walk in a room and press a button for music, not find my phone and tinker around with it.

 

Currently I am using...

 

Fibaro HomeCentre 2 (getting old now and expecting all-new Mk 3 controller esp. after Italian takover of Polish (Fibaro) firm

About 25 Fibaro switch devices

About 10 Qubino devices

A handful of other devices by other random manf's inc. Aeotec

 

Have recently integrated it with my alarm but at 'arms length' e.g. the HC can only do a set or unset through vague means, there is no obvious 'unset the alarm'

button in my HA app devcies screen if someone was to find my phone, it's hidden and only auto sets or unsets in very carefully controlled situations.

 

There is now 'home or away' integration with Nest through IFFT - I previously used to have to use a Belkin 'Maker'' (relay) module as an inbetween. As a bonus since I bought

the now redundant 'Belkin Maker' module they no longer make anything like it and I sold it used on ebay for £100, no joke.

 

As a summary it works the best it ever has after a recent surge of firmware updates -

 

TLDR I would definately recommend though that no-one on here ever installs it for a customer unless they have a special contract. I would never use it for security or first-line access.

 

I initially used the 'Lite' controller but this basically creamed in at about 20 devices, and that's before I started writing too many automation scripts. The reason for this is that the two devices (Lite and HC2) share code

but the Lite has even less RAM than the HC2 and the code was just getting bigger and bigger until one day a firmware update just broke it. It's fine now it's been reset and I intend to use it as a 'slave' or secondary

controller just for the annexe.

 

On the Vera / MiCasa Verde front, a lot of people on the Fibaro forums jumped ship thinking it was the answer to the problems with Fibaro, of which there are some, but only found out there were other, but ongoing issues. with Vera,

and at least came back to a system they knew by a company that hopefully is in it for the long haul.

Edited July 7, 2019 by datadiffusion

[PeterJames]

Im using Broadlink now, Ive imported a load of light switches, I have transmitters and receivers and some nice looking wireless light switches, everything works from Alexa, and when I part set or full set the alarm it switches off all my lights in the house (I got fed up with coming down in the morning to find the kitchen light has been on all night) I also have courtesy lights, the hall light comes on whilst arming and goes off when set, it also comes on when you open the front door but you have to switch them off manually. Lights also come on when the alarm activates. The best bit about the light switches is they dont need a negative to work, so they are a straight swap for standard light switch.  I have a couple of broadlink pros at home and one at work, I can control stuff at work like my aircon or lights from alexa at home or at work , and vica versa 

[datadiffusion]

1 hour ago, PeterJames said:

The best bit about the light switches is they do need a negative to work

 

I'm guessing you meant DON'T need a -ve as that is a pain with most HA kit, though less of an issue than you might think as I've simply installed some in a recessed Appleby ceiling rose box, the rest of the house was rewired anyway.

 

I agree that the killer feature for me is the 'goodnight' switch which is at the bottom of the stairs, press once (or twice) and its a 'normal' lightswitch, hold down and the house is basically put to bed...

[PeterJames]

15 minutes ago, datadiffusion said:

 

I'm guessing you meant DON'T need a -ve as that is a pain with most HA kit, though less of an issue than you might think as I've simply installed some in a recessed Appleby ceiling rose box, the rest of the house was rewired anyway.

 

I agree that the killer feature for me is the 'goodnight' switch which is at the bottom of the stairs, press once (or twice) and its a 'normal' lightswitch, hold down and the house is basically put to bed...

Thanks for point that out Stu watching Grand Tour and typing at the same time then not proof reading after a few beers. Part setting the alarm works well for me, my daughter doesnt like it so much, she has to switch her light back on if she is still doing stuff when the alarm gets set. Mostly though, by the time the 20 sec exit time is expired and system is armed we are all in bed.

[datadiffusion]

On that point I've gone for press type switches so that some of them can do up to 4 different things, have you kept toggle types? Or are most of yours new wireless ones?

 

I put up some Philips Hue floodlights (nearly 200 notes each, f me!) for a client as part of an alarm recently, although some of the lights were simply our own globe ones with their Hue lamps; to be fair it does seem to work

quite well for a DIY system, and total freedom for placing the wireless PIR, but I just hated the whole thing in the rest of the house where you have to blank off or leave the existing switches on all the time or do wierd click

combinations on a rocker switch. In the main room they did have an adaptor which covers over a UK standard plate with holder for a battery powered remote, but again it's not intuitive what the buttons do for the casual user.

 

8 hours ago, PeterJames said:

my daughter doesnt like it so much, she has to switch her light back on if she is still doing stuff when the alarm gets set.

 

And I think it's hurdles like that the kit has yet to overcome to gain acceptance.. Our 'goodnight' button doesn't set the alarm yet, I've got a spare input on the bedroom lamp module so I might actually use that as a goodnight+alarm scene rather than starting the set from the stairs even.

 

As much as I love my setup, and even with all my experience doing it on my own home, I'd be really wary installing it for a customer or more bluntly, providing an day to day warranty on functionality. Too much for the customer to mess up let alone the firmware updates.

 

As you can imagine even the Hue job was done as an add-on the an IAS on the condition that the customer is fully responsible for the Hue parts...

Edited July 8, 2019 by datadiffusion

[al-yeti]

11 hours ago, PeterJames said:

Im using Broadlink now, Ive imported a load of light switches, I have transmitters and receivers and some nice looking wireless light switches, everything works from Alexa, and when I part set or full set the alarm it switches off all my lights in the house (I got fed up with coming down in the morning to find the kitchen light has been on all night) I also have courtesy lights, the hall light comes on whilst arming and goes off when set, it also comes on when you open the front door but you have to switch them off manually. Lights also come on when the alarm activates. The best bit about the light switches is they dont need a negative to work, so they are a straight swap for standard light switch.  I have a couple of broadlink pros at home and one at work, I can control stuff at work like my aircon or lights from alexa at home or at work , and vica versa 

I leave couple of lights on at night , your more of a target with a dark house around here 

[norman]

You're just generally a target in London full stop.

[al-yeti]

34 minutes ago, norman said:

You're just generally a target in London full stop.

Yep.