I will be updating this list as I go, but I figured I would create a quick reference of products that I have tried and liked. The ratings are on a scale from one to five, and I plan on doing a full review post for each item eventually. Anything that paired the first time and worked as advertised gets a 5. Since I have friends that are also installing their own systems, I left room for them to rate products that I haven't tried.
If you are planning on following my strategy, you should definitely sign up for Amazon Prime.
Let me know if you find this helpful or have other feedback on the products.
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Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Verifying Z-Wave Devices
In my hunt for the least expensive devices for my home automation projects I have found quite a few suspect devices. These "no name" or "no brand" devices are being sold with little information at quite a discount on Chinese websites. I wondered if there was a way to ensure that a device was certified as Z-Wave and it turns out there is!
There is a search feature on the Z-Wave website which seems to list all of the products that I currently have, but does not list the suspect devices. I have no doubt that some of the devices will work, but I would rather get a device that is legitimate.
There is a search feature on the Z-Wave website which seems to list all of the products that I currently have, but does not list the suspect devices. I have no doubt that some of the devices will work, but I would rather get a device that is legitimate.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Z-Wave Energy Monitoring Plug for $30
One of the hardest pills to swallow with home automation is the cost. If you are careful to purchase things that work well and grab them on sale, home automation can be even more affordable. For example, some plugs cost between $50 and $60 but there is one that has good reviews that is available for under $30. I ordered one so I can review it in a future post, but it looks like a potential winner!
Don't forget to sign up for Amazon Prime to get free 2-day shipping.
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Sunday, December 7, 2014
Honeywell Smart Wifi Thermostat for $162
Overstock.com is selling the Honeywell Wifi Smart Thermostat for $181.99 which is a decent deal, but they also have a coupon which takes $20 off. Click this link to apply the coupon and then search for the product.
If you missed the deal and are still interested in the thermostat, the reviews are here.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you missed the deal and are still interested in the thermostat, the reviews are here.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Why I chose SmartThings
When my basement flooded the first time, I paid my $1000 insurance deductible and then spent a few weeks coordinating repairs and replacement purchases. I paid for the plumber to camera the line and determined that the backup was caused by a toy that was flushed down the toilet. The toy caused waste water to backup into my basement office. Overall, it was extremely painful. To avoid that pain, I installed battery powered water detectors all over. 10 of them.
Over a year later, the basement flooded again. This time, the toilet was clogged by excess toilet paper and the handle was stuck all day. This caused toilet water to flow from the main floor bathroom down the wall and into basement.
Unfortunately, water isn't always predictable. The water went down the floor register and found its way on my flat screen TV, entertainment system and a bookcase. Some of the books that were soaked are irreplaceable. It was emotionally scarring.
A week later, there were still commercial dehumidifiers and fans all over my house. The house was loud and hot. Doors started sticking and everyone was miserable. I had to prevent this from happening again. The night of the damage, a friend recommended that I check out SmartThings.
After spending thousands of dollars after both incidents, I knew it was worth it. I took a few weeks to research all of the different systems on the market and ended up choosing SmartThings for several reasons. The first reason was the support community. Reading how employees interact with users gave me confidence in their support. The second reason was the company's goal to make other products work with their system. The fact that I could integrate my Nest and Hue systems was huge.
After using the system for a few weeks, I really wish I had installed it earlier. Purchase and installation were painless. The SmartThings Hub arrived the day after I ordered it. Thank you Amazon Prime! I elected to just order the hub, but the Energy Saver Kit is a great deal directly from SmartThings (Get 10% off).
I installed the app, plugged it in and followed the directions and was up and running in 10 minutes. Once I installed the water sensors and set up push notifications, I finally have peace-of-mind.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Over a year later, the basement flooded again. This time, the toilet was clogged by excess toilet paper and the handle was stuck all day. This caused toilet water to flow from the main floor bathroom down the wall and into basement.
An alarm sounded, but no one was home to hear it. The water ran all day, but that doesn't look like much damage does it?
A week later, there were still commercial dehumidifiers and fans all over my house. The house was loud and hot. Doors started sticking and everyone was miserable. I had to prevent this from happening again. The night of the damage, a friend recommended that I check out SmartThings.
After spending thousands of dollars after both incidents, I knew it was worth it. I took a few weeks to research all of the different systems on the market and ended up choosing SmartThings for several reasons. The first reason was the support community. Reading how employees interact with users gave me confidence in their support. The second reason was the company's goal to make other products work with their system. The fact that I could integrate my Nest and Hue systems was huge.
After using the system for a few weeks, I really wish I had installed it earlier. Purchase and installation were painless. The SmartThings Hub arrived the day after I ordered it. Thank you Amazon Prime! I elected to just order the hub, but the Energy Saver Kit is a great deal directly from SmartThings (Get 10% off).
It included a power cable and network cable.
I installed the app, plugged it in and followed the directions and was up and running in 10 minutes. Once I installed the water sensors and set up push notifications, I finally have peace-of-mind.
Everything is OK thanks to SmartThings.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Dropcam for $99 at Home Depot
In case you missed the Dropcam deal on Amazon, I spotted this at Home Depot:
It looks like they are discontinuing the cheaper Dropcam camera at Home Depot. That is cheaper than an equivalent-featured baby monitor and if you have SmartThings, it does so much more.
Building a Playground without Spending a Fortune (Part 4)
In part one we prepped, in part two we built the fort and part three attached the hardware. That leaves us here:
I left one of the support posts tall in order to attach a flag pole to eventually. I staked out the area and used landscape timbers to separate it from the rest of the yard. After filling the area with a few yards of quality mulch, filling the sandbox with sand and planting a replacement tree, all that is left is to stain it after a few months.
After trying out a few stains on some scrap wood, I eventually settled on the Sikkens translucent mahogany stain. It is dark red and matches our deck. In this picture, you can see the rock climbing holds on the ladder, the yellow handlesand after a nephew whacked his head on the 2x4 crossbars I added two safety pads .
That wraps up the playground project. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on how I could have done this better.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I left one of the support posts tall in order to attach a flag pole to eventually. I staked out the area and used landscape timbers to separate it from the rest of the yard. After filling the area with a few yards of quality mulch, filling the sandbox with sand and planting a replacement tree, all that is left is to stain it after a few months.
It had to survive a few freak snow storms before it could finally get stained.
After trying out a few stains on some scrap wood, I eventually settled on the Sikkens translucent mahogany stain. It is dark red and matches our deck. In this picture, you can see the rock climbing holds on the ladder, the yellow handlesand after a nephew whacked his head on the 2x4 crossbars I added two safety pads .
After a year, the playground and sandbox has gotten a lot of use and I expect that it will last for many years to come. The fort easily supports several adults without so much as a wobble.
I plan on staining the landscape timbers to match when I get some time. I am also not happy with the quality of the sand that I got from Home Depot. I am going to look for volleyball sand in the Spring. I may also upgrade the mulch to red rubber mulch, but right now it just seems to expensive.
That wraps up the playground project. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on how I could have done this better.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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