Arduino questions..

[tangent]

HomeSeer is great when you want something that just works without a lot of difficulty integrating many devices. However it is expensive and most of the addons to integrate with things upb or your alarm system cost even more.

 

[logbuilder]

HomeSeer is great when you want something that just works without a lot of difficulty integrating many devices. However it is expensive and most of the addons to integrate with things upb or your alarm system cost even more.

I can't dispute that HomeSeer does have a cost consideration. I bought my license during a sale and got 50% off. They do that from time to time. I also have paid one-time fees of about $200 for plugins. All in on licensing I am about at $400 - one time.

But maybe in the case of HS you get what you pay for. Not to say there aren't lesser cost alternatives that offer great functionality, HomeSeer was just the one that fit me best. It is rock solid.

I'm still amazed that the BI license was as affordable as it was. In terms of quality, usefulness, and ability to get the job done, BI and HS are near the top of my list.

BTW, I sing the praises of BI over on the HS forum. There is a great plugin for HS interface to BI.

 

[wantafastz28]

I would love to go that route, but the issue is as mentioned above the cost.... I'm just playing/tinkering around right now, I have <$100 into the small project I'm into now with going the domoticz route, if i can't get something going in a timely matter, I can sell the couple of things I have and be okay. With HS's cost, I'm forced to be committed, from my previous history of dabbling into anything more than basic html(visual basic, .net, php) I just lose interest and patience before I can accomplish anything.

 

[tangent]

BTW, I sing the praises of BI over on the HS forum. There is a great plugin for HS interface to BI.

It's worth mentioning when you're having an issue with a particular device or researching compatibility of various devices reading / searching forums for various automation platforms like smartthings, vera, homeseer, isy, domoticz, openhab, etc. can be very helpful even the forums for platforms you aren't using.

The nice thing about zwave is you aren't locked to a particular platform or controller unlike something like wemo. Your wall switches, plugin lamp modules, zwave sensors, will all work with most anything that supports zwave.

 

[logbuilder]

I would love to go that route, but the issue is as mentioned above the cost.... I'm just playing/tinkering around right now, I have <$100 into the small project I'm into now with going the domoticz route, if i can't get something going in a timely matter, I can sell the couple of things I have and be okay. With HS's cost, I'm forced to be committed, from my previous history of dabbling into anything more than basic html(visual basic, .net, php) I just lose interest and patience before I can accomplish anything.

Hey, I get it. I tend to be that way too. Good that you understand yourself that well. For me, I usually realize this after the fact. My current interest is Arduino. Hopefully it will stick. If in the future you find yourself committed to home automation, remember HomeSeer.

There is another low cost option you might want to consider. Home Assistant on a PI.

Home Assistant

 

[wantafastz28]

Hey, I get it. I tend to be that way too. Good that you understand yourself that well. For me, I usually realize this after the fact. My current interest is Arduino. Hopefully it will stick. If in the future you find yourself committed to home automation, remember HomeSeer.

There is another low cost option you might want to consider. Home Assistant on a PI.

Home Assistant

Will do, I'm hoping it catches my interest and things take off, but with a baby about to come, I feel like my time to do anything will be limited, especially hobbies.

I wish I had a local friend that was already into this stuff so I could pick their brain.. wiki' s only seem to do so much for me

 

[logbuilder]

Home Automation is addictive. Folks plow lots of bucks into it. I temper that with always requiring myself to have a good and justifiable use case before spending. Unfortunately, I tend to 'justify' lots of things.

I started about 10 years ago with lots of interest but found the technology was just not ready for prime time. I ended up with $200 worth of Insteon switches installed but never really got much use. The software I was using was cobbled together at best. About a year ago I again researched it and found that the platforms had matured enough to again consider. After lots of due diligence, I decided on HomeSeer. Luckily I was able to reuse my Insteon gear so the loss was recovered.

My situation is somewhat unique in that my internet is via satellite which has a month data cap of 10GB. Any solution that relied on the cloud was ruled out immediately. Secondly, I live in a log house so running new wires is pretty much out of the question. But given those constraints, using BI and HS I now have a really nice security and automation system that uses very little bandwidth. I couldn't ask for a better combination.

 

[wantafastz28]

I'm on the same page with keeping everything in house... I've never liked the idea of cloud services... drop box is handy but just for passing info device to device quickly... I'd never use in to rely on.

 

[tangent]

I'm on the same page with keeping everything in house... I've never liked the idea of cloud services... drop box is handy but just for passing info device to device quickly... I'd never use in to rely on.

Your server runs windows otherwise I'd suggest ownCloud.org

 

[wantafastz28]

I haven't had a NEED for a cloud service as of yet. I'm still tinkering with my friend's plex server, but so far I'm sold on that... I will most likely go that route for media in the house and phones. Anything more though, I haven't seen it be a must have.

 

[eeeeees]

This is an interesting thread, very relevant to where I to am at. Can someone comment on the use of OpenHab on Win7.
Eric