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Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

gizmodo.com

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Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#81

Post by aetherson »

mrweasel wrote: post #32

Maybe I'm just not getting it, but why would I want a "Smart Home"? It seems to be a little like a Smart TV, everyone wants more features, but really they're newer going to use the built in voice control or install any apps. We need a few basic feature and the rest just sits their, unused, contributing to the complexity of the device. I have yet to see an intelligent house feature I would like. I understand that some…

Turning on your lights with a phone app (routinely) is obviously terrible.

But I would like to be able to turn on my outdoor front door light from outside when I get home after dark. And I'd like to be able to grant access to people remotely.

We have a Nest. It was a gift. Is it useful? Sure, it's way better than our old thermostat, and it's nice that usually it sets the temperature to what we want without our explicit intervention. Is it worth the price? Well, no. But it will presumably get cheaper.

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#82

Post by joezydeco »

modoc wrote: post #80
herf wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Water heaters use a lot of household energy--automating them is a great idea. One smartthings customer did it here: http://community.smartthings.com/t/water-heater-automation/1...

My understanding is that modern tank water heaters are extremely efficient, 96%+ so I don't think they use that much energy these days?

Switching a water heater completely off (or below Vacation setpoint) is an invitation to grow nasty things in your tank, like Leigionaire's Disease.

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#83

Post by sly010 »

maxerickson wrote: post #70
jerf wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one of the big problems with the whole "smart home" idea is that people don't consider the use cases. As the article mentions but doesn't really follow through the logic of, trading a light switch flip for a smart phone fumble just isn't a win. But remote access is one of those cases that is a win. I have a relative that spends a lot of time about 1000 miles away for business and he's gotten some mileage out…

I think as soon as there is a comm protocol that is worth calling a winner (works well, widely supported), it will quickly become the case that LED bulbs and fixtures will come with it built in. A while after that, whole home lighting control is a $100 feature that you expect in every house (or less for smaller places), not a $500 or $1000 feature that doesn't work very well in houses where the owner really pursued i…

I don't expect there will ever be such protocol though, there is too much competition already and everyone wants to be the "platform", because no-one actually has any idea of what gadgets would be useful. Even if we just look at the low level, there already is a war between grid powered vs battery powered, which then influences the war between BTLE, WIFI and ZigBee. There are inherently very different architectures, I don't see a change for convergence. But then probably when everything has been already done Apple will invent THE Apple Home which will be (as always) the first of it's kind :)

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#84

Post by Karunamon »

pluma wrote: post #27
cowsandmilk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Remember, Phillips is the reason incandescent bulbs had their lifespans intentionally cut in half for planned obsolescence. Because all companies have the same management and culture as they did 90 years ago.

They didn't make any steps to reverse that decision in those 90 years, so it's safe to assume they're at least indifferent to it.

They didn't make any publicly documented steps. Saying that they're still doing something because they did it almost a century ago isn't really honest.

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#85

Post by prottmann »

upofadown wrote: post #79

I've been into the home automation thing since before forever. There have been many periods of excitement over the years. They come and go. As a result I have to admit to a high level of skepticism about the current period. The companies that generate and are influenced by this excitement tend to make two main errors. 1. They don't understand that without an open standard for controls and sensors they are just foolin…

The problem is, that they want sell you something that you have to pay again and again -> vendor lock, you must use their tools / services / clouds / whatever.

Things that just work for 10 or more years, omg! ;)

But you are absolutely right!. I did not automate anything at home with separate hard/software, because currently it solves no problem for me.

We need not a smart home, we need an intelligent home without controlling or programming everything.

A house/appartment has to recognize if nobody is at home and turn off the light or heating. I dont wanna do that with my smartphone and i dont want controll everything.

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#86

Post by patrickk »

spiritplumber wrote: post #31

I have had auto blinders, lights, and day alarm (courtesy of an old projector) for years. It's all controlled by some random netbook I got for $30, picaxe micros, and xbees (the xbees are admittedly overkill). This is the sort of thing you build, rather than buy, since it will only ever fit the person who designed it.

I'd love to read a blog post about this.

Some dream features I'd like personally in a smart home:

* TV-aware lights - lights dim/turn off according to a preset pattern when the tv comes on

* Voice control - saying "Bed time" would turn off all lights & heating, other commands off the top of my head- "I'm home" (turn on hall lights & heating if its below a certain temperature) or "leaving home"- turn off everything

* Low power screen in the hall, like e-ink, where I can have an electronic To Do list easily available, or warnings to bring an umbrella/coat today, or reminders for today from my smartphone calendar

Something like this Raspberry pi project looks promising for voice: https://jasperproject.github.io/

For me, having to whip out a phone to do stuff like turn off lights is pointless. A smart home should be context-aware, e.g. home temperature, time of day, doing an activity like TV, or needing cold bedroom for sleep (open window, turn off heating).

If a smart home system isn't more convenient than the low tech version, then there is no point.

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#88

Post by romaniv »

upofadown wrote: post #79

I've been into the home automation thing since before forever. There have been many periods of excitement over the years. They come and go. As a result I have to admit to a high level of skepticism about the current period. The companies that generate and are influenced by this excitement tend to make two main errors. 1. They don't understand that without an open standard for controls and sensors they are just foolin…

Open standards are a real issues in the industry. I find it ridiculous that you often have to pay thousands of dollars for software that simply understands those protocols. Not only that, it requires you to jump through ridiculous hoops to do stuff that you could easily do with a reasonably simple Python script. (Look up Niagara AX as an example.)

Another problem is APIs and connectivity. Tuning a light on or off should be doable with a simple POST call to a RESTful service somewhere. Instead, we are sold dubious phone apps for everything.

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#89

Post by statictype »

TimothyGee wrote: post #71
viccuad wrote: post #12

I really don't grok why I should want to use my smartphone to move up and down my wifi connected blinders. Yet that's all I see when all of this is pictured: gimmicks. I want to see a demo of a room alarm clock: with rising light (in brightness and temperature), birds chirping, room getting warmer, music/radio a while later.. and the same for going to bed.

I set up my house such that when I unlock the front door using my code, the downstairs lights come on if it's after sundown. I also have a camera capture the first few minutes of the door changing state. I get alerts if the door is opened outside of normal away hours (8-4 on weekdays). I also have a vacation mode that will control various lights in the house to simulate occupancy. I also set up a nightlight mode that…

What components did you use for this?

Re: Why Is My Smart Home So Dumb?

#90

Post by Someone1234 »

normloman wrote: post #87

Flicking a switch when I enter or leave the room sounds easier than taking out my phone and fiddling with some app. And it's way cheaper.

True. But having it turn on while you're on holiday is a nice perk.

Plus it isn't an OR choice, you often get both a switch and an app. So you can have the lights turn on as you drive into the garage.

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