As the title says, I am going to address using the SmartThings hub for home automation and security. I would say that SmartThings is one of the better systems out there for automation for a couple of reasons.
- It is compatible with both Z-wave and ZigBee home automation systems giving you a wide selection of devices.
- There is a large customer community providing drivers and programming assistance.
- It can be user programmed if you want to take the time to learn it.
I don't have as much faith in it for home security as I would in a wired system, but that's just my opinion. It works well enough for me in that regard.
Here are some examples of home automation that I use on a regular basis:
- Notification of my mail arriving at the mailbox.
- Front yard post light on before sunset until a set time in the evening, also when arriving home later.
- Some interior lights on before dusk, turning off at a random time in the evening if nobody is home.
- When I turn on the entertainment system, the room lighting changes for better viewing.
- Turn on the lights in the attic stairs and garage when presence is detected.
For most of these tasks I use a SmartThings app called WebCoRE. WebCoRE is a web based Community Rules Engine, hence the name. Your rules, known as "Pistons" in the app, are easily created using an interactive if-then rule set. Here is an example piston that I use:
My main issue with SmartThings as a security system is that it is mostly cloud based and a loss of power or internet service would disable the system unless provisions were made.
You should be able to see how the piston works. The "IF" statement waits for the conditions to occur, either of the motion sensors sensing movement or the garage door closing. After that, the "THEN" statements checking the time and setting lights to a level depending on the time of day. Building the piston consists of choosing items from a drop down list and applying rules to them.
There is another piston for turning them off when motion is no longer detected.
There are other apps available within the SmartThings app that can:
- Notify you if rain is forecast and selected windows are open.
- Turn your thermostat off if doors are left open.
- Notify you when the laundry has finished.
The actions performed by the system are not limited to your smart devices, for example, a SMS can be sent based on the weather forecast.
The SmartThings system also integrates with Amazon's Alexa voice interface for voice control of lights and other settings. I can ask Alexa what the thermostat temperature is at the moment, or ask for her to turn off all of the lights. More on my Alexa experience in a later post.
As far as security goes, it primarily notifies me if there is a door opening when nobody is supposed to be in the house. For me, setting the "Away" mode is manual, as I have not been able to get the kids to use their phones in a way to disable it when they arrive. But for vacations it is very useful. I get the notification and I can remotely check my cameras to see if it is just a family member checking on the cats or something more serious. I will also get a notification whenever the safe door is opened so that I may make a similar check. It would be easy to place an alarm siren on a switched outlet if I wanted a local indication of a door or window opening when we have the system armed. I also have a connected smoke and CO2 detector that can alert me remotely if there is an issue.
My main issue with SmartThings as a security system is that it is mostly cloud based and a loss of power or internet service would disable the system unless provisions were made.
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