LF: Support for Smart Home Enhancements

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Hey there,

I have a partially smart home that I want to enhance further and need some help.

Does anyone have any experience with people in Calgary or recommendations for those who can support in making a home more smart (e.g. installing a hub with SmartThings, integrating a security system and door locks with this, etc.)?

I've done good part DIY thus far but would prefer both for timing and knowledge as I don't have time to do this now to get some help.

Let me know if anyone has recommendations, thanks!

[calgarywinning]

You could reach out to Bright Home Systems. They are not the cheapest, but very knowledgeable!

Your smart hub as you say has to be the brains of the system and is typically requiring Control4 or Savant or RTI. Devices usually are compatible with these control systems. Then the typical DYI network systems might need refreshing or strengthening. Then each of these control systems have their own remotes which aren't cheap, and usually have iOS or Android app as well.

Tends to add up quickly, but really makes the home super enjoyable especially if you can tie in your lighting.

[Hemi-Cuda]

You could save a lot of money by going with Home Assistant for your hub. The learning curve is a bit higher than proprietary solutions like SmartThings, but the control and customizability is second to none, and the support community is huge so it's pretty easy to find guides on how to do more complex tasks. You don't even need to buy your own hardware and do the install manually, you can buy a pre-built hub from them which is basically plug and play

https://www.home-assistant.io/green

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

You could save a lot of money by going with Home Assistant for your hub. The learning curve is a bit higher than proprietary solutions like SmartThings, but the control and customizability is second to none, and the support community is huge so it's pretty easy to find guides on how to do more complex tasks. You don't even need to buy your own hardware and do the install manually, you can buy a pre-built hub from them which is basically plug and play

https://www.home-assistant.io/green

You've given me something to think about!

Seems like such a low investment that I'll try this route first and see how far I get. Just ordered one from the US now.

I'm still going to need to do some research into the garage door sensor that I can hook into my system and ties into HA and also my unused Honeywell alarm set up from the previous owners).

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34

You've given me something to think about!

Seems like such a low investment that I'll try this route first and see how far I get. Just ordered one from the US now.

I'm still going to need to do some research into the garage door sensor that I can hook into my system and ties into HA and also my unused Honeywell alarm set up from the previous owners).

I would highly recommend the ratgdo control board if you want to connect a garage door to Home Assistant

https://paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/

If your opener is Chamberlain or Liftmaster it will work flawlessly, and the install is very easy. I actually have a smart Chamberlain garage door opener and used their mobile app before installing Home Assistant, which worked ok, but was way better when I was able to integrate MyQ into Home Assistant to have greater control. But then Chamberlain were pricks and removed all of the API access to their cloud servers, which broke the HA integration for everyone that used it. Bought the ratgdo instead, disabled all of the smart features on the Chamberlain opener, and now Home Assistant has total control over it on my local network so I'm not reliant on their cloud bull#### anymore (and their servers were pretty unreliable)

Actually that would be my main recommendation for anyone going the Home Assistant route, look for local network control for any system you want to add, anything that relies on cloud control is messy at best. But if you want or need to be able to control your stuff remotely, Home Assistant does have it's own cloud subscription for $5, which connects to the instance on your home network and lets you manage it anywhere from the mobile app