# Smart Home Automation (Ext Door Locks)



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

I'm curious about some of the smart home gadgets out there. Anybody have a HAL 9000 in their home yet? 1st item on the list would be the front and rear door locks. Looking for something that would keep the doors unlocked while we are home but lock them automatically if we were to leave without doing it ourselves. Same with the garage door.

Thing's I'd like to accomplish (eventually).

1. Smart Exterior Door Locks (as described above)
2. Automatic Garage Door closing/remote status
3. Notifications to my mobile when a door is opened and we're not home. (ie. older kid coming home from school, house sitter, etc.)
4. Automate some exterior lighting and interior entry way lights.
5. Thermostats with geofencing and remote operating capabilities.
6. Irrigation control with remote operation and notifications to my mobile for faults.

I know many of these can be accomplished via hardware with it's own dedicated app, is there any sort of system that would tie everything into one "dashboard" of sorts? We live in an iOS universe with no immediate plans to change that.

So, what gadgets have y'all installed and which are your favorites? Is the tech still too immature to warrant the investment?


----------



## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

I don't know anything about smart home technology, but I watched this video the other day and found it interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozIKwGt38LQ


----------



## daniel3507 (Jul 31, 2018)

The smart locks kind of make me nervous. I do have a My Q that allows me to open and close my garage through an app. I'm not entirely convinced that it's super secure but I got tired of driving back home to double check that I closed the garage. This tells me on the app if the garage is open or closed and how long its been open or closed. It's been pretty convenient but I make sure and lock the door that goes into the house now and will be installing a camera in the garage.


----------



## avionics12 (Jul 2, 2018)

I have a connected home, driven by HomeKit. I can control lights, locks, WiFi, irrigation. blinds, and house water (to a degree). As this is my second connected home I have learned there are a few vital questions you need to ask and answer; otherwise you may get incompatible products or systems that are not as consumer friendly as one might expect.

#1 - How important is Data Security to you?
#2 - What do you want to accomplish?
#3 - Do you intend to expand to possible future capabilities?
#4 - How much "automation" do you need/want?

Knowing the answers will help steer you to the best compatible products/systems.

Here are a few things I learned using your list above:

1. Smart Exterior Door Locks. I have one August door lock for the garage door leading into my home. It works well, although there are some indication sync problems occasionally. This lock is included in an automation scene that unlocks and opens the main garage door (after confirming the automation request on my phone - security), unlocks the garage to home door, and turns on the kitchen light. There are many opinions regarding door automation and you will need to decide your level of comfort regarding the use of these types of locks. 
2. Automatic Garage Door closing/remote status. This is a sticky area when it comes to a connected home. I have a Liftmaster opener that is HomeKit compatible, therefore I can control it and see the open/closed status on my connected devices. I use the geofence provided by HomeKit to command the opening/closing sequence.
3. Notifications to my mobile when a door is opened and we're not home. (ie. older kid coming home from school, house sitter, etc.) This is achieved via the August door notifications for that lock.
4. Automate some exterior lighting and interior entry way lights. I use Lutron light switches that provide dimming and full control via HomeKit. I have a few "automated" scenes that are set up for emergency situations.
5. Thermostats with geofencing and remote operating capabilities. I currently have a Nest thermostat that can be controlled by voice. I'll be switching to an Ecobee for more granular thermostat control, probably this coming summer. Both have geofence capability.
6. Irrigation control with remote operation and notifications to my mobile for faults. I intended to install a Rachio however their HomeKit integration still suffers with connections problems. This Spring I will use a RainMachine Touch HD irrigation controller. This unit will connect with HomeKit as well as accept data from my Davis weather station.

There are many ways to achieve "control" of connected systems. My first connected home used Wink hubs and a phone app for control. It works, however there are different setup schemes for the different product manufacturers. If you are technically inclined this should not present a problem.

I prefer HomeKit for the security it provides, the simplicity of connecting new systems is easy, and many connected home product providers are adding HomeKit compatibility to their lineup.

I have two repurposed iPad's, one mounted in a central location for the home and one mounted in the Master Retreat. Along with apps on mobile devices plus my Mac I have all of the control I desire.

​


This had unexpected, yet welcoming effects. If I need a mobile device I can remove either iPad, use it, and replace it in the wall mount later.

IMHO, connected home security should be the primary decision factor. If your home is "hacked", the joy of home automation soon disappears.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Great write-up @avionics12 - thanks for sharing!


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@MasterMech the smart ecosystems are evolving. Most vendors want their own app/system and it doesn't play well with others. There was an announcement about some recent collaboration. I hope they can all get behind one communication system.

In the mean while, I think SmartThings is the way to have a central hub/app. It isn't perfect. Smartthings works on two systems (zigbee and zwave) plus it allows integration over the cloud.

My setup:
- Smartthings hub (does the automation routines) and uses the cellphone for geofence (away/home). If both of us (wife and me) are way, then it arms the away or once one gets home then it set to home. 
- door/window switch - (if door or basement window opens while away = alarm)
- water sensor in the sump pump between main and backup levels. (This is what got me into smart home system)
- trigger lights/electrical switches on and off (Christmas tree on/off)
- ecobee wifi HVAC - cloud integrated. The ecobee has presence sensors for each room. Their app works really good, but the connection with Smartthings allows more automation. You can setup to turn off lights if no presence detected for x time. It wont be fast enough to turn lights in a room.
- rachio - I had it integrated, but never found a use for it. All you can do is turn on/off a zone. The rachio works on its own.
- google home speaker - cloud integrated - voice commands to most of smartthing controls.

- Chamberlain garage door opener (MyQ)- this used to work with Smartthings, but they turned it off. It is still worth it in my opinion. A hub gets connected to your router and it can control the door. It saves me from driving back home to check if the door is close. I can check and remote close it. I dont have a lot of automation to the garage door. It kept closing when I wanted it open (yard work) and I dont like it to close if the kids left their bike in the way.

Door
- Im researching a door handle, but the reviews are not great. I want one with a manual entry code. I want it in the door that leads to the garage since we dont use the front door. I dont want a deadbolt for that door.


----------



## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

avionics12 said:


> IMHO, connected home security should be the primary decision factor. If your home is "hacked", the joy of home automation soon disappears.


Awesome write-up! And yes, I think this is huge and can't be overstated.


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

@avionics12 , you gave me exactly the kind of response I'm looking for and you're running the platform I was considering. Thank you!


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

g-man said:


> @MasterMech the smart ecosystems are evolving. Most vendors want their own app/system and it doesn't play well with others.


And this is why Marty McFly has self-adjusting/lacing Nike's and I don't. :lol:


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

regarding the security, it's a big concern for all. But if someone's bright enough to hack my home network, or talk to Siri via laser, the standard low tech devices probably won't pose much of a problem for them either.

Interesting point on the Rachio not playing nice with HomeKit. Not a deal breaker for me but good to know as I go browsing smart controllers for irrigation.


----------



## avionics12 (Jul 2, 2018)

MasterMech said:


> @avionics12 , you gave me exactly the kind of response I'm looking for and you're running the platform I was considering. Thank you!


Glad I could help. It's been an interesting project to work on and I hope to add more as relevant products come to fruition. Research is your friend in a project like this!


----------



## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

I'm loving this post!! Thanks @MasterMech for bringing it up & @avionics12 for motivating me with your pictures. I've spent sooo much time & energy while building my personal home deciding how to achieve an inexpensive smart home, with similar functions to what you're describing, but I've yet to fully integrate them together. It's a bit of a hodgepodge with Lutron lighting and shades, Legrand Intuity whole-house audio & video distribution, etc etc. I've got iPad minis mounted on the walls that are hardly utilized! This post has motivated me to make the effort to bring everything together and create a truly integrated system. Thanks y'all, and happy new year!


----------



## SpiveyJr (Jun 7, 2018)

I have a wink 2 hub that I use as my primary smart hub. I have 3 smart lights connected to it, a Schlage Connect handle set, a MyQ garage door hub, Rain Machine hd-12 irrigation controller, and (not using) Lutron Casetta and (not using) GE smart switch.

I really like the Schlage door set because I can create codes and give them to friends and family to use and I can control the time of day they can be used. Plus, I can see when more door is open, when it was opened and which code was used. I have a bedtime "routine" created using my wink that turns off my lights, locks the door and garages which can be triggered by me clicking a button on my wink app or using Alexa and saying "goodnight".

I love my RainMachine irrigation controller but to be honest I don't see a need for it to be part of my home automation. I removed it from Alexa because once you set it up and configure it properly it becomes set and forget.

The wall mounted iPad is an awesome idea and I would love to replace my 1990s Nutone speaker system throughout my house but don't know if I really need iPads mounted in my walls. How often do you use them and how are they powered?


----------



## avionics12 (Jul 2, 2018)

SpiveyJr said:


> The wall mounted iPad is an awesome idea and I would love to replace my 1990s Nutone speaker system throughout my house but don't know if I really need iPads mounted in my walls. How often do you use them and how are they powered?


I use both iPads in-wall nearly every day. I use the Main iPad for use throughout the day for control as well as if I need to access the internet to search or read. I use the Master Retreat to take one last look at the "status" of the house as well as use the iPad at that end of the house. The wall dock also affords quick removal and re-installation.

Mine are powered by in wall wiring that I tapped into after doing an ELA. The wall dock wiring cable has a USB end that connects to the charger.

The dock I use is:
iWalldock


----------



## SpiveyJr (Jun 7, 2018)

Thanks! I think the PoE adapter with lightning plug might be the way to go.


----------



## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I started out with a Wink Hub but now that Wink is in the final throes of death I put all my Z-Wave devices on Home Assistant, running on a Synology DS-918+ with 16 GB RAM. It's been rock solid. It's also connected to UPS. I hardly ever use the Home Assistant dashboard though, I use the HomeKit plugin to bridge it to the Home apps on macOS and iOS. I think Z-Wave is better than putting everything on wifi a la HomeKit, plus the costs for each device are much lower than genuine HomeKit devices.

I have three deadbolts, one security camera, a doorbell camera, bedroom ceiling fan/light, Ecobee, three Apple TVs, and some Aeotec smart switches all hooked into Home Assistant. Home Assistant also gives me a ton of extra sensors and I'm writing every event and sensor reading to a SQL database. I would like to get smart shades sometime soon.

I am really curious what the CHIP announcement is going to do to the smart home arena.


----------

