Current SmartThings user. Ive been putting up with grief from the wife, system instability, and general poor performance for far too long. The last two weeks just broke the camels back.
After examining the other options, Im strongly considering making the switch to Homeseer. Seems like a mature platform with a great community so I thought Id ask for some advice before jumping in.
My current setup:
30 z-wave dimmers (Leviton VRMX1-1LZ)
Five z-wave switches (Leviton VRS15-1LZ)
One z-wave siren (Everspring EVS-SE812-US)
Two Schlagle z-wave door locks (Schlage FE599NX and BE469 CAM 619)
10 or so z-wave door sensors (Monoprice, Schlage, and a few everspring)
Four outlets (GE 12721)
Two Mimolites
Two first alert z-wave smoke detectors
Five Sonos Play Ones
One 1 Sonos Play Five
Aeon Mini-mote
Future Expansion:
Amazon Alexa
5~8 Z-wave motion detectors to replace the zigbee ones Im currently using.
Somfy blinds
A few z-wave bulbs for areas where I dont have a switch installed.
A few more open-close sensors.
Infinity Carrier touch control
Garage door controllers
My Homeseer Plan:
Ive got a SmartStick+ on order, and Ill be purchasing a fanless computer to run my setup. Itll be a dedicated Homeseer computer running windows 7.
Plugins I think I'll be running:
Spud IFFT
UltraSMTP3
Alexa plugin
Sonos
ImperiHome or the new HSBuddy App
Easy trigger
Some sort of location plugin to trigger lighting when I leave or arrive home.
Weather plugin
Im sure there will be 4 or 5 more that I havent discovered yet.
My biggest questions/concerns:
Computer: I'm thinking about using a Qotom qs-190. Its got a Celeron j1900 processor (quad core 2 GHz) with 4gb of ram and a 32gb ssd. Will this have enough horsepower for my needs and future expansion projects? Id like to have this setup last me 5 years or so. Would you recommend Windows 7, windows 10 or Linux?
Reliability: Once Ive got the system running to my needs will I be able to set it and forget it? (obviously setting aside some time for general maintenance, updates, etc.)
Response time for motion detectors: I tested an aeon multi-sensor with motion when using SmartThings and wasnt happy with the response time. Id get halfway across the room before the sensor would detect my movement and trigger the lights. I wasnt sure if this was a SmartThings limitation (probably), or a common z-wave motion detector issue? How is Homeseer when it comes to response time?
Presence: The one nice feature that worked semi-reliably for me on SmartThings, was the presence detection. Ive seen the PHlocation plugin and a few other solutions using Beacons. Ideally Id like to have the lights turn off and lock the doors after leaving the house. Itd also be nice to turn lights on when returning home. Would love to hear how others are replicating this functionality?
Any other potential issues with my setup or planning? Missing any plugins? Thanks a ton in advance! Looking forward to diving in!
After examining the other options, Im strongly considering making the switch to Homeseer. Seems like a mature platform with a great community so I thought Id ask for some advice before jumping in.
My current setup:
30 z-wave dimmers (Leviton VRMX1-1LZ)
Five z-wave switches (Leviton VRS15-1LZ)
One z-wave siren (Everspring EVS-SE812-US)
Two Schlagle z-wave door locks (Schlage FE599NX and BE469 CAM 619)
10 or so z-wave door sensors (Monoprice, Schlage, and a few everspring)
Four outlets (GE 12721)
Two Mimolites
Two first alert z-wave smoke detectors
Five Sonos Play Ones
One 1 Sonos Play Five
Aeon Mini-mote
Future Expansion:
Amazon Alexa
5~8 Z-wave motion detectors to replace the zigbee ones Im currently using.
Somfy blinds
A few z-wave bulbs for areas where I dont have a switch installed.
A few more open-close sensors.
Infinity Carrier touch control
Garage door controllers
My Homeseer Plan:
Ive got a SmartStick+ on order, and Ill be purchasing a fanless computer to run my setup. Itll be a dedicated Homeseer computer running windows 7.
Plugins I think I'll be running:
Spud IFFT
UltraSMTP3
Alexa plugin
Sonos
ImperiHome or the new HSBuddy App
Easy trigger
Some sort of location plugin to trigger lighting when I leave or arrive home.
Weather plugin
Im sure there will be 4 or 5 more that I havent discovered yet.
My biggest questions/concerns:
Computer: I'm thinking about using a Qotom qs-190. Its got a Celeron j1900 processor (quad core 2 GHz) with 4gb of ram and a 32gb ssd. Will this have enough horsepower for my needs and future expansion projects? Id like to have this setup last me 5 years or so. Would you recommend Windows 7, windows 10 or Linux?
Reliability: Once Ive got the system running to my needs will I be able to set it and forget it? (obviously setting aside some time for general maintenance, updates, etc.)
Response time for motion detectors: I tested an aeon multi-sensor with motion when using SmartThings and wasnt happy with the response time. Id get halfway across the room before the sensor would detect my movement and trigger the lights. I wasnt sure if this was a SmartThings limitation (probably), or a common z-wave motion detector issue? How is Homeseer when it comes to response time?
Presence: The one nice feature that worked semi-reliably for me on SmartThings, was the presence detection. Ive seen the PHlocation plugin and a few other solutions using Beacons. Ideally Id like to have the lights turn off and lock the doors after leaving the house. Itd also be nice to turn lights on when returning home. Would love to hear how others are replicating this functionality?
Any other potential issues with my setup or planning? Missing any plugins? Thanks a ton in advance! Looking forward to diving in!