Guns & Outdoors Forum

How much have you automated your home with wifi tech?

We aren't too far in. Wife has an Echo Show 15 mounted to the wall in the kitchen to watch TV or listen to music while cooking. Has also been used to tell Alexa to add things to our shopping list or look up recipes, start a timer, ingredient substitutions, or ask Google facts just to prove me wrong.

Then we have Echo dots in the den, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. There is a Nest thermostat for the furnace. Smart bulbs in two lamps in the living room, one floor lamp in the sitting room, and lamps in all three bedrooms. Can set programs to turn lights on and off when we aren't home. My wife can tell the furnace to heat up while we are still driving home. I use Alexa to dim the lights when watching TV. Wife has a set up that turns off all of the lights and turns down the thermostat five degrees when we say, "Goodnight Alexa."

What I just added last week is a Smart wifi timer switch to the wall heater in the bathroom. I can sit in my recliner and start to feel the urge to go make a transaction. I can tell Alexa to turn the heater on for 10 minutes and have a nice warm throne when I go.



I like it so much, I am looking at installing another heater in in our other 1/2 bath. It's the one I use in the mornings we go to work.

I think next will be a few outside cameras.

I live in a van down by the river.

Yeah, no

Only a camera. And a hack/diy garage door opener that I haven’t used in forever.

But as far as paying to install eff be eye listening devices in my house, no.

I had a Simply Safe system in my last house, and a smart thermostat that I could program via phone to change the temp during the day. Beyond that no connectivity. I'm not a huge fan of the Alexa or similar systems, I just use my phone and a Bluetooth speaker for music.

Reminds me of those "Home of the Future" commercials from the 1950's: my response was I didn't need that crap when I saw the replays of them in the 1970's and '80's.

At the point I start thinking I need that stuff, somebody please sneak up behind me and end it.

Outdoor cameras and when we bought our current bed with an adjustable base it's blue tooth and wirelessly connected so I can adjust my sleep nmber and/or position with my phone.

CPJ 2.0 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 1:27 pm Only a camera. And a hack/diy garage door opener that I haven’t used in forever.

But as far as paying to install eff be eye listening devices in my house, no.

He says while carrying one with him at all times......
Seriously.... if you have one, might as well have them all.

Bigslug wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 2:36 pm Reminds me of those "Home of the Future" commercials from the 1950's: my response was I didn't need that crap when I saw the replays of them in the 1970's and '80's.

At the point I start thinking I need that stuff, somebody please sneak up behind me and end it.

And how did you just post that comment?

jbp-ohio wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:53 pm

CPJ 2.0 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 1:27 pm Only a camera. And a hack/diy garage door opener that I haven’t used in forever.

But as far as paying to install eff be eye listening devices in my house, no.

He says while carrying one with him at all times......

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Seriously.... if you have one, might as well have them all.

At least apple makes it hard(er) to get the info.

It's nothing I worry about. It's all or nothing. Even the Amish have succumbed.....

Wi-Fi cameras on the outside, some strange seasonal LED string lights on the patio, and Alexa. My wife hates it when I unplug the damn thing. If she dies before me, Alexa will follow her!

I like my ring doorbell camera.
Caught some deer walking by at night. Knows when someone is carrying a package.
That and 4 wi fi outlet "pucks".
I use them when I want to run something on a schedule or turn it on or off from my phone.

Freezer wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 10:58 am Wi-Fi cameras on the outside, some strange seasonal LED string lights on the patio, and Alexa. My wife hates it when I unplug the damn thing. If she dies before me, Alexa will follow her!

I should note, the wifi timer is the first thing I purchased. The rest my wife bought. We didn't mix any of our finances when we got married. She makes more than me so it wasn't something she needed talked into.

She also bought the LED strip lights for outside right before Christmas. I didn't put them up. I put up lights in the fall. Not winter

I recently turned 78, but I like tech stuff. I'm just selective about it. I'm not going to spend a hundred $ on something that saves me 5 or 10 seconds of time and/or commits me to paying 25 bucks a month to run it. The only exceptions are smart phones, satellite TV and internet, which are almost a given in American households.

I have a couple of Amazon Blink cameras but for security reasons and that’s it.

These things we have are not just for convenience. They save monies. My wife has low blood pressure and is always cold. We spend 90% of our time (awake) in the living room. We keep the temp set to 65° and an oil filled heater (and blankets) in the living room on a timer to turn on @ 4p-10p. Otherwise she would have the heat set @ 74°! The problem is the rest of the house is colder. That is where the heaters in the bathrooms come in.

The Nest is set to turn down to 62° @ 10p. On weekdays back to 65° @ 5a (it does it in steps over an hour) and she uses the bathroom heater when getting ready for work. The timer makes sure the heater always turns off and she can turn it on with 'Alexa' when she wakes up without getting out of bed. By the time she makes a cup of coffee and the feeds the cats the bathroom is toasty. Then the Nest sets the heat back to 60° at 6:30a. Up to 65° @ 4:00p (again in steps).

The Nest also knows when we (wifes cell phone) aren't in the house. It drops to 62° when we are gone. If we leave for a longer time, I can tell Alexa to keep the heat at 60° for whatever amount of time is appropriate.

I also have a (not wifi) timer on the bathroom fan to make sure it doesn't get left on and suck out the heated or cooled air all day.

This saves at least 20% on our propane.

WiFi and/or smart devices regardless, if you have a newer solid state electric meter on your house, “they” have all “they” need.

FJB wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 9:14 pm WiFi and/or smart devices regardless, if you have a newer solid state electric meter on your house, “they” have all “they” need.

Or the robotic sweeper made in China that can hack into your network.

I occasionally look into "home automation" because I'd like to replace the 12 or 15 timers I have that turn on fountains, picture and Altar lights, and similar as the timers are a bit of a nuisance. As a matter of fact, I just took my most recent look 2 days ago. Still isn't there - too expensive for the minimal gain I'd have. The tech *does* seem to be getting better/cheaper though, so I'll have another look in a year or two. The most important thing above affordability is for there NOT to be a PHOOOOOONNE involved with it at any level.

Like JBP-Ohio, I have spring wound timers on the bathroom fans - I've been doing that for over a half century now. No need for "automation" for those.

jbp-ohio wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 10:57 pm

FJB wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 9:14 pm WiFi and/or smart devices regardless, if you have a newer solid state electric meter on your house, “they” have all “they” need.

Or the robotic sweeper made in China that can hack into your network.

We have a "DeeBot" that we just love. It has some kind of network capability that I never bothered with. Its getting long in the tooth, so I have been educating myself against the day it dies and I can no longer repair it. Most - not all - but most of the new ones apparently REQUIRE a PHOOOOOONNE to operate, which makes them a complete non-starter with me. Some of them don't even have user replaceable batteries. Pure disgust...

I used to use spring wound timers. My wife keeps turning them off by turning it counterclockwise. Eventually they fail. So now I use.......