This article originally appeared in the September issue of WiFi HiFi Magazine, and also appeared in the special edition Holiday Gift Guide issue.
It's a beautiful summer day, and we're planning our housewarming party. As guests arrive, they ring the video doorbell, which alerts us that someone is here. They head inside and are greeted by music playing through the speakers mounted above the cupboards in the kitchen.
Head outside and a rock speaker/fountain keeps the party going in the backyard while adding some soothing ambience. As the kids run up and down the grass, they look around, mesmerized as they continue to hear the music. One asks her dad how this marvel of entertainment is occurring - he helps her locate the small rock speaker hiding among the flowers.
As guests head upstairs to the bathroom to freshen up, the tunes keep playing from the in-wall speaker stealthily hidden behind the towel rack.
The party winds down and we head up to bed. One push of a button on my smartphone turns off all the lights, and another brings down the motorized blinds. Did we remember to put the outdoor cushions away? It may rain tomorrow. A quick peek at the live security camera feed reveals that all is good for us to tuck in for the night. Most of the gear in the home is controlled through a Savant system and app.
On Monday, I head downstairs to my home office to start the workday. Through a "Scene" I've set up to trigger at 9 a.m., Monday to Friday, the lights and Apple TV are already powered on in the Office and Kitchen zones. I select a low-key Spotify playlist (‘90s Smash Hits sounds good today), and get to work as music plays from the in-ceiling speaker above my desk.
I head out to run some errands, but forget to turn the lights off. No worries - the geofencing feature in the lighting app recognizes from a predefined perimeter that I've left home and turns off all of the lights for me.
With all the hustle and bustle of the party on the weekend, the main level needs a good cleaning. I set a robotic vacuum to do a quick sweep. It scoots about, under couches and in corners upstairs while I finish off my workday.
It sounds almost futuristic, doesn't it? But this can be a reality. It might include a fully wired system, or a series of wireless, app-controlled products, some of which can integrate with one another, and others that operate independently. Often, it's a mix of both as our desires for the smart home evolve.
And as technology evolves along with these wants, the smart home is more than ever within reach. You can get devices that will have your favourite song playing to wake you up in the morning, a full pot of coffee already brewed, and the TV tuned to the local morning news. The AC kicks back on 10 minutes before you arrive home from work, dinner is slow cooked and kept warm, and a smartphone notification advises that yes, the kids have arrived from school safe and sound. The possibilities really are endless.
Photo courtesy of Lutron
To Wire or Not to Wire
The million-dollar question is: do you opt for a fully wired, whole-home automation system like this one, or choose a selection of wireless, do-it-yourself (DIY) products and set everything up independently?
A fully integrated system will almost always be more expensive, especially if you're dealing with an older home like mine (built circa 1916), which can pose wiring challenges. In our case, for example, North York, ON-based Knightwatch Security & Alarms, which specializes in finished homes, had to deal with issues related to plaster and lathe, small 1" gaps in the wall through which to run wires (versus the typical 3.5" gap you might find in newer homes), and thick baseboards that were not easily removed, resulting in the need to fish wire through the quarter round trim at the bottom of them. There's a lot more pre-planning that must go into wiring an older home as well, notes owner Adam Tolkin, who says it took about two hours to figure out the best method versus maybe 10 minutes of planning in a newer home.
"You can't get halfway through and be stumped," he notes. "You need to know [ahead of time] how you can get from Point A to Point B." In one case, he notes, Knightwatch had to run wires in two different directions for the living room and dining room, even though the two rooms are right beside one another in an open concept design. It might look simple, but these jobs can require a lot more than meets the eye.
But the pay-off can be tremendous. You can control everything through a single, intuitive app versus having to flip back and forth among several. You pay someone else to set it up for you, which means they're available for troubleshooting, can help expand or upgrade your system as needed, and can recommend devices that are seamless to integrate should you wish to later add to the system. You can also control and host everything locally: your security footage records to a local hard drive, not the cloud, thus reducing worry about privacy issues. Your speakers don't need to connect over a potentially unsecure wireless network: they're wired in, which can be more reliable as well.
On the other hand, some smart devices are truly plug-and-play, making the DIY model an attractive proposition, despite the trade-offs. Maybe you just want a few Sonos speakers around the house to play back music, a couple of app-controlled smart bulbs, a Nest thermostat, and an automatic garage door opener. Sure, all of the gear is controlled through different apps, but you might be OK with that. And the big advantage: it can cost far less money.
Once you get a taste and fully realize the benefits a smart home system can afford, forking over the dough to get that truly seamless experience is more easily justified.
Why Go Automated?
What's the point of all of this in the first place? Can't I just pull the string to open my blinds? Use the included remote to power on the AV equipment? And manually flick a light switch or crank my thermostat up or down a few degrees?
Perhaps the biggest misconception about the smart home is that it's about being "cool," impressing friends, and keeping up with the Joneses. Whatever the path to automation you take, the benefits go far beyond that.
Money savings: Nest says a programmable thermostat like its Learning Thermostat can actually help you save up to 20% on your utility bills each month, both because it can learn your habits and automatically adjust accordingly, and because you can remotely control it.
The same goes for lighting: being able to remotely turn off lights you forgot to power down before leaving for the day or a weekend can mean significant savings. Remember the geofencing feature I mentioned earlier?
Remote access & alerts/avoiding damages: Being able to access devices like your thermostat remotely can be a lifesaver. I had diligently (or so I thought) dropped the thermostat down to 65-degrees before going away for a week in January - coincidentally right when Toronto went into a deep freeze, hitting temperatures as low as -35 degrees Celsius. With an automated thermostat, which we did not yet have at that time, I could have remotely bumped the temperature up a few degrees. Instead, we arrived home to frozen pipes. Had the pipes burst, it would have cost far more than the $250 price tag of a Nest thermostat to fix.
Gear like security cameras and remote sensors can also help prevent damage, sending alerts for everything from potential water leaks, to intruders, or raccoons massacring your garden. This way, you can take preventative or actionable measures. D-Link Canada, for example, has a Wi-Fi Water Sensor that will alert you via smartphone or tablet and the mydlink app if it detects water. Naturally, you'd place it nearby a source of potential leaks, like by a washing machine, sump pump, or sink.
Safety: A security camera can provide peace-of-mind while you're away. It can also help you keep track of the kids, ensuring they arrive home from school on time, or that pets aren't sleeping on the furniture or rummaging through the garbage while you're at work.
As if calling for material for this article, I experienced an unfortunate car break in that our Wirepath security system caught on camera. I was able to scan the night's worth of footage to locate the incident, convert and save the file to a flash drive, and hand it over to the police.
Entertainment: Friends and family marvel at how, with the push of a button, we can fill the kitchen with tunes, or push music out to the back deck. With an automated system, you can easily toggle among sources, whether it's music from a streaming service like Spotify, an iTunes library stored on a hard drive, or even cable TV if you want to enjoy fun in the sun but still keep track of audio from the big game.
Style: Technology integration can be made to fit in with, and even enhance, a room's decor. An in-ceiling or rock speaker, for example, means you aren't using up valuable space - that's particularly important for smaller homes or condos where square footage is at a minimum.
Convenience: With a device like the Belkin WeMo Crockpot, you can set food to slow cook in the morning, then adjust the temperature based on your anticipated dinner time. If my husband was running late, for example, I could turn down the heat to draw cooking out a bit longer.
Saving Time: Let's face it - we all live busy lives, so any technology that can automate monotonous tasks is appreciated. Instead of having to spend a weekend vacuuming, you can set an automatic cleaner to have the carpeting and floors in pristine condition by the time you get home from work on Friday night, then use your weekend for family and friends activities. Rather than drive back home because you forgot to turn the basement lights off, or can't remember if you locked the garage door, you can do it remotely. You save not only the time it would take to turn the car around, but also on gas.
Reassurance: When we were away for a weekend, I was able to turn the porch light on each night to make it appear as though someone was there even though the house was empty. Any time I need reassurance that all is good, I just tap into the security cameras to get a clear view of the porch, driveway, backyard, and back door.
The Setup
Before discussing my experience, here's a breakdown of the automated gear in my home, and how it's set up.
On the main level is a 50" Samsung plasma TV, five Tannoy Arena Highline 500 speakers, three subwoofers, a Sony PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Xbox One in the living room; two Boston Acoustic speakers (kitchen), ClearAudio turntable and Cambre Audio LP shelf (dining room); a Pyle outdoor speaker/fountain, Rockustics Rocky Jr. Speaker, and two WirePath cameras (backyard). At the front are two more WirePath cameras and a Logenex Teleport doorbell. The iRobot Roomba is not tapped into the system but does run automatically on a schedule (or manually via button press) and is on the main level as well. Also on the main level is a Nest thermostat. It operates independent from the main system, but is integrated within the Lutron app, and the Dropcam in the basement.
On the upper level is a 55" Vizio TV and Mirage surround speakers (master bedroom) and a B&W in-wall speaker (bathroom); and in the basement is an in-ceiling Monitor Audio speaker in the office, a Nest camera (playroom), and the D-Link DCH-S160 Wi-Fi Water Sensor. A separate media room is wired for AV but was not yet complete in time for this article.
Everything is powered by gear housed in a Middle Atlantic RCS-4224 AV rack in the basement. This includes a pair of Bell Fibe TV set-top boxes, Marantz AV-7005 preamp and NR1605 network AV receiver, three Denon POA-2200 amplifiers, an Apple TV, two Western Digital media players, router, Apple Airport Extreme, Sonance multi-zone amplifier, Savant control system with pro host, Lutron Caseta Smart Bridge Pro, Wirepath Camera DVR, and a Monster power conditioner.
Throughout the home is Lutron Caseta lighting, including switches/dimmers, and Somfy motorized blinds using RTSII wireless control.
Most of the system, which was installed and programmed by Toronto-based Sound Designs, works seamlessly together, with the AV, lights, blinds, and cameras all accessible through the Savant app. And everything is wired.
In all, with all of the aforementioned equipment, labour, wiring, and programming, a set up like this one would cost somewhere in the $60,000 range. But automating a single room of a home could start at around $2,000, allowing you to upgrade and add to the system as needed, and potentially integrate gear you already own. The scope of the installation, specific gear desired, and state of the home (for example, old versus new; finished versus new construction) will impact the cost as well.
My Experience
It's always a good idea to map out where you want to put gear and get the prewiring work done beforehand - we began wiring the house before moving in late last year. While there have been a few programming snags and upgrades as we add gear, the process has been relatively smooth overall. That said, there are a few small, but important, real-world observations worth noting.
Let Me Entertain You: Audio/Video
I immediately realized that relying solely on a smartphone or tablet for AV control isn't feasible, unless you have a spare device dedicated to that purpose. We admittedly watch a lot of TV, and having to use smartphones or tablets exclusively to power the system on and off, change channels, and skip past commercials, became irritating. The battery would drain quickly, I'd have to stop what I was doing on my phone and re-open the app (or unlock my phone) every time I wanted to skip by a commercial or adjust volume. The experience just wasn't as satisfying as using traditional, tactile physical buttons. What's more, if you have guests, chances are you aren't going to want to hand them your phone so they can watch TV. So we added a Savant Universal Remote 500 for primetime TV viewing in the living room. It has also been programmed to control the lighting and blinds. Savant just introduced a really slick new Remote with a touch-screen interface, and the ability to control Sonos speakers, lighting, and accept voice commands, like "play Apple TV."
With music playback, we relied in large part on tunes saved to an iTunes library, or by streaming Spotify or Songza through the Apple TV. However, when entertaining, it made more sense to connect and stream through a laptop or tablet versus a smartphone - otherwise, if you're streaming from your phone and there's an incoming call, it will stop the music and ring through the house. You can get around this by turning off cell service, of course. But let's face it, who's going to do that?
Blinded By the Light: Lights & Blinds
Blinds, as noted, are also controlled through the Savant app, along with several Somfy remotes. One blind is programmed per "channel" (i.e. button) with four channels on each remote. I'd often forget which was which, having to toggle among them until I successfully activated the right one. Having the remotes is great for guests: imagine if they couldn't close the blinds in the guest bedroom because they didn't have access to the app! Otherwise, the app works as a great way to let some natural light in during the day, or close the shades at bedtime.
As noted, my favourite feature with Lutron Caseta lighting is geofencing, which lets you set a predefined perimeter to call "home." Once your phone (i.e. you) leaves that perimeter, all lights shut off automatically, and likewise, turn back on when you're back within range. The only downside: this feature isn't accessible in the Savant control app, which means you still have download the dedicated Lutron app and set it up there. I positioned them side-by-side on my phone to make things easy.
Lutron also recently added Siri control capability, allowing you to dictate commands audibly, like "turn off the master bedroom light." However, this required a new Lutron Smart Bridge, which we did not set up in time for this feature.
Big Brother: Security
Similar to the Lutron lighting, while all four outdoor security camera views are accessible from the Savant app, motion detection and detailed information can only be viewed from the WirePath app. That said, most of the time a live view while we were away was all that was necessary to ensure nothing was awry.
Placing the Nest camera in my son's playroom, we could keep an eye on him through the Nest app, and receive motion detection notifications, though these tended to come several times a day as the camera detected lights in other rooms being turned on, or even the sun shining through the window. Best of all, however, is the ability for remote viewing, and two-way communication. My husband could see our son in the playroom while he was at work, and have a conversation with him through the camera's speaker. You can sign up for cloud recording to view the camera feed at specific times, and even create time lapse videos.
While the Nest camera is not integrated with the main system, it is integrated with the Nest thermostat, which can also be accessed and controlled through the Lutron app. With a program called IFTTT (If This Then That), you can program similar triggers between other compatible smart home devices. For example, you could pair a Misfit Shine 2 activity and sleep tracker with a Nest thermostat so that it adjusts the home to your ideal temperature in sync with when you wake up. Or, you can double or triple tap the tracker's face to control music playback from streaming services like Spotify.
The Heat is On: Temperature
The Nest thermostat was super-easy to install: we popped out the old thermostat, snapped a photo of the wires and sent them to the customer service address, and they confirmed how to connect. Then voila! Use Nest Sense to allow the remote to gradually learn your habits and adjust the temperature accordingly throughout the day, or turn this feature off and adjust manually. An Auto-Away feature can detect when you're not home and put the thermostat into a predefined "away" temperature to conserve energy.
With Google's growing Works With Nest program, more and more devices will work with the thermostat to allow for a truly smart home experience that combines temperature with other aspects of your daily life. For example, the Nest thermostat already works with certain LG appliances to notice when you're away and put the refrigerator into energy savings mode, or alert you if you left the oven on.
Swept Away: Cleaning
Every piece of automation technology has a creepy factor, but a vacuum that scoots across your floors on its own, sneakily traveling under your furniture and emerging like a little alien life form, takes the cake.
Indeed, the iRobot Roomba 880 almost looks like a flying saucer. Set up is super-easy: plug in the dock, set it down on the charger, and wait until the green light indicates a full charge. Then, just press the "clean" button, and Roomba will do its thing, gliding along the floors, analyzing the room, and cleaning. It will get under couches and furniture (it easily fit under our beds, couch, and dining room buffet), disappearing stealthily as it picks up dust and debris, and unearths lost toys or papers that mysteriously ended up there. After a thorough clean, it will diligently head back to its base. It can sense things like stairs and objects in its way, though it may have trouble with particularly dark objects: it seemed insistent on running into a pair of speaker stands in the bedroom, for example, likely due to their dark, black bases.
To truly automate this process, you can set Roomba on a schedule so it will clean every week, for example, at a time when you're not at home. The kit also comes with a pair of Virtual Wall Lighthouses that you can place to set up a perimeter, if you want it to keep out of a particular room, or area of a room, for example. Or, there's the new Roomba 980, which can be triggered to begin cleaning from a smartphone app.
In Control: The Savant app
I started off using the Savant TrueControl II app (v. 7.2.1), but later switched to the new Savant app (v. 7.2.1). While it boasts a much sleeker and sexier look, it takes some getting used to. With Bell Fibe TV, in particular, the swipe motion for navigating on-screen menus can be finicky, scrolling through three or four PVR recordings, or selecting one, for example, when you just want to move to the next one in line.
The best part about the app is the ability to snap photos to identify each room and "zone" to go along with the text labels versus generic icons. View all rooms in a line list, or select a room then swipe left and right to scroll through them. Once in the desired room, tap on the photo or the top right icon to bring up the menu, where you can activate a command, whether it's to turn on the TV, lights, shades, or view security footage. For my master bedroom, for example, options include Shades, Security, Apple TV, Cable TV, Western Digital hard drive, iTunes, and Chromecast.
On the top, right is the "now playing" button, which you can press to control playback, including turning something off, skipping music tracks, or adjusting volume. And you can choose to control the source in just the room you're in, or in all rooms. If I have music playing throughout the home, for example, and want to only turn it off upstairs once my son has gone to bed, I can do that here through one page versus skipping back and forth from room to room.
The workday music scene discussed at the beginning of this article was set up through this app. The easiest way to do this: once the desired devices and settings are in place, click My Scenes from the main menu, tap New Scene, then simply Capture current settings. Name the scene (I called that one "Christine's workday.") If desired, you can set the scene to activate on a schedule, as I did. Common scenes might include Morning, Bedtime, Party, or Home From Work. You can also manually create a new scene, though that setup isn't quite as intuitive, and can be complicated if you have a lot of gear. It's best to have your actions in mind ahead of time and have a programmer/installer do it for you.
Going Smart
It used to be that smart homes were reserved for the upper class, and uber tech-savvy. But the reality today is that smart homes are accessible to, and desired by, just about everyone. Can you relate to any of the benefits noted above?
What's more, it's often the least tech savvy folks that can really appreciate being able to push a single button to easily trigger a number of activities, or the time-constrained families who could use the extra time and money savings that automated gear can afford. The smart home is quickly becoming a reality. How will you get on board?