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I'd like the ability to switch a few things (mainly an immersion heater and a socket with an oil filled rad connected) on and off remotely at a property with wifi and broadband.
I'm aware of X10 but that seems a bit old and doesn't seem to give confirmation of whether a command has been carried out or not (which could be expensive). Anyone used Belkin WeMo?
Any other good alternatives?
😯
ask the wife?
add an IP webcam to see if it really turned on?
X10 is alright only because it's cheap! It is fairly reliable but definitely not 100%. I use it with a Logitech Harmony remote to control lighting at home. I wouldn't feel comfortable using it for anything I couldn't see working due to the lack of feedback. By the time you've sodded about setting up cameras, etc you'd be better off getting a more reliable system with feedback I'd have thought.
there's loads of new ideas on home automation on kickstarter, but I neve know how far they are away from delivering.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plugaway/plugaway-your-smart-home-on-your-smart-phone
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smartthings/smartthings-make-your-world-smarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/energyaware/neurio-home-intelligence
add an IP webcam to see if it really turned on?
You're an engineer, aren't you 🙂
Is this you?
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I use the LightwaveRF stuff (Screwfix sell it).
No feedback channel like the Logitech stuff but works OK.
Use use it with relays for my garage door, boiler etc.
Having looked at home automation I've come to the conclusion that the market is just not mature enough to make a good decision on what "standard" to buy - there are a lot of Betamax systems out there and [u]possibly[/u] one VHS. It is a shame - I would love to set something up that monitored/switched/fedback the status of various items in my house right now.
Yes used Wemo, cheap and cheerful but does the job, there are several IFTTT recipes people have made too.
It was the IFTTT recipes that alerted me to WeMo in the first place.
I should qualify my enquiry by stating that the property is a holiday home 100 miles away - so the 'wife' option won't work!
Tridium JACE?
100 miles away
Second wife?
It's a thought Clubber!
WeMo here too - and I'm currently sat at home waiting for my friendly local polish plumber to come and finish connecting my new Heatmiser controller.
The WeMo doesn't even need you to mess with the router or use a dynamic IP service, it must call home to report the IP address itself. Very clever!
Home Automation is getting better all the time although I was at a meeting last week, where some of the Vailant techies were com paining that when they rolled out their app for trial, 99% of its use was from the sofa .
😆
Second wife?
Even the most deluxe failsafe remote system would be cheaper than that option.
Adopt a 3rd world child? Cheaper than a second wife...
just bought an automatic door for the henhouse.
trickle down technology from the space program