Gauging interest in home automation news and product reviews

[Camden Krupala]

First a quick introduction: 

My name is Camden Krupala. I'm a relatively new News Reporter here at Neowin. I'm currently studying as an electrical engineering student. I have a number of hobbies two of which are major interests in the IoT and Home Automation space. This brings me to my poll. Would more news focused on home automation hardware and software be of interest to people here? 

This could be anything from reviews and news on hardware, such as connected light bulbs, hubs, and even robotic vacuum cleaners. Of course, as we tend to focus on Microsoft related news, many will be compatible with the Windows ecosystem. If this interests you or if there is something in this general topic that interests you, please check out the poll, comment, and let your opinion be heard! 

Thanks everyone! 

[wiretap]

I'd like to see more of it. I'm running Ubiquiti UniFi Video on my Windows server, and I'm thinking of expanding to their mFi system for more home automation. (pool pump/heater control, motion detection, lighting, garage door opener, etc) This topic area is going to be huge in the next 10 years with all of the low power integrated devices that can be used for home automation.

[compl3x]

What are the chances of some introductions and/or tutorials to home automation? 

 

It falls into the realm of tech, and it seems to be a serious deal in the tech news sphere so Neowin would be remiss if they didn't cover it.

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

I think we'll see some over-extension in ideas (like we saw in the dot com bubble, people thought everything was The Future). We really don't need the stupid ideas like turning on a dryer. That is completely not worth the cost. Controlling the thermostat, for example, would be a nice remote use. Ideas to RFID things in your pantry or fridge that makes shopping lists... needlessly complex.

[Camden Krupala]

What are the chances of some introductions and/or tutorials to home automation? 

 

It falls into the realm of tech, and it seems to be a serious deal in the tech news sphere so Neowin would be remiss if they didn't cover it.

 

I think we can definitely work out some tutorial style articles focused on home automation and general life automation such as IFTTT. Maybe even feature a helpful recipe every week.

As for hardware, I have a number of different products: Assorted Philips Hue Lights, Nest Thermostat and Camera, Sonos system, SmartThings, Insteon, and an Amazon Echo. So there is a sizeable start for discussion and (hopefully!) helpful integration tips.

Of course, as I reside in an apartment there will be some things such as sprinkler systems and garage doors that I won't be able to cover, as cool as these sound to me.

I think we'll see some over-extension in ideas (like we saw in the dot com bubble, people thought everything was The Future). We really don't need the stupid ideas like turning on a dryer. That is completely not worth the cost. Controlling the thermostat, for example, would be a nice remote use. Ideas to RFID things in your pantry or fridge that makes shopping lists... needlessly complex.

 

I agree that it's easy to get lost in the Home Automation craze, I'll attempt to keep to the more practical integrations. Something like remote thermostat control and basic automation is something we could cover.

Silly things like how to embed water detection sensors in your entire home's carpet to notify you when your pet has an accident we will avoid.

[wiretap]

Silly things like how to embed water detection sensors in your entire home's carpet to notify you when your pet has an accident we will avoid.

Water sensors are an excellent idea though, especially in the northern states where you get freezing weather in the winter. I can't tell you how many times I've had friends go on vacation and they came back to $5000+ in damage because they had a line burst and flood their basement after their furnace went out. If they had a water sensor that could have texted them the moment it happened, it could have saved them a lot of ruined property. (i.e. send another family member to shut your water off for you) Now I usually shut the water off if I leave for more than 3 days, which isn't always convenient or you might forget. I'm doing a project right now with a Raspberry Pi and a few water sensors to mitigate this in the future.

[Camden Krupala]

Water sensors are an excellent idea though, especially in the northern states where you get freezing weather in the winter. I can't tell you how many times I've had friends go on vacation and they came back to $5000+ in damage because they had a line burst and flood their basement after their furnace went out. If they had a water sensor that could have texted them the moment it happened, it could have saved them a lot of ruined property. (i.e. send another family member to shut your water off for you) Now I usually shut the water off if I leave for more than 3 days, which isn't always convenient or you might forget. I'm doing a project right now with a Raspberry Pi and a few water sensors to mitigate this in the future.

 

Of course! Definitely didn't want to discount the importance of leak detection. In my home in South Texas we actually had a leak in one of the bathrooms which flooded the entire section of the house. Had to completely re-carpet the house, thankfully there was no damage to the dry wall. Luckily, we caught it after returning home from work no more than 5 hours after it happened. Definitely wish we had invested in some sort of system though, would have saved us a lot of trouble.

Always awesome to hear about projects our forum members are working on. Maybe one day I'll be buying or making one of your projects for my own home.