Whose using home automation in the garage or shop?

[sberry]

Another reason why I like Z-Wave over WiFi devices

All of my IOT (VOIP, etc) are on there only dedicated subnet and I am using pfSense as a router

Like this,, ha

 

[iowa4x4dieselman]

Nice thread, really shows what you can do.

So far i only have myq, leviton switches, and a BT blind for a hard to reach window that operates on a schedule.

Leviton switches have to be my favorite, as you can set schedules. I have it turn on all outside lights at a specified brightness from dusk to dawn.

 

[pgray007]

My other "stupid trick" that gets a good "wow" is that I can gin up the whole home theater... lights dim, screen drops down from the ceiling, window shades close, AV turns on, etc. I was going to add a "Pre-roll" video with "welcome to our theater" but wife thought it was too cheezy.

 

[lilscorpion]

In the dust collection system, the soft start valve prevents the gates from slamming when the system is pressurized. This is the true purpose of the soft start valves. I liked them so much I added to my main header and my milling machine. I build systems to be as hands off as possible. The dust collection system only has two user controls - a main power switch that powers up the system and energizes the soft start valve and a remote control to turn the cyclone off once it's running. Zero user interaction to line up dust collection to a tool or start the cyclone. Turning on a tool takes care of all of that. Same with the CNC router, it controls dust on it's own.



On the mill, when the control is powered up, the soft start is energized, making air available to the draw bar and accessory air blow nozzle.

Just ordered a soft start valve from Automation Direct. Gonna play with it.

What are you using for contractor switches for your 2 phase motors? I have a phase converter that I have to power up before I can start up my lathe and mill. I’m thinking about using one of the 110v outputs in my GCode to fire an automation task on cycle start that starts the phase converter, then fires the mill motor, then hold for operator confirmation at the console, then runs the program. On end, the power would stop initiating the shutdown sequence for the mill, then the power converter.

The lathe would be more less valuable because it’s not CNC - it would simply be a push if the button that initiated an automation task that starts the phase converter, then turns on the lathe. Push button again, shutdown.

I also have an air dryer that only drains when pressure drops below a certain PSI. A dump valve draining the feed hose when I shut off the shop lights would work perfectly.

A lot of neat ideas now, thanks for sharing yours (if you got more, let ‘em rip!!).

 

[lilscorpion]

My other "stupid trick" that gets a good "wow" is that I can gin up the whole home theater... lights dim, screen drops down from the ceiling, window shades close, AV turns on, etc. I was going to add a "Pre-roll" video with "welcome to our theater" but wife thought it was too cheezy.

BS, that’s pimp. You should totally do it. I just figured out how to control my Onkyo receiver today so I should be able to do the same type of setup less the screen dropping...mines permanently attached to the wall.

What projector do you have? Mine pre-dates automation (and the wheel I think).

 

[pgray007]

BS, that’s pimp. You should totally do it. I just figured out how to control my Onkyo receiver today so I should be able to do the same type of setup less the screen dropping...mines permanently attached to the wall.

What projector do you have? Mine pre-dates automation (and the wheel I think).

I have a JVC (I think) 4K United but just control via s Harmony hub using the HomeSeer plugin. Basically let’s me automate anything the Harmony can talk to. Theoretically the projector has an API of some sort, but good old IR seemed easier than reverse engineering it since I don’t think there’s a HomeSeer plugin.

I have had reasonable luck with Nodered and MQTT for things that don’t have a native HomeSeer plugin, but it gets a bit time consuming.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lilscorpion]

I have a JVC (I think) 4K United but just control via s Harmony hub using the HomeSeer plugin. Basically let’s me automate anything the Harmony can talk to. Theoretically the projector has an API of some sort, but good old IR seemed easier than reverse engineering it since I don’t think there’s a HomeSeer plugin.

I have had reasonable luck with Nodered and MQTT for things that don’t have a native HomeSeer plugin, but it gets a bit time consuming.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hadn’t even considered using IR....brilliant.
I’m going to try that. Awesome.

 

[pgray007]

Hadn’t even considered using IR....brilliant.
I’m going to try that. Awesome.

The Harmony hub thing is pretty cool. Remote is very usable for the family, and you can also use it to integrate devices with Homeseer, and kick off events based on things that happen on Harmony.

For example when someone hits the "Watch Movie" button on Harmony, homeseer captures this and dims the lights. I can then detect when my Plex server starts or pauses a movie, and use that to dim/off the lights.

I even use this integration to unroll my movie screen once a week if it hasn't been used to it doesn't wrinkle. Homeseer tracks whether the "Watch Movie" button has been pressed, and if it hasn't all week does an unroll at 3AM once each week.

Now if only I could get automation to clean the popcorn maker...

 

[Bigbandguy]

My other "stupid trick" that gets a good "wow" is that I can gin up the whole home theater... lights dim, screen drops down from the ceiling, window shades close, AV turns on, etc. I was going to add a "Pre-roll" video with "welcome to our theater" but wife thought it was too cheezy.

Not only should you do that but also one of the old theater advertisements for "popcorn and treats in the lobby" for intermission. Some of those were really cheezy!

 

[slodat]

I even use this integration to unroll my movie screen once a week if it hasn't been used to it doesn't wrinkle. Homeseer tracks whether the "Watch Movie" button has been pressed, and if it hasn't all week does an unroll at 3AM once each week.

Along these lines.. the true power of HomeSeer is how you can accomplish things the manufacturer never intended. For example. Ecobee thermostats (which I highly recommend over the others) have a minimum temperature setting of 45F. I have an ecobee in my storage building. I only want to keep the building above freezing. I have events in HS setup such that when the ecobee's temperature shows 38F to turn the ecobee from "OFF" to "ON". Once on, the ecobee's set temp is 45F and the heat turns on. Once HS sees temp at 41F, it turns the mode to "OFF" again.. as in the heat can not run. This means I don't pay for the electricity to maintain the building at 45F. Also, in the winter months, I bring the temperature up to 75F for two hours to help keep things dried out. Seems to have worked well.

A few years ago GJ peeps started reporting issue with Chamberlain garage door opener wall control panels failing and opening the door out of the blue. People were waking up with their doors open over night. I installed ZWave receptacles to power all of my openers. Now, they are powered down every night, automatically. In my case I manually turn them on when I need them. It would be just as easy to automatically power them up in the morning if that's what you wanted. I have an end of day event that ensures everything is how I want it at the end of the day. My geofence then starts things up when I get to the shop. Zero interaction in that case.

 

[Denwood]

The Harmony hub thing is pretty cool. Remote is very usable for the family, and you can also use it to integrate devices with Homeseer, and kick off events based on things that happen on Harmony.

For example when someone hits the "Watch Movie" button on Harmony, homeseer captures this and dims the lights. I can then detect when my Plex server starts or pauses a movie, and use that to dim/off the lights.

I even use this integration to unroll my movie screen once a week if it hasn't been used to it doesn't wrinkle. Homeseer tracks whether the "Watch Movie" button has been pressed, and if it hasn't all week does an unroll at 3AM once each week.

Now if only I could get automation to clean the popcorn maker...

Aside from the shop automation (dust collector management, overhead door management, Security etc) our home has pretty much every light, HVAC, Etc system automated. Perhaps most important is the Water Cop and 8 Zigbee sensors that shut the main water feed off if any leaks are detected. Our city experimented with sodium hydroxide to reduce lead levels with the result that many pinhole leaks are being reported in homes with copper plumbing. Had our first leak two days ago :-(

Harmony also plays nicely with Smartthings and does a great job of automating the lighting system and components in our theater. There are several amps, subs, LED accent lights, motorized screen and a wall mounted display..even the fireplace is tied into the harmony remote. It’s an excellent system that makes all the tech manageable for my wife and daughters.

 

[andyvh1959]

Guess I really am an old fart. I can see adding something like Ring or Simplisafe for some added security other than motion sensor lights. Beyond that I'm fine being manual. I will not have an Alexa or similar type device in my home or shop.