My sister just bought a house with WiFi enabled light switches, thermostat and a video door bell. It's pretty cool. You need WiFi for all of the remote stuff and video; but the switches all work manually as well. I think I'm going to do this. Any ideas on how to sync the flood lights up with some cameras?
There are a lot of emerging options and most appliances can be smart devices these days as well. For instance, you open your fridge, see you're low on milk, so you hit the milk button on the fridge's homescreen and it texts you whenever you're at a grocery store. Lots of stuff like that- preheat your oven from the car, put your clothes on a spin cycle in the dryer from work, etc. They call it the Internet of Things (IoT) and within the next 5-10 years, everything will have a microchip in it to interact with our devices.
Are you using Google Home or Amazon Echo? There are a wide variety of devices that are compatible and that you can control via voice and remote or phone app now. For flood lights and cameras, motion detector activated devices have been around for good while.
I have a Google home, hue lights, a WiFi door lock a nest thermostat and a GPS on Tony's horse and carriage that let's me know when he leaves the farm. I also have android auto in my car so it's all connected, pretty slick.
I'm not interested in all of the bells and whistles that some of you guys are talking about, but I'm building a house and will be able to get broadband for the first time this summer. Well, the first time since early 2005. (my only option is Comcast). Are there any recommendations that you guys would make for starting from scratch to get a good system that works properly? It will be a 3 bedroom house with most of the living area on the main floor, a small upstairs that will be mostly for my kids, and a full basement where I'll watch sports and play video games.
