High Tech House Input

[TallTom]

So I am ripping into this old house I bought, and thought what better time to add some tech gadgetry to it.

Like everything else, this stuff changes at lightning speeds these days. So I thought I'd throw out any inputs for some tech stuff to put into upgrading a houses capabilities and features. Like for instance, I know that they have remote operated locks now. Of course all can be accessed by Apps. And the new Nest thermostats. But I am sort of getting interested in the whole house ideas. 5 years ago installing computer jacks in all the rooms was all gee whiz stuff. Now wireless make that pretty much past tense.

I'm already going to do combo USB and standard outlet plug ins. Cheap and easy "cool" feature to add everywhere in the house where there is a receptacle.

I'm starting to explore the LED light options. They are energy efficient for one and now they are going Wi-Fi to make cool lighting effects easy.

Old incandescent bulbs are obsoleted by law, so LED will start to be the new norm.

I am sort of interested in a complete home monitoring system along this line.

Whole Home | Control4

Unless it cost a fortune that is never resold for the price paid. But if it adds a WOW factor, for not a lot of money, it often makes a house have a stand out feature that the others don't have.

Inputs welcomed. I feel out of touch with what is current, affordable, not impossible to install etc.

 

[omslaw]

Also take a look at Wink: Wink | A Simpler Way to a Smarter Home

You buy the $50 hub (you can get Wink at Home Depot) and then it connects to different things; door locks, garage door, lights, switches, etc. Wink doesn't have any monthly monitoring fee; just buy the gear and attach it up.

 

[fallenarch]

There are 2 levels of "smart" houses. There is "smart" in the sense of controls (i.e. Locks, thermostats) and then there is "Smart" in terms of sustainability. On the energy side there are high performance insulations, high performance mechanical systems, and as you sort of hit on there are lower draw electronics like LED lighting (most of the power consumption in incandescent lights comes from the heat they generate). Then there is power generation, such as wind mills or solar panels. There is passive solar such as sun screens, thermal mass, and geothermal (not totally passive generally). Geo-thermal heat pumps perform well in the proper climates and solar water heaters do well also. Of course low water usage plumbing fixtures are good too. You can even use a gray water storage system for the toilets. Some people are putting urinals in houses now because of the significantly less water they use.

Another one that many miss is high efficiency irrigation systems. These use cisterns to collect gray water (rainwater) for non-potable use like irrigation or gardens. Also irrigation systems are drip systems that sprinkle underground rather than spraying it into the air where 1/2 of it either hits a building or evaporates before even hitting the ground. The also have smart controls that can sprinkle only when needed by tracking rain and weather. These are going to get big as water shortages hit the southwest harder. Another thing people forget is a generator for those power outages. A good generator that can switch over quick enough to not reboot all the "smart" in your house will save a lot of irritation.

Inside is pretty simple now as everything can be done post construction/framing with WIFI. You can control just about anything that has a switch. A pretty simple one is occupancy sensors for lights so they come on and more importantly go off automatically. At the high end is automated solar controls and condition sensitive HVAC controls.

 

[TallTom]

Also take a look at Wink: Wink | A Simpler Way to a Smarter Home

You buy the $50 hub (you can get Wink at Home Depot) and then it connects to different things; door locks, garage door, lights, switches, etc. Wink doesn't have any monthly monitoring fee; just buy the gear and attach it up.

Pretty cool right there. Not crazy about needing a cell phone to control temps etc. as in "No other choice" but definitely cool technology. I love the TapT

 

[TallTom]

There are 2 levels of "smart" houses. There is "smart" in the sense of controls (i.e. Locks, thermostats) and then there is "Smart" in terms of sustainability. On the energy side there are high performance insulations, high performance mechanical systems, and as you sort of hit on there are lower draw electronics like LED lighting (most of the power consumption in incandescent lights comes from the heat they generate). Then there is power generation, such as wind mills or solar panels. There is passive solar such as sun screens, thermal mass, and geothermal (not totally passive generally). Geo-thermal heat pumps perform well in the proper climates and solar water heaters do well also. Of course low water usage plumbing fixtures are good too. You can even use a gray water storage system for the toilets. Some people are putting urinals in houses now because of the significantly less water they use.

Another one that many miss is high efficiency irrigation systems. These use cisterns to collect gray water (rainwater) for non-potable use like irrigation or gardens. Also irrigation systems are drip systems that sprinkle underground rather than spraying it into the air where 1/2 of it either hits a building or evaporates before even hitting the ground. The also have smart controls that can sprinkle only when needed by tracking rain and weather. These are going to get big as water shortages hit the southwest harder. Another thing people forget is a generator for those power outages. A good generator that can switch over quick enough to not reboot all the "smart" in your house will save a lot of irritation.

Inside is pretty simple now as everything can be done post construction/framing with WIFI. You can control just about anything that has a switch. A pretty simple one is occupancy sensors for lights so they come on and more importantly go off automatically. At the high end is automated solar controls and condition sensitive HVAC controls.

Yes smart as in whats practical for the market. We get PLENTY of rain here and the yard is huge, so I think I can let things like irrigation slide. Solar is interesting and I do want to explore that a bit. Tesla says they have the new MacDaddy battery for solar applications.

But mostly what I can do the living quarters that makes the house nicer without pricing in the No ROI aspects.

I am installing new seals on all the top plates in the attic. There are 2 attic spaces. One is meant as walk in storage and the other I just blew all new insulation in. I am also going to install a temp controlled exhaust fans to suck heat out of those space in high heat months.