A small step towards smart home (smart bulb)

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My home automation:
1. RadioThermostat (6 WiFi thermostats). No hubs required. When you are home on same network, you control the Thermostat DIRECTLY on phone or tablet, not via Web. Almost all the WiFi thermostats I've seen don't have this Local Direct-Control feature.
2. Chamberlain WiFi light switches (about 30 of them). Requires a $50 hub.
3. Chamberlain WiFi garage door openers (3 openers).
4. Schlage Keyless locks (6 locks) - but these are not WiFi. They will lock automatically when the door is closed. So I don't have to wonder if the doors are locked. As long they are closed, they will lock automatically.
5. Security Cameras - 4 main cameras (to view the 4 entrances/exits of the house) connected to DVR recording. The rest are cheaper DLink WiFi webcams.
6. Security Alarm - this one is not WiFi controlled. All manual.
7. Exterior lights all around house are set on automatic timer.
8. Sprinkler System - of course these are set to automatic.

 

[pewternhrata]

Yeah, smart thermostats are hard to choice. Lots of decent options. Honeywells are certainly in the running, but for now my heart is set on Ecobee. I forgot who here's got one, but he mentioned that there is feature of turning of ventilator (without heat/cold) every 10 mins - I think that alone could be a huge deal. Obviously It must be able to automatically switch heat/cold systems.
I recently played with few of these toys in local home depot. Again ecobee seemed to be better made (materials and design) than others.

And you're spot on with Nest - I don't particularly care for drifting temps or vague imprecise settings. Plus again - without cloud it would be a paperweight.

I have the ecobee3 lite, almost wish I returned for the regular version, but it was $100 more. The remote sensors seem like it would be worth it (upstairs at times will be around 10 degrees different) I decided to keep the lite due to the fact I can set just the fan (without heat or a/c) to run anywhere from 0-55 mins per hour. A little adjusting of the vents and the fan to run 25mins and I now have maybe a 2 degree difference between floors. I've noticed my bill, no joke, an easy 25% less from last yr (3 months so far)
I like the idea of the sensors, I could set the baby's room as most important, or family room, ect. But I thought it would cause the heat or ac to run more by constantly changing what room I wanted as priority.
I also like how it adjusts to my house, how long it takes to heat up, how long it holds heat, the same for a/c, it seems like a very good and efficient system.