Recommendation Needed: Best house management system

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  • JohnSmith01
    • Oct 2014
    • 1

    Recommendation Needed: Best house management system

    I found a few interesting smart home products, but cannot figure out what system works well. Read some reviews, but those were more advertisements then reviews.
    Can anybody on this forum advice or share their experience with these systems?
    The systems I came accross:
    - Smartthings
    - intraHouse Home automation
    - Revolv
    - Qivicon
    - Home Wizard
    Thanks.
  • Vangelis
    Automated Home Guru
    • Sep 2009
    • 131

    #2
    Depends if you want a dedicated system or one based on sofware (running on a 24/7 PC)?

    All of your list seems to be dedicated hardware, albeit based on standard protocols (Zwave / ZigBee)

    However, from recollection...

    intraHouse appears to be based in the UAE - Might struggle with support / parts
    Revolv has just been bought by Nest - Might struggle with your data being on the Internet

    You've missed off Fibaro HC2 (however thats getting a bit of a slating on the forums right now), also Loxone (which appears quite flexible)

    If you want something to work out of the box with little config, then go with dedicated hardware. However if you want to tinker with it and have it do exactly what you want it to do (bespoke requirements), then Software based is the way to go.

    Whichever you go with, make sure it has a good, supported API, as that will allow flexibility moving forwards.

    Vangelis

    Comment

    • kemik
      Automated Home Lurker
      • Jun 2014
      • 3

      #3
      Also depends on your budget I was also going to say look at Loxone but also take a look at Control4

      Comment

      • toscal
        Moderator
        • Oct 2005
        • 2061

        #4
        Loxone is very good just installing one at the moment. Programming it isn't for everyone though, but the tutorials on the website are very good and the loxone forum is excellent. The smartphone app and webpages are built automatically based on what you have told the Loxone miniserver is connected and how it works.
        IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
        Renovation Spain Blog

        Comment

        • JeremyOlm
          Automated Home Lurker
          • Dec 2014
          • 5

          #5
          When my estate agent brought me for a few viewings, I had in mind the system I wanted for that particular house and whether or not it would be suitable once I have moved in. The entire decision has to depend on your preference and the specifications and features that the system has got to offer to you. If you think it suits your needs and what you are looking for with an affordable price, then by all means stick to it.
          Jeremy Olm

          Comment

          • MichaelD
            Automated Home Guru
            • Mar 2006
            • 167

            #6
            But recognise that what you think you need today won't be what you need in a year or two when your priorities change.

            Go for systems that have been around a while, and get good reviews, they are likely to be ones that survive a few years more. If you invest heavily in something very new, there is every chance it will fold in a year or so, leaving you with something unsupportable.

            Comment

            • TimH
              Automated Home Legend
              • Feb 2004
              • 509

              #7
              Originally posted by JohnSmith01 View Post
              I found a few interesting smart home products, but cannot figure out what system works well. Read some reviews, but those were more advertisements then reviews.
              Can anybody on this forum advice or share their experience with these systems?
              The systems I came accross:
              A few more systems here:


              There are also write-ups in this site of peoples' installs, e.g. Chris Hunter's Idratek system (Part 1 of 3 here: http://www.wordpress-1219309-4387497...me-part-1.html).
              Search the site to find relevant reviews, you'll soon spot whether the write-up is an advert or a real user's system

              HTH,
              Tim.
              My Flickr Photos

              Comment

              • TimH
                Automated Home Legend
                • Feb 2004
                • 509

                #8
                Originally posted by JeremyOlm View Post
                When my estate agent brought me for a few viewings, I had in mind the system I wanted for that particular house and whether or not it would be suitable once I have moved in. The entire decision has to depend on your preference and the specifications and features that the system has got to offer to you. If you think it suits your needs and what you are looking for with an affordable price, then by all means stick to it.
                Hi Jeremy,

                You raise an interesting point - were you considering different automation systems based on the type of house you were viewing?
                Can you expand on that a bit more? (i.e. pros/cons of systems vs. houses)

                Cheers,
                Tim.
                My Flickr Photos

                Comment

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