Smart Home Questions

[Vince, Pt. II]

Has anyone here integrated smart home technology at all? If so, what do you think of it, and how much troubleshooting have you had to do with it post-installation?

I bought my roommate an Amazon Echo a year ago, and we use the crap out of it, but haven't tied it in to any of our lighting or other electronics. I'm considering setting my dad up with an Echo for his living room, bringing together the lights and his entertainment center (TV, PS4, Apple TV) as well. I know he'd love it. My worry, however, is that he's definitely not a do-it-yourself kind of person. So if anything breaks, ever, I will have to go over there to fix it. I really, really don't want him to be calling me every week to go fix his stuff.

[Peregrine]

Is it easy to set up the Echo to control TV, Apple TV etc? I've been considering getting one but didn't know it could do all that.

[Vince, Pt. II]

You need to add a hub that can link capable devices; I'm looking at the Harmony Hub for that. It's a fairly complex system in terms of set-up, but I don't mind the front end work - I can do all that just fine. I just wonder if something breaks down, will his whole system be shot until I go fix it? How often can I expect it to break down?

[DanGarion]

Yes I have. I have a Smarthings and do some various things with it with lighting. Main thing is turn on my outside lights outside from dusk to dawn. I also recently connected a new sprinkler controller, but I haven't done much with it yet since it rains enough I don't need to use water for another month or so.