Hi guys
I hope everyone is having a great day. I figured this might be the place to get answers regarding our ‘Fusion home’. In a nutshell, my partner and I left the ‘real world’ and have been volunteering in the rainforest for the last 3 years at a place called ‘Finca Bellavista’. It’s a beautiful jungle paradise were we all live in trees - thats the short version.
During that time we have been designing our dream home, again I will keep it short. It’s designed to be completely off grid and to never cost us money (this is the short dream scenario version of the story). It is built of long lasting products, photovoltaic solar system. home biogas, superscreen, wood composite etc etc. Imagine the best of both worlds - the modern infused with the jungle, outside is paradise while inside is techy and comfortable. You can view more of it on the ‘Fusion Home blog6’
I’m going to get to the point here…HGTV is filming the construction of the home, woohoo!!! We start construction in 2 weeks and are estimating the build to take 4 months. During that time we have to find the coolest smart home system that is going to work seamlessly.
This is what I have sourced so far (but I have heard openHAB might have a better solution)
I’m going to pre-apologise for my ignorance once again when it comes to this tech stuff. I am finally coming terms with the INSTEON and Z-wave stuff and have made some great connections leading to some great solutions.
So far I have confirmed that the ISY994iz. will work as our hub and do so off-line, which is great news! I’ve also confirmed that the MobiLinc app will allow us to control the INSTEON (I think thats what we are leaning towards) products via a standard router and again we will not have to be online.
My plan (to date) is to install the INSTEON products during construction, meaning it will be hard wired into the mains. I’m still looking into it but it seems I can do this with some of their products. The house will be lived in by myself and partner and when we are away it will go in a home exchange so I’m not worried about checking in online (although if possible one day I will). I do want to pick up the wifi but from what I have read I need an Ethernet cable to plug into the hub. For now I just plan to pick up the wifi and use the smart home system internally.
Does anyone know if this means I can still use the cameras over the local network? Does anyone know if I’m limited to anything other than push notification, online access etc?
We hope to have motion lights for the bathrooms, ability to make sure all the appliances are off, control the blinds (So far I have decided on these guys -https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/move-motorize-blinds-and-shades#/), cameras for wildlife (if they work - night vision would be cool), door sensors etc (I’m still researching).
I think we are making headway, we still have time to perfect it before its time to put it on the show.
Thank you everyone for you input, any advice, tips are greatly appreciated!
Pura Vida!