My smart home after 5 years, and what I'd change
We bought our house in February of 2021, did a bunch of renovations, and moved in that March. Since then I’ve added a lot of smart stuff to it, 19 things if you count the solar and the batteries. The Ring doorbell came with the house, and the rest I added over time.
I went through all of it and asked myself three things about each one: what do we actually use it for, would I buy it again, and if I were starting over, what would I do differently. Most of it I’d buy again, but I’ll start with what I’d change.
The whole house is on the site as my home, and every device below links to its specs.
What I’d change
Solar panels
When we got solar, the system was sized off three or four months of our electric use, and that was a mistake. Three or four months doesn’t tell you what a whole year looks like, especially with an electric car and a pool. I needed a full year of usage before getting panels, so I’d know what we really use. I have 25 panels, and I probably need another 5 to 10.
Here in Southern California, where the panels go matters too, because 4 to 9 p.m. is the crux of things. In the summer it’s hot and you’re still running the AC, but you’re not producing as much solar anymore. A couple more panels on the front of my house would catch more of that afternoon sun.
The loan is the other thing I’d redo. The guy sold me on a “0%” rate, and I paid to buy the rate down when there was no reason to.
The two Powerwalls help a lot. In the springtime I can go almost months without touching the grid, because there’s plenty of sun and it’s not too warm yet. I tried to write a script to manage them better when rain or clouds are coming, and it didn’t work out, so that’s still on my list. (Solar, Tesla Powerwall 2.)
Heating the house
My Lennox heat pump went in in December of 2024, and for cooling it’s been absolutely amazing. When they were installing it, they asked if I wanted to run a gas line up to where the new system sits, so I could keep heating with gas. They quoted me a few thousand dollars. The heat pump can heat too, so I said just let it do both.
We still have gas in the house for the stove and the pool heater, and I’ve definitely noticed my winter electric bills are a lot more expensive. Southern California Edison has raised its rates, so I don’t know how much of that is the system and how much is the rates. My summer bill went down and my winter bill went up.
I’ve only had part of one winter with it, but gas is a lot cheaper here and seems a lot more efficient to heat, and the heat pump is a lot more efficient to cool. If I did it again, I’d probably run the gas line and keep gas for the winter. I’ll be watching the bills this winter.
The front doorbell
The Ring Video Doorbell on my front door is a first-gen one that came with the house. There have been plenty of times it didn’t catch the Amazon driver dropping off a package, and sometimes it misses someone coming right up to the door. The day before I sat down to write this, Amazon dropped off a package and there was no event in the Ring app at all. The video quality could be a lot better too, especially next to the Ring Spotlight Cam over my garage, which is bright and clear.
It’s time to upgrade. I’m thinking about the newer Ring doorbell, mostly to stay within the system. I haven’t been unhappy with Ring overall.
Cameras
We ended up with Ring outside and Foscam inside, and it kind of just happened.
Ring is because of that doorbell and my old internet. When we moved in I had Cox, and Cox didn’t give unlimited data. I was nearly positive Google’s cameras recorded all the time back then, and that much video would have eaten through my data, so I went with Ring and added a couple more. From what I can tell, they don’t record all the time anymore. I’ve since switched to fiber with unlimited data, but by then I had the other Ring cameras, so I stayed.
The first Foscam was a baby monitor, a nanny cam really, and that’s why the inside cameras are Foscam. We’ve never used Ring inside. We have two now, and my wife and I both use them to check on things when we’re out: have the kids gone to sleep yet, how’s it going with grandma, did anyone get home. They don’t save video automatically, and I keep going back and forth on paying for a subscription. There have been a lot of funny moments at home I’d have loved to have as a clip. I’ve never had a security reason for it, but it would be good for that too.
If I were starting over, I’d look at Google for everything, or at a system that records to a hard drive in my own house so all the footage is mine. Switching all my cameras now would be close to a $1,000 change, so maybe I switch as my cameras start to die off, and live with kind of a Frankenstein setup until I switch them all.
Home Assistant
I have a Raspberry Pi 4 running Home Assistant, and I’m not really using it. I haven’t had the time to play with it and set it up more, and I need to reset it because I forgot my password. So everything runs on the SmartThings hub.
That hub does the job. Not much is connected to it, but it runs my porch light switch, and I like that I can add more if I need to. If anything, I’d want a light switch that didn’t need a hub and just connected to an app, but that would mean changing the switch again, and I’m pretty happy with the setup.
What I’d buy again
Zooz Z-Wave porch light switch. Still one of my favorite things I’ve put in the house. The porch light comes on and goes off on a schedule and I never have to worry about it. You can still flip it by hand, and we do sometimes at night when we want it dark, but otherwise it’s worked pretty flawlessly since I put it in. Putting it in is how I electrocuted myself.
Schlage Connect Z-Wave deadbolt. Mostly it just gets us in and out. The codes are the nice part: my mom has one, a few close family members have one, and I’ve almost never needed to unlock it remotely. I change the battery about once every year and a half, maybe closer to two. A fingerprint one would be nice so nobody has to remember a code, but I’ve been happy with it. (More in my Z-Wave article.)
Bradford White heat pump water heater. Fantastic, no issues whatsoever, and we always have hot water. My gas bill went down something like 10 to 15 bucks a month, roughly what the old gas water heater cost to run, and I don’t see an increase on my electric bill from it at all. Why I swapped it is its own article.
Pentair IntelliFlo pool pump. I’ve changed the schedules a lot in the app, and it’s saved a lot of energy. The numbers are in my pool pump article. It’s only ever gone offline when my internet did. Knock on wood, no issues.
Genie opener with Aladdin Connect. We use the garage every day. I use the app a few times a week, mostly to check whether I closed the garage, or to open it when I’m coming back from a walk. How I added it to a basic opener is its own article.
Rachio sprinkler controller. It’s been great, and it ended up free. It cost about $180 and my city rebate covers up to $200.
Ring Stick Up Cam Solar. Only two, maybe three times I’ve had to pull it down and charge the battery by hand, after it was cloudy too many days in a row. Other than that I don’t have to think about it. Mostly the notifications are just me walking into the backyard. Luckily I’ve never had a real security issue, but it’s nice to be able to check.
Everything else
- Den: our Sony TV, a Google Nest Mini, and one of the Foscams. I don’t even remember how I got the Nest Mini, I think it was a free gift. We use it to turn the TV on and off, funny enough, play music with the kids, and ask it random questions.
- Living room: an Epson projector and the other Foscam. The room has a high ceiling, so we made ourselves a little movie theater. The Roku plugged into it was a leftover, and we don’t use it for anything else.
- Wi-Fi: I technically run two routers. The fiber company’s router sits in the garage. It’s the fast one, but only a couple of devices use it and it doesn’t reach the backyard. My old Netgear Nighthawk is connected to it by cable and covers the backyard and most of the house. It’s still my old network, so anyone who comes over connects to it automatically.
Did it work?
Worth it. The porch light switch, the deadbolt, the water heater and the pool pump have just been awesome, and I don’t think about them. Most of what I’d change is the solar and how we heat the house.
Joe out.