Back in 2010 I was using Bitwise Controls... They have since been bought out by Lutron Lighting... So they have that technology now I am a total believer in smart tech for the home...

www.msdg.design

Seems like an interesting solution. 1 risk to consider is that smartthings is controlling other manufacturers products. The risk is that the manufacturers decide they don't want to be controlled by a third party and change the protocol to break the control (see Sonos for examples of this). Also, as a newish company - you don't have the breadth of options for integration that some more mature company's have

For where you have online systems mixing together like Davis mentions above, that is a real concern. In most scenarios if that relationship ever breaks up, you usually can revive a portion of the previous behavior my using an intermediary to bridge the two ecosystems together. In particular IFTTT (If This Then That).

If you're using offline or locally controlled devices like room occupancy sensors, temperature/humidity sensors, wall switches, lights, and door locks, you're pretty safe in that regard. In most of those instances, you can get devices not originally meant for SmartHome to operate with it since Samsung has made them extensible.

For example, Lowes Home Improvement has their own automation platform that uses Zwave and Zigbee based devices that don't natively work with SmartHome, but people in the community have made apps or device definitions to make them work.

Would totally agree on the breadth of options comment as well. SmartHome is probably the best (outside what I would consider high end automation like Control4 or Crestron), whereas newer entrants to the market like Abode still have a way to go. Others like Vera have been around for a decade, but aren't engineered very well for easy customization like you can using the developer tools that SmartHome has.

I bought a 3 piece SmartThings "kit" from Crutchfield online (Samsung hub, door/temp sensor and water/temp sensor), and they had a package price of $115. I can now monitor the water/leak situation and temperature in my utility room, and use the other sensor on the main floor to ensure the heat or A/C is keeping things at the right temperature. I can use an app on my phone to get the sensor readings, and have it set so that if they are within a certain range it just shows "everything ok". My priority was to know that my HVAC was working, and I did not have a water leak at my water heater or boiler when I was out of the house.

I am only monitoring and getting alerts, and not using the home automation part of SmartThings; however, it looks interesting. For example, they have a water shutoff/solenoid that is designed to clamp on any water pipe that has a quarter-turn ball valve. If the water monitor senses water in the wrong place, the automation event could be programmed to turn off that ball valve.

Bruce

I'm building a new house and will be using Samsung SmartThings. I think it's a great solution.

Looking forward to seeing some more thoughts, building a new home too and undecided on what system to use with out dropping $$$ on control4

I started seeing a lot of the "Wink" systems around here, and a few of the SmartThings. I have the ST, and it works very good but is reliant on wifi. Battery life on the sensors has been pretty good, only the motion sensor has given me false alarms. It's pretty handy to do basic things but I find the IFTTT system very clunky. In practice I don't really use it for much so I'm not sure if I want to keep it... I have a motion sensor in my garage that turns on a garage light, then I control a couple dumb-lamps in rooms that don't have switched outlets.

@Todd I am as well and am considering Control4. Does SmartThings actually replace that???

To be clear - Control4 requires working with a Control4 dealer. There is a home edition of the software, but it is limited. Control4 is not a DIY solution. BUT Control4 puts lots of time and money into training their dealers. We are a dealer and we send our employees to Control4 training that takes a week to complete. Before you can go to training, you have to complete online webinar trainings.