The most important thing is to design conduits or chases that can be used in the future to change or upgrade the system.

Technology is constant;y changing and so many of these products and companies seem to disappear 5-10 years later.

In a perfect world, it would be great to have it all

Disagree. "Smart stuff" doesn't appeal to me at all. Something else to break, something else to become outdated -- and for what purpose? To open the blinds? To turn on the lights? Nah, not interested.

I'd rather put the money into a solid build.

What size house? What is important to you - lights? Audio? Video? Security? Shades? Entertainment?

Agree with Mrs Pete! We do not even have cable/dish tv. Maybe ability to have audio in each room would be nice but currently earbuds are fine- what if spouse wants to listen to a sports game and I want to listen to classical rock at same time? Earbuds! Sadly in todays world maybe a security system. Right now two rotties do a fine job. I remember when tv remotes became popular- I could not fathom why anyone could be so lazy not to get up to turn the channel unless bedbound! Too much frivolties make us lazy.

Wow dazureus - I had no idea you could get all of that automation in your home. It's amazing to this member of the older generation. My build is too far along to consider any of that, but to the OP, I would have to think, would I really use it and is there something else I would want to spend my money on?

We are not into home automation either. Im perfectly content walking over and flipping a switch to turn lights on or opening curtains/shades. We do have Nest thermostats and a Ring doorbell. We have a sonos sound system for tv sound and music. We have a small portable bluetooth speaker if we want to listen to music in other areas of the house. It suits us fine.

I have no interest in Alexa/Google hearing what goes on inside my house!

I'm a little further along in the process than the OP. At a minimum, we'll install distributed audio/video and security cameras (and all the low voltage wiring that entails) in the home we're currently building. I'm on the fence about lighting and shades. I've seen automated homes in action and they're very cool. On the other hand, the price seems excessive for what it is. $140 for a light switch? My sense is that these companies are making hay while Amazon, Apple, et al. are still on the sidelines.

I'm a bit of a computer geek, but I have no interest in "home automation" at all. To me, it's yet something else to break and will also be obsolete in a heartbeat.

When we did some major remodeling about 18 years ago, we spent the money to put ethernet outlets in multiple rooms. It cost nearly $1000. It wasn't 6 months until wireless came on the scene and our outlets were obsolete and unnecessary. Oh, I know - some find ethernet far more "secure" than wifi, but this is a home, not an office, and I rather doubt anyone is particularly interested in my emails and participation on GW.

These things cost money - a lot of money - and there is the huge possibility of the scope of the work to just keep growing.

I'd skip it and use that money for nicer finishes or better construction of your house.

These home automation threads are always fun to get an idea of people's attitudes regarding technology.

I am pretty into technology but I do think some of the automation stuff is a bit about the cool factor. Technology changes very quickly and houses don't. Since the vast majority of customers are not building new houses, the consumer products and investment are designed to be retrofitted. That is reality now and forever.

That being said, there are limitations on wireless and I would plan for those. Power is the big issue because otherwise you have batteries. I for one love automated curtains. So I am putting power source near the ones I want automated. Depending on the size and layout of the house, cameras are important. Distributed audio seems to be fading. Ease of use dominates and there are Sonos is great - doesn't require installed speakers.

In my last house, the best "automation" that I did was lock sensors on my doors. It was a large house with walkout basement so 7 external doors. From the keypad at night, I could tell which ones (if any) were not locked. That was one of the best features of the house. Today, I love the keypads with remotely changeable codes. Refrigerator delivery person was coming too early when we weren't there. I just gave him a temporary code. Temporary codes are great for dog sitters, cleaning people, etc.

Distributed video - nah. We have that anyway with Amazon, Netflix etc. And for a lot cheaper.

This cost us about 35k.

Respectfully, if I could have all that for $35, I'd still pass.

Sadly in todays world maybe a security system.

See, I don't really see the point in a system that tells you someone just broke into your house either. I'd rather spend extra money on stronger door jams and locks -- and other things to convince the thief to go on down the road to an easier target.

I'm a bit of a computer geek, but I have no interest in "home automation" at all. To me, it's yet something else to break and will also be obsolete in a heartbeat.

I'm tech-y, and I'm married to an engineer, so he's definitely techy -- but we're just kind of flummoxed on the money /interest in this topic.

I admit to being somewhat amused by this particular forum's lack of enthusiasm for home automation. This forum constantly encourages people to hire an architect, and build something that is tailored for their lifestyle, that enhances their life in ways other than simply being shelter.

I was an early adopter of home automation and still an advocate, and being techy or not techy has nothing to do with it. I am not particularly techy, however, I do live in my house and do enjoy things that make living in my house more comfortable and enjoyable.

My lighting controls are amazing and I will never again live in a house without them. I used to drag out of bed hating life after hitting snooze three times. Now my alarm is for back up use only, my lights are programmed to emulate a summer sunrise even during the winter, I wake up slowly and naturally and feel better as I start my day. I moved into a house recently that has a recirculating pump, which I bought a module for and so it starts along with the tile warmer, even my ceiling fan changes. Environmental and lighting controls help start my day off better and honestly add way more value to my life than they cost.

Of course, those things don't have to be important to you, value is always a personal decision, but it is also important to understand that most people are biased against change, and not to let that bias control. Most thought the automobile was a silly waste of money and horses would never be replaced.

but it is also important to understand that most people are biased against change, and not to let that bias control. Most thought the automobile was a silly waste of money and horses would never be replaced.

Exactly.

And didn't some big mucky muck pronounce way back when in the dark ages how no one would want a home computer?

We are doing Control 4 for some things.

We have our front shades on the system. We also have our lights on the system and have cameras both indoors and out so when we're not home, we can monitor the house. Additionally we'll be able to give our housekeeper her own code so she can enter the house to clean. And if there's a problem we'll be able to let in a serviceperson.

Additionally, we'll have it wired so I can turn all house lights off from my bed.

We do not have any speakers in walls, etc but our tv's are on the Control 4 system.

Mrs Pete, maybe living on acres out in the country means you don't need to be as concerned about break ins, but living in a downtown neighborhood where people are constantly walking by, means I want the extra security.

I love home automation as my hobby. I think it's great that you are thinking about this during the build process. I think if it were me in your shoes, the only thing(s) I would focus on during the build process is how and where I want my media controls - speakers, media cabinet, TV, etc. And I would definitely spend the money to get a media specialist on board with that. I would also pre-plan my security system. The only other thing I would plan with my build process is putting in bigger wall boxes to hold my light switches. If you decide to add on smart light switches in the future, those boxes get crammed full pretty quickly, and the biggest headache in my whole automation process has been jamming smart switches into existing wall boxes. I would talk to an electrician about what is available. Everything else can wait while you do your research about what you want to automate. And, all those things are easy to update or upgrade once they become obsolete, as many posters above are worried about. Oh, wait, I also wish my pool were more automated. No idea what is available in that area, but it sure could be a lot easier. OK, that ended up being more things than I thought :-)

For my build, and my materials limitations (concrete freaking everything) I can't run electrical "the normal way". I also despise large gangs of switches. After 20 years in my existing house, I still don't know what the heck each one does. It's especially troublesome in an open concept home with limited wall space.

I'll be doing distributed audio / video, lighting controls and wireless.

Hoping to use someone who has a good history in controls.

I too will not be doing all the shade control, etc - I'd prefer not to have anything that ties into motors.

but it is also important to understand that most people are biased against change, and not to let that bias control.

I'd say it's also important to differentiate between what's actually useful and what's just a parlor trick.

Mrs Pete, maybe living on acres out in the country means you don't need
to be as concerned about break ins, but living in a downtown
neighborhood where people are constantly walking by, means I want the
extra security.

But is it extra security? Does it actually keep people from breaking in, or does it just let you know that it's happened, though you can't do much about it?

I love home automation as my hobby.

If you see it as a hobby, that's another thing altogether. An analogy: I enjoy needlework, and I enjoy being able to say, "I made that", though it would be more cheaper /efficient to buy a portrait for the wall.

We had a security system in our previous house. We don't have a security system in the current. By the time the cops got here the intruder would be in and out and long gone by the time the cops were able to get here if they could even find us. I wouldn't mind having something that wasn't monitored just to alert us in the middle of the night while we are sleeping.

Why would not having home automation mean someone is against change? I just don't find most of the home automation useful for us.

Our security system is monitored and while the the police might arrive too late, our recording cameras would hopefully at least catch enough to be able to identify them. Porch pirates are on the rise and cameras are great for evidence.

I don't know - a security system that sounds an alarm and throws on flood lights from every corner and calls the police. I suspect that would make a burglar run pretty fast. Stealing things takes time and a loud piercing alarm would make people run.

There are alarms that literally hurt.

Then there is the insurance discount.

People are resistant to change. Not wanting a motor? That is pretty funny - pretty hard to condition a house without a fan or a pump. Those are motors of course. Do you not like power windows? I once tried to count how many motors were in our last house - it was a large number.

I would suggest that if you lived in a house that had switches that you didn't know what they did, automation could help that.

But is it extra security? Does it actually keep people from breaking in, or does it just let you know that it's happened, though you can't do much about it?

Yes, it keeps people from breaking in, some academic studies point to incredibly significant reductions in burglaries across all demographic regions.

In fact, not only does it simply keep people from breaking in, there is objective evidence that the increased use of home security systems is responsible for the decline of burglaries in general. It is essentially herd immunity for the home.

I'd say it's also important to differentiate between what's actually useful and what's just a parlor trick.

I don't know that there is such a thing as a parlor trick, while you would probably consider my media server a waste, I consider it a great convenience. It is important to make decisions objectively on the actual cost and improvement to your life of home automation components and not make a value judgment on the entire market.

There have been many quality of life studies in Japan where they have an older population and home automation has been shown to have a dramatic increase in health, happiness and independence in both young and aging populations.

Why would not having home automation mean someone is against change? I just don't find most of the home automation useful for us.

No one said it was, everyone has some cognitive bias and it is important to ensure that you are considering that bias in your decision making is all. It isn't that it will change your decision, but this is one area where people often have a preconceived notion of technological advancement. I am not immune either, I thought smart phones were a waste until I had one.

As others have noted, this is a tough topic. You don't know what you don't have or what might exist until you try it.

I've never been very excited about home automation having been to demos of walking in the door and having certain scenes for the house lighting, etc...

But my DW wanted an alexa device.... and dang is it fun. We use it much more than I'd ever have thought. And, now I see some real automation- or should I say voice activation- advantages. It is really nice to speak and have the lights come on, or dim, etc. Play music through Pandora with voice command... Now I want that available in every room. Locks with codes and temporary codes are very appealing to me. I don't have use for a media hub really as we don't watch much in the way of TV or movies.

Automatic curtains seemed superfluous to me until I realized that they could be used as part of an energy plan for a house- blocking out midday sun while I'm at work.

Did I mention not getting out of bed to turn off a light that was left on?!

Anyway, I wasn't very interested in it at all, but I'm becoming more interested in many of the voice activation capabilities.

All the lights and shades in my house are controlled by networked 7” touch panels. To me it’s mostly about looks and convenience. I didn’t want to have a battery of dimmers and switches in each room. I like being able to control my lights from my iOS devices no matter where I am.

“I don't know - a security system that sounds an alarm and throws on flood lights from every corner and calls the police. I suspect that would make a burglar run pretty fast. ”

Ha! That is like my alarm. It’s wired into two 1200W ElectroVoice stage monitors and will strobo flash all lights in the house when triggered.

The result is ear shattering alarm, voice warning in English and Spanish and disorienting light flashes. It’s absolutely startling when it goes off.

I don't know - a security system that sounds an alarm and throws on flood lights from every corner and calls the police. I suspect that would make a burglar run pretty fast. Stealing things takes time and a loud piercing alarm would make people run.

Yeah, an audible alarm and lights would be helpful, but when you start adding those things, you're looking at pretty expensive systems ... systems that may never be used ... and you have to weigh that cost against the low-tech methods (strong doors, etc.).

And, of course, we're assuming that you'd actually use the alarm. Have you read statistics about people who use their new alarm for a couple weeks, then become lax about it because it's too much trouble?

There are alarms that literally hurt.

Yeah, that'll make you popular in the neighborhood.

Our security system is monitored and while the the police might arrive too late, our recording cameras would hopefully at least catch enough to be able to identify them.

Doubtful. Even the most naive burglars are smart enough to wear plain dark colors /hats or hoodies. When I've had reason to look at camera footage at school, I've often had trouble telling who's who when they're wearing hoodies, etc. -- and that's when I know I'm looking at a student from my school, which narrows it down.

Yes, it keeps people from breaking in, some academic studies point to incredibly significant reductions in burglaries across all demographic regions.

I've read over and over that a dog is the #1 deterrent to break-ins -- even if it's not a big dog, the criminal doesn't know whether he's a danger or not and will go on down the road and pick someone else. That, of course, is the point: to make your house difficult enough that the thief'll go pick someone else.. If you poke around on the internet and read a variety of sources, you'll find varying statistics; I saw one recently that said a security system is #13 on the list in terms of deterring a criminal.

Stronger doors, better locks, a front door design that doesn't allow you to see into the house, windows without bushes in which to hide, a back yard into which you can't see ... I'll take those things every time instead of a security system.

Keep in mind, too, that when you put up cameras, etc., you're allowing the security people to see inside your home /at least your door. Do you really know who they are?

I know that most people today have decided security systems are "a need", but I just don't think they're the best way to keep unwanted people out of your house -- and this isn't an unwillingness to change; rather, it's a topic I've carefully considered.

The alarm noise that hurts is inside the house - neighbors won't mind unless they are in the house. That is like $20. Turning on lights in the context of home automation costs nearly nothing. Even if not, you can get $70 Z wave controllable floods. And that makes for an easy panic button too.

Stronger doors? That costs money too. Not planting bushes - that is not the aesthetic in my area. Not seeing into the back yard - ok I am actually doing that this time but not allowed in my last neighborhood. And not exactly cheap if you weren't planning a fence anyway.

Some people don't want dogs for 17 different reasons.

Why is it that USAA asks if I have a home alarm but only cares about dogs if they are a risk to bite people? Is USAA uninformed? I do understand that an alarm is easily verifiable and a dog is not. I also agree that a dog is a good deterrent. And I don't disagree with your other points. But an alarm is another deterrent. And a good alarm is even better.

Technology is moving fast and we all encounter people who for various reasons think it is all a waste. I encounter several flip phone folks in my daily travels. They have all sorts of reasons but in the end, most of their reasons aren't rational (IMO). Luddites we call them. Don't be a luddite. (shout out to Virgil or it is Bob).

Well, there are uses for alarms beyond protection from burglary. My parents have a system that they set (when we are visiting) such that any time the contacts are broken anywhere there is a soft chime and a verbal indication of WHICH door. When you have Autistic children who can be prone to wander, this is a beautiful thing.

We'll do the media computer, because we've moved away from even cable more toward Netflix, Amazon video, etc. But probably wireless speakers, since we've been pretty happy with Sonus.

We have Alexa, and half the time I'd like to throw her out the nearest window. There are a lot of bugs in that system. But my husband is a fan, so, for now, I'll bite my tongue and hope they smooth out a lot of it.

I'm much less fond of the smart lightbulbs, etc. He brought one home. I lasted 5 minutes before I made him take it back out.

I'm not a Luddite. But there is a certain degree of loss of control when everything is automated. Plus, if YOU can lock and unlock your doors remotely, likely so can others. The whole Amazon delivery smart locks give me the heebie-jeebies.

Plus, not all technology is all that useful or will have legs on it. Remember intercoms? Built-in toasters? Betamax video (you can hear my husband if you strain your ears, yelling, "It was the superior technology!!"). Laserdiscs.

My husband is fascinated by the smart switches - spent half an hour playing with them at the lighting store. When I passed this story on to my mother she asked me, "But would those work if the power is out, sweetie?" Well, Mom, pretty sure most light switches don't work when the power is out. Though, there is something to be said for being able to turn out all the switches when the power is out so that you're not blinded awake when it comes back on at 3 AM.

The trick is trying to decide what elements are likely to be useful in the longer term - upgradeable, supported, etc. And which are very shortly going to be nostalgic objects d'art in the drywall.

I'm going to use smartthings in my new house, and already bought a unit to play around with in my current house. I like it because I have complete control over it. I can make changes whenever I want. And there is no monthly fee. But you have to take the time to learn the system, and have to be techy enough to maintain it.

Why is it useful? For example, I have one smart bulb in a lamp that can display millions of colors. Normally when on it will be some shade of white. But when any exterior doors or windows are open it will flash a different color. Or when my wife has arrived home but not entered the house yet, it will flash a different color to let me know when the door opens it will be her.

I also have it setup so that when everyone leaves, it will turn of any lights that were left on, arm the alarm, and set the thermostat to away mode.

Stronger doors? That costs money too.

Stronger doors cost money once and don't become obsolete as technology changes.

Not planting bushes - that is not the aesthetic in my area.

No, I didn't mean don't plant bushes. I mean, don't plan bushes in such a
way that they allow thieves to hide behind them. One way to accomplish
this is to plant holly bushes, which have very sticky leaves and are a
deterrent. Another is to position your windows so that they're visible.Here
are two example houses -- one has overgrown bushes near the front door, which
provide a thief a hiding spot. The other has nice landscaping, but the
windows are still visible from the street.

And sometimes they have solid reasons for choosing those flip phones. My husband is a Nuclear Engineer and frequently visits power plants -- when he goes out for these trips, he's typically in the plant 8-12 hours at a time. Security in those places is no joke, and they won't allow him to carry in a phone that includes a camera. His choice is to carry an old, outdated phone or be out of reach all day. He keeps an old phone just for this purpose.

I'm not a Luddite.But there is a certain degree of loss of control when everything is automated. Plus, if YOU can lock and unlock your doors remotely, likely so can others. The whole Amazon delivery smart locks give me the heebie-jeebies.

No one on this site is a Luddite -- not unless you've figured out how to access this site without use of a computer. I agree that giving other people remote access to your house is a questionable choice. I mean, how often are credit cards hacked? And they're supposed to be secure too, right?

Sometimes technology is wonderful -- other times it's just more for the sake of more -- complexity for the sake of complexity.

Plus, not all technology is all that useful or will have legs on it. Remember intercoms? Built-in toasters? Betamax video

Yep. Throw in ipods, watches, pagers ... the list goes on. I suspect many of the things upon which people are spending big money today will be in those same categories sooner rather than later.

As an aside, I find it extremely rude when posters like this one ask for advice and then disappear

Just a little note. USAA is based in San Antonio, TX. Military based company with multiple bases located there and many active/separated members living in the immediate area. (We just moved from SA to where we are now and have several friends living there and also working for USAA). USAA has been removing coverage for several years- especially after hurricane Andrew in Fl. No more coverage here. As far as 'dangerous dogs' SATX has one of the highest dog (breed related) bite and mortality in the nation- injury to both human and other dogs. The hispanic poorer (and not so poor) attitude is to have pit type dogs with absolutely no training as 'guard' dogs. These dogs attack anything including their owners and family. Many of these dogs are used for fighting, bred from fighting 'kennels' inline bred and/or owned by both legal people and particularly nonlegals/criminals. In Florida Miami is the same.My wife has been a critical care and ER/Trauma nurse for years wittnessing the damage. Yes there are resonsible owners and good dogs of the 'bad dog breeds' as we are with our rotts (whom we train with a current and former police dog handler with every dog for the past 40 years. Sooo- to make my long winded note- it is unfortunate that insurance companies need to cull these breeds, but it is due to humans who do poor breeding, no socialization no training nor wanting a good representation of the breed that caused this. They want a killer dog.

Different people have different desires and needs. Some people think florescent lights are fine, my wife and I can't stand them. A lot of people like fake facades on the fronts of their houses, we don't care for them. Some people like carpet, some like wood. Some people like contemporary, some traditional.

On home automation we're actually somewhat chameleons though. Our winter house has nothing and even on the AV side only one TV. It's simple and we like that.

Our current primary house and the new one we're building have a fair bit of automation. We like nice lighting and don't like lights blaring full blast so we have scenes for various things. In the kitchen for instance we have a scene for cooking (very bright), one for eating (soft), and one for general. Our new house will have a bunch of RGBA fixtures so we may have the main part of the kitchen light blue or something during dinner. Our current kitchen has 7 circuits which would mean a bank of 7 switches. Our new one will have no circuits as each individual light is controlled separately so I'll have a scene that is just a single downlight on dim and under cabinet on dim by the coffee stuff for when I'm up before sunrise.

We like being able to push a button and have a bunch of shades come down for privacy. And a single button turns everything off when we go to bed. A chime sounds throughout when my wife opens the garage door so I can go greet her.

From my phone I can turn the heat up so that it's not 58°f when we arrive home. I can open the garage door to let my BIL borrow our mower.

Thieves are opportunistic and choose the easiest option. If nine houses on a block have security systems and three don't, guess which they'll break in to? If someone is going around stealing packages from front stoops I'd prefer to have a video of them to help the cops catch them.

My statement about motors is more likely the fact that I don't have window treatments and the little issue I have with western windows I will manage with solar shades for the summer.

As for the switches to nowhere, that is why I am using home automation for all my lighting.

People have different comfort levels with technology and also the potential for change in technology. We're at a pivotal point in the HA market - with disruptions on the DIY end, on Apple's home kit technology, or working with Alexa, using one of the older HA suppliers or a newcomer, etc.

If you are going to invest lots, make sure you can get service / support for the longer term. It would suck to have $50K in obsolete HA equipment in 5 years.

One thing to add, HA doesn't have to mean $35k or $50k. I am interested in the tech but that amount of money does not interest me and it would never interest my wife.

There are ways to have a lot of the functionality of HA for $1000. Getting rid of banks of switches is always going to cost money and become dependent on a proprietary system.

So there are really 2 major levels and just because someone isn't going all-in, doesn't mean that you can't have anything.

Here's something we did with home automation, that would not be possible otherwise. In our current master bedroom, there are no overhead lights. The wall switch controls an outlet, and we have a table lamp plugged into to supply the light for the bedroom. In another outlet on the other side of the room, we have a floor lamp. It never gets used, because its over in the corner, and the floor switch for it is abit awkward to use. I replaced the wall switch with a smart switch, and could control the lamp with smart things. Then my wife said, can we use the smart switch to also turn on the floor lamp at the same time? I bought a plug in adapter, and now that one switch operates both lamps at the same time, and we get alot more light in our bedroom.

Mike - sure. But that could have been fixed at time of build. But the flexibility is the value. I would strongly recommend that in that situation, a switch controls multiple outlets - even perhaps all in the room. But - at some point, smart switches become cheaper....

If you are going to invest lots, make sure you can get service / support for the longer term. It would suck to have $50K in obsolete HA equipment in 5 years.

This is largely a myth... X10 was developed in 1975 (It was the first protocol), my father installed a system in a remodel of the farm in the early 90's, and it has never stopped working or at any time failed to be fully supported. X10 is still the most widely used protocol today, and it is very likely to remain supported in the foreseeable future, as are the Z-wave etc. protocols in Control4.

Many of the systems that have become obsolete were after-market solutions designed to be alternatives to a properly designed and installed system.

dazareus- can you tell us how you found an installer for this? I would like to have some of the features that you installed. Thanks!

We got SmartThings and Alexa to play around with to get ideas for our build. Alexa plays a soft chime to alert us when one of our family members is pulling into the neighborhood (or leaving). I’ve found this to be handy as a mom but our old Australian Shepherd is the biggest fan of it. Upon hearing the chime, he promptly sets gaurd at the front window in order to welcome his family home.

(It took him only a few weeks to figure this out. We are amazed because it is a good 5-7minutes between hearing chime and someone actually coming through the door. Who says an old dog can learn new tricks!)

As for security...

There are generally three types of home burglars.

1. Impulse burglaries (opportunists) - These are generally people who decide to burglarize upon seeing a target rather than looking for a target. This are the bad neighbor burglaries when kids are walking down the street and upon seeing an open window decide to crawl through it.
2. Convenient burglaries (scouts) - These are people who scout areas looking for easy to burglarize targets. Their intention is to burglarize someone and they look around for a target that meets their specific needs.
3. Cased or planned burglaries (prowlers) - These are choose the target based on the likely reward and risk of getting caught and familiarize themselves with the property or family to maximize the reward and minimize the risk.

The first two types account for most burglaries and are generally easier to discourage with things like thicker doors and good lighting. However, thicker doors and good lighting do nothing to discourage the third kind. It only takes a few seconds and a pipe wrench for a knowledgeable person to enter a home, if they don't just walk to the side and break a window. Only things that reduce their time in the house or increase their chances of being prosecuted are real deterrents.

Since they make up a much smaller percentage of burglaries they are under-represented in studies about "the most effective" deterrent. However, they also represent the greatest losses.

Also these claims have a lot of confirmation bias... most burglaries occur when thieves enter the front or rear door, and most houses have inadequate doors, therefore bigger doors would help stop them. However, there is little evidence that those thieves wouldn't have broken a window if the door was thicker.

We know that alarms and cameras deter all types of burglaries. It is the only system that does deter all types, it doesn't mean you are burglary proof but that is how statistics work.

@providencesparrow - How did you get Alexa to do that?

@rockybird. Honestly, I just looked on Houzz and Angieslist to find local installers for lighting control. Once we met a few I was comfortable with what my chosen installer had to offer and his proposal expanded my lighting control request into security, data, video, and sound distribution options.

Mike Lamb- Each of our family members uses a free app called Life360. We set up a geofence around our home or neighborhood to alert us when any of the app users crosses the geofence. Then we have Alexa interface w the app and push us notifications to Alexa- who then sends us the chime alert when the geofence is crossed. It also plays a chime when my husband leaves work so we can have supper ready for when he walks in the door. It sounds stalker-ish but I could go on and on about how much that one free life360 app has helped us as a family, and having it talk w Alexa has been an added bonus.

I’ve also found our SmartThings garage door sensor to be helpful. Mostly to monitor the coming and going, but the other day I could not remember if I closed it and only had to check the notification on my phone to see that I did.

Truthfully my kids enjoy Alexa more than I do. They now know how to blast ridiculous songs like MC Hammer’s “Hammer Time” at the least opportune times. No kid should have that much power ;)