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Comment by ShabbyDoo | Hacker News Reader

This is a start, but it's about two levels below the level of abstraction I want. I'm thinking along the lines of:

Hey, buy a bunch of switches, sensors, etc. from us which all conform to an open standard (Zigbee?). Then, buy our controller unit and install our iphone/android apps. It'll work after just a bit of monkey-see-monkey-do configuration. Yeah, you have to get a screwdriver out and figure which breaker is associated with each room, but it ain't rocket science. If we go away, you might eventually have to buy another controller, but your investment in switches, sensors, etc. and all your time spent with a screwdriver won't be for nothing -- competitors are likely to support the same stuff.

This is what I want, and I would gladly spend in excess of $1K for it. Maybe $2K? This would be a bargain compared to paying for a Control4 reseller to come to my house and sell me a turnkey solution.

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Best I can tell, your best bets are something like Ecobee or Nest for automated your HVAC. I'd keep an eye on the Nest however, their earlier models are built with Zigbee support, though they don't use it. My guess is they'll be using the initial Nest as more of a platform in which you can buy individual automation/monitoring modules that you plug and play to their system on some form of a payment plan (monthly hosting or upfront).

Hmmmm....I haven't even thought about HVAC control as a first-round goal. We have the standard "divide the days into four parts + weekday/weekend" programmable controller. Probably would be some cost savings from something more intelligent. My acute pain is from having to make sure the lights are off.

I work in commercial HVAC remote control, so that's where most of my knowledge comes from. When the Nest came out, we had a sour look on our face and when SparkFun disassembled it we saw where we matched. Honestly, I saw the idea as maintaining the source of income. By following the App Store approach, you sell the barebones platform in which the user can pick and choose what 'apps' he/she wants to use.

To be fair, HVAC control is HARD. You are dealing with ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Levels (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_comfort) that can change from humidity, solar, CO2 levels, the list goes on. Likewise, at least from our perspective, you inherit a lot of the pre-existing issues at a location. Suddenly, if a fan belt snaps and the site gets uncomfortable, you (be it a company or a DIY-er) have to justify it wasn't your fault before moving to actually fixing the issue.

Another problem is getting that sour taste out of the customers' mouth. Even if it isn't your fault, you are on the frontline and they aren't going to be happy with you saying 'Its not my fault.'

Edit: As for ensuring lights are off, the Digi SmartPlug maintains its status when it kills the power. Whatever is plugged into it will be 'off' when you set it to off state, and 'on' when you energize it. I played with their demo set at their conference last year and I hate to say, but it was fun clicking a button on a webpage and seeing a light over some sales rep's head turn off.

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