Getting the Rachio 3 Set up
We moved in November. I don’t recommend it, for one reason: Things are winterized, you don’t know what’s planted where, and you don’t know the condition of your sprinkler system. (Obviously, this last one only applies if you’re moving into a Single Family home). As I’ve been smartifying the house, a smart sprinkler was a definite must. Even when we had a place down in Highlands Ranch, I hated my sprinklers running in the middle of a rainstorm. I still hate it and when I see a house where it’s happening I want to knock on their door. I really wanted something HomeKit connected; one for the security, and two, for the convenience. The choices there are slim. I like Rachio because their kit is attractive, and they’re a CO Company….
More adventures in Home Automation
So I’ve been slowly “smartifying” the new house. When we moved we brought most of the smart kit with us, so I immediately had some iDevices Wall Switches, door locks, and cameras. Since then I’ve added another Camera to the front porch, and some smart bulbs. First the Camera. It’s a Logitech Circle 2 (Wired, so that it’s HomeKit friendly). Overall it’s a good camera if you can get past Logitech’s mostly horrible install and set up instructions. Really a homeKit code that’s grey font on black plastic, 2pt font, under a piece of the camera, so you need to write it down since you can’t pair while the camera is unpowered… Really Logitech? Beyond that, it’s a great camera. It is weatherproof and does a great job at night….
My Review of the D-Link Omna HomeKit Camera
UPDATE: Ok, so I’ve been using the Omna for a while now and wanted to update my review. I decided to not post a second one, but just update this one, so the original is below. Overall I’m still happy with my two Omna cameras. There are however some issues that kinda suck. Namely the SD recording function. Specifically, it’s unreliable at best. There are times I’m certain someone is in the house (thankfully my Schlage Touch sense deadolt is WAY more reliable) and yet the camera never once captures it. Worse even, half the time the camera fails to capture things, it will capture before and after someone is in the house. Example; I leave the house for a showing (we’re selling). My lock tells me the realtor has…
I’m Slowly Adding HomeKit Automation to our Whole House
With HomeKit finally being pretty robust, and widely supported I’ve slowly started adding automation to the house. It started with replacing our Nest with an Ecobee, which has been awesome! Then recently I added a iDevices Outdoor Switch to the rooftop. We’ve got some nice patio lighting up there, that I hate plugging and unplugging. I used to just leave it on all the time, which is kinda wasteful during the day, but easier then going over to the plug and fiddling with the cover to turn it all on, etc. (yes, laziness rules the day) With the Outdoor Switch not only can I just tell Siri to turn on or off the ‘rooftop lighting’, but also now the lights are on a schedule; sundown, on, 10pm off. Definitely makes it…