Advice please

Community Playground General Discussions
#1

I purchased a rental property/vacation home 800 miles from my primary house. What hub would you suggest I use for the second home? I know very very little about this. My only 3 concerns is that I can put a deadbolt lock, outdoor camera and thermostat in the place that I can control from my house 800 miles away. Vera lite? Edge? Vera plus?

TIA

#2

You could probably use any of those devices. I’d probably lean towards the Edge or Plus. You’ll need to look at compatibility with the deadbolt, camera, and thermostat. Not all devices interface with Vera. You’ll have better luck probably with Z-wave devices for the deadbolt and thermostat and probably a common manufacturer for the camera (i.e. like Foscam).

#3

I also should mention that Vera isn’t the best at utilizing cameras. You’ll probably be fine with 1 if you use the Edge/Plus, but I wouldn’t add a lot. The most success I’ve seen is using the BlueIris software and the associated plugin, but then you’ll need an “always on” machine running the software.

#4

Thank you for the advice. Also which one is easiest to set up and use for someone like me that has no knowledge of any home automation?

#5

You can find a Vera recommend list of devices at:
http://getvera.com/compatibility/

Very few of my devices are actually listed on their web site, so there are lots more options, but you need to do your homework.
A strategy is to find a device you are interested in, then search for it in these forums to see if people are using them successfully.

#6

If you’re looking for any sort of reliability at all, you should go with VeraLite and UI5. Stay away from anything with UI7, unless you’re planning to drive 800 miles back and forth a few times a week :slight_smile:

#7

Regarding the camera - many of the IP cameras have their own dedicated app. That might be much easier (and more feature-rich) than trying to get the vera to handle it. So I wouldn’t worry too much about making sure that the vera works with a specific camera. I’ve had an inexpensive zmodo camera set / dvr running along side a vera at one location for two years now.

#8

I went with the Lite. See how that works out.

#9

Good choice. Remember though, only use the latest version of UI5. DO NOT upgrade to UI7.

#10

I suggest a UPS for your Vera and make sure it get’s enough cooling in the summer so that it does not over heat.

#11

Good choice. Remember though, only use the latest version of UI5. DO NOT upgrade to UI7.[/quote]

It’s also not a bad idead to put a wifi outlet on the wall and plug the vera into that so you can kill power and resotre it (reboot the vera) it when it hangs up, stops responding or goes into an endless bootloop.

Something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Ankuoo-Switch-Automation-Android-Smartphones/dp/B00NAX2GVU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457566363&sr=8-2&keywords=wifi+outlet

less then 25.00 will save you from being down until your next trip out.

#12

Good choice. Remember though, only use the latest version of UI5. DO NOT upgrade to UI7.[/quote]
Just as a counter point I use UI7, and have for a very long time, and it works perfectly for me. There is not one time I’ve ever needed to physically go to the Vera and manually intervene. But obviously everyone’s experience is different.

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