Hidden Costs of a Smart Home (how much I spend)
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
- Find out the hidden costs that come with a smart home! Adding up how much I spend to maintain my smart home, I’ll walk you through how much everything costs me each year. I will also share some tips that have helped me integrate my smart home with my family.
FULL article listing everything in my smart home: smarthomesolver.com/reviews/c...
LINKS (affiliate):
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AA battery pack: amzn.to/2LMwdJc
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Arlo Pro 2: amzn.to/2MaDouG
Schlage Connect: amzn.to/31CO4Ji
Schlage Encode: amzn.to/31Exfh7
SmartThings Multipurpose Sensor: amzn.to/2OnGQoP
LIFX bulb: amzn.to/2LZ1msI
Great budget light strips: amzn.to/34yH3uH
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Disclaimer: Smart Home Solver was sent several products for previous unbiased reviews. Other products were purchased with our own money. As always, our opinions are 100% our own and not influenced. 
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What do you think: is a smart home worth its cost and time that it takes to maintain it?
In my experience, my family didn't like me implementing smart devices. But when I've removed them for maintenance, they can't wait to get them back!
I believe it is :)
everyone has a hobby some are more wasteful than others and some are more beneficial than others but none are perfect
For me there is also a hidden cost of sometimes having to carry phone around. Eg. I have a smart switch for my PC to remove idle power (placed behind under desk in hard to reach place). On more than 1 occasion I have walked into that room wanting to turn on PC only to find I can't as no phone on me - very annoying...
I guess that's the price to pay to eliminate standby power - sometimes you can't turn on things that would otherwise already be on!
I spend a ton more money buying junk and sodas than I'll ever spend in automation. So hard yes from me. I've also spent a ton of time since I don't use a lot of proprietary stuff (no smart things, for example) but that is just because I like to tinker, so that's also NOT a waste of time, that's a hobby that has enabled me to understand a lot more about electronics in general.
I'd say that my smarthome hasn't costed me a cent if I put a price on what I have learned.
Why is no one giving this guy props for putting in a clip of his garage door closing as he turned on his TV? It was the #1 comment on his other vid! Well done sir, good job.
I think you might be the first person to recognize that! Good eye!
If my grandma had this she would call me every 5 min asking me why the blender comes on and off when she flushes the toilet.
The tip about the making sure the spouse is onboard is very important. I first started off making a media center, with the amount of hoops she had to jump through made it difficult to purchase or do anything else. I then purchased a smart door lock, she finally saw the benefit of not carrying keys. This paved for other things to be automated.
Thank you for not saying "Alexa" out loud
Love it... I was just working out the power usage of my smart switches yesterday
Great video!! I've been really interested about the battery costs, so you just eased my mind!
Thanks! Glad to hear it was helpful!
So we recently got my gran an ipad. She now has a separate notepad of everything we taught her. She’s getting the hang and coming into the modern world. They now use email for organising things in the village for giving lifts to the local hospital. So thats new, anything else might be a bit much. Alexa kind of blew her mind
One thing at a time, honestly that is probably good advice when it comes to radical technological changes, in general, our species are typically creatures of habit and it takes time for those habits to adapt to anything that alters them more perhaps the longer we have been keeping to those habits so worse for older generations but it would be self-deceptive to claim that we don't all have this flaw best to introduce things slowly enough that our habits can adapt to them before overdoing it as the mind doesn't like it if you ask too much of it.
Reed, your channel is amazing.
I like your humor. Great videos and slick editing. Subscribed!
Glad I found this. Arizona represent!
just getting into smart home through the spotify deal with google to get a free home mini your videos have been a big help!
definitely one of the best home automation channels on YT!
another great video, thank you!
3:35 no one gonna talk about how he magically just turned on that light bulb without it being plugged in? His kids must think it’s magic when they get up in the morning and their lights automatically turn on, but I think it’s magic you just turned on that lightbulb without it being plugged in!
Tricky cable positioning under his arm I would say
He's a wizard! Devil Worshiping.....
are we serious? clearly a jumpcut
@@scvpest even if it is a jumpcut how did power up genius
@@mak.1ps shit, you're right. i wasn't thinking clearly when i wrote that comment. whoops!
2:12 WATT do you pay for smart home devices?
I bet he chuckled while writing that. :D
Nice video! I started about a month ago with my smart home. Got the echo dot 3rd gen. Along with (2) hue play lights and (2) hue a19 color bulbs and of course the hue bridge. My wife and kids are all enjoying the cool colors of our gameroom now. The scenes that u can make are endless! My youngest daughter can’t quite say Alexa lamps green lol to change turn them on or change the colors 😄. She calls her Wexa 😂. Great vid. Will be watching more of your videos!!
I’ve been watching these videos, and I love the information that you provide. I just bought a house and in the middle of selling my last. Once that happens, I’m going ham.
So these are some questions I would like to ask, because you seem to really know what you are looking at.
1: is there a way to utilize a hdd plugged into your router to store camera footage while also being able to stream to action tiles? I want to stream all the time because I have kids and I’d like to monitor them in the loft and back yard. However, I’d like to record the entry points in my house as well (whether this happens only during motion on or full time, whichever). I’d rather use a hdd because I wouldn’t have to clean it so often, or do those wise cams just continuously delete the old while recording new?
2: could you use a hdd plugged into your router to share music to Alexa? I doubt this one seriously, without some very in depth stuff at least.
3: Wouldn’t a smartthings hub be ideal rather than to connecting to your router? I’ve read a hub is meant to handle oodles of smart devices so that you don’t put strain on your router. I have a $250 router (Netgear x6) and it says it’s limited on the devices you can connect to it, and I understand this to be true regardless of the internet speeds and bandwidth actually available. This is why I was so interested in the mesh network stuff to extend the WiFi, because I’m thinking this integrates the system into the hub, then router, rather than to the router directly. This is new, but I do know I want this to be a sweet setup.
Interesting view of things in a way I hadn't considered!
Thanks Mate 👊
About a year and a half ago when I set up my smart home and changed all my bulbs to LED's I started saving $35-$50 a month! LOVE smart home things. Another great video.
That's great to hear! Thanks!
Thanks for the video
Thanks for taking the time to show us the bill! I was looking for the cost of using your robovac, do you have any idea of the cost pr month on that?
You need a much bigger couch! I think the key starter automatons are the ones that make sense in context of how others are using them. Your TV dimming the lights example is good. Also, lights that come on not so bright if it's really early or late. Little adjustments that make sense before the bigger ones. I also think you need to support old methods at the same time. Lights come on by motion (great), but make sure that they can go off by using a switch as well. Great vid.
I appreciate that! Yeah I agree with you. Since I have installed the Brilliant light switches that can control the smart lights has helped.
I'd say the biggest cost outside of the devices themselves is time. Every change potentially takes up a bit of your time and these changes include service and software version upgrades which can unexpectedly change the way things work together.
Always make sure you have an outlet and charging cables by the sofa. Just in case you end up spending a lot of time there.
I don't really see it as a "hidden" cost, just the cost of convenience. Its totally worth it IMHO.
You can offset some of the costs too at least if you have some older appliances in the home which I suspect most of us do, particularly older devices before modern energy efficiency standards often turn out to have rather horrendous standby power draws. Using some modern energy-efficient smart plugs and sensors to actively power them down entirely when not in use and bring them back up only when needed can circumvent that and even save power. A great example I found as someone just starting their smart home was that we have a TV which draws nearly 50W on standby (Compare the 70W while in use) managed to set up automation with a smart plug and an IR sensor/emitter module that only use 1.4W total to completely power it down and still be able to turn it on with the remote albeit it takes around a second longer to wake up as the sensor powers it first then sends the wake-up signal again after a 1-second delay (It defaults to standby on power on). Still, 1.4W*24 hrs is less than 50W*16 hours it was wasted during the time it spends idle on an average day. And that underestimates it as the IR device isn't really dedicated to that one role, lots of good ideas to make those fill multiple jobs as they can control pretty much any consumer electronics that have a remote control input.
That was a great video. Loved the comedy. So true too.
Thanks so much!
Great channel! thumbs up!
Thanks!
You should use rechargeable batteries that's a lot of waste.
They dont make rechargeable flat washer batteries, well I'm pretty damn sure they dont!
@@Alexander_l322 they do make a adapter, so you can use 2 AAA batteries instead of a button/washer battery. {tough this makes the battery much much larger}
I came here to leave a comment about him needing to use (and suggest his viewers use) rechargeable batteries too.
Usually manufacturers don't recommend using rechargeable batteries www.schlage.com/content/sch-us-2/en/home/faq.html?id=128684
@@Alexander_l322 Actually they do, but I'm not sure if it is worth it: www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJ3T188/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_h6zUDbWM2HWPR
I started out with 1 free Echo dot with no intent whatsoever to use it (Christmas deal at Best Buy).
2 months later: 3 echo dots, 2 show 5's, 1 show 8, every switch and outlet in my house is smart, 6 Blink XT2's, 5 Wyze cameras, Schlage locks,Ecobee Smartstat, SmartThings, Meross garage opener, SimpliSafe , eero router to handle loads, and more added weekly. It's like an addiction.
Echo dot... the gate way drug.
Love the video. You're one of my favorite channels lately! Though, I feel like we're rivals since we're a Google Home, Ecobee, etc household haha.
Actually, I think a good future video was pro-wife/family automations, or other pro/con votes you got from the family.
Thanks! I have a few Google Home Minis I use so kind of rivals haha. That's a good idea for a video! I'll make sure to give you a shout out if I use that idea for a video.
Good subject dude 🙏
Thanks!
Haha love the sleeping on the couch part. Wish my electric bill in the summer was that low we had one that was $250+. GA doubles their electric rates in the summer.
Haha thanks! Our bill is a little higher with the heat wave in AZ this summer.
Make site you can undo whatever you do. I had issues implementing bedtime routines that included the bedroom lights. The Better Half was not happy at first. Luckily, I just put back the old "dumb" light bulbs and fixed it the next day.
Hey read love your videos I love how you explain everything makes perfect sense I am new to automation still learning more and more about impure videos another RUclips. as of right now I only have basic animation Cox and their hub. I would like for you to help me with one thing if you can do you have any idea what brand of excuses and what devices can connect to the hub. As of right now I have to sengled light bulbs connected Step Up and two doors and one motion camera but I have no idea what the brand that camera is
for the dAA batters you can get recharagble ones
what type of triangle stands are you using?? i need these in my life!~ thanks man i appreciate it in advance
You can save a lot on batteries by getting Powerex Pro rechargable AA batteries. I use them all the time as a professional photographer and they last a very long time. You can also save even more by taking advantage of 5% cash back credit cards like Discover It, so you can purchase batteries and things like that essentially for free by using the cash you get back from your purchases.
It can also save quite a bit especially if you have any appliances with standby modes that are less than efficient, whether setting up automation around this sort of thing is worth doing does take some experimenting to find out but taking the time to accurately measure the power use of my smart devices and appliances has helped me find a few savings and I'm still just starting with my smart home. Net saving around 1.4 kWh per day on average through having set up automation to bypass the inefficient standby mode of just three older appliances, admittedly much of that is from a single older TV that turns out to draw almost as much on standby as when in use an IR sensor/emitter module and a smart plug soon fixed that though at the cost of adding around 1 second of delay when turning it on with the remote as the TV starts up in standby mode when powered on so I have the automation set to give the smart plug a second to power it up before the IR signal is replayed.
I love that small rgb cloud in your background where can I get them?
good stuff
(bonus points for RGB couch lol)
Can you make a video for the devices enegy usage and your Tesla Solar panel bills in your modern house
My apologies if you've already done a video on it but what led strip do you recommend for music visuals? I plan on having them on my roof in my work room & I've always wanted them to respond to music but so far all the ones I've had are horrible.
Do you recommend a security indoor camera that work well with Apple iPhone ? Don't want subscription no batteries if possible.
before I got started with some automatons, I talked it over with the wife to make sure she would see the benefits first and be more open minded. it sure has paid off and it was her idea to automate the Chicken coop before I even mentioned it!!! having some peace of mind for things like getting reminders the battery is getting low on sensors and just making it more comfortable to be in the house without having to do a marathon to make sure things are off.
That's great to hear!
At 2:30 you show the smartthings app. Inside the panel it shows your power usage.. question... What are you using to add and show that info? Want to add to my panels.
This is why I am going to "mod" a few sensors so that it's going to be wired instead of with a battery.
The constant changing and forgetting is getting on my nerves more than doing it the non smart way.
The prices don't surprise me at all. Power consumption is really great with these devices since every company wants to be the greenest.
Hi I have question sir ..... if I want to change the light bulbs in my house and wanna control them through my cell phone ... like I can turn on off , change the colour etc... what do I need to buy ... only the wifi bulb or i have to buy a hub first then the compatible bulb for it ... please advise 🙏🏻
Sorry if you answered this somewhere, but how did you set up a light to change color when your garage door was activated?
What do you think about the new wyze robot vacuum?
Replacing batteries can be a pain when you have (mentally counting...) about 20 sensors.
I had bought a product from Konnected.io. It's a NodeMCU board that goes in place of your security system. It turns all of your wired security sensors (door/window contact sensors, motion sensors, even alarms and smoke detectors) into smart home sensors. Compatible with SmartThings et al.
Very cool, and very convenient if you have a house wired up for a security system and don't want to buy a bunch of sensors/batteries
If you look on Amazon there is a timer that works extremely well. To well. I found out that it has a battery back up. So it saves the memory. But that's just not it. I found a tiny hole that it on the top left i think. It's so small. But I am 99% nervous that it's a camera built into it. & I don't want to open the sucker up. Because it was I think around $20-$40 I probably should contact Amazon about it.
I don't know if your turned off TV consumes more than a smart outlet but if so you can automate the TV outlet to be turned off when no one is home or when no one is on the room...
I like rechargeable door locks like the YALE lock
Question the stand inside with the purple color , where I can find it, please
I would love to see anything outdoor. I'm looking for outdoor automation. Say for example wifi plugs that are weatherproof. So for the non smart christmas lights I can connect to wifi and control them. Its just kind of frustrating there are more indoor smart devices and not a lot of outdoor. Here is an example, I built my own fog machine for halloween. So with the fog machine and all the other halloween lights I want to connect them to a outdoor weatherproof outlet. One with multiple outlets. The only good one I could find was the ihome outdoor plug. Its ok but I need multiple plugs so I have to use an adapter. I want to eliminate all the adapters and extra plugs. So if you have any ideas on outdoor automation that would be great to see.
I found the smart thermostat To save About $25 a month !But I find the whole system to be priceless to me
Nest subscriptions are changing to a low cost bundle format starting next year.
What router do you use and/or what would recommend? I’m just starting to add IOT devices around my house and feel like I need to beef up my wifi Network. I’m considering the Eero mesh network, but not sure if it’s worth the $250 price tag
I use the Gryphon, which has good enough specs to handle all of my devices. I haven't tried Eero yet, but I do plan on testing mesh systems down the road.
Some smarthome device got some good feature like sd card save, xiaomi ecosystem provide that. Even not good enough for global user because it using chinese language
It really happens in Singapore as older folks dont understand English
Hi,
I'm trying to add a Sannce ipcam to my smart life or Google home but there is no way.
Do you know please if this is possible?
Thanks.
This makes me wanna set up automations like"When I turn the lights on my refrigerator turns off and all my food rots." 😁
What lamp is that in the background with the smart bulb?
hi my friend i have problem in my house propably coming from my smart home the internet via wifi is very bad but in my pc that is connected to modem router via lan is as must be, i have many device that is connected to the router via wifi and like
4 google home
1 tablet action tile
1 smart cam
1 xiaomi vacuum
1 tv when is on
1 blueray when tv is on
1 nest thermostat
2 phones at least
1 fitbit scale maybe
1 samsung washer
1 samsung dryer
via lan
pc
smarthings hub
philips hue hub
i have as modem router the default of my provider aDSL
is ZTE SPEEDPORT ENTRY2i
the problem coming from all that device you think?
you think if update to a better wifi router will be ok like ASUS GT-AX11000 AiMesh Router?
Yea, whats the name of the little RGB cloud light sitting next to the boomerang? Can't find it anywhere, and you don't list it on any of your pages. Thanks for any info!
The cloud is the hub for SwitchBot. Sorry I should make it easier to find. Here's the link: amzn.to/2mGZoVa
Hey Smart Home Solver, do you know if there is a product that is like a WiFi button? I.e. a button connected to WiFi that via Alexa, IFTTT, or some other method when pressed can toggle a smart switch or plug? I think this can be done with the echo buttons but wasn't sure if there was a sleeker product.
I use the SmartThings button for this: amzn.to/2nh9a0l
Great video! Thank you for the in depth video on costs.
Thanks! I appreciate you commenting on the other video and the support!
@@SmartHomeSolver I'm shocked it spawned so many other people's similar questions. PS. I would love to have cost benefit analysis on different smart Home systems/sensors/services/etc.. Eg: a video comparing different light switches, their costs, and features etc... . I love the way you present information.
2.16, you have a table with a weather screen plugged in, is this just the amazon Alexa app running or is it a smart home hub unit?
That is a Switch bot hub
What's your reaction to a power cut. Limp mode?!
Anything to make my life easier I am for it. Now if you could just tell me how to automate my windows to open/close/lock my windows and if we could get an Alexa robot maid then I'll be set.
how much power does a led smart light bulb consume when turned off via wifi?
The time spent making your home smart is also time invested in *learning*, so it has an added value. And that value it's even higher if you're going raw, not taking the Amazon's or Google's blue pills, trying to build your smart network using other alternatives or devices that don't use the cloud.
You will learn so much about IT, electronics and networking that it could even become your new job.
You measured electrical use for your devices, but don't you have a hub or Central PC running 24/7?
2:58 thats why u need a smart plug for the tv in order to prevent vampire power
Worth the cost because you have more free time.. What you do with Alexa routines that you can't do it with SmarrThings or you just create phrases that doing combos?
Pretty much everything I can do with Alexa Routines I can do with SmartThings. There are just a few things that make it a little bit easier to use Alexa Routines. Mainly automating WiFi devices that aren't natively compatible with SmartThings but are with Alexa. Also voice commands and having Alexa announce things is pretty easy to do with Alexa Routines.
What about your modems/routers?
you one for solar panels long run is saving gracias
I actually think smart devices save you more money, taking into consideration energy savings for lights not on when you dont need it, smarter temp controls, and so forth.
You should know how much the smart thermostat has saved. You should check what you were paying per year before your smart thermostat then after. I would love to know that outcome.
Check out Amazon basics batteries a pack of 100 is only 20 US
Thanks!
WOAHHH 100??? THE MOST BATTERIES I HAD AT ONCE WAS LIKE 5😂
regarding the door locks ,if battery dies , u can't get inside your house ?
There is keyed backup
Lmao you were terrorizing that dog chasing him with that robovacuum. 😂
The batteries for my Nest Alarm sensors and smoke detectors are expensive AF.
Yap, I've gotten yelled at for automating things.
Slow burn is the key here I see, thanks for the tip! 😈
Time spent can be a big cost when something messes up and you have to fix it. And yes figuring the wife into a smart home is crucial. Mine really isn't into it, but I try to be smart when I put something in the house.
Yay! My question got into the video! Mama I'm famous!
BUT, it remains unanswered. Im really curious how much power motion sensors use. They are constantly on.
Not much bro it you wouldn't even see the change on your light bill
Actually I did change all my lights for smart lights (philipshue, yeelight, tuya) and guess what?! My bill drop 40€ per month, why? Because the automations that I've create. Ex. My room ceiling have 13 lights, at night I can dim, or turn off some lights individually....that happens in all divisons in my house.... :D, im verty happy with the result. Now I have a disco house xD
Personally I believe that my art home saves me and my family money, we have a thermostat that knows when we leave and we have all led lights along with devices that automatically turn off when we leave that we wouldn’t really turn off
Hi! Just want to ask how you automate your tv and smart light? Like how do I dim the light when the tv is on?
There are a couple of ways to do it. One is to use a harmony hub which can control your tv and connect it to smartthings so in the harmony hub app there is a option to change the lights when you turn on the TV. Another (and cheaper) way is to buy a smart plug that monitors the wattage from your TV (like this one www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PY4YPTF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and set a automation to dim the light(s) when the wattage rises above a set level.
I used webCoRE which is running on top of SmartThings. Here is a link to how I set it up smarthomesolver.com/reviews/smart-home-automation-ideas/#20_TV_Lights_with_Any_Remote let me know if you have any questions about it!
1:01 Name of the lamp?
Update on the nest cameras for those coming in late: They no longer charge per camera. You pay $6-7 and you can view 30 days of all your camera's recordings.
This Is not true
@@mazhariqbal5106
My bad, that's coming later. They announced it at the "Made by Google 2019" event.
Gracias., need one security video cameras can help with house owners insures., not payments
You could buy rechargable batteries.
I'd like to take the parents garage door one step further. Correcting them to IFTTT, when you turn your TV on, you could have the garage door go up...at their house
Haha that would for sure cause some major confusion and headaches!
Where you at in AZ?
Nest literally came out with new pricing 2 days ago, with a cloud recording service that is much much cheaper and includes unlimited cameras for 1 price...
Yeah that’s good news.
Should I be rich to afford these things? Are they available in South Africa?
Speaking of costs? What about when you move? Did you save your OLD bulbs? What happens when the company decide it does not want to be in the business anymore?? Your smart things server gets turned off? Just asking... :)
I don't think Samsung is going out of business anytime some but even if they do their zigbee/z-wave devices are generic so can use them with other hubs as well.