Vera Lite.... Future of Home Automation?

At the forefront of home automation (HA) is the very effective Vera Lite (VL) manufactured by Mi Casa Verde. This note worthy piece of gear at its irregular price point and endless possibilities makes it the home automation controller of choice.   There are many home automation controllers out there (2gig, rti, Iris) but they are all dead end devices at higher price points. The Vera Lite is one of the few devices that doesn't require a monthly subscription. Look at the iPhone success; not only is the device very capable but the iTunes app store allowed a way for people around the world contribute to how the iPhone works. The Vera Lite is very similar in the fact that is does have an app store with people adding new apps every day.  One example of this benefit is an app that controls your sprinkler system. With the Vera and the Z-Wave sprinkler system this app pulls information from Google to see if it’s raining or not. Then it will determine weather to water your lawn or not. Pretty Cool… right?

Historically HA systems required a trained installer who would be your only point of contact and the only person to buy from because the manufacture and dealer making this monopoly. So upgrades and support would have to go through the custom installer. Well not anymore with the VL. The system is one of the easiest to install with only 2 wires and some software downloading any DIYer (do it yourselfer) can do.   The VL integrates with all Z-Wave devices so you don’t really have to worry about which ones will work like most HA systems. Some of the big boys on the block include

• Intermatic receptacles and dimmers
• GE receptacles, simple dimmers, three-way dimmers, simple switch, three-way switch, and outdoor switch
• GE scene controllers
• Kwikset door locks
• Aeon Labs open/close sensor
• Everspring open/close sensor
• Mi Casa Verde Cameras

Not only does it work great with zwave devices but it works really well with some alarm panels. 

• DSC (Power Series)
• ELK (M1 Series)
• GE (NetworX)
• Honeywell (Vista)
• Visonic (PowerMax)

Take a look at my Youtube video for a more in depth review and proper basic setup of the Vera Lite by Mi Casa Verde and stay tuned for more tutorials for the system.

For great deals visit www.smarthomesd.com or email info@smarthomesd.com

Hello World

Hey everyone this is my first blog post so Welcome! I always wanted a blog where I could share knowledge and projects and finally have time for one. I started this San Diego based website/ home business from a hobby and an inspirational movie "1999 Disney Movie Original Smart House". 

Haha "Inspirational" maybe I picked the wrong word. But it really made me think. How far away was it until we saw something like it? Well its been about 14 years and the time has come for the average home owner to incorporate "Smart" into their house. 

What does "Smart" mean? Well it is a very broad answer.  A smart home would be a domain where home technology and occupants lived together in harmony (user friendly, efficient, cost effective).

What can you expect from this blog/ smarthomesd.com? Well to start I will be posting up to date info on how to increase the intelligence of your home. Home networking, home automation, home theater, cable cutting is just a few. I will also be explaining what works and doesn't with tutorials and YouTube videos.  

A few high lights in the near future include: Controlling your home from abroad, Storing your movie collection in a "Netflix" type of interface and being able to watch them from anywhere, Watching  commercial free tv, how to cut your cable bill and still enjoy all the tv and movies you can handle, and so much more. 

I hope you will enjoy whats coming in the near future. I am in the building block stages, so website and blog are pretty bland;  if you have any recommendations or questions please shoot them over to info@smarthomesd.com