Trying to wrap my head around the big picture and big items as we are about to start construction on a new home. Interested in automating lighting and probably a whole lot more, may start small and grow over time, may jump in big from day one. That is still undecided. Few big picture items and some questions I've piccked up along the way... this forum seemed as appropriate as any other without creating lots of more specific threads...
- lighting almost certainly radiora2. Meaning if I don't do radiora2, I probably won't do controlled lighting at all on day 1. Hard to imagine that at this point.
- landscape lighting. Seems confusing. Lutron has dedicated ELV dimmers. Seems like a bank of these could control landscape lights directly and then be controlled by RR2 and/or automation controller. But I see discussions about controlling outlets that transformers are plugged into. And I also see suggestions for dedicated luxor or whatever landscape controllers. Is that necessary, or what are the advantages?
- cqc. Been reading up and asking questions about various home automation controllers and software. Leaning towards cqc. Open to suggestions for or against. Would like to be a day 1 thing.
- cameras. Seems like bluiris is the defacto. Haven't put a lot of time reading about this. My needs I don't think would be very complex... a few outdoor cameras, maybe one at front gate and another at front door? I don't think I want cameras all throughout the house.
- security panel. If I did have RR2 lighting and cqc automation, is there still a big draw for the Elk M1G I see recommended and discussed a lot? Is there another piece of gear it would prevent me from needing, like a relay module or plc maybe? Trying to figure out if such a full featured security panel is needed, or even particularly helpful? Can cqc control panels replace the standard security keypads?
- WHA. Right now just a few echos scattered around. Like the voice control. Wouldn't mind a wired keypad type system like HTD or similar. Is cqc media control robust enough to serve that function entirely? Does it allow streaming sources? Can it tie into Alexa devices as an input?
- video. Not sure if I want to deal with distributed video. Use Kodi for movies and could stick to that or plex for theater. Or is cqc robust and slick enough to handle that?
And one specific bonus question I haven't been able to find with mad Googling. Is there a cheap water flow sensor that can report to cqc or similar that flow is present (in modest quantity, like a gal/min or whatever)? Not a full fledged water monitoring device. Just a simple "yep, faucet is on" sensor? I ask because one appeal of controlled lighting and automation is having lights just take care of themselves. Would liven for spotlight or chandelier over wife's tub just come on when needed and go off some time later. Occupancy sensor is going to pick up too much motion in bathroom. Sensing modest flow from the faucet was one thought.
- lighting almost certainly radiora2. Meaning if I don't do radiora2, I probably won't do controlled lighting at all on day 1. Hard to imagine that at this point.
- landscape lighting. Seems confusing. Lutron has dedicated ELV dimmers. Seems like a bank of these could control landscape lights directly and then be controlled by RR2 and/or automation controller. But I see discussions about controlling outlets that transformers are plugged into. And I also see suggestions for dedicated luxor or whatever landscape controllers. Is that necessary, or what are the advantages?
- cqc. Been reading up and asking questions about various home automation controllers and software. Leaning towards cqc. Open to suggestions for or against. Would like to be a day 1 thing.
- cameras. Seems like bluiris is the defacto. Haven't put a lot of time reading about this. My needs I don't think would be very complex... a few outdoor cameras, maybe one at front gate and another at front door? I don't think I want cameras all throughout the house.
- security panel. If I did have RR2 lighting and cqc automation, is there still a big draw for the Elk M1G I see recommended and discussed a lot? Is there another piece of gear it would prevent me from needing, like a relay module or plc maybe? Trying to figure out if such a full featured security panel is needed, or even particularly helpful? Can cqc control panels replace the standard security keypads?
- WHA. Right now just a few echos scattered around. Like the voice control. Wouldn't mind a wired keypad type system like HTD or similar. Is cqc media control robust enough to serve that function entirely? Does it allow streaming sources? Can it tie into Alexa devices as an input?
- video. Not sure if I want to deal with distributed video. Use Kodi for movies and could stick to that or plex for theater. Or is cqc robust and slick enough to handle that?
And one specific bonus question I haven't been able to find with mad Googling. Is there a cheap water flow sensor that can report to cqc or similar that flow is present (in modest quantity, like a gal/min or whatever)? Not a full fledged water monitoring device. Just a simple "yep, faucet is on" sensor? I ask because one appeal of controlled lighting and automation is having lights just take care of themselves. Would liven for spotlight or chandelier over wife's tub just come on when needed and go off some time later. Occupancy sensor is going to pick up too much motion in bathroom. Sensing modest flow from the faucet was one thought.