Smart Home

[bigpern23]

Undergoing a rather large renovation to our home, my wife and I have decided to invest in some smart home products to increase the efficiency of our energy consumption. We've installed Nest Learning Thermostats and we're going to install GE LED Smart bulbs that work with the Wink Hub (which also works with many other third-party products).

I sold my wife on the efficiency of the Nest Thermostats and GE lights, but truthfully, I love tech gadgets and think it's a cool way to save money on energy.

We'll probably also install a motorized window blind that will be remotely controlled through the Wink Hub (and, thus, our smartphones) to cover a window we can't reach (my in-laws, who live next door, will be able to see right into our living room, meaning no hanky lanky on the couch unless I come up with a solution).

I have an eye toward installing smart locks in the near future, and when we buy an air conditioning window unit in the next few months, it will probably be a smart device as well.

Does anyone else have any experience with these kinds of gadgets? Any particular ones that you love or hate?

 

[JackReacher]

Jesus Christ. Your in-laws live right next door?

 

[bigpern23]

Yep.

 

[MisterCreosote]

I don't think I could afford any of that **** after the amount of money I spent actually buying our house.

And, **** next door. My mother-in-law is moving in WITH us soon. That ought to be a blast.

 

[JackReacher]

Oh, God!

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

I've heard of locks where you'll receive a text whenever someone uses it, which is great for working parents to know that they're kids got home. I think some may even take a picture and text that back to you.

**** is crazy these days.

 

[bigpern23]

The Nest and the GE bulbs, in particular, will eventually pay for themselves. It's just the initial outlay that can be tough. I got a deal on the Nests (we have four zones) at $200 each, but it's going to take about 5 years for the savings to cover the costs. The GE bulbs have an annual energy cost of about $1.57 per year, compared to $5.18 per year for a 60W equivalent. So the $15 price tag will get offset in about 3 years (and the lights are supposed to last 22 years).

I have to admit, when the electric bill comes and compares us to our neighbors, I get competitive.

Fortunately, our financing covers all of this stuff, so it's not as painful as it would be if we were simply starting from scratch and trying to increase our automation and efficiency.

 

[bigpern23]

As for the in-laws, having their summer home being right next door to us is advantageous in a lot of ways, not the least of which is that we got to live there until the renovation (which began in September) finishes up next week. It's made it easier to take care of questions and issues that have arisen during construction and saved us probably $10k in the cost of renting another home during construction.

And, honestly, we could not have bought our house if they didn't own the house next door. They knew their neighbors well for more than 30 years, so when the previous owner passed away a few years ago, his will gave my wife right of first refusal on the home at less than market value. Sad the guy passed on, but we really benefited from it.

I get along well with the in-laws, too, so it hasn't been an issue. My wife just has to be a little quieter during the summer when the windows are open.

 

[spikechiquet]

As for the in-laws, having their summer home being right next door to us is advantageous in a lot of ways, not the least of which is that we got to live there until the renovation (which began in September) finishes up next week. It's made it easier to take care of questions and issues that have arisen during construction and saved us probably $10k in the cost of renting another home during construction.

And, honestly, we could not have bought our house if they didn't own the house next door. They knew their neighbors well for more than 30 years, so when the previous owner passed away a few years ago, his will gave my wife right of first refusal on the home at less than market value. Sad the guy passed on, but we really benefited from it.

I get along well with the in-laws, too, so it hasn't been an issue. My wife just has to be a little quieter during the summer when the windows are open.

Oh come on! Be a man! Let her dad know what a stud of a SIL he has! LOL

 

[Buck]

The Nest and the GE bulbs, in particular, will eventually pay for themselves. It's just the initial outlay that can be tough. I got a deal on the Nests (we have four zones) at $200 each, but it's going to take about 5 years for the savings to cover the costs.

So with an $800 cost and an assumed discount rate of 10%, that's a net present value of $183.13.
That's good.

 

[bigpern23]

So with an $800 cost and an assumed discount rate of 10%, that's a net present value of $183.13.
That's good.

Sorry, Buck, I don't follow. What's the assumed discount rate of 10 percent?

 

[ChrisLong]

Just a question, not a statement:
How many times have you paid up front now for something that will save you money in the future, and actually reached the point where the purchase has become a money-saver?

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

Just a question, not a statement:
How many times have you paid up front now for something that will save you money in the future, and actually reached the point where the purchase has become a money-saver?

The worst were those stupid ****ing coil light bulbs that were supposed to last forever and save you money and they actually don't last very long and they give off no light.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

So the Nest is working out?
I've glanced at them, but haven't pulled the trigger. Isn't it just a smart thermostat?

I skip on buying expensive bulbs. Parts of our house has old wiring. I change bulbs in the upstairs hall (two lights, four bulbs) on a monthly basis, because a bulb has blown. No way I'm paying $7 a bulb.

 

[bigpern23]

Just a question, not a statement:
How many times have you paid up front now for something that will save you money in the future, and actually reached the point where the purchase has become a money-saver?

This is the first house I've owned, so this is the first time we're investing in this sort of stuff. Off the top of my head, my Amazon Prime membership saves me quite a lot, my wife's hybrid SUV turned out to be a money saver, and our high-effiency washer/dryer will begin saving us money soon.

Assuming the bulbs last three years, they will definitely save money and energy since they will all be installed in ceiling light units (ceiling fans, recessed lights, surface lights). We wouldn't randomly decide to swap them out for 60W bulbs. Same with the Nest Thermostats. Now that they're in, we're not going to pay a plumber to uninstall them and put in dumb thermostats.

 

[bigpern23]

So the Nest is working out?
I've glanced at them, but haven't pulled the trigger. Isn't it just a smart thermostat?

I skip on buying expensive bulbs. Parts of our house has old wiring. I change bulbs in the upstairs hall (two lights, four bulbs) on a monthly basis, because a bulb has blown. No way I'm paying $7 a bulb.

We haven't moved back in yet, and they were only installed on Monday, so they're not fully set up. We haven't yet set up the Wi-Fi, which will give us the full functionality.

Yes, they are smart thermostats. Did mean they're just programmable thermostats? The Nest tracks your movement and your habits, so it learns when you are typically away from home or sleeping, turns down the heat automatically during the hours you're gone or snoozing, and it turns the heat back up in anticipation of your return or waking up. I read a report (not sponsored by Nest) that says that only about 6 percent of homeowners actually program their programmable thermostats, so the idea with Nest is that it doesn't require you to program it.

Also, the Wi-Fi capability and the app allow you to control the thermostat from anywhere, so if you're away on vacation but you forgot to turn down the thermostat before you left, you can do it remotely.

We move in next Friday and Nest says it takes about three weeks for it to learn your patterns, so we'll see. Right now, they probably assume we sleep from 3:30 p.m. until 7 a.m., since there's basically no movement in the house during those hours.

 

[Buck]

Sorry, Buck, I don't follow. What's the assumed discount rate of 10 percent?

Net present value allows one to determine whether a project is worth financing. The discount rate is an assumed rate of return you could get if you invested the money in another venture.
10% is kind of a default, although it isn't really realistic in this case.

So, if the investment pays for itself in three years, your getting 33% on it. If the equipment fails after three years, it's a wash and a bad investment because you could have made 10% a year for three years on the money instead of breaking even.
However, if the equipment lasts 10 years, which is what I used on the payout, you come out way ahead because the savings you realize in years four through 10 are much more than you could have gotten from another investment.

 

[bigpern23]

Net present value allows one to determine whether a project is worth financing. The discount rate is an assumed rate of return you could get if you invested the money in another venture.
10% is kind of a default, although it isn't really realistic in this case.

So, if the investment pays for itself in three years, your getting 33% on it. If the equipment fails after three years, it's a wash and a bad investment because you could have made 10% a year for three years on the money instead of breaking even.
However, if the equipment lasts 10 years, which is what I used on the payout, you come out way ahead because the savings you realize in years four through 10 are much more than you could have gotten from another investment.

Ah, gotcha, that makes sense. Yeah, I think we'll end up coming out ahead, of course assuming the equipment doesn't fail.

Before the renovation, we had regular Honeywell programmable thermostats and, frankly, they sucked. No matter how many times I tried to program them, the temperatures would somehow get screwed up and reset to some default setting, and I'd up manually overriding them to turn them down. The interface was clunky, at best, and we were wasting a ton of energy, something I hate doing.

 

[Buck]

We've got two thermostats - one on each end of the house. couldn't even tell you the brand, and have never had any trouble with them.

I will say that we have two tankless water heaters, and I regret that decision. hot water temperature cannot be well regulated, which is unpleasant for washing dishes and showering.

 

[bigpern23]

We've got two thermostats - one on each end of the house. couldn't even tell you the brand, and have never had any trouble with them.

I will say that we have two tankless water heaters, and I regret that decision. hot water temperature cannot be well regulated, which is unpleasant for washing dishes and showering.

We had two zones as well and it was impossible to keep all the rooms at a consistent temperature. My son's room was always either 78 degrees or 63. We struggled to keep it comfortable for him. We replaced the whole heating system, so hopefully the new pipes, added zones and the thermostats will make things more comfortable and efficient.

We're probably going to get a new water heater soon, too. Our current water heater is about 15 years old and can be pretty unreliable. If we do a load of laundry or run the dishwasher before showering, we run out of hot water. Our energy company is offering a $750 rebate on a $1,000 heater, so we're going to try to take advantage of that (I have to make sure the new one is compatible with our current setup).