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Is there a good quality low-power home alarm system? I'd like something that could run for up to a month on battery power alone and still function if the mains went out for whatever reason. If I assume an average draw of 1amp at 12v, then to cover 30 days I'd need a 720ah battery, which would...

As near as I can tell, it's a kind of grassroots alternative internet access strategy.  Out of goodwill you apparently install a LoRa TTN gateway and connect it to your internet.  Then anyone (?) within range (which can be fairly far, since it's LoRa) can connect their LoRa nodes with your...

Whoops.  Sorry.  I see that this topic has already been covered here:  http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/31499-moen-flo-smart-water-valve/?hl=%2Bmoen+%2Bflo#entry265397  I had mispelled moen as moan when I searched for it earlier.   Moderator: feel free to delete this post.     I first noticed...

Any opinions about the effectiveness of this style of surge suppressor with replaceable parts?   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SBC0LTE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1    

Anyone here looked into using Tensorflow, or perhaps something like it, to augment their home automation?   https://www.tensorflow.org/

I stopped in at a Best Buy this evening, not having been in one for years.  Wow!  A huge amount of floor space devoted to Echo, Google Home, Hue lighting, Bluetooth deadbolts, surveillance cameras, etc.  It seems that home automation has suddenly become mainstream.  I just wonder if it's a...

Supposedly it lets you "see" through walls up to 4" deep: https://walabot.com/diy?utm_expid=.bJbcLnSqQgqjS0C23dnpRA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwalabot.com%2F   I'm skeptical, but if it works, I want one.

Lowest price I've yet seen for a low end weather station:  https://www.costco.com/La-Crosse-5-in-1-Professional-Wireless-Weather-Station.product.100359831.html

Anyone else notice what seems like a significant decline in new postings on various home automation internet forums? I mean: mysensors, lowpowerlab, cocoontech, .... The rate of new postings seems much less than in prior years. Is that because people have found other solutions elsewhere, or...

Google Home is now advertised to interact with Nest thermostats.  Not sure if Amazon's Alexa can do that yet.  I'm still quite impressed with Ecco, though I haven't yet really leveraged it for home automation.

Early on it seemed like they were making rapid progress.  By outward appearance, their technology seemed sound.  No surprise there, since they seemed to be adopting already well developed technology/standards.  At least on that front they seemed to be doing everything right.     I think they...

With the promo code, it's $69:  http://www.frys.com/product/8573369#detailed   For the price, it's hard to complain.  I wonder how the oomph compares to a Raspberry Pi 3?

Any reason not to simply stay with Windows 7?  Windows 7 seems to "just work," and that's really all I want from a Windows OS.   Also, Amazon is selling Windows 7 for pretty cheap these days: as little as $45 with Amazon Prime.

Good ways to monitor the amount of effluent being dumped by a reverse osmosis filter?  The problem is: out of sight, out of mind.  On a short term basis I could just drain it into a bucket to gauge the volume being produced, but for longer-term maybe there's something inexpensive that's good for...

I notice most leak detectors are single point sensors.  However, under a kitchen sink, over time drips can happen in different areas, so you may not get lucky on just where you put a leak detector.  I'm thinking of maybe laying down two parallel strips of conductive tape at the three (maybe all...

It's been quite a sight!

I presume the motor vibration is what's loosening them.  Anyhow, this is a too frequent PIA.  I have to get on a ladder just to re-tighten the bulb.  It happens on both GDO's, so I'm guessing this happens to other people too.   What's the solution?  Is there something like a thread locker for...

I want to buy one to see how it might change throughout the day and automatically store and graph it via a wireless link.  Accuracy is my #1 criteria, though, as very often these things seem highly inaccurate when compared to what a doctor measures with the old mercury standard.    In searching...

For levity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOSBUU74SHc   For God's sake, why doesn't he automate them opening and closing like the "real" Star Trek doors?

I'd rather not get into the rather long story as to why we're trying to do it that way.  Instead, I'm just wondering: how well would it work or not?