Homeseer Black Friday Sale Eg - HS3 Pro Software Now $299.98 (Was $599.95) USD Save 50% [May Expire Today]

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Go to Deal

Lsinbox on 22/11/2017 - 10:59 homeseer.com (135 clicks)
Last edited 22/11/2017 - 11:37 by 1 other user

My first post…Please be nice :-)

Not sure how long this will last (they are in week 3), but Homeseer is running their regular sale on almost all of their products (including some 3rd Party plugins). This sale occurs every 6 months or so, so don't sweat if you miss out on this one.

Homeseer is a step-up/upgrade option for anyone serious about Home Automation. While I see value in their offerings compared to other options like Vera, I personally think full retail for their products is quite high. I'm about to place order for the HS3 Pro Software at $299 USD.

Deals offered on their website include:
50% Off All HomeSeer Software - Eg - HS3 Pro Software now $299.98 (was $599.95) USD
20% Off Select 3rd Party Plug-ins Eg HARMONYHUB Software Plug-in for HS3 now 23.96 USD was 29.99USD See Full List of Plugins here: https://shop.homeseer.com/collections/black-friday-3rd-party…

Other deals include:
15-25% Off All HomeSeer Controllers
10-12% Off HomeSeer Lighting
15-17% Off HomeSeer Sensors
10% Off HomeSeer Water Valves

Reward Program: Save $5 by creating an account on their website, signing up for a newsletter and following them on twitter.

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  XeKToReX on 22/11/2017 - 12:42

  Do you use HS3? I love it.

  I use it pretty heavily, happy to answer any Q's anyone has.

  • 

    CletusDB on 22/11/2017 - 13:12

    Do you have home assistant as well. I'm trying to decide if it is worth getting home seer or just got for the free option.

    I'm worried home seer does not have as much development for things like xiaomi sensors and lifx or other lighting like the mi lights (not the xiaomi ones)

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      XeKToReX on 22/11/2017 - 13:26

      I have tried HA, but didn't really like the configuration, I believe it's gotten better recently when it comes to z-wave.

      Why don't you try Home Assistant and see how you go before buying HS3?

      I have gone with z-wave gear so haven't looked into the xiaomi smart gear, there is plugins for LiFX and also Limitless LED/MiLight but they may cost you. The benefit of paid plugins is that the developers tend to hang around and update/bugfix.

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        CletusDB on 22/11/2017 - 14:00

        Yeah my worries with the 3rd party plug in is that they won't be around for updates. Seems alot of the homeseer functionality relied on 3rd party plugs

  • 

    sinbox on 22/11/2017 - 14:51

    Can't wait to play around with it. I brought it for a new home I'm building - very limited experience with home automation, but wanted to invest in a solid platform first. Did a lot of research comparing HomeAssistant/Vera etc, but I think HomeSeer still has the best community & device support - especially to integrate with my home security system (Honeywell) and other smart devices like DoorBird etc. I will test HomeSeer soon on a spare computer, but I'm waiting on a good deal for a decent laptop to run HomeSeer and other software like Kodi, Plex etc. Also need to order a Z-wave stick or Z-Net controller. What do you use?

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      XeKToReX on 22/11/2017 - 16:08

      +1

      Probably not remembering everything, but I mainly use:

      HS3 Pro
      Aeon Z-Stick
      Aeon Nano+Micro Switches/Dimmers
      Fibaro Relays/Dimmers
      Aeon Smart Switches
      Aeon Multisensors
      Aeon Scene Controllers
      Plex
      LiFX
      Sonos
      Harmony Hub
      Eaton+APC UPS's
      Blue Iris CCTV
      Amazon Echo/Echo Dots

      It all works quite well with HS3, the web UI is dated, but you really don't use it if you have voice/mobile control.

      There is an app called HSBuddy which is very good for iOS and Android.

      HS3 requires pretty minimal specs to run, I ran it very successfully on a Celeron NUC for a while before virtualising it. An i3/i5 NUC would be fine for Plex/Kodi/HS3 especially if you use Plex players with good codec support.

  • 

    Jstrrrr on 23/11/2017 - 11:48

    I haven't bothered with HS3 yet but I did use HS2 a lot at my old place.

    There is no doubt that this is the best backend in terms of programming flexibility and accommodating all protocols.

    But, at $299 discounted for the Pro version, which you will need if you want the Designer software (and you do), plus third party plug ins for common protocols like LIFX and Wemo, etc, it is a very steep ask in the current climate.

    Wemo and Homekit and others all offer reasonable programming, for free.

    HS3 is still basing itself on Z-wave and even X10…… I really can't see how this platform will last much longer once Apple's Homekit becomes more mature in the next couple of years….

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  Snax912 on 22/11/2017 - 15:01

  +1

  Highly recommend putting in a solid day of playing with openHab2 before paying for Homeseer.

  I considered both, and so glad I went the free opensource route, big learning curve at the start. But now it's just copy, paste, tinker, to add whatever items / rules I want.

  I believe HomeAssistant is very similar being a text based (to get the most out of it) program. Openhab seems to be more flexible in creating custom UI's (habpanel, or classic ui sitemaps), but Home Assistant seems to be growing quicker and has a huge following. Both will pretty much play friendly with 99% of smart tech you have laying around the house.

  Both have ready to go RaspPi images.

  • 

    matust on 23/11/2017 - 07:11

    +1

    As a home assistant user I couldn't recommend it enough. A bit of a learning curve but the versatility is amazing. Haven't used openhab so can't compare

  • 

    Jstrrrr on 23/11/2017 - 11:53

    IMO, the best feature of Homeseer is the Designer software to make your own custom UI. I just had a look at Habpanel. It seems very rigid and limited. Go have a look on the Homeseer forums to see what people have created with their efforts.

    But the price of HS3Pro is a significant hurdle to many….

    At the end of the day, Apple's Homekit UI looks good enough and will mature into something more user friendly (soon, one hopes). Gone will be days of spending hundreds of hours tinkering with your own UI (and you will need a different one for each different device you own that has a different screen resolution).

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  smux on 22/11/2017 - 22:58

  I'm building a house soon with a volume builder and I'm worried that the standard electrical wiring that they'll do will be done in a way that makes it difficult to retrofit any home automation in the future, especially considering that it's a two storey house, as my understanding is that the ground floor is difficult/impossible/expensive to add any wiring to in the future. Just wondering if anyone has any advice regarding how to work with a builder like this, given that I (officially) can't send in my own electrician during the build.

  • 

    Jstrrrr on 23/11/2017 - 12:02

    Forget wiring in for automation - the days of Clipsal and X10 are limited. Wifi devices are the way of the future. Just make sure your house is wired for ethernet so that you can use multiple wifi access points to serve the entire house.

    You can, of course, spend hundreds of thousands on a completely hardwired proprietary system - but this is beyond the scope of how anyone can advise you on OzB.

    • 

      smux on 23/11/2017 - 22:34

      Thanks Jinster. I guess for things like light switches and power plugs the actual electrical wiring that was already present at that location can be used to power the "smart" switches that are controlled wirelessly, ie no need for batteries there. But for things like motion detectors and other things where there probably wasn't any wiring in thr installed location previously I'm guessing you just have to use battery powered devices and replace batteries every so often.

      Another thing I want to look into is controlling heating and cooling through home automation. Hopefully it's not overly difficult to have the kind of thermostat controls that are used on Australia replaced with something home automation friendly, ie I'd hate for the builder to install something that I later realise I can't have automated.

      • 

        Jstrrrr on 24/11/2017 - 09:46

        +1

        HVAC automation is quite different in Oz.

        In US, it seems thermostats are very commonly used - things like Nest and Ecobee - they work great, but only with really old school HVAC devices.

        With things like central AC, Nest and Ecobee don't work unless the brand of AC you are installing offers an additional analogue interface add-on. From memory, Daikin offers such a board.

        Unfortunately for me, I went with LG Central AC, and while it has wifi control via apps, it's not very good, and it doesn't offer an analogue interface card for me to wire in Ecobee.

        So do your research - download the installation diagram for Nest and Ecobee and then go see if the AC you are planning to install is compatible with them (the majority in Oz will NOT be compatible).

        Simple thermostats that operate old school heaters and fans would work with Nest/Ecobee.

  • 

    CletusDB on 23/11/2017 - 23:09

    I am in exactly the same position as you, double story build with volume builder. As already suggested I have just got Ethernet wired to every room and I plan to use wireless devices as much as possible.
    I added a couple extra Ethernet cables were I know I will want a POE IP Camera but otherwise wireless temp, door, window sensors etc.

    I'm going to put in smart lights (provisions with builder) either LIFX ($$$) or try the MiLights. Those choice as I have downlights planned and they are the only smart ones I can find. I couldn't find much use for my plans for smart switches, I'm going to go for globes… dealing with 2 way switches seemed a nightmare.
    Plus I think plan switches that can on off the lights will be more wife friendly however I looking into the MiLights they have remotes or wireless wall switches as well so that is kinda cool

    I might use some zwave points to plug stuff in that I want to automate but that is it

    Best advice I can give is plan ahead as much as possible but strong internet (I'm going with Unifi) will save you if you miss something as most stuff is zwave or zigbee (that is what I am hoping lol)

  • 

    Snax912 on 27/11/2017 - 12:08

    +1

    As long as each light switch has a neutral, you will be able to retrofit with zwave (or similar future standard) inwall switches/relays with no dramas at all.

    Edit: Wifi / Smart Globes are 'Cool', but inwall switches allow you to use your pre existing clipsal wallplates and switches for Normal People Use, but all the home automation goodness you could possibly want for yourself. I see zwave as a solution that you could sell your house with, possibly adding value as a smart house, where as the globes and stick on switches are just a techy gimmick that causes arguments everytime your wife turns off the (wall) light switch.