Anyone use a Plug & Play SmartHome System?

[Shawn]

I travel a ton for work leaving my house empty and last trip had a break in attempt...got me thinking that I at least need a interior vacation light timer beyond my front porch light timer. Do not want a paid monitoring system, but need an IOS app based system that I can activate an "Away" mode when I leave...need the app based system because I can barely remember my laptop bag and to turn off the thermostat when leaving let alone trying to remember to arm a system or activate a timer.

At minimum I want to be able to activate a random vacation light sensor, motion detectors or other sensors with notifications would be nice, but not necessary.

Looking for a one time purchase no monthly fee plug and play system like: https://www.smartthings.com/

Versatility and compatibility more important than cost. Anyone got a system they like and recommend?

 

[Circuit Flyer]

Simplisafe works for. Inexpensive, no contract needed, monitored, set from phone. I've had my system more than a year. So far so good. A few hiccups but no major failures, and excellent customer service. I don't have features that turn lights on and off, and I don't recall offhand whether Simplisafe offers that, but it does seem to meet many of your criteria and may have utility, possibly in combination with cheap light timers inside and dusk/dawn sensors outside.

 

[ifly4fun]

Check out Iris (Lowes branded). Its cheap, they have a basic monitoring plan thats free that will give you all the feature you're looking for. They have a premium plan with full monitoring for like $9/mo. You can get thermostate with remote scheduling, lock/unlock doors, turn lights on/off, motion detection, cameras, water bib control (sprinklers), garage door sensors (up/down) you name it they have it.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I bought a Wink hub. Works well, though I don't have a ton of stuff on it yet.

One thing you may also want to consider, and that I do have: All of my smoke/CO detectors are on it. In my neighborhood, if the cat started the house on fire, nobody would notice it until it was a smoldering hole. Same for you if you're away! So, I have the Kidde detectors that interface with it (and each other) and if one of them goes off, all of them go off and I get a notification on my phone so I can hopefully take some action.

I suggest you go here:
http://www.wink.com/products/

And get a few switches/outlets for lights, smoke/CO alarms, one of the video doorbells and maybe some other cameras, and a thermostat if you have any budget left. It's all easy to set up, and will give you the ability to do things remotely and program them to be at least a little bit random as well. I think it'll all work with IFTTT too.

 

[Ravioli]

I use LiveWatch with the monitoring.

Easy to setup, works great, reminds me to arm when my phone gets a certain distance from the house. Loads of peace of mind knowing my dog will be looked for if anything goes wrong.

 

[Shawn]

Wink is what I was looking for...leaning that route due to everything that I can add to it.