Iris orphan in search of a home

Hi all. I'll be looking for new digs shortly and kinda like the Hubitat vibe. I used iris for security (away set by fob leaving, contact sensors, camera monitoring, contact sensors, motion sensors, Schlage locks, automated lights at night), automation (lights, door locks, thermostat scheduling and real-time remote adjustment) and safety (smoke, CO, H2O sensor). I am wondering if Hubitat and it's mobile app will satisfy my needs. I am not savvy as far as writing apps but am tech proficient in general (I work as a video engineer) and would enjoy learning as long as it is not a steep, time intensive curve. I am wondering what others think about the migration. I guess real-time camera monitoring is out but it is not a big thing for me and I can use a separate app with the cameras of my choice. Mainly asking about push notifications, turning the heat up and down, safety alerts, managing lights, presence controls (when I leave & arrive - phone or fob based?) Can I emulate much of what I have grown used to? (It seems I may actually have more control to be honest) Will i get mired in tech trying to make it work? Can I finally set my kitchen light to 1% at night instead of the 10% that Iris Gen2 forced me to do? I'll stop here. TIA to those that take the time to read and especially those that address some of my concerns!

Welcome to the community!

It appears you've been doing your homework regarding cameras. You are correct about that, no real formal camera integration with Hubitat at this time, with the exception possibly of Nest. I have Nest thermostats which I have integrated with Hubitat, but I don't have the cameras so I can't speak to what type of integration those have.

I personally use Wyze Cameras integrated via IFTTT to be able to allow Hubitat to turn them on/off & enable/disable motion detection based on whether or not we are home, or time of day (or really whatever your specific requirements are!)

Hubitat is a very flexible platform, that will probably take you a little getting used to at first. The best part, though, is this amazing community of very helpful people. If you ask, we will all help you be successful!

Currently, Hubitat does not have a mobile phone app for Android or iOS. The Hubitat team is working on developing one, which will offer push notifications, mobile presence, and will be able to display Hubitat Dashboards.

Until then, all three of these are possible. Most of us use Pushover for push notifications, Life360 for mobile presence, and Huibitat Dashboard web links (both local LAN and remote WAN links available.)

All configuration of the Hubitat platform will be handled via a web browser when you are connected to your home network. If you need to configure your hub remotely, many of us run an OpenVPN server on our home routers. This allows our phones/tablets/laptops to securely be on our home LAN even when far away.

Yes, assuming your dimmer accepts values that low, which most do!

1 Like

One more thing to think about is that if your kitchen lights are LED:

  1. Most don't really dim to 1% anyway
  2. MANY LED won't turn back ON at 1% dim level. Almost every bulb in my house requires 5-10% on the dimmer before they will turn on. That was part of the reason Iris stopped at 10% - so users couldn't dim to 1% and then get freaked out when their lights won't turn back on (until the dimmer level is raised of course).

Not big deals, just something to think about. Oh, and that is true of all hubs, not just Hubitat - as it is a dimmer/bulb issue not hub.

Thanks for the reply. Mine had been set at 1% via Iris Gen1. It worked wonderfully (may not have been 1% but it said it was and was considerably lower than the 10% setting) It always came back on manually (at 1% after turning itself off in the am). It is just a night light for my cat and she can see without it so it really is just a courtesy and makes me feel considerate. When Gen2 came around 1% and many other nice features disappeared and never came back.

Thank you!

Any timeline as to the Gen2 hub and mobile app?

I have no clue. The Hubitat team has not released any dates.

New C-5 hub is available as of today!

1 Like

The FAQ is quite clear about the C-5 being US (ZWave Frequency) only for now and that everywhere else gets the C-4. That isn't clear on the ordering page, I feel. The C-5 is explicitly named on the first 'row' but nothing in the other rows. One could easily miss reading the announcement and order a UK version thinking it was all C-5.

3 Likes

Say what? This is what it says for the UK version.

Includes the Hubitat Elevation Hub Model C-4, USB Radio Stick for Zigbee, USB Radio Stick for the UK/Ireland Z-Wave frequency, USB extension cable, UK/Ireland power supply, ethernet cable and Quick Start Guide.

hahaha... I'll go with "I was too fast.. saw it BEFORE the edit was complete"

Yes, it's there now. Not Then, but it sure is now. :smiley:

1 Like

C5 has been ordered. Now to figure this whole thing out.....

1 Like