New to Fibaro

[rockhoppers1964 0]

I am considering a big change from an existing home automation system I have installed that has failed to live up to expectations.

However that system is built on my own software with touchscreen interface, which incorporates IP cameras, PIR's an Alarm and a few other things including controlling pumps and filters on my fish pond !

However after a bit of time looking at other systems, it looks like Fibaro may fit the bill !

 

Is there a demo page where I can play with the interface ?

I have a family that need to be able to use the system to, so need to see if it can be configured to be simple enough.

 

Next question is HC2 of Lite ?

If I am right the only significant difference appears to be Lua, do i need this for a house ?

 

One last question, where is the best place to buy ?

I will be looking for a lot of equipment and a competitive price.

 

Thanks in advance for your input

 

Andrew

 

PS one last question, disk space on the unit, (assume HC"2) how big, can it be expanded. Quite often keep a lot of surveillance pictures which consume a lot of disk space.

Or can it upload to the cloud ?

 

Edited October 29, 2017 by rockhoppers1964
forgot to ask a question

[krisstoff 3]

Hey Rockhopper,

 

If you download the iPad app there is a test section in the settings, where you can play with the false Fibaro house. I have used quite a number of different controllers over the years and finally settled on Fibaro, i started with the HCL and then ended up upgrading to HC2. I would say that you may swell just go for the HC2 and then you have the full functionality, obviously cost does play a big part in the decisions. 

 

I would say i have Lua in most of my scenes (and I am not very technical) there is only so much that you can do with the scene block editor. 

 

Most of my purchases come from Vesternet, and the support they offer is brilliant! they often have pretty decent offers on the controllers too.

 

As for the disk space, I don't think you can store anything locally on the HC2 (I used to have custom icons for devices) and the software update failed due to insufficient space, each icon was around 1mb and I had around 20 icons...

 

hope this helps  

[sirKitKat 24]

FOUND IT!

 

First, you have to link your account; then you have to chose a homecenter; then you can start controlling your devices (in red my comments)

 

Please login or register to see this attachment.

 

Example of controlling some lights:

 

Please login or register to see this attachment.

[rockhoppers1964 0]

Thanks Krisstoff, a great help.

 

Just wondering where it does store IP camera pictures then, if in deed it does.

And i really need that facility to make this work for me, even if it just uploads to a cloud or other networked drive.

 

Downloading the app now.

 

Thanks sirKitKat

 

Andrew

Edited October 29, 2017 by rockhoppers1964

[Robert Folbigg 22]

5 minutes ago, rockhoppers1964 said:

Thanks Krisstoff, a great help.

 

Just wondering where it does store IP camera pictures then, if in deed it does.

And i really need that facility to make this work for me, even if it just uploads to a cloud or other networked drive.

 

Downloading the app now.

 

Thanks sirKitKat

 

Andrew

 

@rockhoppers1964, Fibaro does not store pictures at all, cameras are integrated for viewing purpose only. You can however configure triggers to email you pictures when a particular event happens e.g moment at the front door etc... These pictures are sent in an email but not stored locally.

 

To dig into this question a little deeper, I have not found any HA system that can replace a good DVR, if storage of footage and events is important to you I would recommend investing in one.

 

I hope this helps.

[rockhoppers1964 0]

Hi Robert, thanks for your input, but that has kinda taken the wind out of my sails.

Thought I had found something that would allow me to capture any detected movement and store it, that's what i currently do.

Emailing maybe a solution, but not the best. could be several 100's of pictures a day.

 

Andrew

 

[Robert Folbigg 22]

34 minutes ago, rockhoppers1964 said:

Hi Robert, thanks for your input, but that has kinda taken the wind out of my sails.

Thought I had found something that would allow me to capture any detected movement and store it, that's what i currently do.

Emailing maybe a solution, but not the best. could be several 100's of pictures a day.

 

Andrew

 

 

Sorry to disappoint ,

Unfortunately Fibaro is not the answer for storage of images but as mentioned it does integrate well with other systems. For example I run a Hikvision NVR which records all of my cameras, Fibaro shows the streams from this DVR in its app and can email me snapshots of events that have trigged this function.

 

Personally I find this better as I record 24/7 so I always have around 50-60 days of history on the NVR that can be reviewed if needed and Fibaro sends me a nice email with a picture of who is walking up my driveway as well.

 

Its the bets of both worlds really.

[SebastianD 5]

@rockhoppers1964Hello Andrew

 

Short answers from my experiences so far:

 

Video surveillance ? own story, run qnap or Synology. Fibaro is not suitable to replace long time evolved surveillance systems. 

It isn´t even able to do h264 and rtsp streaming at all. However, you can incorporate live feeds in your overview, and get some delayed pictures by mail which in my eyes is silly. Every good camera can do this by itself without needing fibaro at all. But having the cams in the interface works as long as you avoid fisheye cameras with local dewarping, since Fibaro fails to import these dewarped views. However there are smart workarounds available: Just an example. I have big terrain, decent cameras with scripting possibilities, and a HDMI Matrix. When a movement is recognized, the camera will ask my TV tuner and say there is movement. Switch channel "Yes/No" If I select yes, the live feed of my camera is directly presented on TV almost realtime. All possible with the LUA scripting and http-controlable devices.  But: not out of the box. You will have to play and learn.

 

Interface? if you dont like the look and feel of the fibaro apps at least for 90% go for something different

You have less than 10 % influence on how it will look on your devic unless you are a total freak with programming capabilities and too much time.

 

HC Lite? If you want LUA, if you want to install customized scripts, people developed here, if you want to use ervery aspect of fibaros capabilities, you will need the HC2.

 

So why Fibaro? Strong hardware (the box HC2 is really well designed and rock solid, same for the modules, switches, dimmers, modules - I run 100+ devices and can confirm they are stable and long lasting.

Well designed interface, great community around it, developing on solutions to tweak the box and last not least: it´s DIRT CHEAP compared to dedicated professional solutions like KNX, crestron, Control4 and so on, but still very capable.

 

Hope this helps.

Sebastian

 

 

 

 

[rockhoppers1964 0]

Thanks Sebastian

 

don't know enough about Lua, but could it be used to develop a plug in to capture image to a NAS drive ?

 

Andrew

Thanks Robert, i am using Hikvision also, but no DVR yet, my own current program captures image to a NAS drive as PIR's are tripped.

 

Andrew

[SebastianD 5]

@rockhoppers1964For what reason, Andrew? Every camera has the possibility to send pictures to a network destination or to a FTP server. The motion detection usually takes place in the camera

so this is where the magic happens. No need to reinvent the wheel here. Depending on the camera, you could send a notification to Fibaro which then would tell you that something  is going on.

 

What type of camera and many of them are you running?

[rockhoppers1964 0]

Hi Sebastian, i have 6 Hikvison cameras running.

Never found them reliable for NAS storage yet.

Andrew

[AutoFrank 372]

hi @rockhoppers1964

I have 4 Trendnet IP311IP cameras (hkvision clones I think) and use a synology NAS (DS415Play) and Surveillance Station ( app on the NAS) to record 24x7 and manage space, etc. I then use the HC2 to monitor sensors like front gate and external motion to send me a snapshot via email if triggered.

This has worked well for my use case.

The HC2 can run 232 physical zwave devices which is similar for most hubs as it is the max for a single zwave network.

I am running about 120 physical devices and all is running okay for me..... but it has taken me 2 years to get to where I am on a journey of joy and frustration

 

You'll need to consider z-wave plus v z-wave (cost /benefit/function) 

You will need to consider location of equipment (hubs, sensors, actors) and if this is optimum or problematic for zwave mesh networks 

 

Backup - the HC2 backs up onto a stick in the back of the hub (no cloud option). There is no gateway fail over option and getting a setup to restore to a new HC2 (in the event of a total failure) is not an easy task.

The HC2 uses a reverse proxy (through fibaro servers) top allow you to gain access to your box when your not on your home LAN. This has some privacy concerns for some people 

 

La is where the real power of the HC2 can be leveraged for all types of automation (lights, sound, media, heating, security, gates, garage door, pool, etc)

if that's what your after, you'll see lots of examples of implementations and code posted here. You'll have to be prepared to spend time and learn lua as most solutions will most likely not work 100% for your uses cases and will need to be modified.

If you aren't prepared to learn lua then I wouldn't recommend you buy the HC2 as you will get is control and a very limited automation 

 

I think the HC2  is a very powerful HA gateway/hub but It is not an 'out of the box' solution.

 

Cost-wise

The HC2 is sometime on offer but is generally the same price everywhere, around the €600 mark

The zwave modules are also by and large the same price most places for the quality brand devices but you will pick up some cheaper chinese variants that may cause issues. If you're looking for volume discounts than some phones calls may be required. euro modules are more expensive that US modules and run on a different frequency 

 

If you are thinking about a large setup then this will cost you both time and money and will likely test your sanity as most HA systems do (unless you pay somebody else to carry the worry) 

I'd suggest that you read more of the forum posts to go into this "with your eyes open"

Ultimately only you can decide if it is right for you and what you are looking to achieve.

 

not a silver bullet but hope its helps..

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