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[madbrain]

Have you looked at Home Seer. If the CM11 is the at the heart of your automation setup it will tick all the boxes for you including secure remote access without opening your ports to the outside world. Have a look for yourself https://homeseer.com/

You can see the level of community here too for X10 https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/lighting-primary-technology-plug-ins/lighting-primary-technology-discussion/x10-homeseer

I have not. It does look like it supports X10 and Kasa, though, so it seems interesting.
I would need to buy an Rpi4 to run it which eats a few watts.
Not quite clear what the difference is between the pi4, standard and pro versions, also.

[madbrain]

The whole issue of remote access has me wondering.  Just how much control is needed when one isn't home?  I've had remote access ever since the X10 phone responder and now via apps/Alexa but I can't remember the last time I've used it.  My schedules control everything and I rarely touch a light switch so what is everybody controlling when they're not home?

Not a lot, admittedly. And I could use a VPN to login to the home LAN. So, any software that works on LAN should work on WAN also.
Schedules are not a solution for me other than for very simple things like sunset/sundown for my porch light. I do things at fairly random times every day, whether it's wake up, shower, etc.
I need remote control because of this.

[madbrain]

The problem is, it's best used in Linux on a SBC and the OS changes regularly meaning software requires maintenance too.

Yes. This is one of the major problems with Linux. The developers change/break compatibility all the time, in a way MS doesn't with Windows, at least not as much.

[petera]

The whole issue of remote access has me wondering.  Just how much control is needed when one isn't home?  I've had remote access ever since the X10 phone responder and now via apps/Alexa but I can't remember the last time I've used it.  My schedules control everything and I rarely touch a light switch so what is everybody controlling when they're not home?

Completely agree with you. The concept of the word automation would indicate that you wind it up and let it do its thing. People are spending hours in front of their screens watching events instead of just letting them do what they do best. Automate. As long as your setup is reliable it’s irrelevant what solution you use. It’s the ease with setting it up in the first place and modifying when necessary it is all that matters. With that in mind choose the solution that looks best for your needs. You’ve plenty of choice there.

[bkenobi]

I haven't used it in a couple years since changing ISP and losing access.  That said, I don't really think it's made much difference.  The only time it matters is if I want to turn on an outside light when I'm away if, for instance, I'm away on a weekend after dark and the dogs happen to be in the kennel.  If this were an issue, there are ways to work around this so it's not really a problem.  IMO, if your automation system is set up correctly, it is automated.  Being able to control it is a bonus but that wouldn't exactly make it...automated.

The other reason it's less of an issue these days is I'm down to just one motion sensor controlled light that HG handles because it's also tied to a light switch.  All other motion sensor lights are autonomous LED units now.  I have a few timers, but those are all left alone.  Other than that one kennel light which I may change to a motion sensor too, I don't really need much any more.

[HA Dave]

I don't think something voice-based and that goes through the cloud is the way to go for me for home automation. It always takes at least 2-3 tries for the voice recognition to understand my accent with Google assistant. Just drives me crazy. It used to work pretty well, but the quality of voice recognition has severely worsened over time. I can't explain why. I have tried to redo the voice training to no avail.

I never voice "train". I let the program do it's stuff... and I do mine. I DO NOT have a particularly good voice. But I've had good voice control results for well over a decade (I started with Microsoft).

I took a clue from Star Trek. Kirk seemed to always look to the top left (of the set) when speaking to the computer. And he didn't speak... naturally. But instead spoke slowly and clearly... using words with few syllables.

Now... I KNOW.... William Shatner was just showing his "best side" to the camera while stealing the scene and reading the script. But I realized that a standardized "line delivery" would be good for voice control. And it has worked well for me. 

But with Alexa/Amazon.... my phone also gives me full remote control and monitoring.

[madbrain]

I never voice "train". I let the program do it's stuff... and I do mine. I DO NOT have a particularly good voice. But I've had good voice control results for well over a decade (I started with Microsoft).

I'm French. Despite living in the US for over 25 years, I still have a strong accent. Not one that too many people can place, actually. Some think it's eastern european or russian. It's there and will never go away. Trying to tell it to "turn downstairs amplifiers off" almost always results in a search for something ending in "fire", or something. It simply never learns, no matter how many times, on a daily basis. As far as I can tell, Google assistant doesn't seem to realize that it made a mistake, even when I repeat. It's just not learning at all over time. I have pretty much given up trying to control it by voice. The Google home app unfortunately is extremely cluttered with the 15 Chromecast audio, 3 video devices, and the 2 KASA smartplugs. And I haven't linked any X10 to it yet ... Scrolling through 10 screens worth of devices on a small smartphone screen is not practical. And there is no web UI at all in Google Home, unfortunately. It's smartphone/tablet oriented only.

[HA Dave]

The whole issue of remote access has me wondering.  Just how much control is needed when one isn't home? 

I like the term "monitoring" for remote access. You're correct... I have very little need to remote control much of anything. But... if a get perimeter detection alerts (or if the garage door opens)... I might check my cameras. Or... if it's 100 degrees and I am going to be away for the day. I might check to be SURE the Nest Thermostat caught that and set-back the AC (or heat as needed).

Soon... I hope to have my new water/leak detection set-up installed. And anytime I am away from home and have my phone... I am passively monitoring everything. 

[HA Dave]

I'm French.
Trying to tell it to "turn downstairs amplifiers off" almost always results in a search for something ending in "fire", or something. It simply never learns, no matter how many times, on a daily basis. As far as I can tell, Google assistant doesn't seem to realize that it made a mistake,

  1.  Instead of "turn downstairs amplifiers off"..... I'd say: "AMP (or amps) OFF". With Alexa you can setup routines to operate dependent from where YOU are when you speak. BTW.... I am pretty sure Alexa also speaks French.

  2. Google is smarter than Alexa... but Alexa learns voices. Alexa even understood the tiny grandkids (they LOVED that).

[madbrain]

I'm French.
Trying to tell it to "turn downstairs amplifiers off" almost always results in a search for something ending in "fire", or something. It simply never learns, no matter how many times, on a daily basis. As far as I can tell, Google assistant doesn't seem to realize that it made a mistake,

  1.  Instead of "turn downstairs amplifiers off"..... I'd say: "AMP (or amps) OFF". With Alexa you can setup routines to operate dependent from where YOU are when you speak. BTW.... I am pretty sure Alexa also speaks French.

  2. Google is smarter than Alexa... but Alexa learns voices. Alexa even understood the tiny grandkids (they LOVED that).

I have multiple sets of amps, and I don't want to turn them all on at the same time due to power consumption. That's why I use this long command.
There is one Kasa HS100 smartplug downstairs powering 3 amps. Another HS100 upstairs powering 3 more amps. Altogether these power 32 speakers in ceilings/walls.
The amps are receivers using 5.1 and 7.1 analog inputs, with Chromecast audios. Each 5.1 receiver can handle 2 Chromecasts. Each 7.1 can handle 3.

My entire use case for home automation is to save power, so it's crucial to me not to turn on amps that aren't needed. If I could, I would create ways to turn on only the one amp for a specific room. But it gets very complicated to figure out which one that is, since the mapping isn't 1 to 1. And I would need more smartplugs.

Hell, ideally, there would be some kind of beacon detecting which room I am on, and when I want to turn audio in, it would figure out which room I am in, and turn on the right amp, without needing to tell the software which room I'm in. One can dream...

Same thing for the circulation pump, there should be a motion sensor to turn on the circulation pump only when I'm about to take a shower.

The other thing is that I'd like some auto-off timer for all these devices, in case I forget to turn them off. The Belkin Wemo I had before had this feature built in to the firmware. The Kasa do not, unfortunately. The Belkin kept dropping off the network randomly, though, so I replaced them with Kasa, and those have been reliable.

[HA Dave]

I have multiple sets of amps, and I don't want to turn them all on at the same time due to power consumption. That's why I use this long command.

My entire use case for home automation is to save power,

I've heard (read) that before! Home Automation.... does MANY wonderful things. Like enrich peoples lives! Even save lives and protect property. But saving energy.... yeah. I guess.

...it's crucial to me not to turn on amps that aren't needed. If I could........
Hell, ideally, there would be some kind of beacon detecting which room I am on, and when I want to turn audio in, it would figure out which room I am in, and turn on the right amp, without needing to tell the software which room I'm in. One can dream...

No need to just dream (if you have a few extra bucks) Alexa can tell where (which room) your at/in. So setup can include "lights ON" (or Amp ON) to mean in the room that hears you.

And don't forget.... those Alexa devices play music and such too (some of the better ones do a decent job).

But.... I disassembled my Home Automation setup and rebuilt it differently. Because I believed it was the only way I could make it progress. I have no regrets. But I realize that's one heck of a leap of faith.

[brobin]

I took a clue from Star Trek. Kirk seemed to always look to the top left (of the set) when speaking to the computer. And he didn't speak... naturally. But instead spoke slowly and clearly... using words with few syllables.

I think you've solved Madbrain's problem!  He's been looking up to the RIGHT when speaking! 

[madbrain]

No need to just dream (if you have a few extra bucks) Alexa can tell where (which room) your at/in. So setup can include "lights ON" (or Amp ON) to mean in the room that hears you.

How so ? By putting Alexa devices everywhere ? I want to play music on the Chromecast audios that feed my amp/receivers. Not some tiny crappy smart speaker. Some of the locations are outdoors, too. Patio, hot tub, balcony. I don't think the devices are weather proof. The outdoor speakers already are, though. Adding 17 Alexa devices is not going to just be a few extra bucks in either purchase price or power consumption, also.

And don't forget.... those Alexa devices play music and such too (some of the better ones do a decent job).

I would never in a million years consider listening to those, when there are nice speakers in the ceiling everywhere already, driven by high fidelity receivers.
Right now, I use Spotify with the Chromecast audio / receivers. There is still the issue of turning on the amps, though. Without that, I only get silence.

[madbrain]

I took a clue from Star Trek. Kirk seemed to always look to the top left (of the set) when speaking to the computer. And he didn't speak... naturally. But instead spoke slowly and clearly... using words with few syllables.

I think you've solved Madbrain's problem!  He's been looking up to the RIGHT when speaking! 

I have tried that also. The Google assistant just times out, in that case.

[HA Dave]

I have tried that also. The Google assistant just times out, in that case.

I just don't have any expertise with the Google device. I've seen them in use but never owned/worked with one myself.