First, we finally got a closing date. On Arpil 30th, Casa Anolis becomes ours. Casa Anolis translates as House of the Anolis. When we first walked into the back garden area I was struck by the number of Anoles (type of little lizard) all over the place. Fortunately I’m fond of them.
Second, home automation is not cheap, but it’ll give us peace of mind and some of it will pay us back within a year in energy savings. Within 5 years the energy savings will pay for all of it. The cost of electricity right now is $.25-.29/KWh on the island depending on where you live. More than double what most people in the states pay, so every little bit goes a long way.
It starts with the brains of the automation. A small device that doesn’t use a lot of electricity to do its job. The Revolv is just the thing to do that. Even if internet goes down it can still tell the other things what to do.
Speaking of internet, I already use 3 Cisco RV120W for the house and the stores for VPN, I’ll just add one more so we can access stuff in Villa Mantua from Casa Anolis.
Because we’ll be far away and may rent it out and may need maintenance done when we aren’t there, a wireless electronic doorlock fits that need perfectly via the Schlage FE599NX. Combine that with some INSTEON Wireless Open/Close Sensors to monitor the 4 entrances and security is pretty much taken care of too.
Next comes Utility management. Electricity is expensive so next comes Insteon 2477SA2 to turn off the hot water heater when no one is staying there. The INSTEON 2852-222 Water Leak Sensor will tell the Smarthome SELECT Electronic Water Shutoff Valve to turn off the water. We’ll also be able to turn off the water to the condo when no one is there.
I love the name you guys gave to your new place in PR — and the little critter who inspired it. And so glad you finally got your papers and ownership date – so exciting. Love you —