HENS
New Member
Thank you for your willingness to help me out with some input . I have been asked by a plumber to do some research and come up with a product that functions in a very specific way... so I did. I am looking to get people's input before I jump in and spend a lot of money on this .
Here is where the product is at:
I am calling it the "Home Early Notification System (HENS)".
The purpose of the system is to allow owners of the product to set up various sensors throughout their home that will notify them when a sensor is triggered (including home power loss).
Initially we are only working with a water detection sensor (smoke alarm, and panic button would come shortly thereafter).
The water detection sensor can be set up inside of a sump pump well, underneath and or above a water heater, under a freezer, or even on the floor of a basement that might allow for the pooling of water in specific locations (and or flooding in general). When water is detected (water levels can be as low as 1/16th of an inch), the sensor sends a message to the base unit, which sends a text message, and or phone call to pre-set phone numbers (more than one person can receive the text or phone call). Additionally, a siren can be set to go off when any sensor is triggered.
Each sensor can be named, so that the owner would be notified that a specific sensor type was set off and which one it was: sump pump water high or water heater leaking.
The base station has a power adapter to be plugged into a normal 110V AC power outlet, but it also has an internal backup battery. If the power goes out, the base unit will switch to battery power, and send a text (or phone call) to the owner stating that its power source has failed (ie the house lost power, the power adapter no longer works and needs to be replaced, the circuit breaker blew).
All hardware would come with a 2 year warranty.
Hardware costs (to the end user) would be between $150 and $200, and includes the base unit, and two water detection sensors. Additional sensors would be available but sold separately (additional water sensors would be about $25).
There would also be a yearly service charge to cover the data communication via cell towers (this is how it sends text messages and places phone calls) and is looking like it would be $47.88/year for a system with up to 10 sensors. For systems with 10-30 sensors, the yearly service fee would be $95.88.
Questions for you:
1) What other sensors would you be interested in?
2) What other functionality would you want?
3) Are the above price points acceptable to you? ie would you pay that? If not, why?
4) Is the warranty long enough that you would trust the quality of the hardware and service?
5) What concerns might you have?
Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!
Here is where the product is at:
I am calling it the "Home Early Notification System (HENS)".
The purpose of the system is to allow owners of the product to set up various sensors throughout their home that will notify them when a sensor is triggered (including home power loss).
Initially we are only working with a water detection sensor (smoke alarm, and panic button would come shortly thereafter).
The water detection sensor can be set up inside of a sump pump well, underneath and or above a water heater, under a freezer, or even on the floor of a basement that might allow for the pooling of water in specific locations (and or flooding in general). When water is detected (water levels can be as low as 1/16th of an inch), the sensor sends a message to the base unit, which sends a text message, and or phone call to pre-set phone numbers (more than one person can receive the text or phone call). Additionally, a siren can be set to go off when any sensor is triggered.
Each sensor can be named, so that the owner would be notified that a specific sensor type was set off and which one it was: sump pump water high or water heater leaking.
The base station has a power adapter to be plugged into a normal 110V AC power outlet, but it also has an internal backup battery. If the power goes out, the base unit will switch to battery power, and send a text (or phone call) to the owner stating that its power source has failed (ie the house lost power, the power adapter no longer works and needs to be replaced, the circuit breaker blew).
All hardware would come with a 2 year warranty.
Hardware costs (to the end user) would be between $150 and $200, and includes the base unit, and two water detection sensors. Additional sensors would be available but sold separately (additional water sensors would be about $25).
There would also be a yearly service charge to cover the data communication via cell towers (this is how it sends text messages and places phone calls) and is looking like it would be $47.88/year for a system with up to 10 sensors. For systems with 10-30 sensors, the yearly service fee would be $95.88.
Questions for you:
1) What other sensors would you be interested in?
2) What other functionality would you want?
3) Are the above price points acceptable to you? ie would you pay that? If not, why?
4) Is the warranty long enough that you would trust the quality of the hardware and service?
5) What concerns might you have?
Any and all input would be greatly appreciated!