Find Vera Service
From MiCasaVerde
Contents |
Overview
The findvera.com provides these benefits:
- Securely control your home from a web browser or cell phone. learn Why Vera's secure service is unique, and read about Security_Concerns
- Receive alerts via SMS, Email, or a voice call when certain events happen at home.
- Safely keep a video archive from your security cameras.
- Track live and past energy usage.
- Have Vera automatically backup the configuration each day.
- Be notified if Vera ever stops working or if your home's power or internet connection goes down.
To get setup, you only need to pick a username and password on the 'findvera.com' tab, and supply your email address. Then you can securely access Vera over the Internet from any web browser or web-enabled phone. You don't need to do any network setup stuff or port forwarding and FindVera works through firewalls. It's automatic.
Free, Basic Service
There is no charge for using the FindVera service for secure, remote access of your home from a web browser or cell phone. There is also no charge for email notifications.
$29/year for enhanced services
For $29/year you can receive notifications by SMS text message in addition to, or instead of, the free email notifications. This price includes up to 50 SMS text messages for the year, domestic or international, to any cell phone carrier worldwide. This price also includes 1GB of storage on the findvera server to store a video archive from your surveillance and IP web cams, which cameras can be tied to sensors and door locks so you have a video record of who is coming and going from the home. This is enough for about 50,000 images. This service also includes remote monitoring of your Vera with an email or SMS text notification if your Vera stops working for some reason. You also get automatic daily backups of Vera's configuration so, in the event your Vera unit fails, you can restore a backup and not lose any data. Lastly, the service also includes 1 year of energy logging, tracking all your energy usage by device, room, etc.
$10 for 50 extra SMS text messages
If you need more than the 50 text messages includes in the $29/year package, extra text messages are available. The text messages can be domestic or international, to any cell phone carrier worldwide. Whenever your available text messages are running low you will be sent an email with a link to allow you to purchase more text messages.
$5 per Gigabyte per year for extra storage
When your available space for video archiving is low you will be sent an email with a link to allow you to purchase more space.
More info
Normally you'd need a PC computer-based home control system if you wanted to keep a video archive from your security cameras, or a database tracking your energy usage. This is because these features require processing power and large amounts of data storage. But setting up a PC system to do this is not only complicated, leaving a PC on all the time to do this can cost you hundreds of dollars each year in wasted electricity.
The findvera.com service offers a much simpler more affordable solution. The little Vera box has no hard drive and a tiny processor. That's why she uses only 6 watts of electricity. Instead, Vera uses a secure connection to send the log of your energy usage and your video archive to the findvera.com secure server. Each user is given 1GB of data storage; that's enough for about 70,000 images from your security camera and several years worth of energy tracking. You can then view your video archive and your energy usage at findvera.com.
The findvera.com server also connects to the mobile phone network to send you sms alerts about things like security breakins back home.
The findvera.com service is optional. None of Vera's features are disabled if you do not sign up for the service. If you have the necessary technical skills to setup your own server you can do the same thing on your own without using our service. If you're a software developer, you'll find Vera is an open solution that you can modify to suit your own needs.
Changes for existing subscribers
This pricing is effective July 24, 2009. Prior subscribers can read about the changes here
