Just wondering if people are using geo fencing much on there jobs. Sometimes the real world application of these types of solutions doesn't work out so well because of all the variables involved.

Anyone applying it in a way that their customers actually genuinely appreciate in term of convenience?

I'm using it successfully with Lutron HomeWorks to trigger a "Home" which turns on some lights when the Homeowner arrives and it's dark outside.

Had to do some creative stuff so I could apply variables to the event that's triggered by the geo fencing, but it works well.  The only property I've had problems with is in a really poor cell area and the phone doesn't always have enough signal to trigger the geo fencing event reliably.

Would agree that decent coverage within your “bubble” is paramount. Lutron seems to have run with the ball on this. It can be used to trigger events in third party systems too. Within the Lutron app you can dictate how large your “bubble” is and the accuracy is pretty amazing!

Ive used it fairly successfully. However, i NEVER have it auto trigger a macro. I set it up so the customer receives a reactive Push notification. From there, the user can trigger the macro. Why? I dont trust geofence enough to have it auto trigger. I have a 1500 foot fence around my home. Driveway is 1300 feet or so. That means once i get within 200 feet of my driveway, geofence kicks in. However, ive been five MILES from home before I get a geofence trigger. I dont need things triggering when I am that far from home. Thus, the push ask me if i want to trigger an event. Dont need doors unlocking, lights or security disarming if Im not even close to my property. Other than that, its a very nice feature.

Customers like the option. Arrive home, lights trigger, music starts or news turns on depending on time of day, security disarms, garage doors open, etc. But never automatically. No way.

I 100% agree with this ^

Sounds cool. What software/hardware are you using for the actual geofencing?

It's all Lutron HWQS based.  The new Connect Bridge/Connect App provide the Geo Fencing capability and the rest is just setup & programming.

One big downfall of the current Lutron implementation is that you can't apply variables to the Geo Fencing events.  If you setup an event that automatically turns on lights when you arrive home, it will turn the lights on even during the day.

My workaround was to have the Geo Fencing event do nothing more than close a contact closure.  That contact closure was then connected right back into an input and then I could apply conditional logic to alter what happens when the input is triggered.

I keep these events simple.  They just set the home to "Home" mode which might alter some timeclock events and then turn some lights on if it's dark outside.

Geo Fencing can also do the reverse when you leave the house, but I've never implemented this yet, because the current technology doesn't know if someone is still at the house.

True, not a part of Geofence but can certainly be a part of other automation. Particularly lutron sensor that are checked, other sensors, status of AV equipment etc. Yes, not fail proof but can get pretty good on knowing if someone is home. Now, if they are laying asleep, or in the tub soaking, or the hammock, well, fail. lol