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  • Home Automation The DIY Way

    themovingforwardguy 9:23 pm on October 20, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DIY Home Automation,


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    Let’s face it, we live in a public where do-it-yourself is an increasingly attractive pick. Everything from scanning your own items at the grocery store to performing your own home renovation tasks is within reach. In the case of home automation, something that just a few old age ago was relegated to the super-rich and compulsory a minimum of five figures to get started is now usable to the norm householder with a screwdriver.

    Getting started in home automation requires a few steps, but fortunately the hardest part is just deciding on what you need! With items available to meet virtually every desire imaginable, it’s easy to get caught up in the perfective tense sight of your home without knowing where to initiate.

    These simpleton steps will help maneuver you as you move towards the firm of your dreams:

    1. Write down your plan. The imagination you have now will help lead your decisions as you go, and it’s easy to get sidetracked so having a all the way sight of what you want to pertain to is a big help.

    2. Start simple. Every castling starts at the foot and home mechanisation is no exclusion. Begin with a base organization and discover the basic functionality beginning, then leverage your new set up into expanding your modules and devices, like the isy-99i.

    3. Get help. Every home automation task will have snags, and nerve-wracking to master them yourself is like clipping your own hair – you can do it, but the end result won’t be jolly.

    Others out on that point have likely dealt with the same subject, do a explore and see what you find then ask for help on relevant websites. You’ll be surprised how helpful the home mechanisation netizens are. It may legal like this is oversimplifying things, but it’s very not. Today’s home automation solutions don’t expect complicated tour diagrams and organizational schematics, just some usual feel and a desire to live more mechanically.

    Peter runs LiveAutomatic.com, a site dedicated to all things home automation related including Insteon, Z-Wave and more.
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  • DIY Home Automation Lighting

    themovingforwardguy 10:11 pm on October 13, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DIY Home Automation, Home Automation Lighting

    DIY home automation lighting has been around since about 1980 and while the advantages homeowners hoped to gain such as convenience, energy savings and security were at times outweighed by the fact that these early systems were not always reliable. These early devices relied on a communication protocol known as X-10 where one light switch or receptacle would talk to the others over an existing household electrical system. As it turned out, X-10 relied on a weak signal that was subject to interference from everyday appliances that would create electrical line noise.
    Turn the clock ahead 20 years. Many of those early X-10 systems are still in use today but the technology has advanced tremendously. Enter UPB. UPB or Universal Powerline Bus has proven to be 100 to 1000 times more reliable than the best X-10 systems in existence due to its signal strength and speed, approaching that of hard wired systems.
    Many times we’ve been asked “how can I automate the lighting in my home?”. While the answer requires knowledge of some specifics involved, it is well within the ability of those who can safely replace a light switch or a receptacle outlet to accomplish. The next obvious question people have is “how do all the lights know when to turn on, off or dim?” A little basic background information on the technologies involved makes things a lot simpler.
    We live in an age of networks and inter-networks. Home automated lighting in that regard, is no different. There are three broad types of automated lighting controls; those that are wireless such as Z-Wave, those that are hardwired and installed as the house is being built and those that communicate over a households existing electrical wiring such as X-10, UPB (Universal Powerline Bus) and a few others. All of these protocols (or communication standards) can operate as a single, stand alone system or can be integrated with more complex home automation and security controllers for a complete smart home solution.
    Obviously, from a practical standpoint, you can’t tear down your walls to install new or additional wires or switches so I won’t go into those types. Wireless systems such as Z-Wave work very well but are subject to RFI (radio frequency interference) at times and rely on using a “mesh” network where all devices talk to all the others and repeat any missed instructions. For the best retrofit DIY lighting automation solution, the technology that appears to have clear advantages over the others is UPB. As mentioned before, it operates over the existing AC power lines in a house and is extremely reliable, unlike its older cousin the X-10 protocol. A simple plug-in adapter and free downloadable software enables full control of the lighting schema when combined with elegant UPB electrical switches and electrical outlets, all from the power of your PC.
    Simply turning a light on, off or just dimming is not really a big deal from a PC but the real power comes when you decide that you would like to combine switches to form lighting scenes or zone lighting. You see, these switches are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill variety. Sure there are some that just handle the standard on, off and dim but others are designed to handle scene or zone lighting with the push of a button for any number of rooms or even the whole house, if you so desire.
    Also, it is easy enough to scrap your old security panel at a later date and replace it with a unit that integrates other systems in a home such as heating and air conditioning, surveillance, home theater, swimming pool or jacuzzi, water sprinklers, you name it and just about anything else you can imagine. How about a security breech issuing an “all lights on” command? Or maybe you’d like to check on your home or make adjustments from anywhere in the world from your PDA or laptop? The possibilities are virtually endless.
    If you can manage to program a remote control for your TV, VCR or whatever, you already have the basic skills…logic! No need to learn complex programming languages, just simple, plain, down-to-earth English.

     

  • Tips on Best Home Automation Systems

    themovingforwardguy 11:05 pm on October 11, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DIY Home Automation,

    When it comes to high-end whole house systems, they generally cost from $5,000 to $250,000. This price usually does not include installation fees, so take a good look at what the dealer is offering before agreeing to anything! When choosing to buy a high-end home automation system for your house you need to ensure it will be properly configured and installed, as these two areas can sometimes cost more than the system itself. There is no limit in what these systems can do, because, besides security and lighting, they can integrate any climate control, audio, video and entertainment systems your heart may desire. You can even get sprinkler and pool/spa control systems, so that your house becomes the most comfortable place on earth for you.

    The various features and functions that high-end systems usually include need a rather complicated interface to the users. Otherwise, the control would be very complicated. Because a touch screen can have the buttons specially designed for each and every house, the best solution for the control of high-end systems is choosing the more expensive LCD technology the touch screens offer. The advantage is a plus in comfort to the users and to the programmers too. Other types of interfaces that have recently entered the market include keypad stations with built-in temperature sensors and intercoms. Interesting option I might add, as most of the manufacturers will soon choose to introduce this on a wide scale.

    There are some types of high-end systems that come directly with sophisticated lighting control subsystems. Additionally to that, you will get all the key components for a complete home automation system that you can customize according to your needs and wishes. Other types of home automation systems are less expensive, but the truth of the matter is that the only thing you will get for such a small amount of money you invested is a security, lighting and temperature control package. You will have to add the other modules on your own expenses. It is very much like a Do-It-Yourself toolkit that you can play around with. Not to speak about the integrated control of audio and video gear! This may cost a small fortune, if you asked me.The fact is that not all people are fans of these DIY things. People are much more interested in pre-programmed or plug-and-play systems.

    Therefore, before deciding upon a certain high-end system for your home, you must absolutely study the market in order to choose the solution that will best fit your house automation needs.

    MileHighAutomation.com – HAI Home Automation & Whole-House Audio Solutions | DIY @ Mile High Automation. Do-It-Yourself DIY Home Automation Solutions. We Design & Program, You Install. Specializing in HAI Home Automation Systems, Russound & Nuvo Distributed Audio, and Leviton Structured Wiring.
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