Hello from Seattle

I'm a complete novice when it comes to home automation but my hope is to set up a makeshift security system.

My basic idea idea is that I would like to place a sensor in the family room that would detect an intruder. If there is some motion in the family room the system would turn on lights both in the family room and the bedroom, waking up the homeowner.

I'm leaving out some details. The actual system would be a little smarter than that but that's the basic idea. If this project turns out well, it may be the first step towards a more complete home automation system.

As it turns out, a linux server is already available to control the lights and read the sensor. My hope is to use that to implement the logic required.

I would expect that at a minimum for hardware, I would need to be able to control ( and read the state of ) two light switches, read one sensor, and interface somehow to the linux machine. I'm leaning towards insteon hardware but if anyone reading this thinks that another brand would be better, please let me know.

I have not yet thought about what software to use. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for reading and thanks for any feedback.

Why a makeshift security system rather than a simple out-of-the-box one?

hi morse34, welcome to CT!

If you are truly trying to protect your home, I would rely on components tested/certified for this use (even a cheap alarm panel would be an acceptable option). When it comes to protecting lives, you just don't want to rely on DIY setup (unless you have experience designing alarm systems, etc.).

If you are just playing around, and are trying to get into home automation, then there are many solutions out there. Here is a list of home automation software solutions, many of them free. You can filter by features in order to get quickly to what you want.

I personally use cheap X10-RF motion sensors in various rooms for 'follow-me lighting', but use an ELK M1 security system with real security sensors for actual security.

Z-Wave would be a simple enough option for lighting automation... they have z-wave motion sensors and light modules. Just don't pretend it's a security system.

Also, the point of security is generally to keep them from getting inside to begin with; once someone is inside the house already, what's your plan, and how will a light turned on help? At that point a system that can call the police before you've come out of a groggy, sleepy state will protect you. You generally want to stop them before they get in, with door/window sensors, glass-break detection; and other deterrents. Once they're in, depending on their intentions, nothing stops them from shooting someone or grabbing the TV or Laptop before running off; and a confrontation in this state could easily lead to panic, which if the person is armed, could really escalate quickly.