I need a good place to start understanding home automation.

[dewframing]

Hello all,

I am in IT but I am new to home automation and would like resources to research. I have gone to the Wiki and read Wiring Your New House 101, 102, and 103 which is great, but seems more for electrical foundation of a project. Which is fine but I need the very basics like what is these things for and how do I use them ADI Ocelot, JDS Stargate, HAI Omni II, and HomeVision Pro. I know these devices are important, PLEASE HELP!!!!!! All I would like to do is control light switchs, ac, and stream media round my house from a multitude of touchscreen devices.

Thanks

 

[electron]

Welcome to CocoonTech!

We need to figure out what exactly what you want to do, what we have to work with (do all your outlets have neutrals? Are you J-Boxes made out of metal?), and if possible, even a budget. Do you want to set this up yourself? Do you like tinkering, or do you want an out of the box solution? There are so many hardware and software solutions on the market, but you need to help us help you

 

[dewframing]

Welcome to CocoonTech!

We need to figure out what exactly what you want to do, what we have to work with (do all your outlets have neutrals? Are you J-Boxes made out of metal?), and if possible, even a budget. Do you want to set this up yourself? Do you like tinkering, or do you want an out of the box solution? There are so many hardware and software solutions on the market, but you need to help us help you

I am going to build a house from the ground up and i would like to do as much as possible myself. If that is going to be possible. I work in IT so I understand the PC portion perfectly. But it becomes foggy when it comes to the various moving parts.

Thanks for you help.

 

[Neurorad]

Try to futureproof by installing cables for things you may want in the future, e.g. security system, exterior/front door/playroom cameras, distributed video (shared source components racked in a wiring closet), flood sensors, irrigation system, whole-house audio system.

If you install the cables correctly, you'll be covered for most control systems.

You should pick your lighting control system now, before construction.

Many CT members start with an alarm system that has basic home automation functions, e.g. Elk M1, HAI OPII, and then piggyback another controller on top of that (e.g. CQC, Elve, HomeSeer) after limits are exceeded. The controllers communicate with each other via serial/232 and/or IP. You choose subsystem hardware (lighting, audio, HVAC) that can receive commands from and send status info to the controller(s).

Welcome to CT.

 

[dewframing]

Try to futureproof by installing cables for things you may want in the future, e.g. security system, exterior/front door/playroom cameras, distributed video (shared source components racked in a wiring closet), flood sensors, irrigation system, whole-house audio system.

If you install the cables correctly, you'll be covered for most control systems.

You should pick your lighting control system now, before construction.

Many CT members start with an alarm system that has basic home automation functions, e.g. Elk M1, HAI OPII, and then piggyback another controller on top of that (e.g. CQC, Elve, HomeSeer) after limits are exceeded. The controllers communicate with each other via serial/232 and/or IP. You choose subsystem hardware (lighting, audio, HVAC) that can receive commands from and send status info to the controller(s).

Welcome to CT.

Thanks for the warm welcome. If I were to start with the security system were would I go to gain a good foundation of understanding what to do first.

 

[JoshFerg]

This is probably not a popular option here, but why not bring in a pro on this? If you are building a house now is the time to get the infrastructure in place. Doing it after the fact can cost 10x as much and still not give you the same level of control.

After the system is installed dive into the programming of it. With your background you will pick it up quick.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

This is probably not a popular option here, but why not bring in a pro on this? If you are building a house now is the time to get the infrastructure in place. Doing it after the fact can cost 10x as much and still not give you the same level of control.

After the system is installed dive into the programming of it. With your background you will pick it up quick.

I know this doesn't account for most of the helpful pros on this forum, but I'm betting that the majority want to lock you into a proprietary system with monthly contract fees and 'extra' costs for any future changes. I doubt the selected system would be able to be accessed to a 'programming' level by the user.

(BTW, this thread was over a year old...)