Hey everyone,
I've been doing some research on the internet about home automation. I can't believe how much info is out there and how much it doesn't help me. Mainly because i'm new to this and also because there are so many options and everyone has a different opinion of each system. I'm currently in the process of selling our current house and looking to buy and new one before the new year. In the new year once we have a house purchased I want to get started into making our new home start working for us. Of course i'm a little in over my head but i'm more or less looking for some opinions from people that have used a variety of systems and how they worked for them. I know what I would like to automate in our house. And I can't afford to do it all at once but I would like to start simple (lights and HVAC) then move forward with other things.
From the reasearch i've done i'm pretty well set on Insteon as my hardware. Being RF and Powerline seems to make it the better system and more reliable. I looked into Zwave and Zigbee as well as UPB. They just don't have the same appeal as the Insteon dual technology.
To control this is where is gets tricky for me. I'm hoping to be able to control everything by voice in the house via microphones placed throughout the house. Does anyone have experience with an open air mic system. Not the setting up but the actual use and reliability part of it. Also which software is the best for this aplication. I have heavily looked into Home Automated Living's HAL2000. It seems to be the package deal for the interaction i'm looking for. Don't get me wrong I don't want to make my house part of the family and have it's own personality. But I like the shopping list and personal assistant features that it offers as well as the voice response to your commands. I've tried to look into Homeseer and Vera with no luck on finding any post's of people using them via the open air mic system. Does anyone know of websites that people have using these systems or people with personal experience please chime in. I have seen so many home control software that I can't make sense of which one is the better option.
I would appreciate everyone's opinion on any product out there (as long as I can get it in Canada). I do wish to have multiple people controlling the house. I am mechanically inclined and can do a bit with computers. I'm not a programmer by any means and I am looking for something that is easy to setup and start using without having to hire a team of IT people to get the lights to turn on.
Thank you if you read my ramblings,
Tim
I've been doing some research on the internet about home automation. I can't believe how much info is out there and how much it doesn't help me. Mainly because i'm new to this and also because there are so many options and everyone has a different opinion of each system. I'm currently in the process of selling our current house and looking to buy and new one before the new year. In the new year once we have a house purchased I want to get started into making our new home start working for us. Of course i'm a little in over my head but i'm more or less looking for some opinions from people that have used a variety of systems and how they worked for them. I know what I would like to automate in our house. And I can't afford to do it all at once but I would like to start simple (lights and HVAC) then move forward with other things.
From the reasearch i've done i'm pretty well set on Insteon as my hardware. Being RF and Powerline seems to make it the better system and more reliable. I looked into Zwave and Zigbee as well as UPB. They just don't have the same appeal as the Insteon dual technology.
To control this is where is gets tricky for me. I'm hoping to be able to control everything by voice in the house via microphones placed throughout the house. Does anyone have experience with an open air mic system. Not the setting up but the actual use and reliability part of it. Also which software is the best for this aplication. I have heavily looked into Home Automated Living's HAL2000. It seems to be the package deal for the interaction i'm looking for. Don't get me wrong I don't want to make my house part of the family and have it's own personality. But I like the shopping list and personal assistant features that it offers as well as the voice response to your commands. I've tried to look into Homeseer and Vera with no luck on finding any post's of people using them via the open air mic system. Does anyone know of websites that people have using these systems or people with personal experience please chime in. I have seen so many home control software that I can't make sense of which one is the better option.
I would appreciate everyone's opinion on any product out there (as long as I can get it in Canada). I do wish to have multiple people controlling the house. I am mechanically inclined and can do a bit with computers. I'm not a programmer by any means and I am looking for something that is easy to setup and start using without having to hire a team of IT people to get the lights to turn on.
Thank you if you read my ramblings,
Tim