Non-Conventional home automation applications

[MrGibbage]

Yeah, I am really paranoid about the garage door. We use that as our primary entrance to the house, so it gets opened a lot. I have it set up so it illuminates on of the function keys on my Elk keypads, and I can close the door from any keypad as well. I also have a security camera in the garage, so I can see for sure if the door is closed.

What's more, I have the logic set up so that the door cannot be opened remotely--only shut. That way if someone finds my phone, they won't be able to just press the button to open the door.

I've never had a problem with anyone trying to take something out of my garage, but for some reason I am really paranoid about it. I have never left the garage door open overnight since implementing these HA controls. Prior to this, it was a couple of times a month that I went out to my car in the morning to go to work only to find the garage door wide open.

I hope that helps.

Skip

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

My friend and his wife wanted to know the status of their two garage doors (open or closed) when inside the home. I have two locations that have dual colored LED's that light red if any one of the garage doors are open and green only if BOTH are closed (have pics of this somewhere here).

 

[AnthonyZ]

My friend and his wife wanted to know the status of their two garage doors (open or closed) when inside the home. I have two locations that have dual colored LED's that light red if any one of the garage doors are open and green only if BOTH are closed (have pics of this somewhere here).

I built what must be a damn near identical rig for my neighbors. They love it and, fingers crossed, it may be enough to push them into automation. They have been asking a lot of questions about cameras.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I found the pic. The top is a glass break sensor, the middle is a red/green LED that shows garage door status and the bottom is a switch that will turn on/off voice announcements. I made a single gang plate for the kitchen and the master bedroom. They loved it.

 

[GraysonPeddie]

Operate a coffee maker? That's conventional! (Eh--okay, that's X-10. Don't shoot me just because I posted that video. LOL! )

I did it for my mom, with Z-Wave. My mom's coffee maker gets operated by the cron script. It turns on by 6:40 and off by 7:40 during the mornings when my mom sleeps in my aparment when she goes to work in Tallahassee (she lives in Altha, FL, which is west of Tallahassee). I plan to get an Aeon Labs 4-button remote so that she can turn on the coffee maker if she gets up earlier than the specific time. Since she once forgets to turn off the coffee maker, the cron job in Ubuntu Server turns it off automatically by 7:40 AM.

 

[Penman]

Operate a coffee maker? That's conventional! (Eh--okay, that's X-10. Don't shoot me just because I posted that video. LOL! :unsure: )

I did it for my mom, with Z-Wave. My mom's coffee maker gets operated by the cron script. It turns on by 6:40 and off by 7:40 during the mornings when my mom sleeps in my aparment when she goes to work in Tallahassee (she lives in Altha, FL, which is west of Tallahassee). I plan to get an Aeon Labs 4-button remote so that she can turn on the coffee maker if she gets up earlier than the specific time. Since she once forgets to turn off the coffee maker, the cron job in Ubuntu Server turns it off automatically by 7:40 AM.

I monitor my washer and dryer using Mamac current probes connected to a UPB I/O module, and send a text message to my wife's phone when the wash or dryer is finished, since the laundry room is at the far end of the house.

I also monitor the door bell and phone ringing, and use either to pause the DVR when either goes off. The doorbell also causes the TV to switch up the appropriate camera so I can see who is at the door (my house has 3 doorbells/doors).

In addition to monitoring and controlling my garage doors as others have mentioned, I also have an IR device to detect whether one of the cars is in the garage or not.

My automation system sends a message to my son to take out the trash, to me when I need to clean the furnace filter, replace the coffee maker filter, arming/disarming of the security system, etc.

 

[mikefamig]

Reviving this old thread.....I have a problem remembering if I took my daily pills each morning. I take the same few pills every day and they are all kept  together in a plastic container but sometimes about half way through my first coffee I can not remember if I took the pills when I made my coffee or not.
 
So I think that I came up with a very simple solution that might benefit others. I just ordered a few mini digital counters for $.99 each. The device has just two buttons, increment and reset. I will just throw the device in the pill bucket, reset at  the beginning of each month and increment each day when I take the pills.
 
This is so simple that I don't think that it qualifies as home automation but hope it helps some.
 
Mike.

 

[rismoney]

Anyone pausing FIOS DVR via ethernet instead of IR?  I have only seen this-
https://github.com/oneman/FiosRemote

 

[garbled]

I have a whole home power monitor, which I've been using to alert me when the laundry is done by watching the power usage of the washer/dryer.  I've also been fiddling with control of the lawn watering lately.
 
I desperately want to do the garbage can thing, but what I need for that is some kind of proximity sensor that goes out of range when it's on the street.  Still fiddling with that idea.

 

[garbled]

On the topic of garage doors, I've been slowly collecting parts to implement an idea I had.  Basically, I want to be able to close the garage door automatically, but never, ever open it via automation.
 
My current thought is a reed switch hooked to the garage, which is normally closed, so when the garage door is down, the switch is open, and breaks the circuit.  This circuit would then be wired to the garage door pushbutton.

 

[mikefamig]

You guys got me thinking. I just might get a wireless sensor and install it in the tupperware container that I keep my pills in. Then I can write a few rules to remind me to open it each morning. Maybe a phantom output that gets flipped back and forth or maybe a light that flashes at a certain hour until I open the container.
 
Mike.

 

[pete_c]

You are scaring me Mike.
 
On the topic of garage doors,....
 
Back in the 1990's I had a combo sercurity / automation (x10) panel.  I did hard wire the detached garage and driveway at the time.
 
One day wife was coming home from work while on a conference on her cell phone. 
 
She opened the garage and drove in to it while still on the conference call.  She didn't shut off her vehicle. 
 
The garage door automation / alarm stuff shut the garage door while the car was still running.
 
She did get a bit freaked out at the time and it was very low on the WAF. 

 

[mikefamig]

OOPS!
 
The above posting about pills was meant
 

You are scaring me Mike.
 
On the topic of garage doors,....
 
Back in the 1990's I had a combo sercurity / automation (x10) panel.  I did hard wire the detached garage and driveway at the time.
 
One day wife was coming home from work while on a conference on her cell phone. 
 
She opened the garage and drove in to it while still on the conference call.  She didn't shut off her vehicle. 
 
The garage door automation / alarm stuff shut the garage door while the car was still running.
 
She did get a bit freaked out at the time and it was very low on the WAF. 

 
I think that we have some wires crossed. My earlier post is not in reference to garage doors. I'm talking about pill containers.
 
Mike.

 

[pete_c]

Yeah I was responding to the pills reminder post and the garage stuff ...should have split them up.
 
I just might get a wireless sensor and install it in the Tupperware container that I keep my pills in. Then I can write a few rules to remind me to open it each morning.
 
Just that Mike or need of that.

 

[pete_c]

Today I originally left all of the garage safety stuff in place and added a bunch of stuff.