Advice for a very simple Home Automation Setup

[landonhm85]

Hey Everyone,

I'm brand new here and brand new to home automation in general, so please forgive me if this information is posted elsewhere, I've been looking around and can't quite find the answer.

I live in an apartment with a roommate and as a project I want to automate my room and maybe the thermostat in my apartment. Right now I've retrofitted a 3 year old Lenovo ThinkPad I had sitting around into a sort of ultimate alarm clock. The screen is fixed to the side of my bed and runs alarm clock software, some widgets displaying information, media playback, and a few other programs that are helpful to have around. It's also acting as a light use server for a few applications that I'm tinkering with.

I would like to be able to use the PC to control several lamps in my room that are plugged into walls so it can dim up the lights when its time to wake up. I'd also really like to have the ability to control the lights easily and quickly from the PC directly. If cost effective I'd also like to be able to use it to control (and schedule) the thermostat in my apartment. Finally it would be amazing if I could control the lights and thermostat from my iphone, but that isn't necessary.

I was considering this: SmartLink - Insteon as a possibility, but I'm afraid that 1) it is overkill for such a limited application, and 2) it won't provide quick enough access to light control from the PC.

Any suggestions or advice you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rupp]

Welcome to the Cocoontech forum. Not sure how much you wanting to spend but HomeSeer runs on an always on PC, can control Insteon, X10, UPB, Z-Wave and others. HomeSeer's isn't cheap but if you plan on using this when you move into a home some day it may be worth the investment. HomeSeer comes with a free 30 day trial. You could get started using a SmartStick and an affordable Z-Wave tstat like this.
Smartstick: http://store.homeseer.com/store/PC-Interfaces-C66.aspx
Thermostat: http://store.homeseer.com/store/HVAC-C67.aspx
HomeSeer: http://www.homeseer.com/products/software/hs_software.htm
Look for the Wayne Dalton in the lower right hand corner.

Then you could add lamp modules to your apartment to control lighting. There are also a couple of paid and a couple of free plugins for iPhone/iTouch control of HomeSeer via it's built in web interface.

There are probably some free interfaces as well but I'm not familiar with these. Others will chime in to get you more information as well.

 

[MikeB]

I was considering this: SmartLink - Insteon as a possibility, but I'm afraid that 1) it is overkill for such a limited application, and 2) it won't provide quick enough access to light control from the PC.

The SmartLinc does sound like a good fit for your needs. The interface does look good on the iPhone, and works great on a PC as well. Couple of limitations to keep in mind:

- The SmartLinc does not offer timers based on sunrise/sunset, only time of day. Depending on what you want to do, this may or may not be an issue for you.

- The SmartLinc does not provide any on-screen feedback on the current state of your lights/thermostats. You can send commands to devices, but you cannot see if they are currently on or off, or what the current thermostat set point is.

I would recommend our ISY product, but based on your stated needs it may be overkill for you.

 

[twilo123]

for z-wave on an iphone including hvac support you can checkout our app at Total Control. straight controls and feedback/status though. no timers or schedulers.

 

[IVB]

Controlthink (zWave) has a bundle where you can get the basic ControlThink software, controller, 1 appliance module (on/off), and 1 lamp module (on/off/dimming) for $130. The pro version is a $50 upcharge.

I've used the basic software, seems fine for low-end needs.

 

[landonhm85]

Great advice, thanks guys!