ForABrandNewHome
New Member
My father is currently having his retirement house built and wants it fully automated. Also, the only wireless signal allowed are from the keyboard and mouse.
He wants one central computer that controls everything in the house.
So, every light should be centrally controlled. Multiple thermometers and multiple cameras that report to a central computer. 2 additional access points to the main computer (one in the kitchen and one in the living room). And speakers pretty much everywhere and an access control panel in the bathroom to select music to play out of the central computer.
Now, how to wire all this up is pretty much a nightmare.
The best solution I have found so far is to use Insteon for thermometers and light switches and direct wiring straight from the device to the computer for everything else. The house is pretty small, so for most devices this will only be about 10 meters, 15 meters in the worst case scenario.
This means that both computer monitors would use long HDMI cables. He also needs USB cables with built in repeaters to make USB ports available in the kitchen and the living room.
I'm thinking of also using USB cameras that connect directly to the computer via long USB cable.
The bathroom control panel would be a cheap tablet pc (I've seen some $70 Android tablets on newegg that should work just fine).
I still have no idea how to wire the speakers.
Any ideas on how to make this setup cheaper/more reliable/simpler?
Also since he's still building the house he can put any kind of wiring he wants, and it seems kinda odd to me that a powerline based network would be the best solution. Are there any better alternatives that are still relatively cheap?
He wants one central computer that controls everything in the house.
So, every light should be centrally controlled. Multiple thermometers and multiple cameras that report to a central computer. 2 additional access points to the main computer (one in the kitchen and one in the living room). And speakers pretty much everywhere and an access control panel in the bathroom to select music to play out of the central computer.
Now, how to wire all this up is pretty much a nightmare.
The best solution I have found so far is to use Insteon for thermometers and light switches and direct wiring straight from the device to the computer for everything else. The house is pretty small, so for most devices this will only be about 10 meters, 15 meters in the worst case scenario.
This means that both computer monitors would use long HDMI cables. He also needs USB cables with built in repeaters to make USB ports available in the kitchen and the living room.
I'm thinking of also using USB cameras that connect directly to the computer via long USB cable.
The bathroom control panel would be a cheap tablet pc (I've seen some $70 Android tablets on newegg that should work just fine).
I still have no idea how to wire the speakers.
Any ideas on how to make this setup cheaper/more reliable/simpler?
Also since he's still building the house he can put any kind of wiring he wants, and it seems kinda odd to me that a powerline based network would be the best solution. Are there any better alternatives that are still relatively cheap?