Does not feel like an automated house.

[tshephard]

I've been doing home automation for over 10 years. Even put up a website about it way back then like we all used to do. Its still up at here.

I originally started with a JDS Stargate which I still use. I also had an IR xpander, I/O expander, a single zone home audio for music and announcements, some key lights with X10 control, sprinklers controlled, JDS LCD keypads, RCS thermostat...

It never felt automated enough. I was never happy with X10 so I never expanded the lights beyond a few. IR was not reliable enough, so I never really implemented a home theater control solution. I had home/away buttons to trigger stuff, but no one ever used them. It sat this way for many years. I'd have announcements when the mail showed up. We could play music using the LCD keypads for control. The every day used items are my channel plus and Xantech IR distribution.

Recently when I found out about UPB, I expanded to use Homeseer pro with the Stargate plugin, and purchased a lot of UPB switches. I'm still a few short, but these have proved to be very reliable. I purchased a Caddx and at first tied it to Stargate, but was not happy with the Caddx - Stargate - Homeseer integration, so I moved Caddx directly to Homeseer.

Even with these upgrades I'm finding that I'm not doing very much with it. For example, even with about 15 UPB lights, all I'm really doing is making sure they are off after the alarm is set. Outside lights are timed to come on at dark, but thats not much. I still find myself running around the house turning off lights, dimming them for movie time, etc...

I'm still running down stairs to turn off the TV's the kids leave on, or running through the several steps to get their shows on with different remotes. I have HSTouch for my iPhone, but it some ways its just easier to grab the remotes and get it done then find the phone and hope all the automation works. I know it is for my wife for sure.

Maybe I'm expecting too much, maybe I have not put enough effort into it. Could be a combination. To me home automation has to make things easier, have a consistent interface or none at all, and work 9.9999 percent of the time.

What are some of your favorite automated tasks and what hardware/software are you making them happen with? Maybe I can add your idea. I pretty much have everything covered, just need to tie things together to make it happen.

-Tim

 

[JonW]

I think one of the best home automation items I have is my Pronto Professional TSU9600 remotes with their RFX9600 base units. I have one upstairs and one downstairs. They use WiFi so there is no IR line of sight issues. We watch a lot of TV and listen to music while entertaining. My AV center is not tied to my HAI OmniPro, but because of the flexibility of the remote, I'm able to have a single (mobile) interface for lighting, Pool/Spa control and multi-room AV. A single "goodnight" button can shutdown the AV and all downstairs lighting (as well as check that the pool/spa is off, garage door shut, etc.) A lot of that logic is actually controlled by the OmniPro, but the Pronto becomes the interface for it. Because the remote is a two-way device, you can also get real-time status and design your screens to show what's on or off.

It sounds like you've got HomeSeer set to be your singular controller for things, so now maybe you need to have an easy to use (for spouse/kids) interface to take advantage of what's there. Maybe an upgraded remote is the ticket to really tie it together and make it more useful? I know it is for me.

 

[AnthonyZ]

It's a tough call to name a "favorite" aspect but, lately the integration of my IR controlled swamp cooler has been pretty awesome. I use both HAI and CQC to monitor temps in the house, outside temp, the thermostat's cooling set point and the status of the swamp cooler (via current switch) and then ramp the cooler up and down, automagically, to keep the home cool. I no longer have to look for the cooler's remote control and adjust it manually. I no longer pay any attention to the outside vs. inside conditions. I just let the HAI and CQC work in synergy to make the decisions for us. Works like a champ and, without a doubt, is using less energy.

Other items that get daily use include control of the theater rig (DTV, TV, PreAmp and Amp, XBMC) via CQC and a Samsung Q1; lighting control (lot's of automation vs. control); weather forecast on the touch screens; Analog/IP camera system and more.

 

[wuench]

I think you have to break it down to tasks you want to accomplish and then work to set them up one at a time. Here are some of mine based on an Insteon/ISY, ElkM1, CQC combo. Some not yet completed...

1.) Home theater control - Movie selection, lights automatically come on/off when movie/DVR paused/played. Necessary equipment powered on/off by task.
2.) Landscape Lights on at Sunset vs. a specific time
3.) Lighting control based on security settings - Away/Vacation modes give lived in look, Night mode turns off all lights
4.) Lights for closets/furnace room/etc come on off when door open closed
5.) Make sure garage door is closed after away mode
6.) Text/Email notification of events
7.) Thermostat controlled based on security mode
8.) Bathroom lights/fan controlled via occupancy detectors
9.) Irrigation control
10.) Reboot/restart computer services via email - allowing remote access in case of a service crash.
11.) Outdoor lighting control (and notification) via motion
12.) Occupancy controlled lighting of garage and attic lights
13.) Trash day, yard waste day, recycling day, etc reminders
14.) Centralized Roomba control/monitoring.

Of all of that the ability to open/close my garage door from my IPhone seems to be the biggest hit, go figure.

 

[tshephard]

Some really great ideas guys. Thanks.

I will be implementing some of them.

I guess I really need to just go for the touch screen. That seems like it would be the device that ties it all together. Probably a wall mounted iPad that could be removed.

Although, I'd also like the idea of one thats on and ready all the time.

I just spent most of the day today wiring in IR from homeseer to all my devices. Thought it was great until someone turned off the sony tv in the living room and the sony tv in the family went off as well.

One step forward, two back!

 

[Rupp]

Some really great ideas guys. Thanks.

I will be implementing some of them.

I guess I really need to just go for the touch screen. That seems like it would be the device that ties it all together. Probably a wall mounted iPad that could be removed.

Although, I'd also like the idea of one thats on and ready all the time.

I just spent most of the day today wiring in IR from homeseer to all my devices. Thought it was great until someone turned off the sony tv in the living room and the sony tv in the family went off as well.

One step forward, two back!

Yep, this is the draw back to having the same brand of electronic in 2 locations. When you have 2 of the same brand you need zoned IR.

- My favorite automated item is my thermostats. When the kids turn the upstairs air down too low HomeSeer automatically resets it to 76 so they've given up on trying to crank the air conditioning way down. When the house becomes unoccupied the stats automatically set up or down depending on the season.
- Mute all TV's in the house as well as the whole house music when the phone rings.
- Show front porch camera on touch screens when door bell rings. This event also sends camera shot to my work email as well.
- My wife love the fact that the bathroom light comes on at 10% dim when entering the bathroom from 11PM to sunrise.
- All phone messages are emailed to me and the wife using HomeSeer Phone.
- Whole house audio system announces wheather the doors are locked or not when we run the good night event.
- Various announcments:
- when auto's arrive home
- when new email arrives
- alert the kids to gather the garbage
- when snail mail arrives
- to load and unload the diswasher
- when the washer/dryer are complete
- when motion is detected in the back of the house
- when the garage door has been left open
- etc

 

[Photon]

I think you have to break it down to tasks you want to accomplish and then work to set them up one at a time. Here are some of mine based on an Insteon/ISY, ElkM1, CQC combo. Some not yet completed...

10.) Reboot/restart computer services via email - allowing remote access in case of a service crash.

Wuench, please tell us more about how you implemented #10. If you are counting on CQC to parse an email to take a command to reboot, isn't this a problem if it is a flaky CQC function that caused you to send that email?

I'm pondering cycling power to my server and network infrastructure equipment via dialing into the Elk, or accessing Elk by M1XEP. However, phone service is by Vonage, so if network equipment needs to be reset, I'll have a tough time getting to the Elk. I wonder how much the life of the cable modem, router, switches, and Vonage adapter would be reduced if I have the Elk cycle power to them in the middle of every night?

Regards . . . John

 

[damage]

- if the deadbolt is unlocked and the alarm is still armed in at home mode, a zoned TTS message is played reminding us to disarm the alarm
- the back & side yard flood lights are turned off when the back & side doors are deadbolted
- if the alarm is armed at certain times and the dog door is closed, a TTS message is played to remind us to open it
- if we're not home, there's been recent motion in the backyard near the gate & doghouse and the sound threshold has exceeded a certain level there, sound clips are played through the doghouse speakers in an effort to distract our dog who is barking
- depending on if we're at home, work, our other home or just out, our google voice is updated automatically to forward to the phones where we are
- rather than announcing emails throughout the house, a short sound is played for each of our accounts and the sender & subject is displayed on all the slimp3s & squeezeboxes distributed around the house. since our other house's network is bridged, the displays also show up over there
- automatic cycling of the cable modem at our other house when the link goes down
- on school nights, zoned TTS sent to each of the kid's networked MP3 players to tell them it's bedtime
- automatically limiting the volume of the kids' networked MP3 players so they are unable to attempt to drown each other's out, etc
- via power monitoring, if the kitchen zone hasn't dropped to below 10 watts in over 12 hours, then the fridge never cycled off, there may be something wrong with it. (this JUST happened and it turned out the adaptive defrost control board died)
- if the stock market moves by a certain large percentage, like what happened on flash crash day, i am texted, IMd, emailed and TTS is play throughout the house, again depending on where I am/online/etc

 

[mrhappy]

I had a moment between when I looked and thought 'do I just have a computerised remote control'

I've got alot of features that are warnings, flood sensors, soil sensors, carbon monoxide sensors, current sensors (on my reef tank incase it blows a fuse, one on the cooker circuit also so I can't leave the house with the cooker on), doorbell...all send me texts/emails depending on what they are. Doorbell sends a text if it is rung and then I don't open the front door in 5mins etc.

Then I found some clip on pipe thermistors that I fixed to the hot water pipe for the bath, if I run the bath the lights dim.

Bathroom/Kitchen lights are on 60% brightness between the hours of 1am and 5:30am, controlled by occupancy PIR's...also the PIRs control amplifiers between the hours of 0700 and 2300hrs.

I've got an alarm clock that has been coded so the only way to reset it is to go into another room, and then the PIRs cancel the alarm - I was terrible with the snooze button, this forces me up.

I've got a bedroom and lounge temperature sensor, depending on the time of day depends on the temp sensor used for the heating...there was times when there was a two degree difference in the two rooms and the old thermostat was in the lounge.

Its not automated in the sense it puts the bin out or cleans the floor but I can't forget to turn the lights off, I can't leave the heating on accidentally...when I leave the house everything turns off so nothing can be left on wasting energy and things like that.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

The announcements about the washer and dryer cycles finished is a big one for the WAF.

Also, announcement on garbage nights that come every half hour until the system 'sees' the side gate opened (i.e. took the can out to the street).

Email photo of person ringing doorbell.

Automatically closing garage door when system armed in stay mode (for the night).

Automatically closing the garage door if left open when the system is armed in away mode (after a length of time and two warnings via flashing lights and chirping siren notifications).

Vehicle monitors. Announcing when vehicle nears the house.

Sprinkler controls. Won't water during high winds (tie into wind speed sensor).

Here is one I just implemented. I have a 'special' email (as I run my own host as most people here do) that I can send to my HA server and it will announce the subject line over the audio system. This is great when you need to get hold of someone on the phone.

I can control my entire system via my phone (lights, security, monitor cameras, etc...).

Others you can do include furnace filter monitor (mount contacts on furnace filter door), water softener salt level, power monitoring, etc...

 

[znelbok]

I look at it this way.

What do I do repeatedly eveyr day.

- When I leave home, I turn off the lights, TV A/C etc.
- When I go to bed I turn off the lights, check the garage and shed door are shut, turn of the TV's

I now use CQC and associated devices to do this all automatically for me. This is where the real benefit of automation is - ensuring that tasks that need to be done regularly are being done with a minimal amount of effort (make it a hard task and see how long you will do it for).

Other [simple] stuff like being able to turn the lights on while on the couch are a blessing - once you have it you dont want to lose it.

Now if I could only get somthing to clean,cook and wash for me automatically that does not winge as well I would be set......

 

[Lagerhead]

Most valuable functions:

- "Garage door open-only" button in the cars' HomeLink. This pevents inadvertently closing an open garage door when approaching the house (because it's impossible to see the garage until fully up the driveway). Does nothing if pushed when the door is already open.
- Bedside controls for HVAC, security and lighting, especially useful for nighttime outside lights, and for a few announcements such as outside temperature, HVAC setpoints and how many windows and doors are open.
- Similar functions implemented in RF remotes, especially like controlling the temperature and lighting without getting up
- On-demand cellphone remote status of the house - floor plan showing temperatures, doors/windows status, last time opened/closed, etc. Correspondng remote control, much as others have described.

 

[zaccari]

I have a couple more that I have implemented in my house.

1) instead of having a cable box at every TV in the house, I have two boxes in the basement (and other devices), through a matrix switch that is controlled in different locations by different methods. everywhere that an IR remote is used, they are the same so a lost remote can be temporarily replaced from down the hall. the response to the remote is based on where the remote is utilized
2) the home theater is a big win. lights dim and the lights, projector and DVD changer come on as necessary. a pause or stop brings the lights back to dim. i refuse to answer the phone when watching a movie, so it is not involved in this part of the equation
3) the flag pole is lit at dusk and doused at dawn
4) caller id is shown on a beta brite in the master bedroom
5) climate control based on internal and external factors (why run the AC when the temperature outside is substantially cooler than the set point)
6) most lights in the house turn themselves off, especially those in places that can't be seen (i.e. the garage and attic)

I have several more that are planned, I just haven't gotten them completed yet

1) power monitoring of the IR only TVs in the house so they can be turned off as appropriate
2) zoned music, especially for the children's rooms
3) refrigerator/freezer monitoring for the door(s) being left open

The rest have already been talked about by others. I look at the idea of "what do I do every day" and expand it a bit more to be "what would be nice to do every day". I like being able to monitor heat and AC utilization.

What I won't do from this point forward is buy anything that is IR only without a compelling reason. There are plenty of devices to choose from rather than having unreliable results.

Russ...

 

[Desert_AIP]

- rather than announcing emails throughout the house, a short sound is played for each of our accounts and the sender & subject is displayed on all the slimp3s & squeezeboxes distributed around the house. since our other house's network is bridged, the displays also show up over there

What squeezebox plugin are you using?

 

[potts.mike]

It's a tough call to name a "favorite" aspect but, lately the integration of my IR controlled swamp cooler has been pretty awesome. I use both HAI and CQC to monitor temps in the house, outside temp, the thermostat's cooling set point and the status of the swamp cooler (via current switch) and then ramp the cooler up and down, automagically, to keep the home cool. I no longer have to look for the cooler's remote control and adjust it manually. I no longer pay any attention to the outside vs. inside conditions. I just let the HAI and CQC work in synergy to make the decisions for us. Works like a champ and, without a doubt, is using less energy.

Mind sharing where you got that IR based switch for the swamp cooler? A quick google search showed up nothing.