Is it necessary to find an electrician with z-wave-specific experience? I don't think I'm going to find that since I can't even find a HA guy with much z-wave specific experience. I didn't think installing switches required any specialized skill.
The instructions for most automated switches are standard and made for an electrician to comprehend. That said any automated switch is unique from a standard electrical switch and not something that an electrician is used to working with. Personally I would read the instructions physically looking at an automated switch such that you understand what wires are used for what. Then pass that instruction sheet over to your electrician with a switch and ask him to explain to you methodologies he will utilize to install switch; see personally that he is understanding methodologies in the written instruction sheet.
Run the software to program the switch; get familiar with it and decide whether you want to show your electrician how to program the switches and pay for his time doing said endeavor or DIY it yourself.
The whole automation switch world is unique.
The best knowledge base resource installation person would be a master electrician who also is a do anything on any computer type of person and can articulate in both worlds seamlessly.
The above noted be prepared to pay for said expertise/knowledge base individual more than a base electrician rate. (move the bar from $50 a switch to $100 a switch total installation cost or even better set up a rate per hour that you think is fair).
Are you saying you ran USB cable throughout the house? I never even considered this but I guess I can see the applications. Didn't think USB was possible over such long runs or that USB cable that long was available. I guess I shouldn't make assumptions…
No I do not have USB cable all over the house. I do have cat5e all over the house. I have extended RS-232 all over the house using the cat5e. I have tested extending USB and not ever had really good luck with it. That said I do extend USB with Digi Anywhere USB / Lantronix USB to network devices. While I think that wireless transport between switches is a neato idea; I prefer a wired topology for HV switches; yup even using the powerline itself as a means for transport.
Personally do not think that the folks designing the automation "wireless" network had any clues in general about basic networking topologies. Really all they cared about was whether the light turned on or off; which does work. The introduction of wireless battery powered automation devices doesn't make it better. RF is magical and it cannot be controlled like a simple direct wire. It is convenient and inexpensive. That is my personal opinion though.
Every TV today does have RG-6 and Cat5E jacks. I utilize the RG-6 today for OTA / inhouse video and Cat5e for the XBMC boxes. Thinking that all my LCD TV's today still have NTSC tuners and ATSC tuners as I watch both on them all. The XBMC box is just network connected and it can control the MythTV DVR, play live video streaming (with the pause and playback and rewind functions of live TV) or run any of the multitude of online streaming whatever. I do also have one Wintel box running with multiple subbed paid on demand services (netflix et al) which also can be streaming on any TV, tablet or PC in the house. (easier to keep it all on one box).
As far as audio I don't listen to MP3's or radio (streaming/satellite/OTA) very much. Just about everything I listen to these days is from an online music sevice; currently it's Google Play Music and Songza but that can change at any time. Control4 has a cool music bridge that will let you play anything coming out of an Android device regardless of source. I must have something that gives me this much flexibility. Is that possible with Russound or any platform other than Control4? Hmmm… I suppose all these music apps can run from a browser so I could use a PC/Mac as the source. I trust any music distribution platform can use a computer as the source? But that seems like overkill.
I am distributing audio via zoned amplifiers (Russound) using in wall speakers connected to speaker wires and controlled via cat5 connected whatever While I do utilize online streaming; mostly enjoy my personal music collection. Many folks today are doing a wireless zoned audio system; relatively inexpensive and sort of portable; cute speakers. Thinking most of the costs related to the wireless technology; and less on the value of the hardware which is truly cheap these days. Sound is sound is sound whatever your space permeates of it. IE: wife watches her recorded video content based on content and not the quality of the sound or video.
I have customized my touch screens with whatever streaming or local playback of audio that I want. Its really up to your imagination. There are many discussions here relating to methodology of source, propietary software and different OS's running. I have been playing with the legacy Squeezebox, have one Squeezebox server running alongside my MythTV box playing back audio on customized SqueezeBox OS touchscreens; remote controllable by the mothership (home automation server).
I am so much addicted to my personal music that I have my music collection replicated in two cars on computers(even though I have satellite radio, internet streaming et al). Relating to music servers which stream from the internet or do whatever; your choices are endless these days with whatever OS you want to use. (IE: Wintel, MAC, Linux or embedded Linux). I don't really think one is better than another. Some have more features while other applications have less.
As for MythTV, I hadn't considered that but the built in tuners can't be used for DirecTV. I assume you have to use Hauppauge HD PVR to record the HD content to the Myth. But then you need a Hauppauge and DirecTV receiver for each channel you want to simultaneously record. So how is this better/cheaper than using DirecTV Genie hardwired to each room? Or am I missing something here? Also, how do you get live pay TV to each room? Can Myth stream live pay TV too? If you have speaker separates how do you get audio from Myth to each room?
Yup the MythTV box is talking to multiple tuners and do multiple / simultaneous recordings and viewing. It is a free DIY. I also have DirectTV (20 years now) and recently gave up my personally owned Tivo DVRs (forced by DTV). I also redistribute video back to the house on private channels which feed the LCD TVs such that you can watch and control whatever content you record or watch with DTV. That said I personally do not watch TV.
There are going to be more than ten TV's around the house. This is the piece of the puzzle that has me stumped. How do I get live & recorded pay TV to all these rooms? And how do I get amplified audio to the speakers in these rooms? This is where I feel like Control 4 is my easiest and possibly cheapest option. I would love to figure out a cheaper/better way.
Yup; utilize DirectTV, Comcast, OTA and in house video. It goes to any of the TV's in the house. Using the MythTV box and the DirectTV box to record. Control of live and recorded video playback is only on the XBMC boxes all connected wired to the network. Audio / video is SD or HD and stereo or multichannel. I do have additional multimedia receivers by certain LCD TVs. Footprints are small. No DVD/Blue ray players are used anymore.
Personally here looking towards moving (well doing it now) my automation to Linux after running it for many years on Wintel. I have historically always liked the embedded automation on my legacy and currently a bit stifled Leviton HAI OmniPro II panel. I am now in the mode to integrate said automation in my own DIY devices using Linux. My currently running Linux OS automation can have unlimited (literally) wired serial and USB devices and virtual devices connected to whatever it is I want to automate (IE today > 20 analog devices managed by the automation software doing all sorts of things in events, internet, lighting, temperature). That said I personally consider the automation server the "mothership" which maintains the heartbeat of the home; sans any interaction by me. I did that whole remote control with my cell phone thing in the late 1990's and early 2000's. I had fun with it remote controlling my home from the EU while sitting having coffee on the Champs-Élysées and bugging my wife on my mobile phone. I did also use the Text to speech (into various voice fonts) and VR in the late 1990's (started to play though with it in the early 80's with TTS built into my security / automation (well X10) panel. Still utilize multiple language multiple speech fonts these days; cuz its fun. The remote pieces got old fast. The interface today to the automation mothership can be my phone, tablet or any device which runs a browser.
That said everything is automatic and I do watch but do not interact too much with it these days. My automation is home based not reliant on the internet. I do utilize the internet but am not dependent on it for anything related to automation. Social media got me in trouble in the 1990's; a "mi casa is su casa" invite got a 23 year old drop in staying a couple of weeks playing tourist in Chicago. She was/is a radio DJ today for the BBC and she was visiting south america; then dropped by Chicago for a few days.
She was pleasant but wife did get upset a bit.
I do today have wired touchscreens connected to the automation in just about every room of the house.
The forum here does mostly entertain the DIY automation or security person. Read the FAQ adventures and look at the pictuers of the DIY automation person. Mostly everyone here has been there and done that and is looking to that.
You can purchase an off the shelf automation system today at the big box stores or go full "tilt" with a Control 4 system (or whatever high end systems are out there today) professionally installed at a cost (including monthly support). Its really up to you what exactly is your budget and what you want to spend per month on your entertainment. (neighbor here is at about $400 per month in a BB bill not including pay per services on the internet like music, streaming video, et al).