Which HA Technology, If Any?

[jseymour]

Hi Y'all!

I'll try to make this as succinct as possible

Recently it came time to replace the venerable (pre-Honeywell) Magic Stat. I thought "Hmmm... I wonder if there are WiFi-enabled thermostats, these days?" And there are. Gave the Filtrete (made by Radio Thermostat) device a try. That was a mistake!

So... Have a wired/wireless network in a small (1400 sq.) ranch w/basement and attached 2-1/2 car garage. Have some X10. Too much to just up and toss. If nothing else: Money is an issue right now. But I don't want to put more money into X10. It just doesn't work all that well. My computer is a Linux box. My wife's is a Windows XP box. Got a couple 'droid tablets.

I'm not thinking of embarking on a big HA project right off. I'm more thinking of what to buy with future directions in mind. For example: I could buy a decent Honeywell touch-screen thermostat for $100, or... I could buy a somewhat nicer Honeywell Z-Wave thermostat for $50 or $60 more. Then, someday, a Z-Wave bridge (maybe a Vera 2?), and I'll have my thermostat on my network.

Then, at some time, a Z-Wave <-> X10 bridge? Do they make those? Then perhaps start swapping-out X10 modules with Z-Wave modules? Or perhaps there's a Z-Wave <-> INSTEON bridge, and start transitioning to that? Maybe someday look at swapping-out the DSC alarm panel for something I can network? And so-on...

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Rupp]

You may want to give the free HomeSeer 30 day trial a try. It works with your current X10 devices, as well as the Z-Wave devices and there's even a plugin for your DSC security system if your have the it100 installed.

 

[jseymour]

You may want to give the free HomeSeer 30 day trial a try.

Maybe someday, but there's no money for that kind of thing right now. Right now I'm just wondering if, rather than spend $100 for a thermostat I might want to replace in a year or two for one that can "talk" on my network, maybe just buy a network-able one now, with the future in mind?

Thanks for the follow-up.

Jim

 

[hobbes487]

If I were you I would go for a Z-Wave thermostat. There are HA systems out there that are free and will bridge the gap between X-10 and Z-Wave. Open Source Automation is one of them. It is 100% free and open source so you won't have to worry about costs later on when you decide to get more into HA.

 

[jseymour]

Thanks for the hint, hobbes487. That link led me to the OSA Wiki, which led me to the Z-Stick. Since my Linux box is a combined desktop/server (it's on full-time), using it as a HA hub/server would probably work.

$150-$160 now, with another $45 in the not-too-far-distant future, is probably doable. I'll have to research it more, to see if I'd actually be able to do anything interesting with the thermostat, for example, from that.

Update: Ok, OSA is out. Runs only on MS-Win.

Jim

 

[electron]

Here is an actively maintained list of all home automation software on the market (that is accessible to the regular consumer), includes many free projects:

http://www.cocoontech.com/portal/lists/home-automation-software

 

[jseymour]

Here is an actively maintained list of all home automation software on the market (that is accessible to the regular consumer), includes many free projects:

http://www.cocoontec...mation-software

Thanks for that, Dan. Terrific! I don't know who's doing that, but it is a terrific resource. With that I was able to identify two or three likely candidates in mere minutes.

This after spending... two or three hours fruitlessly thrashing-about with Google, trying to find out what, if any, live Linux HA projects were out there, concluding there weren't any, and basically resigning myself to buying the non-communicating thermostat, after all.

This is kind of funny: I'd been looking at Gambas, on-and-off, for years. So when I lately got to thinking about HA, it had occurred to me "I wonder if that VB-like language/framework for Linux/Unix would work well for that?" Lo and behold: Somebody's doing it.

Jim

 

[roussell]

Misterhouse is still very much alive and well, they just don't do 'releases' like they used to. The Proper way these days is to pull down the latest svn branch as it's very stable and current.

Domotiga is interesting, but other than X10 they really don't support much else (at least U.S. stuff).

As to the Flitrete thermostat, I've had great success with mine for the past year- it took a few firmware updates (automatic) and I rarely use the iPhone app as it seems buggy. I use the available API and talk directly to the thermostat. It's proven itself very reliable, at least for me.

 

[electron]

Thanks for that, Dan. Terrific! I don't know who's doing that, but it is a terrific resource. With that I was able to identify two or three likely candidates in mere minutes.

This after spending... two or three hours fruitlessly thrashing-about with Google, trying to find out what, if any, live Linux HA projects were out there, concluding there weren't any, and basically resigning myself to buying the non-communicating thermostat, after all.

This is kind of funny: I'd been looking at Gambas, on-and-off, for years. So when I lately got to thinking about HA, it had occurred to me "I wonder if that VB-like language/framework for Linux/Unix would work well for that?" Lo and behold: Somebody's doing it.

Jim

I created it If you see any information that's outdated, or missing, please let me know. I have been looking at Gambas as well, it's really a cool development platform, and am considering it for some non-HA projects.

 

[jseymour]

Misterhouse is still very much alive and well, they just don't do 'releases' like they used to. The Proper way these days is to pull down the latest svn branch as it's very stable and current.

No offense toward misterhouse's developers, but it's always struck me at being everything and the kitchen sink. (And, mind you, this is coming from a guy who's a bit of a Perl-head.) The primary developer of DomotiGa, who apparently contributed to MH, wrote "too massive." That was the impression I got when I fooled with it, briefly, years ago. Maybe that's unavoidable if the system's going to be "complete," but it kinda scared me off.

Domotiga is interesting, but other than X10 they really don't support much else (at least U.S. stuff).

It is in its infancy. Perhaps that is kinda what makes it more interesting to me.

Besides: X10 and Z-Wave (for HVAC) support are all I'm interested in atm. INSTEON, DSC (alarm) and irrigation control, perhaps, somewhere down the road.

(Tho I gotta say: Fooling with Gambas a bit for the last 2-3 hours... OO BASIC?!?! Now I know what being in The Twilight Zone feels like! .)

As to the Flitrete thermostat, ... It's proven itself very reliable, at least for me.

I'm glad it's working for you, but my experience... *shudder* -- I'll never go near another RT product again. From the initial configuration (before adding the WiFi module), thru the first attempt to get a WinXP laptop to associate with it, thru getting it connected to my WLAN, and so-on, it was a thoroughly unimpressive product, in my view. (And that's putting it as nicely as I possibly can!)

Jim

 

[jseymour]

I created it If you see any information that's outdated, or missing, please let me know.

Will do. Nice job, Dan

A suggestion: If it's possible: "Protocols" might better be a multi-selection list?

I have been looking at Gambas as well, it's really a cool development platform, and am considering it for some non-HA projects.

I coded BASIC a long, long time ago. Then I discovered structured languages (Pascal, first, then C). I've studied Java and C++ extensively, and multiple times, but never coded an actual project in either.

I gotta tell ya: For me, Gambas is very weird: A language that looks like of one of the most un-structured languages on the planet, BASIC, and having strict typing and OO constructs. (Queue Twilight Zone theme.)

Jim