Home automation

[Jobobee]

Hey there,

I should be buying a new house soon, and I think it would be really cool to have a home automation system in it.

I was thinking of having a Nexus 7 embedded in the wall next to the main door, and having that as the main control panel, but also being able to control it from my phone. I know that there are lots of products available for this, but I live in the EU and there isn't that much here. 

I'd like to use a Nest Thermostat or something similar.

If you can give me some tips on products to buy, anything in Italy or England is fine, then that would be GREAT! Please take into account that my phone doesn't have NFC. I also plan on setting up a home server and an Ethernet switch.

I have an unused Raspberry Pi Model B that I could use for this.

[Guest]

I'm interested to see what ideas people have for this.

[Jeroen1322]

Well i'm working on a project with a Raspberry Pi to controll lamps with it through an app. You should read this: http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry-Pi-GPIO-home-automation/

[ionbasa]

LinuxMCE: http://www.linuxmce.org/

You need a pc running as a 'server' to send out commands to different devices. Most home automation devices like automated shades or blinds, locks, and even programmable wall outlets and automatic switches rely on some sort of serial interface.

 

If you want to go full auto in your house, you'll probably need a lot of ethernet to serial adapters.

[Jobobee]

I'd prefer to go with something like z wave, just makes it easier, but I am open to suggestions. My main requirement is the tablet on the wall.

[JLCitadel]

I'd prefer to go with something like z wave, just makes it easier, but I am open to suggestions. My main requirement is the tablet on the wall.

 

Well i think what your first step should be, is to tell us or figure out what yourself what exactly you want. Then from their figuring out what is feasable and what isn't, and what's cost effective for you. then i'd say getting a layout of the place you purchase, and figuring out what connections you have where and what other connections you'd need, then establishing a floor plan with each part listed in different sections to control x thing to determine other things.

[Snickerzz]

http://www.lowes.com/cd_Iris_239939199_

 

not sure if this is available to you, but seems like something you could use :3

[MuffinTopMike]

Arduino is perfect for home automation or you could even use a Raspberry Pi. The best part of using a Arudino or a Rapsberry Pi is that their are heaps of tutorials online on home automation. A friend of mine used an arduino with an Ethernet shield to turn on and off his heating/cooling in his house. He could turn on and off his heating/cooling using his phone from anywhere in the world as long as he was connected to the internet.

[Jobobee]

Right, here's what I was thinking of:

Next to the for, there is a Google Nexus 7 on the wall, which is the main control panel for the whole system. When you open the door a light sensor detects if it's dark in the house (Not necessary, just cool) and if it is automatically turns on a light in that room. The nexus has a map of the house, or just a list of the rooms. The thermostat knows when you get home and warms/cools the house, something like a nest would do this. You could talk to your phone and tell it to turn on or off a light, or change the temperature (I have seen a video of this).

I think that the micasaverde systems could do this, or something similar. The only problem with them is that they're rather expensive.

[Jobobee]

LinuxMCE: http://www.linuxmce.org/You need a pc running as a 'server' to send out commands to different devices. Most home automation devices like automated shades or blinds, locks, and even programmable wall outlets and automatic switches rely on some sort of serial interface. If you want to go full auto in your house, you'll probably need a lot of ethernet to serial adapters.

I'm planning on running a server machine, that runs Windows Home Server, and on a VM PFSense.

[HexaGuy]

Really depends on your budget and how far you want to automate your home. If you wanted to detect if a door opened, you would have to put some sort of light sensor on the top of the door or a sensor inside of the door latch hole thing. Also, as mentioned above, you will need many many wires put through the walls, and you would ideally need some sort of room to house all the main equipment. It would be better to actually build a new house, what with putting all those wires in. If you wanted automatic blinds or curtains, you would have to find them, and then find some way to integrate them into your network. If I was you, I'd also be concerned about security, as in network security. This is a rather big undertaking, and to do it properly, you would need tens of thousands of dollars.

[Jobobee]

Really depends on your budget and how far you want to automate your home. If you wanted to detect if a door opened, you would have to put some sort of light sensor on the top of the door or a sensor inside of the door latch hole thing. Also, as mentioned above, you will need many many wires put through the walls, and you would ideally need some sort of room to house all the main equipment. It would be better to actually build a new house, what with putting all those wires in. If you wanted automatic blinds or curtains, you would have to find them, and then find some way to integrate them into your network. If I was you, I'd also be concerned about security, as in network security. This is a rather big undertaking, and to do it properly, you would need tens of thousands of dollars.

Tens of thousands is Way out of my budget. Maybe just the lights then, Linus did a video on a system a while ago.. Building a new place is impossible, I live in a city. We will be demolishing a few walls, and changing a few things.

[HexaGuy]

Tens of thousands is Way out of my budget. Maybe just the lights then, Linus did a video on a system a while ago.. Building a new place is impossible, I live in a city. We will be demolishing a few walls, and changing a few things.

Good luck with everything. Just make sure that your home network is secure as there have been hacker conferences in which home automation networks have been hacked and they can turn off lights, mess with HVAC  systems, and blast speakers, basically turning their house into a haunted one. Don't wanna scare you. Just wanted to let you know.

[Zeruel]

Good luck with everything. Just make sure that your home network is secure as there have been hacker conferences in which home automation networks have been hacked and they can turn off lights, mess with HVAC  systems, and blast speakers, basically turning their house into a haunted one. Don't wanna scare you. Just wanted to let you know.

Then dont let it touch the internet lol

[Jobobee]

Good luck with everything. Just make sure that your home network is secure as there have been hacker conferences in which home automation networks have been hacked and they can turn off lights, mess with HVAC  systems, and blast speakers, basically turning their house into a haunted one. Don't wanna scare you. Just wanted to let you know.

I'll try to keep it safe, but Italy isn't known for its hackers .

[Paralectic]

Aren't there companies in existence who do all this for you according your requirements for the whole system?

[Jobobee]

Aren't there companies in existence who do all this for you according your requirements for the whole system?

Yes, but they're a total ripoff, and it's much more fun to DIY.

[Paralectic]

Yes, but they're a total ripoff, and it's much more fun to DIY.

It would require you to build in everything, do the wires and also do the programming and such.

 

That's a big challenge :-)

[Jobobee]

It would require you to build in everything, do the wires and also do the programming and such. That's a big challenge :-)

I think that these are some easier ways to do it, especially for lights.

[Paralectic]

I think that these are some easier ways to do it, especially for lights.

Philips Hue?

[HexaGuy]

Aren't there companies in existence who do all this for you according your requirements for the whole system?

They're usually expensive though.

[Paralectic]

They're usually expensive though.

Yes that's true, but a house is expensive too.

[Doxxy]

Right, here's what I was thinking of:

Next to the for, there is a Google Nexus 7 on the wall, which is the main control panel for the whole system. When you open the door a light sensor detects if it's dark in the house (Not necessary, just cool) and if it is automatically turns on a light in that room. The nexus has a map of the house, or just a list of the rooms. The thermostat knows when you get home and warms/cools the house, something like a nest would do this. You could talk to your phone and tell it to turn on or off a light, or change the temperature (I have seen a video of this).

I think that the micasaverde systems could do this, or something similar. The only problem with them is that they're rather expensive.

Phone light remote control will sure scare the **** out of the burglars!

[HexaGuy]

Yes that's true, but a house is expensive too.

Touché my friend.

[Brapson]

The idea of Home Automation really excites me for some reason. That and Home Centralised Computing are the the two topics that really interest me right now. As others have already pointed out there are various ways you could go about the process with varying costs. In the end it really comes down to three things: How automated do you want your home to be? How much work are you willing to do? How much are you willing to pay?

 

As a project for school a couple of months ago I started a conceptual home control application in VB.Net. I didn't get too far with it. I've still got the sketches somewhere in a pile though. Basic plan was to replace every light switch in my home with a small touch screen panel. The home screen would display the time, date and weather and the panel would allow the control of lighting (as a dimmer), temperature (again as a dimmer) and blinds. In the concept (though out of my technical capabilities) users would use a key card to enter the building and then the home would know who was inside, allowing it to do a customised set of controls. So if a kid was coming back from school they wouldn't be able to turn on the cooker and things like that.

 

Anyway, just have fun with it. Make sure to post any work on the project though as I'm really interested in seeing were it goes!