I recently discussed possible centralized controllers for household fixtures such as lights, door locks and security systems. Once you have selected what type of standard(s) you will use, the next step is to choose a controller. If you are not planing to automate a large portion of your electrical and electronic equipments, you may skip this part all together.

Dependent and Independent

There are two main routes you can take. One is choosing a LAN controller. They are usually independent of any wireless standards like x10 or Z-wave. However, they can be expensive and/or less reliable and hard to setup. The other route is the centralized controllers. I will be explaining the later in detailed because that’s what most tech geeks would use.

Still on the independent units, IP cameras such as D-Link IP Cams and switches like Belkin wemo are great products. They allow average consumer to setup a smart home system without the need for expensive controllers. All IP Cameras from D-Link, TrendNET and other manufactures have very easy and simple setup. Just follow the instructions and you will be ready to go with your WLAN or Wifi based cam. Often these companies also provide DNS (Domain Name Server) services free of charge to their customers. These DNS services will allow you to access your unit(s) from anywhere in the world. I personally found the D-Link products to be the most intuitive to average consumers (plug-n-play). Note these units actually do not have a “brain” aka a main controller.

In addition there are, what I call “independent but dependent” units. They provide simple services such as sending an email if the smoke alarm goes off with almost no other control what so ever. If all you need is that, then check out the products from SkylinkHome.

Centralized Controllers

Some controllers can support all standards; INSTEON, Z-wave, UPB and X10. However, these units are often expensive. I found the Z-wave controller which also can handle INSTEON and X10 via a plug-in called VeraLite to be the best option for consumers. You don’t have to pay a lot since the unit sells for about $200 CAD. It is a stand along box. I would not recommended in-wall units like Evolve LCD Wall Mount for novice users.

Of course there are other options with multiple standards support. Homeseer Hometroller SE Pro supports ZWave, UPB, Insteon and X10. But the cost is about $750 CAD. If you have money to burn, I can safely say it is a very good unit. The software architecture of the unit is based on Windows XP. An added bonus for avid Windows-loving programmers.

MiCasa Vera3

This is the particular unit I use. They have two options; the Regular and the Lite. For home or small business use (even if you are a programmer), I would go with the Lite version. The only major differences I noticed between the two models is the number of devices they can control (200 units vs 50) and the built in stand along wifi system in the regular version. Personally I prefer independent wifi network. This will avoid fallout from a catastrophic network failures.

Once you have the necessary basic infrastructure listed on my first post on automation here, the next step is the planing. This is very important because depend on what equipments you choose and how you physically and electronically integrate them to one another will effect the reliability and future expandability of your system.

The following list of questions will help you decide what actions you should take. These are some of the exact questions I asked myself for my automation project.

1. Am I (are we) going to live in this particular house for the next 5+ years?
   If yes, spend more time on extensive planing and go to question 3. If not go to question 2.
2. Will this project add value to the resell of the house? Is this area is known for high end housing market?
3. What is the budget over a month, a year and few years for maintenance and expansion?
4. Which controller and components should I pick based on answers to above questions?
   If you are planing to live in this particular house for a long period, please pick the best or at least intermediate level system (or there is a market for automated houses in your area, if you are planing to sell the house). If you are doing this as a “fun” project and/or you are planing to sell the house with no added value due to automation, then go for a cheaper equipments.
5. How many equipment am I (we are) planing to integrate into the controller and what standards (Z-wave, x10… more) will we be using?
   Some high end (expensive) controllers support multiple standards. However, I support independent controllers for each system. I will explain why soon (at the end of this article).
6. How much flexibility do I (we) want? Do I need a controller that would accept custom scripts and firmware (geek alert!)?
   Some controllers may not comes with free control over the Internet. Some controllers will allow custom scripts (not recommended for novice non-tech people) for wide range of activities. Usually the controllers that allow custom scripts are expensive. If you are a home owner with limited knowledge in computing, I would recommended something simple like Micasa Vera controllers.
7. Where should I place the “brains” of the system?
   I recommend using a centralized location in which you have access to both the network equipments and the automation equipments. I will be placing all the controllers for automation with my servers. At the main location, it is utmost important that you have flexibility in electrical outlets, number of LAN connections and other peripheral support infrastructure. Note that most systems are wireless so you can place them anywhere in the house with a mid to strong wifi signal.
8. What components do I need and where would I place them?
   There are limitless possibilities thanks to standardizations like Z-wave. Multiple manufactures have come up with many different equipments from lighting receptacles to security systems. In order to go truly hose-wide, I would start organization the automation based on your house plan.

   

Addition to the centralized systems with a very powerful controllers, you could also go with general purpose consumer grade products like Belkin wemo devices. In fact, I think it is better to have multiple independent systems because this will increase the reliability. If the controller goes out in a advanced system, everything connected to it will be out of service as opposed to having independent systems.

I will be introducing you to the Belkin wemo products and Vera Smart Home Controller, Vera Lite in my next two post. Stay tuned!

The summer 2013 was a eventful period in my personal tech world. We have decided to renovate two bathrooms that are in dire need of attention. While my dad focused on the renovations, I decided to slowly automate electrical and electronic household equipments. This article will be the first of many posts on Home Automation.

Continue reading Custom Home Automation →