by Richard Moyle
Making your home into a smart home can mean a lot of things depending on how far you decide to take it. Some just implement home automation for their lighting; others may utilize it for security. Still others may automate their home entertainment systems or their heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. But, regardless of what you decide to automate in your house, there are definitely some big advantages.
Convenience is probably the most obvious advantage of automating your home. Having your home automatically perform routine functions saves you time and effort. Just push one button and you can shut off all of your lights, set the thermostat to economy mode and arm your security system for the night. You can automate your home theater system and push one button to have the lights dim, curtains close, TV and DVD player turn on, phone mute and popcorn popper start making a snack for you to enjoy during the movie.
As an added convenience, there are some home automation products that even allow you to control your automated appliances from your web-enabled cell phone. The SmartLinc INSTEON Central Controller is an affordable and flexible central controller perfect for enhancing any INSTEON home automation network. Though it has been designed for optimal use with an iPhone or iPod touch, there are customizable user-downloadable server applications that provide a flexible interface for any web-enabled device. Security is another big benefit to having your home automated. Sure, you could just get a normal manual security system, but imagine being able set it up so that your home will call you if something is wrong. Home automation can even save your life in the event of a fire by waking you, shutting down the gas and ventilation system, automatically calling the fire department and turning on a lighted path for you to escape.
Automating your home can also save you money. When you set up home automation to control the operation of your lights, water heater and HVAC system, the devices are only turned on when they are being used. Therefore, you’ll save money on your energy expenses which is not only good for your wallet, but good for the environment as well.
OK, I’m sold on the benefits. Now how do I get started?
Exactly. I’ve been interested, what I need is a guide to what is out there.
I see articles like this all over the web. Use home automation for this, use home automation for that… but NOTHING of real substance. Where do we get the good info, what equipment should we look at, let’s see some sample set ups, something we can actually use, links, links, links. It just pisses me off because its like this for so many home automation articles. I was expecting more from you on this one Terry, usually articles on your site are more informative. We have a very involved set-up here and it almost pure luck we have stumbled upon products that work.
Thanks for your feedback Nick and I will pass it on to the author of this post.
Nick,
I apologize for not being more specific about products in the article. Usually when I guest post for blogs they tell me to keep it as generic as possible without mentioning specific products because they don’t want the post to seem like an advertisement.
Terry, great start, now I’m ready to find out what you’re doing and what you recommend! Seems like there are a lot of companies that are doing a lot of different things here, who’s doing it well? Schlege is featured in the latest iphone commercial but are they the best for this or is there another system that’s more universal for all appliances. The iPad has to be a major target for home automation master controller and that’s one of the main purposes I’m hoping to use it for.
So much more to talk about here.
Terry, I have a few posts on the subject that may be of interest. See:\n\nhttp://forta.com/blog/index.cfm/HomeAutomation\n\n— Ben
Hi All,
I was really hoping for a basic setup assistance. I too, want to automate yet overwealmed at teh different options and the such. I looked into Schleges sytem yet a monthly fee applies- Im sorry, I do not want to pay a fee for something that I am going to need to do myself anyway ( program, install, etc.).
Thx, Glenn N
If you’re building a new home, look into the systems from savantav.com. it’s the only Mac-based total home automation solution and it has a pretty amazing interface.
-Ben
I am in the planning stages of home automation. The options are endless. http://www.smarthome.com provides the all necessary hardware devices. Here is the set catch….cost. In order to automate your lights you will need a controller which plugs into the wall and is connected to your pc/mac via ethernet cable. Then you will need to replace your wall outlets with IP enabled outlets. Smarthome has starter sets, with one controller and four outlets costing almost $200. HVAC controllers cost $200.
I will use a mac based program and app, Indigo Touch, to control all the devices. No monthly fees are included with this program. If you decide to automate your home choose an app that is free. No need to pay for services.
Terry is right, home automation is mostly about convenience. I am holding out in hopes prices will drop, even if just a little.
Thanks, but note I didn’t write this and therefore can’t take the credit. It’s a “Guest” blog spot.
I have been using Smarthome’s products since 2004. I’d start by saying that Central Controller mentioned in the article is not the only solution and I got by for several years before it came along. You can start a very basic setup and build from there. That’s one of the benefits of the whole insteon network. The system is controlled via the powerlines in your home. Signals are routed along these lines from device to device and many of them repeat the signals until it reaches the correct destination (milliseconds) making the network stronger. I started with just a simple set of dimmer switches controlling a few lights. I then added keypads which would control several lights AND report/reflect the correct status of those lights. I now have porch/sofit lights set to sunset/sunrise and keypads at entryways to turn on multiple lights at a time. With the central web based controller, I can control all of my insteon devices from anywhere and even see when another family member (teenage daughter) has left a light on so I can turn it off.
Sorry for the long post but I’m very pleased with my setup and didn’t break the bank doing it.