Slashdot Mirror

I highly recommend you check out CocoonTech.com, especially the forums, as there are thousands of folks who have done this, and can bring you up to speed pretty quick. There is also a guide on the site (Wiring your home 101) which will tell you what wires you should run assuming budget isn't an issue (this lets you pick and chose what wire really matters to you).

You have so many options, it really depends on the time you are willing to put in, budget, and features you want.

I recommend you use an Elk M1 or HAI Omni Pro II security/automation panel as the 'core' of your system if security is really important to you, or if automation is your main vice, then look at the SmartThings, Vera, ISY-99, and HomeTroller (Zee) hardware controllers.

Most of us top this installation off with a software component, so we can bridge/interface many protocols and technologies (this way you aren't stuck with just one solution). Most popular commercial software solutions are Homeseer and CQC, but there are many alternatives, free, open source, etc.

Currently, Z-Wave, INSTEON, UPB, ZigBee, and WeMo are the popular protocols.

If you have the budget, consider hardwiring your home automation light switches, as the wireless/powerline based solutions aren't perfect, plus you have to worry about latency/security. CentraLite, Crestron and Lutron RadioRA are popular commercial solutions. They usually require dealer/installer access, but if you really look around, you could get access to the hardware (I'd probably combine RadioRA with a HAI/ELK panel).

There is so much more to tell, so if you have any other questions, ask away, and don't forget to check out the CocoonTech home automation forums!

I highly recommend you check out CocoonTech.com, especially the forums, as there are thousands of folks who have done this, and can bring you up to speed pretty quick. There is also a guide on the site (Wiring your home 101) which will tell you what wires you should run assuming budget isn't an issue (this lets you pick and chose what wire really matters to you).

You have so many options, it really depends on the time you are willing to put in, budget, and features you want.

I recommend you use an Elk M1 or HAI Omni Pro II security/automation panel as the 'core' of your system if security is really important to you, or if automation is your main vice, then look at the SmartThings, Vera, ISY-99, and HomeTroller (Zee) hardware controllers.

Most of us top this installation off with a software component, so we can bridge/interface many protocols and technologies (this way you aren't stuck with just one solution). Most popular commercial software solutions are Homeseer and CQC, but there are many alternatives, free, open source, etc.

Currently, Z-Wave, INSTEON, UPB, ZigBee, and WeMo are the popular protocols.

If you have the budget, consider hardwiring your home automation light switches, as the wireless/powerline based solutions aren't perfect, plus you have to worry about latency/security. CentraLite, Crestron and Lutron RadioRA are popular commercial solutions. They usually require dealer/installer access, but if you really look around, you could get access to the hardware (I'd probably combine RadioRA with a HAI/ELK panel).

There is so much more to tell, so if you have any other questions, ask away, and don't forget to check out the CocoonTech home automation forums!

You are looking for either the HAI Omnipro II or the ELK M1 gold. Check out http://cocoontech.com/forums/ for all the information you will ever need.

very active with excellent info:

http://cocoontech.com/forums/

If you are building your new home, you owe it to yourself to lurk the cocoontech forums and check out their wiring guides (see links below). For you television locations you are going to want, at a minimum, 1 RG6 and 2 Cat6. Preferably 4 Cat6 Jacks. Hit monoprice.com for your cable and get Cat6 550Mhz cable. Because that is what you will want to use with HDMI video baluns. If you still have studs exposed you can put in conduit to add more later.

Wherever you were going to put 1 jack put in two. You can always use the second one for phones, or a network printer, or an access point.

As for your original question, if I was worried about accessing the back, I would use a two post rack and mount it sideways so the rail was to the front. With quality gear, you won't be back there that much. I did get a secondhand 42U rack but once I had it home, it was too big. I sold it and eventually just moved my equipment into an audio rack.

Cocoontech Wiring Guides

http://cocoontech.com/wiki/Wiring_Your_New_House_101

http://cocoontech.com/wiki/Wiring_Your_New_House_102

If you are building your new home, you owe it to yourself to lurk the cocoontech forums and check out their wiring guides (see links below). For you television locations you are going to want, at a minimum, 1 RG6 and 2 Cat6. Preferably 4 Cat6 Jacks. Hit monoprice.com for your cable and get Cat6 550Mhz cable. Because that is what you will want to use with HDMI video baluns. If you still have studs exposed you can put in conduit to add more later.

Wherever you were going to put 1 jack put in two. You can always use the second one for phones, or a network printer, or an access point.

As for your original question, if I was worried about accessing the back, I would use a two post rack and mount it sideways so the rail was to the front. With quality gear, you won't be back there that much. I did get a secondhand 42U rack but once I had it home, it was too big. I sold it and eventually just moved my equipment into an audio rack.

Cocoontech Wiring Guides

http://cocoontech.com/wiki/Wiring_Your_New_House_101

http://cocoontech.com/wiki/Wiring_Your_New_House_102

Check out CocoonTech.com, a site dedicated to home automation, home security, and all the other fun stuff, DIY style (but plenty of professionals hang out there as well). That said, I hope you aren't doing it for your friends, you need to enjoy the home yourself ;)

There is also the Wiring Your New House guide in case you have access to the walls and want to future proof your home.

Check out CocoonTech.com, a site dedicated to home automation, home security, and all the other fun stuff, DIY style (but plenty of professionals hang out there as well). That said, I hope you aren't doing it for your friends, you need to enjoy the home yourself ;)

There is also the Wiring Your New House guide in case you have access to the walls and want to future proof your home.

I haven't looked at the reliability of Insteon in my current setup as a result of my X-10 install here. I have a lot of devices that really affect the signal-to-noise either by adding noise to the powerline or by sucking the signal out of it... my 2 remaining X-10 devices are on a dedicated circuit with a noise filter at the end of it, so they work fine. Having to identify and isolate things that are generating noise on the power line is a PITA and not what I consider fun, so I vowed to migrate away from it.

I know there are many people that are happy with their powerline setup, but I didn't want to spend money to find that I wind up with the same problems. I've heard that newer powerline protocols actually have the capability to analyze the operating environment but I have no experience with that. Additionally, the ability of Z-wave to create and route through a mesh network really sold it for me... If you're trying to reach from A to C and B isn't responding, it'll use A to D to C instead. It's also quite fast - I noticed a couple second delays via X-10 from command to execution that just aren't there via Z-wave.

Regarding occupancy, I have a couple logic gates that make the house "occupied" or not. An active RFID transmitter in the cars is one, motion sensors and pressure pads (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=96481 - very DIY but works great to detect a sleeper!) are another, and a really ingenious idea I found at http://www.cocoontech.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11317 allows me to track individual keychains.

Check out the Advent ADV3500PC GPS, it's a VIA 1GHz based unit, and is loaded. It's one sale right now @ Buy.com for $270. I have one sitting on my desk and it's one of the most fun toys I have owned in a while. Check out the thread below for more info: http://www.cocoontech.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13829 Its main function is GPS, but it can do so much more. I also use it in a home automation environment, and considering getting a second one as a CarPC.

Here is a thread which contains more information about this product, including the price. Be prepared for sticker shock!

• There are multiple manufacturers of UPB products, including:
       
  • PCS
         
  • Simply Automated
         
  • Home Automation, Inc. (HAI)
         
  • Web Mountain Technologies
         
  
  
• UPB is an open protocol with information freely available (Smarthome won't even talk to people who don't buy their SDK--I've tried)
  
• The product line is much more complete. For example, there are:
  
  • Controllable outlets.
    
  • Fixture modules, which can be hidden in appliances or behind walls and hardwired to devices.
    
  • I/O modules that convert contact closures to UPB signals and vice-versa so you can integrate UPB with just about anything (garage doors, fireplaces, motion sensors, alarm panels, doorbells, custom pushbuttons, etc...
    
  
  

i found a lot of useful insteon info on the http://www.cocoontech.com/ forums. there's a few guys there that have deployed a hundred or so devices. lots of other general HA related topics as well. check it out

iAutomate.com has come out with a RFID product which supports up to 400ft, and is very affordable compared with the other RFID solutions out there. Unfortunately, it only works with the Homeseer home automation software at the moment, but this is about to change (check out the last few posts in the thread mentioned below), since they are coming out with a serial device which interfaces this hardware, so any software package could support this technology. To check out how people are using it etc, check out the following thread (2 pages):

Sure, there are actually a decent number of them but here are a few of my favorites (for z-wave and all home automation needs):

HomeSeer - Also the site of the home automation software I use. I is MS tech and only runs on Windows, but GREAT software with an AMAZING community of users. Check out the forums on this site for basically ANY home automation info and if it isn't there all us users are VERY willing to help anyone. This stuff is a love for lots of us ;-)

Automated Outlet - a great guy runs this who gives great service (not me ;-)

SmartHome - Another site I order from from time to time.

CocoonTechNot a reseller but another good HA site.

Let me know if there is any other info you'd like. Always happy to share home automation info ;-)

Most people in the HA community use 1-wire sensors (you can get a few free samples from the Dallas Maxim site) as they are very cheap. You can interface them with a system using the serial port for a relatively low price too. Check out this thread on CocoonTech.com, it's discussing this technology, and all the interface available: 1-wire thread. As for your lights/appliances, I recommend good quality x10 switches (such as SmartLinc or Lightolier), or you can go with Z-Wave, which is similar to ZigBee, it's wireless, and each switch can act as an RF router to get the signal as far as possible. Pretty cool stuff. My entire house is automated this way, I can even start my car using voice, phone, web, email, you name it (right now it does it when I wake up in the morning). Doesn't have to be expensive either. If you do insist on still going with Ethernet, You would probably want to use a Global Cache device, which can process inputs, control outputs, IR and more all over IP.

I suggest you check out CocoonTech.com, it's a site dedicated to Home Autmation, Theaters and Security, This article got posted there this morning before it appeared on slashdot ;) Z-wave, which is 'similar' to ZigBee is one of the newer but fast growing protocols in the HA world. There have been many times where manufactures have said they have developped an x-10 killer protocol, but so far ZigBee & Z-wave seem to be ones of the few which might actually become widely accepted (or in some cases is being deployed already). Home Automation for the masses!