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Here are some existing over-the-power-line transmission systems usable for home control:

• X10 Pro signals over the power line since 1978, and still works, despite having annoyed millions with their ads in the 1990s.
• LonWorks - originally intended for home automation, but was too expensive in its early days. So it became a standard for commercial building automation. So robust electrically that it's used on subway trains to control auxiliary equipment (signs, lights, HVAC, etc.)
• HomePlug - also known as IEEE 1901. Mostly used to pipe Ethernet packets around house-sized buildings. More bandwidth than needed for lighting and such, but there are HomePlug thermostats.

We don't need another one. Especially since the original article's link to the protocol definition is a dead link. And because making home automation run a web server with "node.js" is terrible from a security perspective. And because it's WiFi based, which means it won't go through some walls it needs to go through, and will go through some walls it shouldn't. With the power line systems you can put a low-pass filter after your meter and keep out external signals.

Nope, no answer here that is cost effective but it may be of interest to someone.

Yes, there is an ethernet solution that runs over the house electrical wiring. It should be trivial to stream audio or download and play MP3s over it. http://www.homeplug.org/products You would have to pick a setup that falls under your budget and actually works. I see some at 40 each which at 5 rooms is $200. There are some pitfalls to it IIRC there may be some information on /. or Google about fixing wiring problems but my search foo is lacking.

Once you have that running you want to be able to FIND the songs. This may help but I've not used it. It looks slick and useful. http://www.nealosis.com/mp3collector/Forms/Default.aspx Since the requester does not want a PC in each room this is not the answer but I am going to try it as it looks cool.

With networking available in each room
http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/01/nicts-ethernet-speakers/
http://www.aaavoip.com/cyberdata-10882.html

Based on prices this is not an optimal solution but the cyberdata would sound so retro some may like it. ;)

I think OP was thinking of Power over Ethernet

Actually, I think OP was thinking of Powerline Networking. If this were powerline networking enabled, then you could plug it into any of your home wiring and jack in a webcam and not have to run ethernet. If you added on a software controllable plug to the other side of this, so you could plug a light into this and then plug this into the wall, you could control all sorts of devices with home automation. Most homes don't have ethernet jacks next to every plug outlet in the wall, and running them could get annoying.

As far as needing two, you'd need one of these and at least one bridge capable of enabling your power lines to handle data. Technically two, I think, as you'd need one for each side of your breaker box.

Your power company is probably already looking into standards like Homeplug (main org site) (wiki link) that provide meter data much more accurately than a webcam and image analysis software. This allows them to save money on paying sneaker-net meter readers, and real-time usage data for load balancing and prediction.

Whether or not they'll specifically give you access to the data is somewhat moot, since it's network-over-powerline and there are already consumer devices that can access the same network and (eventually if not already) be hacked to reveal the data being sent from your meter.

It's an exploding industry (like 20-30% CAGR in the US alone, higher in other less-developed areas where the first power meters will be homeplug-capable) so I wouldn't suggest putting too much effort into your image-analysis idea at least for a few months to see what happens in homeplug-world.

There are three powerline communications applications in use:

1. Broadband over power line systems described here are all last-mile access systems for use on medium voltage (approx 1 kV to 35 kV) and low voltage (under 1 kV). These are for linking internet users to an ISP (either the power utility or someone partnering with the utility). These are broadband speed systems.

2. In home power line broadband for linking computers and other devices within the home over short distance. These are all low voltage, broadband speed systems. The HomePlug specification was developed by manufacturers in cooperation with the ARRL and other HF spectrum users.

3. Traditional narrowband power line communications systems used for power systems for several decades for remote meter reading and relaying. These operate on many different voltages but at low speeds. (You can read 1000s of meters per hour using 4800 baud speeds.) These systems are not at issue.

-Off Topic Reply ghideon-

What stops HomePlug signals cold is the step-down transformer. In the US there is an average of 4 homes per transformer where you are potentially sharing a connection. Better than wireless, and the software utility lets you count how many nodes can see you. Regarding HomePlug intentional security, there is 56-bit DES built into every HomePlug chip. This is used to create logical networks with a Network Password that works sort of like a workgroup or an SSID. (HomePlug members are not releasing "sniffers" so if you can crack DES-56, you won't get a channce.)

Broadband PowerLine (BPL) is an access technology. It is somewhat experimental and is being used to connect a service provider, like a Telco CO that is several miles from your home or business, to your home to provide broadband access. This technology needs a good deal of power to send signals over the Medium Voltage (~16 kV - think "finger of God") lines over great distances. This is the technology that the HAMers are upset about. This is also the technology that the FCC is looking at.

HomePlug Powerline technology is a home networking technology used to distribute the signal from your home gateway or music server to other devices or PC's in your home. HomePlug uses OFDM, a technology that puts a comb of carriers across the spectrum. With a comb we can then turn off and notch out the HAM frequencies. HomePlug goes from 4-21 MHz and has deep notches to prevent interference with the HAM bands in that space. A large number of FCC and CE approved HomePlug devices are available in the market (look for the NETGEAR Wall Bridges at Circuit City or the Devolo devices in Europe).

Just wanted to speak up because there's been a lot of confusion here. Intellon or HomePlug can put a whitepaper on this on their to-do list.

thanks,
James Mentz
Senior Applications Engineer, Intellon Corporation

How much is a pre-wired house worth to you? Nothing, there are many less troublesome, relative easy to implement, and low cost options.

What will this do for community building? The last mile is not in the interest of the telco's to implement. Telcos' control of the customer will be marginalized (maybe lost) by providing ATM-VPC, VPN, VoIP, .... However, if the third link concept (listed below, Airship) ever takes-off, then the last mile problem will quickly end in many locations.

Possible Solutions (what wire/cable are y'all talking about? Is there a problem in the house?:~):

14Mb/s Apartment/Condo linked to switched-hub to Switch in basement/attic.

http://www.homeplug.org/index_basic.html

11Mb/s Home/Apartment/Condo W-LAN (low power) linked to HomePlug Access point.

http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/main.html#Tu torial

Last Mile Connection to the internet/intranet/... is comming.

http://www.airship.com/prod/uses_telecoms_frames.h tm

OldHawk777

Reality is a self-induced hallucination.

...were it a HomePNA or HomePlug interface.

Unfortunately, as I find myself continually whining, HomePNA is a bit strangled by Broadcom at the moment, and HomePlug will probably require a bulky-expensive transformer for quite a while, while suffering a few more security/privacy/stability issues.

This is pretty cool, but only useful for your fridge if you do have an RJ45 jack next to it. You could do it with a WAP per-device- but then, you might as well make it integrated 802.11 from the start, and suffer its security issues.

A product like SercoNet's PNA->Ethernet wallplate would certainly go a way toward solving the problem in existing construction, but they've never responded to my requests, and the 2001 date on their site suggests they might never have left the design phase?

I was somewhat disappointed that the article doesn't describe a broadband network over existing power lines - that would really be something!

I belive you are refering to this, right?

I looked at some of the homeplug.org web sites and member sites like Asoka.
Homeplug runs natively at 14Mbps (USB devices are limited to USB's 12 Mbps speed), though effective speeds are often lower, depending on how noisy your environment is (one site said 80% of their tests got 5Mbps or better), and it's good for up to 1km, as long as there aren't power transformers in the way. You can only put 16 devices on the network; I assume that's 16 devices per 56-bit-DES security key, but I could be wrong. That does mean that you're not going to wire everybody in your neighborhood together in the same LAN. Nothing I saw talked about the throughput effects of having your neighbors sharing the network, only the security effects.

yeah, and netgear, proxim, hp... so?

the poster already linked to plenty of manufacturers of these products. he's asking which solution is best, not which brand...

I see a lot of posts about briding the transformers and such. In Connecticut, they just spent lord-knows how much retrofitting everyone's electric meter to be readable via wireless from the street; presumably a similar rollout of transformer-bridging wouldn't be too impossible.

A lot of people are talking about the last-generation technologies, but HomePlug - HomePlug.org is obviously the choice to bridge from pole to house, and apparently gets much better speeds than the 300kbits quoted for previous tech.

I think Intel was one of the backers for this, while AMD helped found HomePNA. I'm not sure I'm a fan of either, but it's definitely the right application in this case.

Poles bridging to 802.11 wouldn't be impossible, either; Ricochet used to put their repeater stations into the tops of streetlamps. The cities/power companies got new lamps on Ricochet's dime, and the ISP got the opportunity to tap power and provide service.

Well, you should also note that this review you posted is 2 1/2 years old, and Linksys has a competing product that is supposedly better. I am wondering exactly how the technologies compare and if they are using the same methods of data transmission. Does anyone know the difference between this and HomePlug 1.0?

Homeplug could work if all the buildings are all on the same side of a transformer. Cringley has a timely article on Homeplug this week. Homeplug uses standard electrical lines to transmit up to 14 megabits-per-second. Quoting from his article: Now where the wire goes could surprise you, because HomePlug devices will work as long as they are on the same side of a power company transformer. In the U.S. an average of six houses share each transformer, which means your HomePlug network can extend next door or down the street. If you live in an apartment, your HomePlug network can cover the entire building.

It's a nice little technology called HomePlug and it might just be what you're looking for. In a nutshell, it's several tens of megabits over electrical copper and works on one side of the transformer. If the buildings are anything like a modern set of tract homes, they probably share a transformer. Simply use these babies and you get a nice little network via the already installed electrical lines.

Good luck!

Comcast is the only available broadband provider in my neighborhood. I guess I'll have to wait for powerline broadband.

I'll just have to figure out how to cover the meter outside my house that guages how many pictures I've downloaded...

Whois for "powerline.com" returns names with e-mail addresses on "powertrust.com". Whois for "powertrust.com" returns some of the same names and addresses, with e-mail addresses on "powerline.com". So we can conclude that "powerline.com" and "powertrust.com" are under the same ownership. There's interlinked domain ownership with "powerfulnetworks.com"(an ISP), and "powerinternet.org". (Clearly, these guys like "power").

Most of these organizations are located at 1701 S. Mays St, #J-121, Round Rock, Texas. At the same address are Gino's Pizzaria (#B), Eyecare Vision Centers (#R) , and My Choice Liquors (#N). Aerial photography confirms this is a mall. The "J-121" probably indicates some kind of mail drop, although it's not a MailBoxes Etc. location.

Going to "powertrust.com", we see just a logo and the tag line "The possibilities beyond the power". The page description for that page reads:

• PowerTrust.com is an Internet-based energy company offering savings for homeowners and small businesses. PowerTrust.com also offers such beyond-the-meter benefits as low-cost Internet access with no long-term contracts, domestic long-distance telephone rates for a flat 5.9 per minute anytime day or night with no monthly fee, and discounts on other home products and services.

So they have a full range of vaporware services.

PowerLine itself is at 11180 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA, which is an office building. "PowerTrust" is also at that location - listed as an oil and gas company.

Digging further, it gets worse. PowerTrust is in trouble for "slamming" natural gas services, switching customers to their service without authorization. They've "withdrawn" from the Washington DC area gas market, with the "encouragement" of the local regulatory authorities. It's not clear that they did any physical delivery of gas; it just seems to have been a remarketing thing.

A press release from PowerTrust indicates that PowerLine is a business unit of PowerTrust. It's supposedly a "joint venture with 'M@innet.net'", which provides the power line networking technology. Can't find "M@innet.net" in anything but PowerLine press releases, though.

So that's a brief rundown, and it doesn't look good.

This doesn't mean the technology is out of reach. There's a consortium for power-line networking: HomePlug. There's an evaluation kit available from Intellon. Includes source code for Linux drivers. Speed is around 8Mb/s now. They hope to get to 50Mb/s in a few years.

Lower speed systems are shipping. Easyplug, at 2Mb/s, is available now.

Like DSL, this is one of those things that just barely works because the transmission medium is so noisy, but can be made to work with very elaborate modulation techniques. Here's how HomePlug does it.

First of all this isn't a powerline service to deliver data to your house they tried that already in Liverpool but the streetlamps started acting as RF transmitters, the idea was buried.

However, I know a company called Energis uses the high-voltage backbones to transmit data&voice between cities, this service gets nowhere near the local-loop and isn't available to consumers though.

Ok... HomePlug is just an internal thing like X10 or HomePNA for linking appliances etc, say linking your PC to an MP3 box on your hi-fi.

Noise on the phase may well be a problem, and there's the possibility you could sniff your neighbours network, I asume they've done some work with authentification to solve this. People already have this problem with X10, you can fit a filter to your main distribution box that kills any noise in either direction and stops X10 ingress. I have the feeling doing the latter might be beyond your Joe average, I guess they could fit filters to new houses, but new homes will most likely include 'proper' networking like ethernet.

I have done some research into this area for a project at work. The Intellon PowerPacket uses OFDM this modulates the data in the 4.3 MHz to 20.9 MHz band. This is independant of the 60Hz power signal on the line, and at much lower amplitude(voltages). So it means that this will work during the power outages in CA. Also the security is taken care of encypting your info with a 56-bit DES key. This keeps your neighbors from snooping, but not distributed.net or the NSA. Every powerline on the same side of the transformer as you and in transmission range can be connected. It is also independent of the Frequency/Voltage differences in outher countries. Check out HomePlug for the standard wars to come. In essence they have picked the fundamental ideas from Power Packet.

At 10Mbps over existing power-carrying copper, it could be a good solution for existing structures. Lets just hope it doesn't end up with the same types of problems 802.11b is now discovering.

Hopefully someone will start manufacturing home automation kit as well (light-switches with IP numbers, etc.) -- seems like the current primary focus is on providing TCP/IP between traditional computing and new multimedia devices.

It will be cool when the only wire going to the speakers is the power cord....