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Ask Slashdot: Options For Cheap Home Automation?
New submitter goose-incarnated writes I'm looking at cheap and simple home automation. Unfortunately I'm not too clued up on what my options are. There are such a wide array of choices, none of which seem (to me) to be either cheap or simple. I'd like to:
Turn switches on/off (lights, wall sockets, general relays, etc); Read the status of on/off switches; Read analog samples (for example, temperature sensors); 'Program' switches based on analog samples/existing switches (for example, program a relay to come on at 30C and go off at 25C, thereby controlling the temperature); Similarly, program switches to go on/off at certain times; Record the samples of analog or digital inputs for a given time . I'd like to do the above using smartphone+bluetooth (for when I'm in the vicinity of the room), or smartdevice+WiFi (for when I'm in the house, somewhere), or even in a pinch, using HTTP to access a server at home from 600km away (which is what I'm willing to do). I'm definitely not willing to stream all my requests/data/responses through a third-party so third party cloud subscription solutions, even if free, are out of the question. Finally (because I know the Slashdot crowd likes a challenge :-)), I'd like something that is easily reprogrammable without having to compile code, then reflash a device, etc. What languages for embedded devices exist for home automation programming, if any. A quick google search reveals nothing specially made for end-users to reprogram their devices, but, like I said above, I'm clueless about options.
I'd recommend looking at Insteon. It is the closest to what you are looking for off the top of my head.
If you want to avoid going through some service they own/control, you might need to roll your own management system, but as far as cheap devices you can control programatically I think they're probably what you want.
I'd like something that is easily reprogrammable without having to compile code, then reflash a device, etc.
Architecturally you probably want the devices to be dumb. They can report information or accept commands. Leave any logic to some kind of centralized controller.
Bonus note: avoid x10 (if it's still even around). It's dirt cheap but pretty much the shittiest system out there. I lost much sanity to it back in the day.
Personally I did the x10 thing back in the day using at first an ocelot controller and then eventually my own hacked together system using the ocelot as a modem. The shittiness of x10 aside, I grew bored with it fairly quickly. It's all fun and has a neat "house of the future" feel, but I didn't find a great deal of utility in it, and what utility there was is already covered by purpose specific devices (smart thermostats, etc).