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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).
check out the home/industrial automation program ECS at www.omnipotencesoftware.com. It will do almost all of what you're describing, and "talk" to a huge list of devices. You can even download a full working version that will work for 30 days.
Bah, do what people have been doing for centuries ... have kids and make them get up and do it.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
best part of DIY is spending three hours troubleshooting why the lights don't turn off when you could have just walked to turn them off
You need a PLC configured with the right I/O (relay in/out, analog in/out) with Ethernet and a common, open protocol like ModbusTCP... Automation Direct is a good supplier of these.
Alternatively one could use "dumber" remote I/O devices like these
in NYC my electric bill is around $90 every month. breaks down to $25 for the electricity at $.095 per kilowatt hour, $55 for the wiring charge and the rest taxes and fees.
why spend $1000 to save $5 a month in electricity costs? because if i reduce my usage by 20%, that's $5 whole dollars a month in savings
You could look at maybe getting a Raspberry Pi and/or an Arduino board. There a quite a few 'home automation' tutorials/youtube videos out there on the subject with specific examples for door locks, motion sensors, temperature/humidity monitoring, automatic lighting, etc... This would most likely give you the most custom and cheapest option but requires building everything yourself, including the code if you can't find a working example.
All this is dirt cheap to do yourself if you're able and willing to spend some time to do it.
You can source Arduino Uno clones from China/eBay for as low as ~$4 apiece. A reed switch for a window/door sensor is ~$1-2, a Wifi module (ESP8266) ~$3.
You don't have to start from scratch putting everything together, there's plenty of schematics and code online to start you off (and complete projects).
You can get yourself a VPS to coordinate everything online, starting from $3/YEAR for a IPv4 NAT IP. Check out http://lowendspirit.com/
program a relay to come on at 30C and go off at 25C, thereby controlling the temperature
With such a huge swing, I wouldn't say that was "controlling" the temperature very much. A good thermostat will keep your room to within a degree, and avoids over/undershoot by using a more sophisticated algorithm than just bang-bang control.
There's all kinds of open source home power management and home automation tools popping up all over the place. [openmotics comes to mind] I'd just steer away from anything written in java.
adafruit has almost everything you'd need to get going. The python serial communications libs are widely supported across nearly every OS in existence and they are easy to use and dynamic [no recompiling for user]
If you have lots of time and virtually no capitol, maybe you could end up saving a few hundred bucks by hosting with a raspi, getting a static IP (and maybe even DNS entry if fancy), using atmegas (with requisite ancillary circuitry), relays from radio shack, custom dsp on sensors, your own home grown datastructures (and database), etc ad nausuem. And dont forget it will probably be dangerous and ugly. I wrote a little program that can do a handful of your requirements and be hosted on a raspi. I used x10 for lights because 'socket rockets' can be obtained for under 10 a piece, and infrared+arduino for tvs, window shakers etc. https://github.com/dandroid88/.... It has the scheduling requirements and is pretty easy to write an extension for if you are looking for something fun. Alternatively, you could drop $400 bucks or less and get everything set up in a couple days at most without paying for a monthly subscription with Wink/Smartthings/etc. Its simply time/money
This. If your budget is restricted you want your investment to last. If your solution is not interoperable you will have to throw it away each time that you add a critical component that is not compatible with your old technology. You want something that grows with you. Also, you are better asking at a home automation forum like cocoontech. Com
The home automation landscape has options differentiated by bandwidth, price point, device compatibility, and software capability. Low bandwidth devices are cheap but lack reliability, e.g X10. Expensive devices are often limited in device compatibility, Leviton. Basically, to make it all work you have to get the devices you need, then decide on a way to connect them all to a central server that can access them --- then start programming. You can see my home automation presentations at http://momjian.us/main/present....
The reason this is hard is that there is so much variety in what people want to automate. With a car, the manufacturer totally controls the environment, and when you buy a new car, everything is new. With home automation, the home automation provider rarely controls the entire environment, so implementing home automation always requires customization. I suppose the only easy option is to buy a new home and have the builder install everything from scratch with home automation designed from the start. However, that rarely happens because people rarely want home automation from the start, and even if you do that, the home automation landscape changes so frequently that it would soon be obsolete.
Is a woman. /misogyny
If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
Cheap, good, easy.
You can't have all 3. If you want cheap, you are going to get crap.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I'm in the process for rewiring my house and did some research. Zigbee and Z-Wave seem to offer best range of gadgets such as lamps and sensors, but they seem to be quite expensive (at least here in Finland), so I'm probably going to build my system with relays and dimmers from http://www.nexa.se/. They run on proprietary wireless protocol on 433MHz, but you can control them with a 3rd party usb transmitter: http://www.telldus.se/products.... The downside is that the gear running on 433MHz is unidirectional; you can't query the relays if they're on. The controller/gateway is going to be of my own design based on an Odroid C1 and Eclipse Kura or that's the plan anyway...
Sure: Trade the insecure Insteon IoT for the impenetrable X10. I'm still using X10 around my house, but with no central controller that can be hijacked to send malicious signals to controlled devices.
Until IoT has robust security, you may's well hang your unfirewalled computer directly on the Internet. IoT has the capability of burning your house down if you have the wrong devices installed.
Cheap, easy, reliable.
Pick 2.
I use the Ubiquiti mFi mPower to control a lamp remotely. That's a very basic setup for this system, but it has been very reliable compared to other solutions I've used. There's an iPhone and Android app, and you run the server on a local machine, so there's no third party to go through. They also offer various sensors, such as a temperature sensor. I'm not sure if it's cheap enough, but otherwise I think it might meet your needs. www.ubnt.com
I've been happy, for several years now, with my Insteon setup. I think it will meet many of your needs:
:-( I renovated/re-wired my home such that all the wiring ran first to the switches, then up to the lights - you need this arrangement.
:-) In fact, Insteon contantly refers to "scenes" where you would do exactly that: press one single swtich to bring down your home-theater screen, close curtains, dim lights, etc. Personally, I don't use this feature
-For a central controller, I use the Universal Devices ISY-994i. This provides a web-interface for status, and quick toggle-controls, but it's also where I do my "programming"
-if you buy and install an Insteon switch, it will "just work" as a regular switch - others in your home will have zero learning-curve.
-they do have some universal I/O modules with dry contacts, etc. You may be able to work with these to perform your temperature monitoring and control, along with water-level detection, etc. See if it would work for you.
And, here is a bit more "geek" for you to ponder:
The Insteon signalling uses both a data-burst on the AC power-line, and also a radio-frequency data burst. Each device will repeat a burst (up to 3 hops only, or something like that) - in practise, I've found it really, really reliable. I started with just a controller and a couple of (AC-powerline-only) switches, but this required me to add a hardware phase-bridge, so data-bursts on one phase of my house-wiring could reach devices on the other phase. As I added more devices, especially more wireless devices, the mesh got better and better.
The Insteon switches will require 3 wires in your switch-box:
1) Hot wire. The Insteon switch will use a bit of power, as well this is what powers your light or other device(s). Typically it's a black wire.
2) Load wire. This is what goes to your devices.
3) Neutral wire. Typically this is white, and can sometimes be a problem. My older (1950's) home had all the hot-and-neutral wires run to the lights first, then a pair of wires ran down to the switches... this won't work
Each Insteon switch is internally pretty cool: it's comprised of two parts:
1) a switch part, that detects when you press the switch, and reports this data-event
2) a responder part, which receives a data-event and closes the circuit (with relay, or whatever).
So, you can actually have a single switch act to control several devices, if you want
The "programming" is not really very geeky: it's more just a set of conditions and actions, selected from drop-down dialogue boxes. That said, you can do some fun stuff, like:
- change actions based on sunrise-sunset times (great for lighting)
- use a motion-detector, which also contains an ambient-light sensor! I use one of these outside, to tailor my lighting to the Pacific Northwest's gray and dreary winter days.
HTH,
All these gadgets are nice but many (i.e. high tech light switches) cause lot of RFI on my VHF and UHF radios. I cannot imagine what HF must endure, I don't have such at my place but I've heard a lot of gripes for HF users.
mfwright@batnet.com
Use a Belkin Wemo switch: http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F...
I've written a simple utility to switch them on / off based on serial number:
See: https://github.com/d-w/toggle_...
Works for me.
Cheers,
Dave
PS: For extra points, wear & monitor a Neurosky EEG monitor: http://neurosky.com/products-m... ... yet)
Write a listener to recognise when you want the switch on (easy to recognise certain meditation patterns) and then use this to toggle the wemo switch closest.
(I've done this - just not on Github
I have this same setup and it works fine.
I'm using homeseer software. Its pretty good, and they have a program called hstouch that I run on the tablets that I customized for each room. I think it was like $300 for the pro version which included hstouch. Then, I'm using zwave wireless protocol for all my lighting modules, hvac, security, blind control, etc. I found zwave to be an extremely reliable protocol. Stay away from X10.
I wouldn't trust either to control any device with actual destructive capability.
X10 doesn't need a path to the internet. With such a primitive protocol all it takes is a dying fridge or UPS to make devices randomly turn on and off (this is actual experience talking).
The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System. It's commonly used on particle accelerators and will interface to anything. And it's open source. Runs on Linux, Window, OSX operating systems and all hardware including Raspberry Pi, Beagleboard, etc. http://www.aps.anl.gov/epics/i...
I've been using Mi Casa Verde (now Vera) for three years. Most of the stuff I use is Z Wave based but the Vera (appears / is) capable of integrating anything but bluetooth (at least on the models I've worked with). Very reliable. Very easy to set up. Easy to program and capable of significant complexity. http://getvera.com/
Central control means nothing. X10 is completely insecure. Your power line is a shared bus. I had to coordinate with my neighbor to use different X10 channels, because we kept turning each other's stuff on and off. Anyone can just plug in a controller, and every X10 house downstream of the step down transformer will see the signals and respond. At one point I had a sniffer/sweeper running to debug the damn problem and that's when I got my neighbor's attention cause his house went bonkers when I swept the A channel. He moved to B and all was well after that. But still very insecure.
X10 is lacking in many ways, and I still use some of it, but the biggest problem I've had was with durability. Many of the components were horribly made and just broke. Stanley, GE, Radio Shack, didn't matter. Old Sears parts lasted longer but still just died. I can't comment on how vulnerable the others are, but X10 is very vulnerableâ"from outside sockets and other units on the same transformer. North Koreans aren't going to hack your house from Pyongyang, but sneaky neighborhood kids can. I think you can filter the signals from the incoming power lines, but that's not commonly done. Also, you need to bridge the two incoming 110V legs so that X10 signals get across, otherwise parts of your house might not talk to other parts. Still, to play around a bit, there's no cheaper way than X10.
If you want cheap and simple, you could look at X10 and some program to control it like Homeseer. Homeseer can provide the web access and sequencing. X10 isn't the most reliable when spread all over the house and across both phases, but all contained in a limited number of feeds from the same phase of the fusebox, it's not bad. Also, it's not all that fast, but if you need nothing to react faster than around 5 seconds, it's fine.
When the woman moved out, I discovered my toilet tissue usage went down to less than 10%.
and am looking at adding some sensors connected to Raspberry Pi GPIO. However, if you know how to program things, you do _not_ want them talking to mothership, so both my Hue and WeMos are on a separate wlan SSID which has no connectivity outside; instead, my OpenWrt router runs Python-based daemon ( https://github.com/fingon/kodi... ) which essentially implements zero-touch home automation logic with built-in override from Philips' Tap switch. (and it also chats with my desktop/laptop computer to detect e.g. when I am unidle, and to turn on/off monitor, music playing, and so on..)
I do not really believe in using phone or tablets to deal with 'day to day' events in my home, I prefer buttons (either on WeMo switch, or Philips Tap ones), and automation that sometimes triggers things on it's own. I guess it is a matter of preference..
-- pending
You can do a lot of basic testing with cheap X10 stuff, then if you decide it's not a waste of time, go find something better. I played with X10 stuff a decade or so ago, and while it was pretty easy, I found that my home didn't have much that benefited from automation. (A previous place I lived had a hot tub that took an hour to heat up, and it would have been useful to be able to fire that up remotely. But that was gas-powered, and the landlord owned it, plus that was back in the days that it would have been a telephone relay.)
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I use the above for external lights to come on automatically at sunset and turn off at specified time. It requires your location as the sunset and sunrise change everyday, which makes it a great product. It works with CFL and LED bulbs. Internally, I have lights with switch to turn them off after 15, 30, 45, or 60 mins (bathroom fans, etc.) and others with motion detection. The above is a great intro to electrical wiring. I prefer anything that is not connected to TCP/IP, as WIFI and internet are both dangerous attack vectors. Internet of Devices are dangerous!
Some interesting things have been happening in home automation communications infrastructure standards. I'll preface this by saying that I'm not an expert, but have been trying to follow developments here for a few years for my own system. I can see four or five different media that you may want to consider. If you don't want to be stuck on an island, the problem to be solved is one of compatibility, especially looking towards the future.
Power Line Communications - these are attractive because your house is already wired for them and the source of power for a device interface is rather obvious. Unfortunately, many solutions are low bit rates, unreliable, or proprietary. Universal Powerline Bus (UPB) seems to be the current raining champion here. Much more reliable than X10, but slow slow slow (240 bits per second). Works for on/off, but won't be useful for higher-end sensor applications. There are other low-speed PLC approaches, some of which are faster (4800 baud even!). What may be the way of the future in PLC is HomePlug AV and HomePlug Green PHY. The former is a high-speed PLC approach (up to 200+ Mbps) that costs a lot per device, the latter is a dumbed-down version of the former that has a much lower bit rate but supposedly costs 75% less in both $$ and power. Its bit rate is still supposedly much higher than UPB. Here the target is something like 250kbps which is touted as necessary for "Smart Grid" applications. IEEE 1901 is a standard that incorporates the HomePlug AV technology; I don't think it includes the HomePlug Green PHY yet, but HomePlug Green PHY is supposed to be compatible (on the same power line media) as HomePlug AV.
Low-voltage bus - here you have to run wires. Ethernet is the reigning champion, running over UTP, coax, fiber (ok - not exactly low voltage but it fits the mood). Great bandwidth, great reliability, but sucks down power and costs $$ for interfaces. PoE makes this useful for remote sensors/controls that don't have a local source of power.
High-speed wireless - you don't have to run communications wires, but the solutions here require more power than you want to supply if running off batteries in a remote location. 802.11 is the champion here.
Low-power wireless - lower bit rates (250kbps) but much less power consumed so that even battery-powered remote devices can be used. ZigBee is one example, which I think is interesting, because...
Ideally you want to be able to tie all of these together so that you don't need to plumb multiple media interfaces into your controller, and ideally you want to be able to use TCP/IP as a high-level protocol. Here is where IEEE 1905 comes into play. The IEEE 1905.1 standard provides an abstraction layer to established powerline, wireless, coaxial cable and Ethernet home networking technologies - IEEE 1901 / HomePlug AV, Wi-Fi, MoCA®, and Ethernet. I think there is some effort underway to get ZigBee into the fold as well.
If vendors see an advantage in following the standard, and interoperability becomes a selling point, perhaps we'll get away from the multiple proprietary islands.
I use the Smartthings hub paired with mostly third party devices:
Belkin WeMo wall switch to control light fixtures for which you cannot use things like Philips Hue
Philips Hue in lamps without wall switches (now with a "cheaper" white bulb)
Aeon Multisensor, Smartthings 1st and 2nd gen motion sensors, Ecolink PIR motion sensors to detect intruders and turn on/off all the lights
Fortrezz Leak Sensor to detect flooding
Smartthings Power Switch (for lights and general control) and Aeon Labs zwave switch (for A/C unit)
Sonos (pricy but adds a human voice to alerting)
Fortrezz Alarm (for intruders and the flashing light to get attention)
Dropcams (for video feeds or taking pictures based on events)
Smartthings contact switch (to detect intrusion, door knocks and mail delivery)
Netatmo (both in and out) temperature, humidity, air quality to calibrate a central heating system
Nest Protect for smoke and CO alarm (the only one not yet supported officially by Smartthings, but support is coming)
Grand total: about 1500$ in the last year for about 30 devices, no recurring costs. It could have been a bit cheaper and simpler but it's relatively cheap to get a Gates Mansion level of automation. It is so reliable that whenever a light does not switch on (maybe once a week) that my GF will notice it right away.
This is all new, I post it only because I just read about it the other day in the local paper. The emphasis with this stuff is on inexpensive, but it's from a guy with a good track record at other local tech companies.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.c...
Here's a snippet:
Smart homes from smart guy
High prices inspired entrepreneur's firm
By: Martin Cash
One of Winnipeg's newest startups can thank sticker shock for its existence.
Salman Qureshi was building a home three years ago in St. Norbert and asked about adding some smart-home features to the project. The answer startled him. And then inspired him.
"I wasn't thinking about anything fancy, just some networking so I wouldn't have to worry about wireless issues," said Qureshi, 44, the former head of product development and manufacturing at Monteris Medical.
"I got a quote for a few thousand dollars. It was unbelievable (how expensive it was)."
It was at that point the seed of the idea was planted in the back of his mind for an all-in-one smart-home device.
Michael Coyne
http://turthalion.blogspot.com
The worst part about Insteon devices is that they have x10 support which can't be disabled. It results in devices switching on and off randomly.
The worst part about Insteon devices is that they have x10 support which can't be disabled. It results in devices switching on and off randomly.
This may have been true when Insteon was first introduced in 2005, but has not been the case for at least the past 5 years. No new Insteon devices come with X10 addresses programmed in by default, and Insteon is almost entirely immune to accidentally responding to noise on the power line by switching on and off randomly.
Insteon support site now states "Please note that most new Insteon devices no longer support X10 communication.".
In general, Insteon is not a particularly secure protocol, and is vulnerable to sniffing and replay attacks. If you need devices with stronger security, consider more recent home automation protocols such as Z-Wave.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
The ISY (upgrade to the 994i if you haven't already) has a very nice and fully documented REST interface, included in the base license. There is an optional module enabling it to make calls out to remote network resources and also host web pages internally on the microSD storage card.
You don't need to use their proprietary programming interface. The same PLC or "PLM" (PowerLinc Modem) that the ISY uses can be accessed directly as a serial device if you want to work with Insteon devices at a low level from your own hardware, such as a Raspberry Pi.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
A whole lot of string and pull switches. My dad did the whole basement lighting system that way, back in '79. As for scheduling, rig something up with egg timers. Eye hooks, duct tape, and popsickle sticks are also recommended. Maybe a toaster and a pulley. YMMV.
Everything's been downhill since the TRS-80
You can't find cheap AND simple in the home automation world...do you want cheap or do you want simple?
What you really want to do is look at the base software that will talk to all devices. Preferably something that can talk to several different protocols like Insteon and Z-Wave. This way you can mix and match devices based on price and functionality.
Two software packages come to mind (because I have used both)...MisterHouse and HomeSeer. MisterHouse is cheap (free and open source) and HomeSeer is simple.
If you want to build your own sensors and actuators you should check out http://www.mysensors.org/
We've created easy-to-follow instructions on how to build your own wireless home automation parts.
The mysensors project support 10 different controllers so you should be able to combine both commercial and your own DIY parts.
Cheers
Henrik
I went with zwave because of the variety of manufacturers. The GE Wink and Lowe's Iris systems are both zwave at heart and most of the devices use standard zwave device profiles so they work on any zwave controller.
I went with a vera3 because it is turnkey, supports a wide variety of devices and inputs including many security systems, has software for insteon modems, is user hackable, and can be controlled locally or remotely without being dependent on an active internet connection. (I.e. Wink)
The trick to controlling costs is to use it where needed and not because it is cool. I.e. my thermostat (iris zwave $100) and the switch on my pipe heater ($35) are zwave. I have internet weather and a couple of sensors that fine tune the house temperature throughout the day. Now my 2nd floor bedrooms don't swelter, the lower floor tv room isn't freezing and even when the temps dropped to 5F(-15C) my water lines were flowing and I didn't have to worry about it.
I won a Hue starter set and while light control is interesting (i use it as an alarm clock) the fact switches render the bulbs inert makes controllable bulbs a novelty. Controllable switches are the important part. Except remote controlled lights aren't very useful beyond novelty. The exception are exterior house lights. Having those on a randomizable timer or turned on by Autotasker geofencing when your phone drives up, and/or triggered by your security system in alarm mode are all good usrs of "smart" lights.
Oh, and if you know anyone with hearing problems. Having the lights flicker/dim or color cycle when you have a phone call or doorbell ring is very helpful. But for typical people its just novelty.
I've been on slashdot so long I'm starting to get out of touch with the cool stuff if it ain't on slashdot.
If you're on the same transformer as your neighbor's house, your X10 system is wide open to them too. Years ago when I was playing with X10, we had all of the lights in our house start randomly flashing at 2:00 in the morning. This happened a couple of times over a couple of weeks. Come to find out, our neighbors just had a new alarm panel installed and had a few false alarms as they worked the kinks out/got used to how it operated. One of it's features was to flash all X10 light modules when the alarm was triggered. Since it came set to house code A, and I used the same house code for the first batch of devices in my home, my lights were happy to obey the instructions it was sending out. Ultimately we left it alone as I figured I'd rather have some notification that something was going on next door.
If you aren't using a central controller/automation system, you just have a remote switch/dimmer for all of your lights. While handy, this is hardly "home automation" as the OP is asking for.