Home Automation?

[Scat E46]

Has anyone played with home automation? Why or why not? Which system?

I'm looking at the Insteon (www.insteon.net) array of products

[ALBERTA_IS]

I am looking at Control 4 right now for my new home. I think control 4 is more user friendly and has better capabilities. Just my .02 cents.

Alex

[tictactoe2004]

Insteon uses what we like to call "You-go" technology. Everytime you hit a button "you go" to check if anything actually happened.

I have Control4 in my home and really like it. Their touch screens have just dropped in price as of this week and they have added an intercom feature that people have been asking about for years. It's a fantastic automation system considering the price point. They also just had a major upgrade to their O/S and it now has a much more up to date look.

Also check out "Savant", they are an Apple based automation system and in my opinion are the best automation system in the world right now. It's usually comes in around 50% more than C4.

[you&me]

Originally posted by tictactoe2004
Insteon uses what we like to call "You-go" technology. Everytime you hit a button "you go" to check if anything actually happened.

I have Control4 in my home and really like it. Their touch screens have just dropped in price as of this week and they have added an intercom feature that people have been asking about for years. It's a fantastic automation system considering the price point. They also just had a major upgrade to their O/S and it now has a much more up to date look.

Also check out "Savant", they are an Apple based automation system and in my opinion are the best automation system in the world right now. It's usually comes in around 50% more than C4.

Out of curiosity, what does a typical system cost and what does it include? TIA

[alloroc]

http://www.linuxmce.org/

[2002civic]

nm.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by you&me


Out of curiosity, what does a typical system cost and what does it include? TIA

http://www.crestron.com/downloads/ap...mobile-pro.pdf

there is a sample layout of what you can do, and for cost... well... it really depends on the products involved and how wild you want to go

EDIT: to give you an idea the list on the ams-aip is $7000usd

[you&me]

Originally posted by ercchry


http://www.crestron.com/downloads/ap...mobile-pro.pdf

there is a sample layout of what you can do, and for cost... well... it really depends on the products involved and how wild you want to go

EDIT: to give you an idea the list on the ams-aip is $7000usd

Cool, thanks!

[SuperG3]

anybody know of a control4 programmer. I've been building a collection of older control4 items, I got a copy of the program software too. But after looking at the size of the programming manual, I think I'd better get a pro that will get it done in a tenth of the time I could.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by you&me
Out of curiosity, what does a typical system cost and what does it include? TIA

I have done Control4 jobs that range from $1500 for an HC300 installed (to be used as a universal remote control) all the way up to $175,000.00 which included a full lighting system, 20 zones of audio, touch panels through out the house, 8 zones of distributed video, IP cameras, security and a few other things that I can't think of off the top of my head.

Originally posted by SuperG3
anybody know of a control4 programmer. I've been building a collection of older control4 items, I got a copy of the program software too. But after looking at the size of the programming manual, I think I'd better get a pro that will get it done in a tenth of the time I could.

I'm a C4 programmer. Let me know what items you have, and what you'd like to have done. Also keep in mind if you want the newest (and most stable) version of their O/S it needs to be installed by a dealer as there are no hacked version of it available.

[Scat E46]

Tic Tac, would you say you're biased becuse you are involved with C4 a little more?

The Insteon array can get some cool features and it's not breaking the bank. No extra wires to run due to RF components and using existing power lines.

And insteon is one of the best selling according to many reviews and smarthome.com.

Can C4 be controlled with an iPhone? I don't need screens throught out the house, the 8 button pannels are sufficient as this home is not sprawling by any means. Plus with iPhone control, you can activate scenes before you get home.

Does the lighting have ramp rates? Where they can turn on over a time frame?

With insteon, I was reading that I could hit a button of the 8, have the bedrom light turn on to 50% over 1 minute, then the hall light to 50%, then the kitchen, for a midnight snack.

Have a motion sensor in the kitchen that activates the kitchen light when you walk in if it's dark, so you're never fumbling...

These types of things. This can all be had for 500, and it's not X10, which is dated tech IMO.

I will do some more research as you have given me a different name, thanks for you input it's very valid to my research.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by Scat E46
Tic Tac, would you say you're biased becuse you are involved with C4 a little more?

The Insteon array can get some cool features and it's not breaking the bank. No extra wires to run due to RF components and using existing power lines.

And insteon is one of the best selling according to many reviews and smarthome.com.

Can C4 be controlled with an iPhone? I don't need screens throught out the house, the 8 button pannels are sufficient as this home is not sprawling by any means. Plus with iPhone control, you can activate scenes before you get home.

Does the lighting have ramp rates? Where they can turn on over a time frame?

With insteon, I was reading that I could hit a button of the 8, have the bedrom light turn on to 50% over 1 minute, then the hall light to 50%, then the kitchen, for a midnight snack.

Have a motion sensor in the kitchen that activates the kitchen light when you walk in if it's dark, so you're never fumbling...

These types of things. This can all be had for 500, and it's not X10, which is dated tech IMO.

I will do some more research as you have given me a different name, thanks for you input it's very valid to my research.

The only automation systems that are 100% stable in my opinion are AMX, Savant or Crestron. Control4 uses encrypted Zigbee Pro for communication which is far more reliable than anything X10 or Insteon uses. Home automation is expensive and there is no way around that fact, anything less than Control4 is just asking for problems and if it were me, I wouldn't even put it in my house if it was given to me free because all it would do is cause frustration.

Control4 can be controlled by iPhone, iPad or through PC (if you have the newest 2.0 O/S). iPhone control is currently only through WIFI, you have to be at the house to use the iPhone. They will be adding 3G support in the very near future so you can control stuff while you're anywhere with 3G coverage.

Control4 will also do everything you're asking about for lighting control, you can select ramp rates for turning on and off the lights as well as create lighting scenes. Control4 also has a built in astronomical clock so you can do things like set outside lights to turn on and sunset and off at sunrise, the system knows what time sunrise and sunset are for every day of the year.

The best way to compare it is like buying performace auto parts from Ebay vs a reputable shop. You get what you pay for and it's just not possible to do these things properly for 1/10th the price of Control4, which is already considered to be dirt cheap by people in this industry.

[Czar]

I have the HAI OmniPro II installed in my house. It controls my thermostats, lights and security.

For lighting control I use UPB switches (which is a powerline based protocol). It's not wireless like Zigbee (which is neither good or bad), but the switches are almost half the price.

The OmniPro is amazingly easy to program. For example, I made a light blink when the phone rings. It took about 2 minutes. Theres an entire community (on cocoontech) dedicated to DIY'ers using the HAI system.


As far as interfaces go, the HAI supports all (and more) than the Control 4 system. You can get an iPhone interface (via App Store), Windows interface, as well as a Home Server Web interface for it. They even have a public control so that you can build your own.


About Insteon: It's a good starting point to see if you like home automation. Reliability of it is years above the old X10 stuff, and probably almost as good as the UPB stuff. In fact, the Insteon stuff actually is faster than most of the other non-dedicated wiring solutions. There's software you can buy that'll sync your lights to music! I think the reason Insteon has a bad rap, is that they sell directly to the customer (ie. you don't really need a "trained" installer).

[Scat E46]

Thanks Czar. I don't want to pay someone to come into my house, it's all about DIY and that rules out Control4. It seems the installer above is biased, unfortunately.

HAI you can buy and install yourself, which is cool. But it's more expensive than insteon.

[ercchry]

if i still work where i do when i finally purchase a house i am going crestron... nothing like getting cost and getting the programmer to set it all up for a case of beer or two

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by Scat E46
Thanks Czar. I don't want to pay someone to come into my house, it's all about DIY and that rules out Control4. It seems the installer above is biased, unfortunately.

HAI you can buy and install yourself, which is cool. But it's more expensive than insteon.

Maybe I didn't read the original post correctly, I was under the impression that you were interested in hearing opinions on home automation systems.

Originally posted by Scat E46
Has anyone played with home automation? Why or why not? Which system?

I'm looking at the Insteon (www.insteon.net) array of products

You heard it from someone who designs and programs hundred thousand dollar+ home automation systems for a living for one of the largest automation firms in this city. You can look back at my many posts where I offered people free advice on what type of electronics to buy and how to get the best deals on those electronics, time and time again. All I did is give you the same honest advice and you have the nerve to tell me that unfortunately im some sort of a biased "installer"?

Do what ever you feel will be in your best interests but don't question my integrity when all i'm trying to tell you is not to waste your money on stuff that can be compared to inexpensive ebay turbo kits.

You won't hear any more "propaganda" from this "biased installer" in this thread.

[2002civic]

Originally posted by tictactoe2004


Maybe I didn't read the original post correctly, I was under the impression that you were interested in hearing opinions on home automation systems.



You heard it from someone who designs and programs hundred thousand dollar+ home automation systems for a living for one of the largest automation firms in this city. You can look back at my many posts where I offered people free advice on what type of electronics to buy and how to get the best deals on those electronics, time and time again. All I did is give you the same honest advice and you have the nerve to tell me that unfortunately im some sort of a biased "installer"?

Do what ever you feel will be in your best interests but don't question my integrity when all i'm trying to tell you is not to waste your money on stuff that can be compared to inexpensive ebay turbo kits.

You won't hear any more "propaganda" from this "biased installer" in this thread.

+1 I read the entire thread and fail to see your bias, you offered an informed and helpful opinion, but look who the OP is and take his comments with a grain of salt...

[Tomaz]

Where would one get a hypothetical quote on doing something like this? I know i am not looking to buy right now, but just to know what it's worth.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by Tomaz
Where would one get a hypothetical quote on doing something like this? I know i am not looking to buy right now, but just to know what it's worth.

what do you want to control?

[Tomaz]

^^^Basically the lights in the common areas (kitchen, hallways, stairs, living areas.


Maybe adding control to the door locks and garage door would be a nice touch too.