Home control systems - recommendations?

[Bobby Dazzler]

I quite fancy one of those fancy home control systems, for controlling appliances, lighting, etc. No fixed ideas, but nothing grand (read expensive), and ideally not requiring additional cabling, just based on existing power cables and Wi-Fi.

As a minimum I would like to control mains sockets for isolating TVs when not in use, and make best use of ambient lighting: front garden, rear garden, lounge, dining room and a few bedrooms.

If possible I would also like to control main ceiling lights too, and somehow integrate with CCTV and security alarm - what's possible for sensible money?

Audio/Visual would have been on the list, but now we have Apple Airport, I suspect that Apple TV would enable all the piped music and TV/video stuff I could wish for, for less than £100, but it would be useful if that was integrated.

Anyone got something similar already? Any recommendations? Any suggestions for other uses?

 

[Dieselman]

I quite fancy one of those fancy home control systems, for controlling appliances, lighting, etc. No fixed ideas, but nothing grand (read expensive), and ideally not requiring additional cabling, just based on existing power cables and Wi-Fi.

As a minimum I would like to control mains sockets for isolating TVs when not in use, and make best use of ambient lighting: front garden, rear garden, lounge, dining room and a few bedrooms.

If possible I would also like to control main ceiling lights too,

Can't you just train Mrs Dazzler to switch lights off when leaving a room...

Oops, hang on..tried that, it doesn't work...

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Can't you just train Mrs Dazzler to switch lights off when leaving a room...

Oops, hang on..tried that, it doesn't work...

You've never met Mrs D, have you!!??

I've been thinking about this for ages, but the clincher was the kitchen lights had been left on all morning, and I suspect Mrs D was the offender!!??

Every evening I come home from work and our bedroom lights are on, and have been since Jnr D got home from school. I still haven't got to the bottom of why she needs to go in there, and why she needs the lights to do it!!??



(I'm turning into my Dad more every day )

 

[renault12ts]

An American site, but gives you an idea of what's possible:

Home Automation Systems - HomeSeer

 

[LTD]

I think you want something that will be major money and major in it's installation.

Ideally you need to route all your home's electric supplies and AV requirements through a controlled server.

It can be done. It's not cheap however.

Timers are a cheap solution for isolating sockets.

 

[corned]

To do it properly, you are going to have to sink a mile or two of Cat5 into your walls and floors, for a properly integrated system. I suppose wireless may be an option these days, but you know how reliable that is...

The higher end of the logitech harmony remote range will have something to control the system, but it will still need to communicate with a central server which could then distribute the commands appropriately.

Still, it would be a fun project!

 

[A210AMG]

Hello


Have you looked at the X10 range of home automation.

I'm looking into that, it uses your exsiting ring mains. You can control it via a smart phone also.

I'm fed up of lights and stuff being left on so fitting PIR's to control room movement / heat etc looks the way forward.

Its quite cheap to start with and you can build on it.

Open curtains, blinds, lights on off, appliances on off etc

 

[prprandall51]

...
I'm fed up of lights and stuff being left on ...

Reminds me of my childhood and all those parental tellings-off:

Cue: "Who left all these gadgets on? It's like the flight deck of a 747."
Cue: "Who left all these lights on? It's like Blackpool Illuminations."
Cue: "Who turned up the heating? It's like a sauna in here."

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hello


Have you looked at the X10 range of home automation.

I'm looking into that, it uses your exsiting ring mains. You can control it via a smart phone also.

I'm fed up of lights and stuff being left on so fitting PIR's to control room movement / heat etc looks the way forward.

Its quite cheap to start with and you can build on it.

Open curtains, blinds, lights on off, appliances on off etc

Very limited research so far but X10 has now been superceeded with LightwaveRF as the entry route to wireless automation. Z-Wave is between the two, and currently has greatest potential for integration with other stuff (include "Vera" Google searches). There are a few others competing.

Enthusiasm tells me Z-Wave, but common sense tells me lightwave. Lightwave is a little cheaper, and offers very nice looking straight swap power sockets and light switches, which is really the core of what I'm after. Both offer iPad/iPhone integration.

I got a quote for an install from AudioVision, and the enquiry has a drop box for budget, with the lowest being £1-£4999 so that's what I opted for. Response received was "how fixed is the budget, because it will cost substantially more"

With Z-Wave or lightwave, single digit hundreds is plenty!! :bannana:

Best UK site I've found: Home Automation & Wireless Smart Home, LightwaveRF, ZigBee & Z-Wave

US sites better, Australian sites best.

 

[Dieselman]

A nice cheap system.

Push button time lag switch - Time Delay Switch [ELLIPSEW] : Sparks Direct, Lighting and Electrical Wholesaler

or if you want to be flash..

3 in 1 Oil ES360M Automatic Motion Light Switch - White

 

[Gucci]

Loving the Nest control from the U.S $249 - very cool

Nest | The Learning Thermostat | Home

 

[prprandall51]

Loving the Nest control from the U.S $249 - very cool

Nest | The Learning Thermostat | Home

Heatmiser thermostats and control systems (Digital Programmable Thermostat Products from Heatmiser) do some of what Nest does (the important bits - like learning how long a room takes to heat up and being programmable across the web) at much more affordable prices. They don't learn your habits but they have great features for quickly programming holidays, days at home, etc.

In my experience, the key to saving energy is not fancy controllers but multiple zones together with fancy controllers. Most houses in Britain only have a single zone for heating, which is unbelievably inflexible. The most sophisticated controller in the world isn't going to be able to do much in that situation.

 

[prprandall51]

Loving the Nest control from the U.S $249 - very cool

Nest | The Learning Thermostat | Home

Heatmiser thermostats and control systems (Digital Programmable Thermostat Products from Heatmiser) do some of what Nest does (the important bits - like learning how long a room takes to heat up and being programmable across the web) at much more affordable prices. They don't learn your habits but they have great features for quickly programming holidays, days at home, etc.

In my experience, the key to saving energy is not fancy controllers but multiple zones together with fancy controllers. Most houses in Britain only have a single zone for heating, which is unbelievably inflexible. The most sophisticated controller in the world isn't going to be able to do much in that situation.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This LightwaveRF stuff looks like it's got the right balance of features, price and potential for me: LightwaveRF - Home Control made easy

 

[A210AMG]

^ I may also look at this rather than X10.

I 'wish' when we moved here I changed them all when we had the house re wired... It would not have cost 'that' much more on the overall bill.


Theres always next time

 

[crockers]

At those prices isn't it cheaper to.
A. Pay the electricity bill
B. Put in solar panels to cover extra cost of the electricity your family are using.

Win win situation.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

This LightwaveRF stuff looks like it's got the right balance of features, price and potential for me: LightwaveRF - Home Control made easy

I like the look of that, looks decently styled too (i.e. discrete). May have to look at these too. I've also wanted to do the automation thing and looked at x10 a few years ago but as you and others have discovered other solutions are crazy expensive.

We have a couple of Lutron dimmers which are really nice (they have the theatre style dim & start function as well as memorising your preferred light level setting). Lutron is quite pricey though and their 'plug & play stuff' doesn't integrate like Lightwave appears to.

Cheers, looks like this thread may cost me

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

LightwaveRF Wifi Connect now procured, for the princely sum of £69 (ish) from B&Q. That's 30% cheaper than everywhere else.

I wasn't sure how much the other items (switches, sockets, etc) were elsewhere so I didn't buy those, I knew the control box was a bargain though.

Sadly it must plug into the the Wifi network using an RJ45 and the Apple Airport Express I bought a week ago or so has only one, for the WAN connection (cable MODEM). Even more sadly I only chucked the old router on Saturday - LAN ports were fine, it was only the wireless feature which had stopped working.

Looks like I'll be buying either another Express (to use as an extender), an Extreme (on board LAN ports) or some kind of wired router...

 

[A210AMG]

Would these work?

RJ45 splitter?

 

[@MARK]

Heatmiser thermostats and control systems (Digital Programmable Thermostat Products from Heatmiser) do some of what Nest does (the important bits - like learning how long a room takes to heat up and being programmable across the web) at much more affordable prices. They don't learn your habits but they have great features for quickly programming holidays, days at home, etc.

+1 for the Heatmiser stuff.

I have had these installed (just on the main heating) for about 3.5 years now and apart from maintaining a much more constant and therefore comfortable temperature in the home, I have also seen a marked difference on my gas bill. In my case around £50 per quarter during the winter months (possibly more now that the price of gas has gone up again)