Due to my job in the technology industry, I have a fascination with gadgets.  What better canvas to paint a masterpiece on than your own home?

Server Hardware

The entire system is driven off of a server-class Dell T100 tower.  This is a business-class machine, no Best Buy cheapie desktop.

4GB of RAM, Dual 2.40GHz processors, 500GB of disk space allows you to use it as a home file server for movies, MP3’s, or for backing up your desktop computers.

The server is protected from power spikes and outages by an APC SmartUPS 1000XL Uninterruptible Power Supply.  Brand new batteries were installed in the UPS in October 2009.

Lighting

All incandescent lights are controlled by Insteon 2476D controllable switches with dimmers.

All fans and non-dimmable loads such as flourescent lighting are controlled by Insteon 2476S relay switches.

The basement circuits with high numbers of lights are controlled by Insteon 2476DH high-load switches with dimmers.

The living room and office both have multi-button Insteon 2486D keypads with dimmers. 

Landscape lighting is controlled through an Insteon 2473 OutletLinc remote controlled outlet.

All dimmable modules have adjustable ramp rates (how quick or slowly the light dims from full to off) for both turning the light on and turning the light off, and the ability to preset a light to only turn on to a certain level when the button is pressed rather than ramped on.  A quick press of the light switch turns the light on or off, and an extended press dims or brightens the light.

Climate Control

A RCS TZ16 thermostat controls the air conditioner, natural gas furnace, and fan.  The thermostat can be controlled manually from the thermostat panel located in the main hallway, or it can be controlled via the home automation system on time-based events (perhaps you turn the heat down 10 degrees when you go to bed, and turn it back up right before you get out of bed) or manual events (I like to connect to the house from my phone and turn the heat up when I land at Detroit Metro airport so it’s nice and warm when I get there).

The thermostats talk over the Z-Wave wireless protocol to a HomeSeer Z-Troller interface which is connected to the automation server.  Multiple Z-Wave devices such as lights, outlets, etc can be added to the house, and due to the mesh topology that the Z-Wave protocol uses, a larger number of devices creates even better connectivity.

A second thermostat could be added to control the overhead natural gas heater in the garage as well.

Software

The software that makes it all work is HomeSeer.  HomeSeer provides a nice web interface to integrate, automate and control lighting, HVAC, electrical & appliances, home theatre, alarm systems, and telephone.

Homeseer provides instant visual status updates of all facets of the current and historical status of the house. 

Doors which have sensors display open/closed status. 

Temperature and humidity are displayed for all rooms which have sensors installed.

Lighting control displays whether or not a light is on, and at what level.

All controllable elements are easily controlled through the status interface as well.

Logs

The log page shows a historical log view of all past and current events. 

Motion, light status change, events which have been triggered manually, by device status change, or by time-based events.

This is helpful when troubleshooting a new event that you just created, or to see what was happening around the house while you were out.

Lights

All light switches talk to each other and the primary controller over the Insteon powerline protocol.  Homeseer can send and receive Insteon commands, and keeps status and communication with each of the Insteon devices.

All Insteon devices are easily mapped and can have their link tables reprogrammed right through the Homeseer interface.

Events

Events are created and managed through the Events screen.  These can be time-based (turn the landscape lights on at sunset), event-based (turn the furnace room lights on when I open the furnace room door), or manual (put the house in “Party Mode”, aka all lights on at 33%) when I press a certain button.

Events can be a simple command or sequence of commands to perform, or they can be complex VBScript commands – the only limit is your imagination!

Video

TrendNet TV-IP110 cameras provide real-time views of the general living spaces in the house.  There are no cameras in private spaces – bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.  All cameras can be easily removed since I understand that some people may not be comfortable with their presence.

The motion-sensing on these can be adjusted for different regions and sensitivity levels.  Images can be FTP’d to a file location, or emailed to your phone or work email when motion is detected.