Reprogrammed...

Last night, based on some advice from Event5 at cocoontech, I reprogrammed my switches in UPStart from toggle (toggling on off) to multibuttons (one tap = on, double tap = off). This fixes the problem I was having with the switches in the bedroom where I had to press them twice after the All Off event. Furthermore, it fixes the question my wife was having about turning off the lights in the living room, i.e., how do we know if we're really turning them off, or if we are just turning them back on? Well, the double-tap takes care of that.

Now that this is fixed, I'm MUCH happier with the way the system works. The one last thing I need to do is run to Automated Outlet to pick up the tabletop pedestal enclosure so I can install my last universal transceiver into it and have control from my nightstand instead of only from the wall. Then, I will consider phase 1 to be complete.

UPB, day 2

Today, I installed a standard transceiver (not universal) with a single rocker in the living room to control the overhead lamps. Again, I got some of the wires mixed up since there are two black wires coming into the box, but got things figured out on the second try.

What took longer this time was that the switch did not fit into my original wall box. I went to home depot and got a new, bigger box which fit things well. I have not yet programmed it into the UPB system with UPStart, so for now, it's still a dumb dimmer.

I'm still having to press buttons twice after an all off event, but to be fair, I haven't tried to diagnose the problem (again, in UPStart). One inconvenience here is that the only computer in the house with a serial port is the desktop in the upstairs office, which is a long way from the master bedroom downstairs. The home laptop we use is a slim form factor and has no serial port. I'll try to remember to bring home the laptop I use at the office and install UPStart on it so I can program the network from the same room.

In answer to some of my questions on cocoontech, someone suggested that I try different brands of 8-button controllers which have an LED for each button to indicate the status of the activities assigned to each. He suggested HAI or PCS controllers, so I'll look on Automated Outlet at these, but this would involve re-wiring the switches that I have already done.

As long as I'm consider re-wiring switches, I'll have another look at Insteon. Supposedly, some (but not all) of the firmware issues have been worked out. Someone suggested that Automated Outlet won't be carrying Insteon anymore, so I may have to look elsewhere.

Finally, to anyone on cocoontech who is nice enough to follow my progress, read this blog, and make helpful suggestions, thanks so much. It was today that someone first told me they were actually reading this (does that make me a public media figure?). I certainly appreciate all your help.

First impressions after my initial UPB install

Underwhelmed. That's the best word I have for it. My brother-in-law Nick was over at the house today, and he and I installed a UPB universal transceiver and a lamp module in the bedroom, so I guess this makes me officially a home-automator, even if I still only have two modules installed. I'd like to talk about the good of this whole process before I start complaining.

The good:
1. The software package for UPB, UPstart detected very little signal noise and was relatively straightforward to use.
2. I have yet to require a phase coupler, even though one came with my KPE-08 starter kit
3. The install process was relatively easy. I had never even opened up a switch or outlet until a couple of days ago when I had to check the type of wiring we had. Taking all the commonsense precautions (turning off breakers; buying a live-wire detector from Home Depot), it didn't take very long to install the switch.

The bad:
1. My very first complaint was going to be that the responsiveness of the switch was not ideal. There have been several times when I tried to turn on the overhead light, and the switch required two presses to turn on. However, through further experimentation, it actually turns out that after I have activated the "All Off" scene (through button 8 on my 8-button switch), it takes two presses to turn on any of the lights, whether it's the overhead (button 1) or my wife's lamp (button 2). This happens without fail. This is definitely a question for cocoontech.

2. Local control on the plug-in lamp module didn't work. When I had local control enabled through UPStart, the light wouldn't turn out at all, even when sent the UPB turn off signal. The second I disabled local control, the lamp module started functioning as expected. However, the wife was incredulous that she could no longer turn off her bedside lamp from her bedside... instead, it must be turned off from the wall (currently no tabletop controller)

3. There is a noticeable delay with UPB. I suppose I'll get used to it, but it is exacerbated by the fact that we use compact fluorescent bulbs to save energy, and they take their own half a second to turn when power is supplied.

4. No tabletop controller came with my starter kit. I guess that's really my fault, though. I bought the KPE-08 for $125 (normally $175), and it has:
1 computer interface module
1 wired-in phase coupler (not necessary yet)
1 plug-in lamp module
1 standard transceiver switch
2 universal transceiver switches
3 faceplates

For the same money, I could have bought the KPE-06, which has:
1 universal transceiver
1 computer interface module
1 plug-in appliace module
1 plug-in lamp module
1 tabletop controller
3 faceplates

All in all, I still think I got a very good deal, but just no way to control my stuff without having to get out of bed. This is partially mitigated by the existence of ZTP2, the tabletop pedestal enclosure into which I can install a universal or standard transceiver and use it as a tabletop controller, for only $9.95. And since my KPE-08 came with 3 switches (2 universal, 1 standard), I guess I can spend the extra $9.95 for one of these. Comparatively, SAI also makes available a pedestal with a built-in universal transceiver and an 8-button faceplat for $119 (note, a universal transceiver with 8-button faceplate sells separately for $99.95, so it seems you're paying an extra $10 for someone to put these in the pedestal for you).

5. One of UPB's big selling points is true 2-way status notification. That way, if a call fails and an acknowledgment is not received, the sender can re-send the original message. What this does NOT mean (to my great disappointment) is that you can know the status of a light across the house. My new switch gives an indication that the overhead light is turned on by switching the color of the LED. However, when I activate the lamp module, no positive indication is given anywhere. Obviously, I can see the lamp come on since I'm in the same room, but what if I was trying to turn on the lights in the living room? How would I really know if they came on? I suppose I was expecting two-way status notification of every link on the switch, not just the primary load.

6. Although the switch came pre-programmed to control the local load (whatever the switch controlled before you installed a UPB switch), I didn't see any way in UPStart to change this. That is, my button #1 controls the overhead light in the bedroom. Suppose I wanted button 7 to do this instead? I didn't see a straightforward way to make this work, but I guess I could have overlooked something.

7. no way to control overhead light on fan separately from fan itself. That is, if I want to turn off the overhead light but leave the fan running (since they are one appliance), I still have to pull a cord on the fan. Would be nice to control these separately (especially once I get a tabletop controller for my nightstand!!!!)

OK, that's all... I'm off to publish my thoughts and ask questions on cocoontech. I'll certainly summarize the answers here.

It's official...

I'm joining the world of home automation. Martin at Automated Outlet was nice enough to match the $125 price on the KPE-08 that Simply Automated was offering. So, I ordered it. Should be here in a couple of days!

Finally, some good news. I checked a couple outlets and switches around the house tonight, and they all appear to have copper wiring and neutral wires in each box, which makes UPB a good choice. I think I'm going to buy a KPE-08 produced by Simply Automated. They have it on sale right now for $125 (http://www.simply-automated.com/pep_info_request.htm), and Automated Outlet has it for $175. If Martin at AO wants to drop the price, I'm more than happy to buy it from him, but if not, I guess I'll save the $50 and get it from SAI.

The other good news is that people on cocoontech have helped me clear up some other questions. See forums:
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=5362
http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?act=ST&f=7&t=5368

Since there are no PIR motion sensors specifically for UPB technology, I would be forced to get a different kind. But software technologies such as HAL and HomeSeer work with multiple protocols, so it could receive a Zwave motion detector signal, and send out a UPB lighting signal as appropriate.

Further good news is that my house has an existing alarm system, and it may be able to interface with software. At the very least, we can use the existing wiring and sensors... in fact, let me go check what is there...

The panel inside my house appears to be a DSC. There is a sticker on it that has the number AF-5577. The box in the garage looks like it says FBII, with an apparent model STAR XL 4600. It looks fairly old, but I'll put this info on cocoontech and see if they think it is salvagable.

Another protocol to look into...

Well, I finally made it to Automated Outlet today over my lunch break. I tried to call them over the weekend, but they're not a retail outlet as I had originally thought, so they're not open on the weekend. I did manage to take up half an hour of Jim Houston's time (and Martin's too), and they mentioned that I should definitely look into UPB, a powerline protocol like X-10, but 10x more powerful, plus reliable two-way status acknowledgement (which apparently the other protocols haven't perfected yet). My main reason for not looking into UPB earlier was it has a higher price point than either Insteon or Z-wave.

They also showed me what the Elk M1 hardware controller is, and HAL, a software controller. Jim Houston says he has both running side-by-side at his house. This was good for me, because I really had no idea what the Elk M1 did, and it wasn't all that clear reading the cocoontech posts what it was useful for. Turns out, it's capable of doing everything a software controller running on a PC can do, but you don't have to leave a PC running all the time, and you don't have to reboot it like you would a PC. It's something to consider down the road for me if I start placing too much strain on a software controller.

The first thing I need to do before deciding what protocol to use is check the wiring in my home. Jim said he had a home built around the same time mine was, and it used aluminum wiring which nearly caused his house to burn down. The solution to this was to piggy back a copper wire (via non-oxidizing wire nuts) onto the ends of his aluminum wiring, and hook the copper wire up to each outlet and switch, but this would have to be done for all outlets and switches.

The other thing I need to check is whether or not neutral wires have been wired into my house, as UPB switches and Insteon switches would both require neutral wires. If I have no neutral wires, then I'm practically forced into using Z-wave. I'll post more when I get around to checking my wiring.

Seeking more information

It turns out that the Automated Outlet is based in Lewisville (10 or 15 miles north of me), so I'm going to try to visit them over the weekend. The people on cocoontech.com say that they have knowledgable people and the best prices, so hopefully I will have a better foundation to make a decision.

Reconsidering...

Based on reading the entire thread at http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=4294&st=0 (finally, I found a site that discusses this... again, why couldn't I find it earlier?), I'm reconsidering my decision to go with Insteon. Based on recommendations made in that forum, I'll investigate ZWave technology instead, a purely RF technology.

Additionally, here is a set of links to look at (as a reminder to myself) that were gleaned from the www.cocoontech.com thread mentioned above:
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/home.php
http://www.controlthink.com/
http://www.zen-sys.com/
http://www.pcslighting.com/
http://www.shed.com/links.html
http://www.cooperwiringdevices.com/AspireRF/AspireRFguide.pdf
http://www.leviton.com/vizia/
http://www.intouchcontrols.com/productline.htm
http://www.cooperwiringdevices.com/AspireRF/
http://www.control4.com/

Project #1: My introduction to home automation

As I mentioned in my previous post, this will serve as my introduction to home automation (not really an introduction to X10 since I'll be using all Insteon for this!). My goal is to be simple, and be able to turn on/off the lamps in my bedroom without getting up.

Now, we've been using flourescent lights to save money for a long time, so I thought I would need to buy Insteon ApplianceLinc On/Off modules (you don't want to use dimmers on flourescent lights... another hard-learned lesson). But then, the list of items that I will need to buy looks like this:
Insteon ControlLinc Tabletop Controller ($29.99 http://www.smarthome.com/2430.HTML)
Insteon ApplianceLinc On/Off Module (2x $29.99 http://www.smarthome.com/2456S3.HTML)
this comes to $90 (+/- 3 cents).

For about the same money ($99.99 on sale), I can get the Insteon starter kit (http://www.smarthome.com/2490.html or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A0BPCC/ref=sr_11_1/104-7703429-3936722?ie=UTF8) which includes the ControlLinc Tabletop Controller, 2 LampLincs (on/off modules with dimmers) as well as two Insteon SignaLinc RF's that would be used in the future to bridge the phase gap (even though I don't need them now). So, to save money, I can buy this and switch back to incadescents in the bedroom lamps.

Stay tuned to see how this works for me!

Projects and Hardware

After reading Smart Home Hacks, I came up with a list of potential projects that I want to do (roughly, but not necessarily exactly in this order):

1. Introduction to home automation, i.e., turn on/off the lamps in the bedroom without getting up.
2. Automatically turn on the lights in my living room (most used room in the house) when someone walks in.
3. Automatically turn on the lights in my kitchen/breakfast room (second most used room in the house) when someone walks in.
4. Set up computer with smart home software (it's not truly a smart home without a brain! without this, it's merely added convenience, but I want my computer to make decisions based on logic I program into it... this is made easier since I was recently given a free 500 MHz computer by a friend who just moved).
5. Install in-wall terminals around the house, both controllers (press-button, do stuff) as well as jacks (to get rid of those ugly plug-in modules)
6. Control things with my Harmony remote control (you know, in addition to my home theater)
7. Install webcams for remote monitoring (especially in the kid's room... gotta keep an eye on the mischief)
8. Automatically turn on porch lights when a visitor walks up (and maybe even put a webcam out there so I can see who's there and be lazy too)
9. Set up a "state machine", i.e., keep track of who is home and adjust the behaviors of the home automation system based on the status.
10. Set up a sensor on my garage door and back door, so I know when a certain somebody has left them open.
11. Install thermostats that are X10 (hopefully, Insteon by the time I get around this) compatible, so I can turn on the air conditioner before I leave the office and the house will be cool when I get home (also, able to turn up the temperature during the day when a certain somebody forgets to do it).
12. Program the garage controllers in our cars, so that we can do stuff while we pull into the driveway.
13. Set up the computer to email events to me about stuff that happens in my house (motion detectors going off!) when nobody is home.

Looking at those projects, here's a list of potential hardware that I'll need to look into:
(although, obviously, I hope Insteon comes out with a bunch of this stuff before I ever get around to buying the X10 versions)
X10 noise filter
X10 signal booster
X10 signal bridge
X10 whole house blocking coupler
X10 XCam2 Wireless Color Video
X10 motion detector
X10 IrDA receiver (IR-543 X10 command console)
X10 split receptacle wall module
X10 wireless wall switch
X10 powerflash module
X10 220V plug-in coupler & repeater
X10 wireless door sensor
X10 RF transceiver
Insteon SignaLinc RF's
Insteon PowerLinc Controller USB
Insteon PowerLinc Controller Serial
(obviously, I don't need both Controllers for my computer, but look into both!)
Insteon ControLinc Tabletop Controller
Insteon ApplianceLinc On/Off module

Technology

Dammit... just lost a whole post about technology, so I guess I'll have to write the whole damn thing all over again.

The emphasis of Smart Home Hacks was X10 technology. X10 technology utilizes the existing electrical wiring in your home to send information, so in theory, you can turn your lights off from across the room, or even across the house.

So why haven't I heard about any of this before?!?!? This, in my opinion, is the biggest failing of the home automation industry: a complete lack of publicity. Apparently, X10 technology has been around since the late 70's (ironically, so have I). It was supposedly built into houses in the 80's and 90's, but due to unreliability, never got used and eventually fell into disuse by all but hobbyists and geeks (like me).

The two main sources of unreliability in most X10 systems (or so I've read) are:
1) phased wiring: Our electricity circuits in the house are 110V (and you know this very well if you've ever tried to plug in a European camera). What I didn't know is that it's only the internal wiring that's 110V. Apparently, the power lines that feed my house are 220V, and when it gets to my house, that's split into 2 - 110V lines (phases). If you have a module plugged into one phase that wants to send a signal to the other phase, the signal has to exit your house and cross the 220V line to the other phase before it comes back in your house and (hopefully) reaches its destination. This unreliability is supposedly solved by improved hardware and the use of bridges/couplers (to bridge the phase gap) and amplifiers/repeaters (to boost the X10 signal).

2) electrical noise: A lot of modern technology (desktop computers, laptop computers, home A/V equipment) as well some older (blenders!) tend to leak noise onto your electrical wiring. This can corrupt X10 signals on the line, and even confuse your modules (turning your lights on randomly!). Furthermore, some newer power strips (like mine!) filter out the X10 signals because they think it's electrical noise, and thus, the signal never progresses beyond the powe strip. Both of these problems are supposedly solved by improved hardware (again) and the use of filters which block the noise from your appliances as well as prevent the X10 signal from reaching the power strip which dampens the signal.

One of the companies that offers "improved" hardware (or so advertised) is SmartHome (http://www.smarthome.com). And once you go there, you will inevitably find their Insteon products (http://www.smarthome.com/prodindex.asp?catid=74 or http://www.insteon.com). From my research (again, I'm new to this!), Insteon is kind of the big brother of X10. With its products just reaching the market first in 2005, Insteon also sends signals (albeit larger ones than X10) across your electircal wires and is backward compatible with X10 products. Furthermore, Insteon gets rid of X10's traditional unreliability points by making every Insteon module also a repeater (to replace repeaters/amplifiers) and utilizing RF technology to bridge the phase gap (to replace couplers/bridges). They advertise that Insteon's RF technology makes the whole network more reliable by broadcasting signals over both the wiring network and the RF network, but I have yet to see any Insteon product take advantage of the RF technology other than for bridging the phase gap.

There are other technologies that have come and gone, but X10 appears to have been the most widely used and popular, and Insteon appears to be the movement of the future. They supposedly work OK together (I hesitate to say the work well without actually trying them), but I couldn't find anyone else on the internet who has documented how to use them together very well, so I decided to build my own hybrid X10/Insteon home automation system, and keep track of it on this blog. I decided to use Insteon in addition to standard X10 in part because I'm hoping that modules that are available for X10 but presently unavailable for Insteon (web cams, motion sensors, in-wall outlets) will be available soon, and hopefully soon enough that I won't even have to upgrade, I can buy them straight out before I get to that phase of my installation. After making that decision, there was much more research to do as to what I wanted to do, and how to do it.

First steps

It was about a week ago, I was rambling my way through the internet and decided to do a search on O'REILLY books (a very geek thing to do). I ran across a couple of books that I might be interested in, one of them being Smart Home Hacks http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596007221/sr=8-1/qid=1155689161/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8954581-0415051?ie=UTF8

I thought to myself, "self, this could be kinda cool", so I added it to my amazon wish list. Well, it wasn't on there long enough for anyone to actually think about buying it for me. My wife and I had managed to unload the kid at my aunt's house for a couple of hours over the weekend, and we decided to go to Barnes & Noble, and lo and behold, Smart Home Hacks was sitting on the shelf. Sitting down to read it for a while, I couldn't help but buy it. Needless to say, when I got it home, I finished it that night.

Having read through the book, I decided to implement a few of the projects. A couple of days of research into my options and user experiences, and I still wasn't any closer to making any decisions. That's when I decided to start this blog, to document my research, my decision making processes, and my actual implementations.

Let me stress... I AM NEW AT THIS. I have never touched any of these technologies before. And frankly, there wasn't a lot of information and user experiences by new people out on the net, so for posterity, documentation purposes, and for those times when my wife asks "What were you thinking", here is the Home Automation Starter blog.