Home Automation For Your HTPC
I have tinkered with home automation in the past. I didn’t get much past a few lamp controllers in my initial setup but I started to see the value of a whole house setup. The Digital Lifestyle has a nice write up on using Z-Wave devices with 7MC.
You can turn devices on and off, dim lights and lamps if they are connected to dimmer modules, you can create Zones like Living Room, Master Bedroom and then group the devices in to the correct rooms. You can create scenes for example All Lights On / Off or dim lights for a Movie scene. Set scheduled events.
ehh, checkout HomeSeer if you
ehh, checkout HomeSeer if you want a real Home Automation System ;D
Adidas4275 wrote:
ehh,
[quote=Adidas4275]
ehh, checkout HomeSeer if you want a real Home Automation System ;D
[/quote]
They have a newer MCE plugin than the one for XP?
the “beta” vista plugin works
the “beta” vista plugin works fine on W7.
not ideal, but to be honest using a remote in MCE to control lighting is less than ideal.
I find that my iphone or ipad on the coffee table or side table makes for a much better H/A experience.
that and having scenes set up with triggers from other devices, times or conditions is much more appealing than navigating through menus and using a dpad to control all 30+ devices in my house.
just from my own experiences
Personally I was looking into
Personally I was looking into Embedded Automation’s mControl. Thankfully my plans to buy a house got pushed back substantially, so by the time I’m looking mControl version 3 should be out and it supports Win7.
Maybe I read it wrong but
Maybe I read it wrong but wasn’t the software in the article free and open source while the Homeseer software was 4-5 hundred dollars?
I was big into learning about HA last year but the more I read the mroe I got turned off by how often the parts would break or burn out. And at 70 -100 bucks an outlet or light switch that is an expensive hobby. Even if the parts are under warranty the wife would not be happy if she could not turn the lights on.
I’m really happy with my HAI thermostat. My kids figured it out without a manual. They are constantly changing the background colors on me.
I really want a HAI
I really want a HAI Omnistat2, Ben Drawbaugh raves about his and my current one sucks but I would need 3 for each zone and thats too damn much.