More than just a garage door opener
This morning, I walked out of my house and didn't bother to turn off any of the lights. Inside my car, I pressed the garage door opener button. The garage door closed, all the house lights turned off, the TV switched on and changed channels according to a custom schedule to fool intruders, my dog's pet door unlatched, and my business colleague's cellphone got a text message that I might be a few minutes late due to heavy traffic.
Watching over the dog
Later in the day, I got an email from my house telling me that the dog is barking too loud for too long. I securely logged in to my house's website and looked at the home video cameras. Sure enough, the dog knocked over a vase and made a mess. One click later and my home robot mopped everything up, the home theater turned on and amplified my soothing voice to calm the dog down, and all is well.
You can build one too
Welcome to the Smart Home. Thanks to today's technology, it's easy and affordable to get started. You can start small and incrementally build out to something like my example above (which I don't really own but could build).
Start with the basics
The first step is to get an idea of what you would like to control. Start with a simple project that will eliminate a tedious task you do on a regular basis. You can just about control anything in your house including:
Lighting
Switch lights on or off, and set dimmers to exact pre-determined settings. Perfect for situations where you have to operate several dimmers/switches to give a room the right setting.
Appliances
Control fans, TVs, coffee pots, and virtually anything that plugs into an electrical outlet.
Security
Detect door and window openings, motion & fire. Control video cameras and microphones.
Climate control
Go beyond just controlling your A/C. Monitor several temperature zones in the house and automatically close the windows when it starts raining or roll down the window shade if it gets too hot.
Begin with finding a controller
Once you've decided what you want to control, the next item on the shopping list is a controller module. This is the brains behind your smart home and the most important purchase. Here are a few things to keep in mind when deciding what to buy:
Supported standards: Smart home devices "speak" certain languages. The most popular (and oldest) is X10. Newer improvements include INSTEON, Z-Wave, and UPB. I like INSTEON because it's backward compatible to X10 yet vastly improved. The more standards your controller supports, the more flexibility and power you will have.
Pick the interface
The simplest controllers let you program buttons to turn various devices on or off while the more sophisticated models let you control your home from the Web, via email, over the phone, and with your voice.
The Uber remote control
Depending on the size of your home, you may want remote access to the controller. This might mean locating LCD touchpads in the bedroom or kitchen. Want the ultimate uber-remote? Use your hand-held PDA to talk to the controller and take channel surfing to a whole new level as you now control the entire house from the couch.
Start small and learn your way up
There are so many options for Smart Homes that it's easy to get overwhelmed. Ease the anxieties by starting with small projects and work your way up. As long as you keep to standards like X10 or INSTEON, you can keep building atop your previous victories. Now if I can just figure out a way to start baking a pizza when I'm 25 minutes away from the home…
