SmartHomeUSA.com Home Automation

[hadiesper]

Investing into Smart Home Technologies sure has been worth it these days. Home Automation has become very affordable and available to the public. And now with home-automation-guide.com it has also become very easy to install.

I built this website myself and based it on a video demonstration on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zByt5uOCAxg


I basically present my project in the video, then point to my website where i show you a step by step guide on how to implement exactly what is demonstrated. All the steps are easy to follow with details, pictures, and screen shots. It truly will be worth your while to follow. I am also very keen on accepting and answering any questions or feedback on my guide. So don't hesitate to ask :)

Summary of the Guide:
Quote:
Applications:

* Lighting Control
* Appliances Control
* Air Conditioning Unit Control
* Audio and Playlist Control
* Video Surveilance

Control Methods:

* Hand held Remote Control through interface on Television
* Web Interface which can be viewed on a Laptop or PC
* Web Interface which can be viewed on a Mobile Phone
* Voice Activated music playlist control


I am sure you have noticed many alternatives for home automation technology, ZWave, X10, ZigBee, Insteon. So which one should you choose. My guide addresses this issue of course, here is an extract:

Quote:
ZWAVE/X10/ZigBee/Insteon. These are all considered wireless technologies. All of them include a controller somewhere in your home. This controller sends commands to lamp modules, shutter modules or thermostat modules. Zwave(similarly with Insteon or Zigbee) will send these commands via a specific radio frequency while with X10, the controller would be connected to a wall power socket, it will transmit a signal through the electrical power cables of your home. These signals will be picked up by a light module and as a consequence, the lights are ON!
Reliability
This is the most important reason for recommending Zwave over X10. X10 controllers send signals to modules(lamp/appliances/ etc...) without confirming that the signals were received. therefore X10 is definitely RELIABLE. Zwave on the other hand, will make sure that every command is recieved and acknowledged, if not, it will resend the command to ensure the reliability of your home automation system.

Performance
With X10, you will need to consider several interference sources around your house. For example, you will have to place a filter module between your television or computer monitor and its power socket. the same applies to you laundry machine. This problem does not even apply to Zwave since it uses radio frequencies, and if there was any kind of interference, Zwave's reliability should work around this problem.

Cost
As opposed to what alot of people say, cost should be just about the same, you can check out how much an X10 lamp module and a Zwave lamp module costs, there is really no difference. Technically X10 would probably cost more because you will end up having to buy filter modules for many devices around your home.

Security
Zwave will have a specific ID for each device that is registered in your home. X10 on the other hand, anybody who can tap into your power line can control any device around the house. X10 achieves poorly on security. In order to protect yourself form your neighbor's X10 devices, you will have to place a filter at the power panel where the main electricity lines enter your home.

Hope you found the above helpful :)