38 | MAXIMUMPC | JUN 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
Planning Is Key
Observe the carpenter’s maxim: Measure twice, cut once
You can build your home-automation system piecemeal and expand
it as you have the inclination and budget, but we can’t overemphasize
the importance of spending some time to plan what you want to ac-complish. A little forethought will save you a lot of time and a load of
cash. Here’s a broad overview of what’s possible and how much you can
expect to spend.CHOOSE YOUR PROTOCOL
The most important decision you’ll make
is which home-automation protocol you’ll
use—at least for lighting control—because
you don’t want to take a mix-and-match
approach. Although there are others, we’re
currently recommending that readers
choose between these two wireless mesh
network technologies: Z-Wave and ZigBee.
The advantage of a mesh network is that
each device on the network is capable of
receiving a command from any other device
and responding to it. The response could be
to activate a switch that sends power to a
light or it could be to recognize that it’s not
the intended target, in which case it passes
the command to the next device within
range. This approach gives the network
nearly unlimited range while consuming
very little power.
Zensys manufactures Z-Wave chips and
sells them to nearly every lighting-control
manufacturer in the market, including
Cooper, GE, Intermatic, and Leviton. Thispromiscuity has prevented any one
licensee from dominating the mar-
ket, which has in turn helped keep
prices in check; it has also prevented
the more open ZigBee standard from
gaining a strong foothold.LIGHTING CONTROLS
When people think of home automa-
tion, managing their home’s lighting
via remote control is usually the fi rst
thing that comes to mind. Fortunately,
this is the cheapest and easiest fea-
ture to implement on a small scale—
and it’s not much more diffi cult to set
up on a large scale.
For those who just want to dip
their toes in the water, plug-in mod-
ules are the easiest way to go. You
simply plug a box into the wall, plug your
lamp into the box, and program the remote
control; you can then control the light using
the remote (make sure the outlet cannot be
shut off by a wall switch). The typical kit
(with two modules and a remote) sells for
about $100. Another $50 to $60 will buy a
USB controller and basic PC soft ware that
allows you to manage your lighting system
using your PC.
If you don’t like the look of wall warts,
you can replace your outlet with one that
can be controlled via remote ($35 to $75), or
you can replace the switch that controls that
outlet (assuming there is one). Dimmers and
switches cost between $35 and $75. You’ll
also need the remote, of course—those run
from $35 to $150.HOME MONITORING
Interested in keeping tabs on your house
while you’re away? Want to know if the
kids got home from school OK or if the dog
is tearing up your fl ower beds? Have you
considered an alarm system but balked at the
cost and the prospect of strangers monitoring
you? Consider deploying a video-surveillance
system or a home-monitoring package.
Price tags for such systems range from
$250 for a basic kit to a couple thousand foran elaborate system capable of monitoring
every square inch of your property. In addi-
tion to the cost of the equipment, most pack-
ages also carry a modest subscription fee
for off-site video storage or sending alerts to
your smartphone.INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES
We’re assuming you already have a broad-
band Internet connection and a wireless
router with at least a four-port switch. You
might need to expand your network by
stringing Ethernet cable, installing RJ45
jacks, and adding a second switch. We’ll
cover that in more depth in the next section.
If you intend to control your home-
theater equipment with the same remote
control you use for lighting, you’ll need a
remote that’s compatible with both infrared
(the technology used by most everything in
your entertainment center) and RF (radio
frequency, the technology used by every-
thing else). If your A/V gear is hidden away
in a closet, you’ll also need an IR control kit.
We like Niles Audio’s RCA-HT Remote Con-
trol Anywhere kit for this; it’s pricey at $270
but can be expanded to control everything
from two different zones in your house
(you’ll find our review at http://tinyurl.
com/39fr5g).We can close our entertainment center (and
hide our cable mess) thanks to Logitech’s Blue-
tooth-powered DiNovo Mini keyboard and Niles
Audio’s Remote Control Anywhere kit.We can keep an eye on Maximum PC Lab North from any-
where we have Internet access, including our smartphone.THE^ DIGITAL
DOMICILE