Home Automation Philosophy

[outbackrob]

yeah, I posted in that thread. I thought I had it licked...but every once in a while the delay rears it's head.

--Dan

HAH! Talk about coincidences.... As I walked back into my office, the light was off and it took about an extra 20 seconds for it to come back on. HS log showed it immediately, but the TM523 did not blink indicating X-10 signals on the wire until just before the light came on.... Drrrr.

I was and have been on the phone so Rosie was quiet for the last hour or so. Maybe because of no other actions HS was sleeping. ....but the triggers are still there and the scripts run. Hmmmm.

Rob

[drozwood90]

Rob,

We shouldn't be hijacking this thread...but I'm going to as I can't find the original thread...
I'm going to try to send an x10 command every 30 minutes to see if HS stays awake. I mean, as soon as I get anything out there, the system is awake and running fine!

That or maybe it's the whole stream, from incomming RF to the power line. Which, I can always rig up a PIC to continuously send a RF signal to the HS PC and have it send out an X10 command on the powerline which doesn't do anything. Or maybe I need to finish converting ot 100% UPB!

Heck, maybe it's the onboard serial port going to "low" power mode...I can always switch to one of my other 27 serial ports!!

--Dan

[outbackrob]

You're right. This is the Philosophy thread. But....

I have a clock chime script run every 15 minutes. That did not seem to change anything. I also HAD an LEDAM message that showed the last motion location on the Betabrite. That did not seem to stop the issue either. Constant scripts or RF commands do not seem to keep the issue from happening. I am not 100% sure on this, but it SEEMS like regular TTS keeps HS awake. That has been my most recent experience. I will monitor and report back on the correct thread.....

Rob

[anogee]

If I had to pick the top three items I use my HA for, it would be 1) controlling lights (including random lights while away), and ceiling fans 2) controlling the HVAC and pool to save energy, and 3) the LEDAM reminder board for appointments, weather, system problems, news, etc.

Maybe a forth one would be speaking. I announce when doors or windows are open and are open for an extended period of time, and I announce phone calls. I also announce urgent system/Internet failures and have my weather radio announce over my speakers.

A long time ago I decided that if HA couldn't do a better job at controlling something than I could manually, I wouldn't control it. To correctly control almost anything you need LOTS of sensors. Motion sensors and many other types. For example, in my master bedroom, I had to add a bed sensor or I could forget about controlling the fans and lights in that room. In bathrooms, a simple light switch and push-button timer for the fan work best. The trick is to never automate anything that really shouldn't be automated, and automate everything that can be automated.

[outbackrob]

Philosophy 101

I did steal this thread to cover something mentioned in one of the other posts so I wanted to add this on-topic comment.

I don't think I fully agree that automating for the sake of automation is a bad thing. Having a snippet of the Irish song "Washer Woman" play when the dishwasher is opened is completely gratuitous automation. But its fun. Having a wav of Jim Carry saying "DO NOT GO IN THERE! WOOOOOOOAH!" when our son comes out of his bathroom is ridiculous bathroom humor automation. But its fun. Having a rooster wailing at the top of its lungs on the outside speakers (in the heart of suburbia) when its time for us to wake up is a bit odd to our neighbors, but its fun! (They agree its somewhat humorous as we don't get up too early....) The point? The greatest feature of HS over most HA systems or standard X-10 products is that it allows you to do practically anything that you can think of. If you are as warped as my family is, you can come up with some pretty crazy stuff. If that makes you happy or cracks a smile on your face (I've heard that rooster over 100 times now and its still funny!) then GO FOR IT! If you are more subdued or just need the "Magic Switch" to shut off everything when you leave or go to sleep, GO FOR IT! My philosophy is: Do whatever makes you happy. With HS you can!

Tonight we are grilling out. Burgers, Brats and probably some chicken. Rosie doesn't yet have a playlist for this activity and the only song I can think of at the moment is "Cheeseburger In Paradise." Anyone have any other suggestions??

Rob

[outbackrob]

Ledam Is Awesome!

....and 3) the LEDAM reminder board for appointments, weather, system problems, news, etc.

Just wanted to chime in about LEDAM. Ditto Anogee that it is one of the top HA items at our house. We are down to only 4 Betabrites at the moment, but we use them constantly to display the weather forecast, current temp inside and out, who called, who has messages, how many Vonage minutes are left, etc etc etc. Whatever we can think of.....

LEDAM works GREAT(!) and the support is fantastic(!!). I don't think anyone would regret buying a sign (off eBay!!) and adding LEDAM to their setup. It is probably my favorite add-on of all. It can also increase WAF! ....and it is helping to teach our 5yo to read! He wants to know what it is saying!

Rob

[completelyhis]

Here's one for ya,
My wife just had a significant out patient procedure on monday. She had a whole slew of medicine to be taken, different combinations of it at different times, some if it half an hour before others of it, etc. I set up Alfred with reminders all through the night and day, with a "snooze" reminder (if he didn't detect motion) at night, to ensure we stayed on top of what medicine she needed to take. I stayed home with her yesterday, and it was so nice not having to worry about forgetting or confusing the medicine. Today, when I left for work, she still wasn't feeling well, I gave her an RF x10 transmitter set up to trigger various events like a tts request for my son to come and help her with something (he's 9, and very helpful). other events included having alfred call my cell and say, "i am really miserable i need you to come home." and so on.

I had never really considered using HS for this, until I needed it. I have been monitoring the log from work, so I can see if she's moving around, calling for my son, etc.

Just thought I'd share this, as it fits the pragmatic side of the discussion of philosophy.

[rmasonjr]

I do the exact same thing. My in-laws live with me and my wife after losing their house to Katrina a couple of years ago. I setup audio alerts reminding them to take their medication - works great. I also gave them keyfob X-10 transmitters to 'call' each other if needed, since the house is somewhat large.

[Steve Q]

In addition to a reminder to take the medication, put a x10 eagle eye or active eye inside the medicine cabinet. Then you will know if the cabinet was opened to take the medication. This is really helpful as a way to check and see if the medication is being taken.

Steve Q

[cadillackid]

im all about automation as a play toy.. really my new home that I had built 3 years ago (my first house ive owned) is just a play toy that I happen to sleep in at night.. I use this as a way to learn various technologies, software langauges, and hardware setups...

I also Love the wall mounted touchscreens with fancy screens and being able to start movies with a wireless touchscreen..

the best part is the HVAC.. with te zones, variable speed fan controls, dampers, this that and the other.. when people hear how warm i am in the winter and how low my bill is they freak out...

I love to show the system off to people its a lot of fun... but also peace of mind knowing when im gone that my non-technical roomate will be fine and that if he fogets to arm the alarm HS will take care of that.. if he leaves on the A/C, HS will take care of that.. the cameras take care of neighborhood purps(teens) trying to get in the cars or such....

I dont have any WAF t oworry about (thank god!!)

there is the BAF, RAF, and FAF but those are much easier to deal with than most WAF's.

-Christopher

[validatorian]

There are two governing principles in my mind that I generally apply to everything, and I'm sure to adopt the same principles with HA (after I get past the initial 'geeking out' phase) which are:

"If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax."
- Abraham Lincoln

and

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Edit: Apologies for bumping a 2 year old thread, didn't notice until it was too late!

[Wadenut]

Nothing like a little nostalgia.