Newbie wants to monitor freezer & garage doors

[coghlan]

My home automation "starter" challenge is fairly simple. I want to be able to detect if someone leaves the freezer door open for more than 5 minutes, or if the garage door is open after 11 p.m. We just had a bunch of pizzas spoil and raccoons made a nice mess in the garage the other night due to doors left open.

I looked at a number of hardware and software products (Skylink, X10, Homesight) as well as HS2. GE Homesight is the most economical, but proprietary. It does do everything I want, though.

That said, Z-Wave seems like is has the most potential to grow with - but where to start? Should I just get a Smartstick and a couple of wireless sensors along with a copy of HS2?

[rmasonjr]

see this thread:

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...t=freezer+door

[coghlan]

They get into the use of RFXCOM receivers and 433/800 Mhz devices. I wasn't sure whether the X10 protocol terminated on the RFXCOM or the sensors.

Does the X10 protocol have responses that contain temp and battery level status, or is this fudged somehow by the receiver?

For now, I just want to be able to receive OPEN/CLOSED status (for the garage) and temperature (for the freezer).

I was even thinking of trying out the $49 X10 package containing their basic transceiver and 4 software package bundle (Smart Macros etc.), but wasn't sure what the range of responses the interface (CR15A?) can handle. I don't want to buy one and find out it can't read a temperature sensor.

[rmasonjr]

Form simple open/close, it doesnt get much easier than a DS10a security sensor. You can buy 5 for $20 from X10. For a receiver, you can use either the RFXCOM or W800. Since you mentioned temperature, you may want the RFXCOM since it can receive Oregon Scientific sensors.

I dont know about the CR15A, but I seriously doubt it can receive temperature info. I may be wrong, though. Also, personally, I would steer clear of the X10 software - you have everything you need with HS. You can add plug-ins as needed to grow with your system.

Hope this helps...

[coghlan]

Okay, things are starting to gel now. HS2 has more flexibility when it comes to obtaining status information (like temperature) thanks to available software plug-ins like RFXCOM and the associated RF receiver which, it appears, have very little to do with X10 apart from being able to receive status from wireless X10 devices like the DS10A.

In the Tx direction, what kinds of devices do HS2 users tend to control (e.g. turn on a light, chime etc. in response to an event). Do they lean towards X10 and don't they have to purchase a separate computer interface to send commands (I presume over household wiring for X10 and wireless for other devices like Z-Wave)?

On the one hand, I like the flexibility of HS2 + RFXCOM for monitoring, but costs start to add up, especially when it's not clear which hardware family HS2 typically will control and the required devices that need to be purchased.

At the end of the day, I just want to be notified when the freezer has been left open for more than a few minutes or if the garage door is still open after 11 p.m. I could spend $60 and do with a Skylink receiver, but this requires a receiver in plain view where I can see the LEDs blinking (which would be all day for the garage sensor). I want something with a bit more flexibility and power (like device control).

[Michael McSharry]

How do you want to be notified? That will likely be the biggest driver on the direction you will proceed.

[MrT]

People are using all sorts of systems to monitor and control things. My house is fairly small and the wiring is okay so I am just using x10 devices (like plug-in appliance and lamp modules), x10 hawkeyes for motion detection, ds10a's mostly for door status, and oregon temperature sensors, plus readings from a Davis Vantage Pro Plus weather station. I have added a couple of filters to stop noisy appliances interfering and avoid using one circuit which has 'noisy' lights - but having done that, everything is working 100% without a huge cost outlay.

With HS, a CM11A, rfxcom and some basic scripting/events and a couple of plugins etc, this seems to do a lot around the house - lights, basic media control, voice commands (using microphones and/or headset), basic security, wake up alarms, announcements of email, weather, temperature, door status, visitors etc. (My voip system is separate from HS - the provider has a very sophisticated service so I don't need HS for phone, except that it sends me an email when I get a phone message or fax, which HS will read out.)

If you think you want to develop and add more things over time, with HS you can start with X10 but add other things like zwave etc over time, if you find you need them for more flexibility or reliability.

Sorry I can't give you a 'straighter' answer - but it really depends on how much you want to spend, how much you want to automate, how well X10 works over your wiring etc.

To my mind, HS and rfxcom does seem to be a bit of overkill for just two simple functions of garage door and freezer announcements. But I suspect that once you set those two things up successfully, you'll be itching to add more

[coghlan]

How do you want to be notified? That will likely be the biggest driver on the direction you will proceed.

For now, just a reminder chime of some sort. X10?

[coghlan]

With HS, a CM11A, rfxcom and some basic scripting/events and a couple of plugins etc, this seems to do a lot around the house - lights, basic media control, voice commands (using microphones and/or headset), basic security, wake up alarms, announcements of email, weather, temperature, door status, visitors etc. (My voip system is separate from HS - the provider has a very sophisticated service so I don't need HS for phone, except that it sends me an email when I get a phone message or fax, which HS will read out.)

U mean HS can control a CM11A to control X10 devices? If that's the case, I should start with the $49 package from X10 that has a CM15A and a number of their software apps. Later on (when I manage to stash away some $$$ without my wife's knowledge) I could replace the X10 software with HS and also get RFXCOM.

Of course, my wife wouldn't even want me to spend the $49 on a new "toy", but you gotta take a few risks in life :-)

[nightwalker]

Of course, my wife wouldn't even want me to spend the $49 on a new "toy", but you gotta take a few risks in life :-)

This is where the WAF comes into play. Getting started, make the first few projects about her and you'll find the budget will increase for home automation. Do it right and it's easy to suck the wife into fold. You'll know you made it when she starts making suggestions.

[TeleFragger]

let me put it to you this way...

my wife hates it... but deep down inside i think she doesnt mind..

now I use x10 and it works great..

anyway..
I can say this... I know we all want cheap... that is how we want it.. if you expect to start out small and work big you can go there... however how many times do you wish to buy hardware?

example..

I bought a cm11a starter kit and the w800 antennea from smarthome.com
then I purchased ds10a door window sensors...

next I decided to go with oregon sensors and the scale... so had to buy the rfxcom 433 antennea.... wish I would have dont that to begin with and get the 310 slave adapter from rfxcom.......


so you can start with
1. cm11a (I use 1132U usb unit - many say they are prone to failure but I have had mine for a few years now with no problems)
2. w800 antennea - receives all 310mhz x10 motions
3. homeseer 2 and acrf2 plugin (rfxcom plugin does not support the w800 that is why I say you may want to look at the rfxcom 310/433 combo as the rfxcom plugin has charting and stuff...)
4. With HS2 and the plugin you can then add ds10a door window sensors and x10 security motions......

[MrT]

Coghlan, I mentioned this in another thread, but be aware that HS does NOT work with CM15A - http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...ighlight=cm15a

If that's the case, I should start with the $49 package from X10 that has a CM15A and a number of their software apps.

[TeleFragger]

oh yeah i forgot to say... I monitor both garage doors with ds10a's

[Michael McSharry]

Another approach you can take to keep the front end cost low is to use applications that support the xAP automation protocol. The software is typically free and will work just fine for the types of things you are trying to do. There are many that provide this software. The ones that I have made available can be seen at http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=865. You will also see many comming out of the UK.

The X10 interface in this case will be CM11A rather than CM15A. If you want RF input to the computer then it will be a W800 from WGLDesigns.com or distributor such as AutomatedOutlet.com. This will give you motion sensors and the DS10A which is used for contact closure and similiar monitoring. If you want temperature measurement then 1-wire technology using a DS9097U interface from hobby-boards.com. If you want wireless temperature sensors via W800 then it is RFXCOM devices which I believe are obtained in the states from cheapertronics.com