Home Automation

[carlos28355]

Hey guys I know off topic of unRAID..although i think there is a script to integrate unRAID and home automation...ill look into that later... If anyone knows of a better forum site than this one for this topic im all ears...anyways.......

 

I want to get started with home automation. Looks like Z-Wave is the best option to go with seems to be more products for DIY with that. The things i want to get started on first is an Alarm System and Thermostat. I tend to want to over do things so im looking for color touch screen options ha. Later down the road i want to add light control, door locks and garage as well. I also want the ability to control this easily with an App on my Iphone/Ipad device. Anyone have any tips or suggestions? looks like this might be good for what i mention...i cant tell if it controls temperature. Im assuming i need two products one for alarm and other functions and one for thermostat i dont think this a super all in one unit that does both alarm and thermostat correct? http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-L5000PK-Lynx-Touch-Starter/dp/B00579YJB0/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338415783&sr=8-1-fkmr1

 

any info/help/suggestion would be greatly appreciated thanks!!

[dgaschk]

That or X10.

[carlos28355]

what about insteon? for some reason (i cant explain it) i just like the idea of the wirless networking rather than over the powerlines..probably doesnt make sense i know ha ha...have you used x10 yourself?

[aptalca]

X10 has both wireless and powerline options.

 

Their powerline devices worked well for me (no noise related issues)

 

However their wireless devices are atrocious. They have the worst wireless range of any device I tried. I definitely do not recommend their wireless alarm systems. They are very unreliable (reliability is a crucial requirement for an alarm system). I had problems with it daily. Read my forum post about it here: http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=25307.msg142779#msg142779

 

Overall, the X10 branded devices are cheap, but are also very cheaply made and there is very poor support from the company (the users on the other hand are very helpful on their forums). Insteon is much better quality than X10 branded ones, but they are expensive and are around the same price point as zwave devices, but zwave is a better option for that price.

 

If you want to go wireless and also integrate an alarm system, I recommend zwave. With the GE devices entering the market, the prices have come down.

 

With zwave, you will need a controller. That could be either a usb stick + software, or a hardware based solution. The only complete and up-to-date software solution is Homeseer, but it costs $600 with the plugins.

 

For hardware, the cheapest and relatively customizable option is Vera by MiCasaVerde ($200-$300). It is a router based device. There is a ton of developer support. Many developers are writing plugins for alarm system integration and such. It also has plenty of remote apps for ios and android.

 

To sum up, I recommend the Vera device with zwave, and integrate it with your choice of alarm system (Plugins available for many)

[carlos28355]

alright thats @aptalca ill look into all that i appreciate it!

[snoopy86]

Hi,

 

has anyone succeeded in installing z-wave on unraid system?

 

 

[nacat78]

I've been looking into this but haven't taken the plunge to invest in anything yet, did find this though

http://www.zwaveproducts.com/Zwave-Controllers/All-In-One-Zwave-Gateways/Z-Wave-Razberry-Pi-GPIO-Daughter-Card.html

And i already use Vivint for home security and home automation (all z-wave) would be cool to see if there was a way to integrate or do more with my system.

[snoopy86]

It would be great if this http://www.amazon.com/Aeon-DSA02203-ZWUS-Labs-Z-Wave-Z-Stick/dp/B003MWQ30E would work on unraid. It does apparently work on linux.

 

And openremote http://www.openremote.org/display/HOME/OpenRemote.

 

If that would work on unraid it would be great. No need for raspberry then...