Home Automation

Those two words bring to mind many different things to people.  From homes that go mad and attack their owners to very expensive installations only affordable to the rich.  In reality, Home Automation can be both very useful and affordable to even the modest home owner.  You can start small and add functions as you get time and money. 

For the beginner, just adding a couple of wall switches or lamp modules, and a plug-in controller can make things easier around the home.  All the equipment needed is available from your local Radio Shack or through many sites on the internet at very reasonable prices.  By simply placing a lamp module between a lamp and the wall outlet, you are then able to turn the light on or off using a controller that can be located anywhere in the home.  The lamp module also gives you the ability to dim the lights instead of just being able to turn them on or off.  Add a motion detector and a small hand held X10 remote and your are on the way to automating your home or apartment. 

As someone who has been a tinkerer all my life, home automation was just another thing to play with.  In my first home automation project, I installed wall switches in the bathrooms that turned the lights on when someone walked in and then off after the room had been empty for about 5 minutes.  Very simple but effective.  I got so used to not turning lights on or off, it was a real hassle when I moved into a new (to me) home. 

One nice thing about using these devices is they can be moved from home to home if you ever move.  Your investment is not lost.  Just simply replace the switches with standard ones and take the old ones to the new home or apartment.  They do not require any additional wiring since they use the existing 120 volt power cable that is already in your home.  Some of the switches are wireless so they can be mounted anywhere with double side sticky tape.  Great when you want to add a new switch without having to hire an electrician.

The devices I am referring to are called X-10 and are made and sold by X-10, Radio Shack, Leviton, and many others.

I am in the process of automating my third home and did most of the wiring before the walls went up.  That is the easy way and gives you more options. This additional wiring was to provide for features not supported by X10 such as phones, computer connections, audio and video distribution.  House #1 had a few motion detectors, lamp modules, and wall switches.  Not much as far as automation is concerned but then again, very low cost for what I was able to accomplish.  House #2 of course had more of the same plus some additional functions that were more in the automation and “Fun Things” area. 

I added a computer and a software program named HAL2000 from Home Automated Living, that gives me Voice Control of all the X10 devices as well as  the video and audio equipment.  Now instead of pushing a button, I was able to say “Computer, turn on kitchen light” or “Computer, turn on the TV, turn to channel 5” and it was all done.  No remotes to carry or lose.  That was great.  I had motion detectors at the start of the drive way that notified me of someone coming up the drive by making an announcement that “We have company coming up the driveway”.  

HGTV’s Dream Builder program heard about what I had done and came out in June 1999 to tape a segment for their show covering home automation.  The show was broadcast in November 1999 but unfortunately, just one month before the show was broadcast, the house burned down due to a faulty furnace,.  I am almost finished with the replacement home and had the ability to plan ahead of time all the things I would like to be able to do.  

My home is located about 20 miles south of Louisville Kentucky, on just over 4 acres on the top of a hill with a great view.  This picture was taken in Dec at the start of the new construction and shows the view after the leaves had fallen.  The white stuff on the ground is gravel not snow.

This is an early picture of the house  The home has only 5 windows.  One in each bathroom, one in the dining area, and two in the kitchen.  Every room has a walkout sliding patio door for access to the deck that will surround the house on 3 sides.  The side and back decks are already complete.  The back deck is 10 X 78 while the side is 8 X 45. I will be adding a 20’ X 78’ deck all along the front of the house.  The home has over 2300 sq. ft of living area on the main floor that includes 4 bedrooms, kitchen, dining area, entertainment area and 2 full baths. Another 2300 sq. ft. in the soon to be finished basement contains the ham radio room, utility room, a 30 x 50 activity room, and automation/wiring room. After the front deck is completed there will be just over 3000 sq. ft. of deck area. 

I figured that this would be my last home that I would automate so I really went overboard when running the wires.  When the walls finally went up, I had installed over 1½ MILES of Cat5 wire for the computer and phone connections, ¾ mile of RG6 cable for the whole house video distribution, another ¾ miles of wire for the security and motion detectors, and almost ½ mile of wire just for speakers and microphones in every room.   The builder just laughed every time I showed up with one or two MORE reels of wire.  The electrician just shook his head.  This is just some of the cables as I was starting to route them into the automation room.  These are for the phone and computers in just two rooms.

Every electrical location has a minimum of 4 outlets, those that are located where I planned to put  entertainment or computer equipment have 8 outlets.  Every wall has at least one set and any wall longer than 9’ has two.  I also applied the same rule for the computer, phone, and video cables.  Each box contains wire for up to 4 phone lines, 2 Cat5 cables, and one RG6 video or TV signal line.  They were spaced similar to the electric outlets.  I ended up with over 100 cables running to the basement wiring closet.  I will probably never use all of them but I now have the ability to put a computer, phone, or TV on any wall, in any room, with no connecting wire or power cord  longer than 4 feet.

One requirement I had for construction was that every step was photographed.  If I ever have a question on what is behind any wall I just have to check the pictures.  There are over 700 pictures that almost fill 3 photo albums.

My OTHER HOBBY is ham radio and I have a complete Amateur Radio station set up in the basement.  In my spare time, I usually spend it there, talking to other ham operators all over the world.  I have a motor driven tower that goes from 23 feet to 55 feet high.  When fully extended, the very tip of the top antenna is almost 90’ high.  The tower is operated using the voice control system just by saying  “Computer, raise tower”, “Computer, lower tower”.  If the tower is extended and the wind gets over 20 mph, the automation system will automatically lower the tower to minimum height.  This reduces the chance for damage.  This is done even if I am not at home so if I forget to lower it, it is protected.

I named my automation computer “JEANNIE” after the TV show, I DREAM OF JEANNIE staring Barbara Eden, that was popular many years ago.  Now instead of saying “COMPUTER”, I say “JEANNIE”.  Just to add a little levity to the home, I have the computer reply “YES MASTER” when I request it to do something.  I have a couple of WAV files of Barbara Eden saying the phrase so it is in her voice.  When I want to watch TV I just ask “JEANNIE, turn on TV”, she replies “Yes Master, what channel would you like to watch?”.  I then just say “Set to channel 5”.  She then turns on the TV, and if I have lights turned on, dims them for best viewing.

I just completed installation of a 120” front projection system along with a 301 disk DVD/CD player so I  have my entire DVD and CD collection loaded and am able to just say, “JEANNIE, Play REBA” and have the correct disk  selected, and the audio system turned on.

The 120” screen displays a picture 6’ high and 8’ wide.                      

When I say “JEANNIE play movie STAR TREK IV”  the system selects the DVD, the projector turns on, the lights dim and the drapes close if needed.  All I have to do is just sit down, relax and enjoy the movie.   

This was taken before the home theater system was installed.  The projector is now on the shelf above the seating area where the center outlet box is located.  Rear speakers for the audio system are now on each end of the shelf.

The kitchen currently is very low on automation.  I still haven’t been able to figure out how to have JEANNIE load the dishwasher yet.

Some of the functions that I have automated in the home are:

• Bathroom lights go on and off when anyone enters or leaves.  Between midnight and dawn, the lights are turned on at 10% so you are not blinded.
• The same applies to the hall leading from the bedrooms.  Makes getting up in the middle of the night a lot easier on the eyes but enough so you can see where you are going.
• As soon as anyone opens the door leading to the basement, the stair and basement lights are turned on.  They stay on until no motion has been detected for 30 minutes. 
• When any of the outside access doors are open for longer than 5 minutes, the air conditioning is turned off.  Don’t want to try and cool down the outside.  Great when the grandkids are visiting.  As soon as all outside doors are closed, the air conditioning is turned on again.  Same for the heating.
• Open the front door after dark and the inside lights turn on. 
• The outside lights are turned on at dusk and then off at 1am. 
• All lights can be controlled using hand held remotes, multiple controllers located around the home, or by voice control.  There are built-in microphones in every room.
• All lights and audio/video equipment are turned off by pressing one button on a controller on the master bedroom headboard.  No more getting up to turn that one light you forgot.
• When the alarm system is set to AWAY or VACATION, the heating and cooling are automatically set to extended ranges to reduce power requirements.  The water heater is also turned off to reduce resource usage.

Being out in the “country”, I have water delivered when the well doesn’t keep up so when the storage tank gets down to a certain level, JEANNIE automatically calls the water company and schedules a delivery.  That was a funny experience the first time.  I had forgotten to notify them that JEANNIE would be calling to order.   Since they knew I was single, they wanted to make sure that the “LADY” that called for delivery was allowed to do that.

I currently have 12 video cameras around the home that feed into a 16 input controller connected to the home video system on it’s own channel.  You are able to view the entire 12 scenes on any TV in the home.  The output is also fed into a  VCR that keeps a record of all cameras for a period of 30 days on one tape.  Every month it automatically starts over so I always have a record of all activity for the prior 30 days.  Every camera view has a date and time stamp so it is easy to position to any day and time to see what was happening.  When any motion is detected on any camera, that unit is recorded at a more detailed resolution until 20 minutes after the motion has cleared.  Since I do extensive travel, this is a real help to keep watch.

I am currently in the process of setting up the video cameras to save a video clip every 5 minutes and put them on a web site when any alarm is tripped so I can check to see what is happening while I am out on the road.  I still have a little more work to finish that part.

JEANNIE handles all the phones.  She answers calls, takes messages, and since I do extensive travel, she sends an email to me when I get more than 4 messages.

When I want to make a call to family or friends, I just say “JEANNIE Call Lynn at home” or “JEANNIE, Call Lynn on her cell phone” and the call is made.  All I have to do is pick up the phone when it is answered.  There is a speakerphone function so I wouldn’t even have to do that but I really dislike them myself so I never use it.

She screens and sends messages from blocked callers to a separate mailbox and doesn’t count them as requiring a prompt reply.

When any family member or friend calls, she replies using their name by recognizing the phone number.   This allows me to create a special message for each number in my directory that is played only to that person.

She connects to the internet and gets the current weather forecast, today’s TV listings, emails, news headlines, and stock market quotes.  I then can ask her to read any of the information to me.  I just say “JEANNIE” what is on TV at 8pm, and she replies with the programs for 5 of the stations I have selected as favorites.  The TV listings are retrieved for all the major networks  as well as for Direct TV, and Dish Network.  If I have emails, I just ask her to read them to me.  I can then either save or delete them.  These same functions are available to me while I am traveling as well as when actually being at home.   This gives me the ability to request that the VCR be started for channel 58 at 8pm on Wednesday while I am out of town. 

It is also just as simple to request by phone that the living room lights be turned on at 8:30pm for 3 hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  On those days, the lights will be turned on at 8:30pm and off at 11:30pm.

My automated X-10 dog, REX, lets me know when anyone is in the area by barking and trips an alarm chime when any of the outside motion detectors see anything.  He barks at a lot of deer and an occasional squirrel or bird that is right in front of the detector. 

At night, the outside lights where the motion was detected are turned on and a VCR is automatically started.  Most of the time I just get some nice videos of the deer having a late night snack or raccoons on the porch finishing up the cat food.  In some areas I have infrared illuminators that come on so the B&W cameras can really see in the dark.  Most of the cameras are color such as the one shown here under a deck railing.  The B&W cameras are only where I want to be able to see in very low light or use the IR flood light so I don’t announce the camera usage.  The IR flood lights are not visible by people or animals. All cameras are connected to a 16 input controller and sequencer.  All images are displayed on a single monitor and when any detector is tripped, that camera is routed to a VCR which records as long as the detector remains tripped.  After a trip has reset, the VCR switches to time lapse mode and records for another ½ hour at 1 frame per second.  That way a standard 8 hour tape can last almost 25 days.

I hope this little tour of my home has been of interest.  Keep in mind that being single, I like to add a little humor so don’t take anything too seriously.