What is a home automation controller you ask?
A home automation controller is a software application or device that helps automate control of the smart devices in your home. Home automation technologies like INSTEON and Z-Wave let you control multiple devices with a single button push by configuring them in scenes. By adding a home automation controller, you can take your home to the next level with timers, triggers and macros. A timer can turn on your front lights at sunset each evening, and then automatically shut them off a few hours later. Triggers let you combine devices in novel ways. A motion sensor may trigger turning on lights, for example. Macros let you add more complex logic to timers and triggers. When you are on vacation, a macro may randomly turn on and off lights in your house. Trigger responses can be more intelligent too. During the day, for example, would prevent a motion detector from turning on lights.
You don’t have to have a home automation controller, but if you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on smart light switches and devices, then you will probably see value in one.
What home automation controllers are available for INSTEON? Home automation controllers for Smarthome’s INSTEON technology come in two types: PC software and hardware.
PC software based home automation controllers consist of a software application plus a PLM, which is a hardware device that interfaces between your computer and the home automation protocol. Smarthome sells several PC-based home automation controllers, including their own HouseLinc software, mControl, and Indigo for Macs. Homeseer is another well known home automation control application that is Insteon compatible.
Hardware-based home automation controllers are standalone devices that execute timers, triggers and macros without the need for a PC running all the time. Universal Devices’ ISY-99i is a popular stand-alone controller.
I have decided to purchase SimpleHomeNet’s EZSrve home automation controller. It allows you to create timers and triggers that execute without a PC. In addition, like the ISY-99i, it supports X10, so I can add devices like motion sensors that are not yet available as native Insteon devices. What attracted me most to the Ezsrve, however, is its programmability. The Ezsrve exposes all of its functionality on your home network using XML. I like the fact that it can run timers and triggers without my PC running, but I think it’s really cool that when my PC is running I can write my own software to query and control lighting in my house.
With this capability, I could write a monitoring application that estimates power usage based on the length of time controlled lights are on. I could write a lighting control application for my iPod touch… or a Windows Vista Gadget to control lighting.
In a nutshell, the Ezsrve looks like a competent home automation controller that has lots of potential for fun hacking.