build your own smart home (2003)

[...]... little pragmatic We don’t mean to blow up your skirt with unrealistic expectations of what you can do with a Smart Home The Smart Home is not going to load your dishwasher for you (yet), your Smart Home is not going to walk your dog for you (yet), and your Smart Home is not going to get your kids to pick up their rooms (probably ever) As cool as a lot of Smart Home projects are, it’s important to realize... you go For the times when you want to manage your system via computer, every facet of your Smart Home can be managed from a web browser if you use the appropriate Smart Home software, like HomeSeer, as shown in Figure 1-4 Smart Home integration and setting up your remote control are covered in Chapter 15 Figure 1-4 HomeSeer allows you to monitor your Smart Home from any web browser Now, having said everything... video through the home to automatically watering the lawn, there are scores of places where Smart Homes can make your life easier, or make it downright cool If you’ve got the time and inclination, there isn’t anything that cannot be automated in your home Meet Your Smart Home Smart Homes can be as simple or as complex as you want Maybe you’re only in terested in dimming the lights in your kitchen Or,... use to demonstrate different Smart Home projects throughout this book In spite of a lack of standards, there is still a lot of very useful and fun stuff you can do with Smart Homes Chapter 2 Smart Home Design Blueprint or floor plan of your home Pencil Tape measure Ruler B efore you whip out your credit card and start buying Smart Home components, it’s a good idea to sit down and figure out what exactly... still make your Smart Home work just fine In order to fully integrate our Smart Home, we’re going to use X10 modules (more on X10 and what it’s all about in Chapter 2) These modules are used to connect various appliances, lights, and other goodies with your computer or home LAN Can’t wait to get started on your home LAN? Flip ahead to Chapter 4 Wiring Possibly the most frightening aspect of Smart Home modification... courtesy Smarthome.com) a b Smart Home Design 15 The X10 signal moves through your home s electrical wiring to control the sundry devices connected to your X10 system Figure 2-2 A stand-alone X10 controller module (Photo courtesy Smarthome.com) If you’ve got a house full of X10 gear, how—you might be wondering—do you keep all the devices straight? After all, if your computer sends out a signal to turn on your. .. can modify the project for your own, individual circumstances The thought of making your home a Smart Home might seem daunting Indeed, when you start cutting into walls and pulling cabling through the void, it might seem like you’ve lost your senses However, given an understanding of your needs and wants, adequate planning, and some research into the best solution, Smart Home renovation shouldn’t be... of your Smart Home can also be managed in such a way that everyday tasks are also tended to A Smart Home can automatically water the lawn at a specified time each day—there are even robotic lawn mowers that can make your Saturdays a little less sweaty and a little more pleasant We’ll cover the sorts of things that you can do outside your Smart Home in Chapter 8 Garage A garage is in the same quasi Smart. .. anything else in the Smart Home be as sensational? Well, maybe not the utilities system, but it’s still pretty useful stuff As we’ll show you in Chapter 11, connecting your Smart Home to a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system can both save you money and make your home a more pleasant place to live Just about any home utility—from air to water—can be managed by the Smart Home Phones st... available) options like X10 If you’ve ever thought about increasing the functionality, security, or wow-factor of your home, we’re here to walk you through the process of turning your home into a Smart Home Part I Meet the Smart Home This page intentionally left blank Chapter 1 Smart Home Foundations P rior to 1797, the washing machine was little more than a rock against which laundry was beaten In . from Smarthome.com ❏ Jay McLellan, Ernie Sieber, Matthew Davis, and Allison Read from Home Automation, Inc. ❏ Richard Helmke from HomeSeer Technologies xv Build8 / Build Your Own Smart Home /. advanced Smart Home projects that would utilize a security system or a home automation system. xvii Build8 / Build Your Own Smart Home / Velte / 3013-4 / Front Matter/ Blind Folio xvii P:10Comp Build8 13-4FM.vp Thursday,. profile Composite Default screen Part I Meet the Smart Home Build8 / Build Your Own Smart Home / Velte / 3013-4 / Chapter 1 Blind folio Page 1 P:10Comp Build8 13-4ch01.vp Thursday, September 04,