So I hadn’t been too big on doing any home automation but for some crazy reason I really got a bug about setting up some automation. So this last week or so I have been trying some different solutions and setting up some devices and have finally rounded out the start to my home automation adventure. The setup consists of the following:
- A Insteon ToggleLinc Relay and few SwitchLinc - Insteon switches for lights
- A Venstar 7-day programmable Thermostat and Insteon Thermostat control
- A pair of Insteon Access Points
- A Insteon PowerLinc USB Controller
My first attempt for software was MControl. Yeah…. can’t really recommend it lot’s of weird issues lots of trouble pairing devices to the PLC (PowerLincController) and support forums should just be called “Forums” got zero help there. I then tried a couple other Windows apps. See I have a Media server I had planned on using to use as my be-all-end-all system for all things home/media related. It’s an home built server that consists of:
- 3 x 1TB Western Digital Caviar GP (low power consumption)
- HighPoint RocketRAID 2310 PCI Express
- AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350 Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 45W (low power consumption)
Currently that box has 1.8 TB (1800 Gigs) of storage of which I have about 1 TB filled with my movie collection which is growing every day. Anyway the deal was to try and run everything on that box. Well since I couldn’t find any Windows software that didn’t have one issue or another so my search brought me to Indigo for OS X. The software works great! The only issue is I did not want to run it on my iMac and have to be concerned about the computer being asleep, rebooting, or off…. soooooo I had to get a Mac Mini and put it in the “Tech Closet”. I just wish I could find some more cool things to do with the Mini I feel bad it’s only being tasked with only automating the house….The coolest part is I have made al sorts of custom control pages that work on my iPhone so I can check the status of lights and the AC while we aren’t home and turn things on and off at will. It’s awesome!
Posted on July 25th, 2008 by Jeremiah Owen
Filed under: Geek, House, Jeremiah Owen, Tech
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