RE: Whole House Rennovation Automation Plans - Have I got it right?

["Paul Gordon" <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At the risk of sounding like I'm taking sides in a holy war between
Comfort & Homevision (which couldn't be further from the truth)...

I think I'm right in saying that comfort can do fairly comprehensive
zoned IR out of the box... certainly any comfort output can have an IR
emitter connected to it, and under programmatic control any learned IR
signal can be transmitted from any zone. IR codes can be learned
directly from an original remote, via a comfort IR receiver, or can be
transferred in Philips Pronto format. I dare say there is an upper limit
to the number of IR commands that can be learned/stored, but I'm not
sure what that limit is. - I believe it's a memory limit rather than a
fixed number of "slots" (but I could be wrong about that part) -
Also, I
recall software methods of working around the memory limits to allow
Comfort to reference an *unlimited* database of IR commands (ISTR it was
ACE-Comfort by Dan Hoenen that did this, which I think is still
available).

Inputs are similarly flexible, - all the current keypad models have an
IR receiver in them, plus there are various IR receivers available to
connect to other comfort inputs.

What it *Isn't* however, is an IR distribution system; it can receive IR
commands and react to them, and it can transmit IR codes it has stored
in memory. - It doesn't take an IR command from an input and relay that
to an output, - although of course, such an action could be programmed..

The only limitation I'm aware of is a finite number of IR input commands
that can be used to trigger responses; - I believe a maximum of 128 IR
commands can be recognised. (Although many more than this can be learned
& transmitted in responses).

I absolutely agree with the principle of keeping all the logic
processing in one place! - I used to have a hell of a time trying to
figure out why some unexpected action or other was occurring, when I had
3 or 4 possible HA controllers that could be causing them! (I had
Comfort, Homeseer, CBUS PAC, and an Ocelot; - I had to check them all to
track down where the commands were coming from!).  I've therefore taken
the approach of moving all the logic that I possibly could into just one
controller, and for me, the obvious choice was Comfort. (It's the best
connected, not PC based, etc.) I've even gone so far as to sell the
Ocelot on EBay. I now have 90% of all my HA logic performed by Comfort,
using the CBUS PAC & Homeseer *only* for those occasions when it just
makes more sense to do so.

Years ago, I very seriously considered purchasing a Homevision. In the
end I didn't, since I'd already decided that I definitely needed a
security system, and that I definitely wanted the security system to be
tightly integrated with the HA, (for the reasons I already alluded to in
my earlier message). I was a tad poorer back then, (having a 90 year old
house to refurbish), so the economics of getting *both* Comfort & HV
didn't stack up at the time. Also, the focus of the HV unit on using a
TV as a display interface wasn't something that appealed to me either.

Now that I've got to grips with working with Comfort, and for the
aforementioned reason of concentrating the logic in a single controller,
I don't think I would go for HV now... - but that's just me... I also
don't want to expand my HA control system out to more units that don't
integrate *fully* with the existing components, and for me, connecting
controllers just by using a few dry-contact closures between the inputs
& outputs to signal basic conditions, just doesn't cut it. I want a
full, rich communication protocol between what would effectively be two
halves of the same brain... (Which is the one thing that Irks me with my
planned implementation of Honeywell Hometronic).

All IMHO, of course...

Paul G.


-----Original Message-----
From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Frank Mc Alinden
Sent: 17 April 2008 06:29
To: UKHA Group
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Whole House Rennovation Automation Plans - Have I
got it right?

Hi Ben

Like Kevin and Paul  i would highly recommend getting Homevision ( i
have 3
off them ;-)  ).....Im not a big fan of tinkering with my alarm system
even
though it more than capable of doing complex logic...I even recently
removed
some cbus aux input units from my alarm system as i decided i wanted
Homevision to have total control of my CBUS Lighting ...I now use dry
contact outputs from my alarm system to inform Homevision via my i/o
expanders which pirs have been triggered and Homevision does all the
logic
stuff....I currently use the macro logic for controlling CBUS but also
have
Kevins CBUS Interface which is far more reliable and can do much
more.....I
really need to get it installed .....

Also if you decide to use Homevision for ir my FirM system could be a
solution for your ir requirements...its both zoned tx and rx...which
means
Homevision knows which zone a signal was sent from and can take the
required
action ie i use a cheap 6 button remote  and can roam from room to room
and
Homevision will  control my CBUS lights depending on which room im in
,using
the same buttons for all rooms.......

For temperature monitoring i use my probe system via xPL .....I use this

mainly in summer to control my Bedroom fans which are connected to CBUS
relays......I also use the probe system via my HV I/O Expander to
monitor
ther status of all my tv,s and dvd players etc.......

Heres a link to my site if your interested...........

http://www.armaghelectrical.com.au/

For audio  i use the CBUS Matrix switcher and i have an Exstreamer
connected
to it and i Use Tony Tofts Medianet  to play my music from the pc  works

quite well ...

Anyway which ever kit you decide to use good luck your HA renovation
make
sure you take lots of pics ;-)....

Frank




----- Original Message -----
From: "Ben McCormack" <yahoogroup@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 8:41 PM
Subject: [ukha_d] Whole House Rennovation Automation Plans - Have I got
it
right?


> All
>
> I am getting to the final stages of planning a complete house
renovation
> including full
> rewire, as part of this I intend to automate the property and try and
> integrate systems as
> much as possible.
>
> I was hoping to have my plans checked by the knowledge of the group!
>
> Audio - 5 Zones
> -------------
> Sonos running from Mini Mac - 5 Zone Players and 4 Remotes
>
> Video
> -------
> Multiple Hacked Apple TVs
> KAT5 Units for Limited Tivo Distribution
>
> Lighting
> ----------
> CBUS Dimmers with Neo Switches in most rooms
>
> Alarm
> --------
> Comfort with CBUS Module
> PIR in each room
>
> Heating Control
> -------------
> Hometronic with Relay input module to Comfort
>
> IR
> ----
> I would like to be able to achieve 2 things
> 1. IR Distribution around the house ie for Remote Tivo
> 2. Use IR to control some systems ie When PIR in the Kitchen is
activated
> then send an IR
> command to turn the TV in the kitchen on (Just an example)
>
> For IR Distribution I will use either Xantech or Keene
>
> For IR control and intelligence I was planning to use Comfort. Would
this
> be the right thing
> to use?
>
>
> Cabling
> -------
> Planning multiple CAT5e runs to each room in the house wired back to
Patch
> Panels in the
> loft where most of the equipment will be located.
>
> Temperature Monitoring
> ---------------------
> Independent of the Hometronic system I may want to add temperature
> monitoring to each
> room. I am intend to run Cat5 cables to each room so I could use
1-Wire
> sensors.
>
> System Intelligence
> ----------------
>
> One question that I have is regarding where the intelligence should
sit?
> I would like to be able to do things similar to this
>
> If the time is later than 16:00
> AND
> Alarm is unset
> AND
> No lights are on in the lounge
> THEN
> Turn on Lights A,B and C in the Lounge
>
> If a specific IR command is sent
> AND
> Alarm is unset
> AND
> Time is after 09:00
> THEN
> Turn Heating on in the Office
> AND
> Send IR command to switch TV on
>
>
> Can Comfort handle this sort of Logic processing? Is there any other
logic
> engine I should
> be considering? HomeVision?
>
>
> System Control
> -------------
>
> Webcontrol of all systems is essential
> Ideally I would like to have touchscreen but these will probably be
too
> expensive unless
> someone has a cheaper alternative?
>
>
> CCTV
> -----
> Not in the current plans. Could use IP Cameras at a later date.
> Considering if a Video door phone integrated into comfort may be an
idea
>
>
> So, are these plans any good? Have I missed anything obvious out?
>
> Any input will be appreciated
>
> Ben
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> **** Sponsored By http://www.Berble.com ****
> ****       Computers You Carry          ****
>
>
>
>
>


------------------------------------