Re: Newbie confusion - wiring guide and product selection

[Peer Oliver Schmidt <posde@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Dave,

> My rough requirements are: I'd like to end up with a system that will
> allow me to have a data LAN, control the lights, connect phones (was
> originally planning on using Asterisk), connect into the security
> system and have a (simple) audio/video distribution. I don't mind
> paying/using something proprietry, but would like to be able to
> manipulate things myself later and would be quite happy to write
> code/scripts to do so if required.
>
> I'm hoping someone has a few pointers to help me to move forward with
> this, such as are there any suggested "best practices"? Do I
have to
> select the products first then wire to suit? Is "Smarthomes for
> dummies" out of date now? Should I move to proprietry products?

I personally would stay away from X10 if reliability and speed is a
priority.

I would also stay away from proprietary stuff.

I would go for Z-Wave based stuff, or EnOcean based stuff. Both are
wireless, both have very broad vendor support.

In terms of software, I am a bit biased :)

I really like what LinuxMCE can do for a house. I did a small writeup
for Automated Home about LinuxMCE
<http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/New-Products/LinuxMCE-710-An-Overview.html>

It is the only solution, afaik, that gives you everything in a single
package. Media, telecom (with Asterisk), home automation (X-10,
Z-Wave, KNX/EIB, etc [EnOcean in the pipe for v0810] and the ability
to mix and match all of the different systems), security. There is
even a company in the UK (http://www.dianemo.co.uk), that does
installations for you. (No affiliation, other than thru the project
itself)
--
Best regards

Peer Oliver Schmidt
PGP Key ID: 0x83E1C2EA



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