Re: What would you do differently if you were to automate a new home from scratch?

["ohno" <emedley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> The budget for the automation is $15,000 to $20,000 - but that includes
> the plasma TV's and speaker system.
>
> HTH

I think you're going to find that $15K-$20K is not going to cut it for
the level of control you're seeking.  While it is true that you can
find a lot of stuff out there and kluge it together, to get a truly
well thought-out integrated system that does all the things you're
looking to control, you're realistically looking at a system that's
going to come in around $50K-$100K.

this figure includes wiring and all the work to get it going.

If those figures are just not attainable, I'd suggest scaling back the
project a bit.  Try to get the core of the system together and add on
the pieces as you go.

I'm an AMX programmer and designer and I work for a company that does
very high-end homes.  Our systems go for $300K to $500K depending upon
what's going on.  I have an AMX automation system in my home that I've
cobbled together over the years.  I do a lot of shopping on ebay and
whatnot for the various things I need.  I save a lot of money for
myself since I can program it myself as well as install a lot of the
components.

For the kind of things you're trying to do, I'd look into AMX or
Crestron.  They're pretty much the only game in town that's reliable
and tested with the kinds of things you're trying to do.  You can find
all kinds of things out there that are computer based that can do
similar things.  We haven't found anything that can offer the kind of
performance and reliability that the dedicated systems do. (and beleive
me, we've looked at them all)

This probably sounds like a sales pitch, but trust me, it's not.  We'd
love to have an alternative, but the other systems I've seen mention in
this forum never stand up to what the AMX/Crestron systems can do.  I'm
hoping that some day they will.

Best of luck!