"A house is a machine for living." - Le Corbusier, world-renowned architect
Here's the dream.
You're in Maui. From the video-phone in your hotel room you travel across the information highway to your home in Wichita, Kan. Tapping a few keys grabs your E-mail, ensures your home security system is armed, and regulates the lights and thermostats for settings in various rooms at different times. Another few clicks programs your VCR for the special showing of "Terminator VI." A final check on each room reveals all is well except for Scruffy climbing up the new drapes. Instead of getting mad, your fingers dance across the video-phone keypad, sending a signal that opens and closes the drapes, flinging a surprised Scruffy back to terra firma with a startled meow. George Jetson has nothing on you.
Here's the reality.
You're stuck in traffic. From your car phone you punch in the following code: "Kids Dinner" and "Personal." As you dictate yet another memo to your technically challenged boss about the benefits of telecommuting, your house springs into action. When you arrive home 40 minutes later, the kids' dinner is ready in the microwave, your favorite espresso is cooling in the kitchen, CNN is on the home entertainment system, and a hot sauna is waiting for you outside. While relaxing in the sauna and watching the news, the doorbell rings. No problem. "Who's there?" you ask and a voice-activated command reduces CNN to a smaller picture on your TV while the larger one reveals your children at the front door. "Forgot the keys. Sorry, Dad," echoes out of the TV's speakers. Instead of getting out of the sauna, you reply, "Open back door," and smile. George Jetson has nothing on you.
You're in Maui. From the video-phone in your hotel room you travel across the information highway to your home in Wichita, Kan. Tapping a few keys grabs your E-mail, ensures your home security system is armed, and regulates the lights and thermostats for settings in various rooms at different times. Another few clicks programs your VCR for the special showing of "Terminator VI." A final check on each room reveals all is well except for Scruffy climbing up the new drapes. Instead of getting mad, your fingers dance across the video-phone keypad, sending a signal that opens and closes the drapes, flinging a surprised Scruffy back to terra firma with a startled meow. George Jetson has nothing on you.
Here's the reality.
You're stuck in traffic. From your car phone you punch in the following code: "Kids Dinner" and "Personal." As you dictate yet another memo to your technically challenged boss about the benefits of telecommuting, your house springs into action. When you arrive home 40 minutes later, the kids' dinner is ready in the microwave, your favorite espresso is cooling in the kitchen, CNN is on the home entertainment system, and a hot sauna is waiting for you outside. While relaxing in the sauna and watching the news, the doorbell rings. No problem. "Who's there?" you ask and a voice-activated command reduces CNN to a smaller picture on your TV while the larger one reveals your children at the front door. "Forgot the keys. Sorry, Dad," echoes out of the TV's speakers. Instead of getting out of the sauna, you reply, "Open back door," and smile. George Jetson has nothing on you.
Science fiction writers have predicted their coming since the 1920s. Television programs such as "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5" portray them as regular mainstays of everyday life—as ordinary in the future as a telephone or toaster is today. Yet until recently, the reality of a truly automated house—integrated, computerized, and capable of performing a vast array of useful tasks—was more fiction than fact.
What's changed? Technology, of course! The rapid growth of increasingly powerful microcontrollers and microprocessors coupled with the acceptance and integration of computers into our homes and offices are triggering both an evolution and revolution in the way we interact with our homes. No longer considered an expensive toy, your PC is the key to a futuristic doorway that promises to link household appliances such as televisions and dishwashers, thermostats and micro-waves, and telephones and lighting systems into one big happy electronic family capable of digitally chatting with each other.
This "future" is closer than you think. Just about every coffee machine, microwave, fax machine, TV, dishwasher, VCR, thermostat, dryer, clock radio, exercise machine, and car has a tiny computer chip controlling their specific functions. Missing is a command center—such as a PC—to make each unit "smarter" and interconnect them all.
Industry analysts predict that new and retrofitted intelligent home systems will reach a market penetration level of 12% to 15% of houses by the year 2000, exceeding $6 billion. Already onboard are such industry giants as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Bell-Atlantic, Time-Warner, NEC, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Toshiba, Xerox, Intel, and Texas Instruments. The stage is set for a new generation of programmable household systems.
PC Is The Key
So just what is a home automation system and what can it do for you? The answer depends on whom you talk to, says Tricia Parks of Parks Associates, a Dallas-based residential systems research firm. Basically, anything that can be plugged into an AC outlet and uses electricity can be automated. Parks defines home automation as "microprocessor-based products that can both add communication and process information with each other."
Typically, products fall into one of several general categories: customized vs. standard systems; professionally installed systems vs. do-it-yourself packages; and gateways or interface products that link standalone security systems with home control systems. While these systems differ in features, performance, and price, they all are difficult to program.
PC To The Rescue
The PC may be the last missing piece in the home automation puzzle for several reasons. An estimated 40% of all American households now have a PC. That number is expected to jump to more than 50% by the year 2000. Why reinvent the wheel—or in this case, develop a new controller—when your PC is the perfect command center, loaded with plenty of microprocessor power and intelligence?
As PCs are becoming more powerful and Windows software is becoming easier to use, PC owners are starting to use their computers for more than just word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. Additionally, America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe, plus a dazzling array of new software and CD-ROM products, are adding a new dimension of services to your computer.
As more companies produce integrated products for home automation, PC-based home control becomes a logical extension of your computer's abilities. Companies such as X-10 USA and JDS Technologies already have created independent home automation controllers that can be programmed with a PC. Changing a setting is as simple as powering up your computer, loading the appropriate software, and tapping a few keys.
Then there's the low price of admission. Without a computer, home owners are looking at an investment of several thousands of dollars. With a computer, about $200 will get you started with one of the special software programs and a couple of the plug-in modules and interfaces reviewed in this article.
More importantly, new Windows software products present programming graphically, so information is easier to understand than the control panel of a regular (non-Windows) home controller.
Finally, not only is controlling home automation less expensive and easier with a PC, computer storage offers another benefit. It can log events and keep a running record of what's happened in the house.
Parallel Universes
It's almost ironic that the PC is being heralded as the savior of the home automation industry since the computer industry itself was in the same embryonic stage and critical level of development only 15 years ago, says Michael Lowry, president of Home Automation Laboratories, which publishes HAL, a catalog of home automation products.
The drawbacks of too many competing vendors vying for market superiority and squabbling over confusing protocols and complicated standards still outweigh the benefits of economy, increased security, convenience, comfort, energy savings, and enhanced entertainment features for the general consumer.
Yet with all the seemingly overwhelming drawbacks, there are still a plethora of modern home automation products ranging in price from $100 to $25,000 that can help you transform your ordinary abode into a high-tech hacienda. We'll briefly look at some of the products currently available and summarize their capabilities and costs.
Monitronics
Monitronics is the second-largest provider of electronic security systems in the U.S., with more than 1 million business and residential customers. Nevertheless, what the company offers goes well beyond standard burglar and fire alarms. Monitronics now offers full remote home management and monitoring systems that are both cost-effective and incredibly useful.
With a Monitronics package and a computer, tablet, or smart phone, you can:
Monitronics home management and monitoring allows you to save money through the efficient use of thermostats, lights, and appliances. It helps you keep track of the children by always knowing they are home when they are supposed to be. Moreover, it helps you protect your home against burglary by giving you 24-hour access to video surveillance cameras. A Monitronics package is an all-in-one system designed to help you manage your home remotely while also keeping it safe.
Monitronics
1-800-290-0709
Smart House
On the grand scale is the trademarked Smart House, a complete home automation system from Smart House Limited Partnership and developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The NAHB has been demonstrating the Smart House system, which took about a decade and $40 million to develop, in prototype model homes across the country, including Texas, California, and Florida. The Smart House system is similar to installing a local-area network inside your house. The built-in proprietary whole-house system consists of integrating telephone, power, and audio-visual items using a touch-tone phone, remote control units, and a keypad or personal computer. Price depends on features, and ranges from $5,000 to $25,000.
Smart House
301-249-6000
Uxari Home Automation
Vitex Systems is a Naples, Florida company that markets home security and automation equipment under the Uxari brand. Uxari is a company trademark that represents an innovative new form of home security and automation built on the concept of modularity. Customers can take advantage of this modularity by building their own unique systems from a list of available components.
Those components include devices for home security, lighting and thermostat control, and remote video monitoring. Vitex systems can even include additional equipment that makes remote management of landscaping features and window shades as easy as can be.
Vitex systems offer customers a variety of service packages based on the modular systems they choose. All of the equipment and services are tied together with telephone and internet-based customer service and online account access through the Uxari website.
Since 2002, Vitex Systems has been providing customers in West and Central Florida with reliable home security and automation equipment and related services. Their staff of more than 200 dedicated workers is committed to providing the kind of customer service today's consumers expect. They are proud to offer the Uxari line of security and automation equipment that meets the latest standards of reliability and functionality.
Uxari Home Automation
http://www.uxari.com/home-automation/
877-877-9788
TotalHome
Honeywell's TotalHome links systems for home security, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and appliances. The Total-Home unit brain is a controller that coordinates all of these operations and allows you to create up to 16 modes of operation under such general categories as At Work, On Vacation, Play, Sleep, etc. Similar to a macro or a batch file, each mode causes a series of events to occur. For example, keying in "work" would turn off the lights and any appliances, set back temperature controls in different rooms to save energy, turn on the sprinkler systems, and arm the home security system.
The system is advanced enough to automatically call a parent at work if a child doesn't get home on time and key in a special code. It also can be operated remotely using a touch-tone phone. A typical system costs about $4,000 to install.
TotalHome
Honeywell
(800) 345-6770
(612) 951-1001
Dynasty
Whereas the Smart House and TotalHome systems are proprietary, the Dynasty system from Home Automation Laboratories is more of an open system, integrating a variety of existing automation technologies, including X-10 and CEBus, infrared audio and video controls, room-zone air conditioning and heating, and security.
With the Dynasty system, you can select different products for different applications, all according to your needs and budget. For example, the Dynasty system consists of Windows software ($395) plus one or more interface controllers. There's one for X-10 controllers ($699), another for CEBus lighting systems ($299), and The Red October model ($399) for infrared devices. For best performance, the system requires a standalone 33MHz 486 computer with at least 4MB of random-access memory (RAM) and 4MB of available hard disk space.
These devices are connected to your computer's serial ports. Should you run out of serial ports, Home Automation Laboratories sells special add-on boards starting at $279. In fact, just about everything you need to create a home automation system, from software to controllers, is available through the company's catalog. For a fee, the company provides full design services.
While Dynasty will run macros similar to other controller units, the system's real power is in event management and its ability to coordinate various devices, says HAL President Mike Lowry. For example, by connecting a mini console ($13 to $60), you could have a "bedtime" button. Pressing it would tell Dynasty you're going to bed and then Dynasty would turn off all the lights, arm the security system, set the heating back in the rest of the house while adjusting it in the bedroom, turn off the TV and stereo, and turn on the dishwasher to take advantage of the best power pricing.
Dynasty
Home Automation Laboratories
800-HOME-LAB
404-442-0240
404-410-0003 (BBS settings are 8, N,1 with modem settings up to 14,400 baud)
CEBus
CEBus Industry Council
317-545-6243
X-10
For the rest of us with hundreds of dollars instead of thousands to invest, the easiest and least expensive alternatives to a home automation system are remote control and automation devices from X-10 USA Inc. Geared for people with limited technical acumen, time, and money, X-10 is the biggest single vendor in home automation and has been in business for more than 10 years. Available at Radio Shack, the basic system consists of a controller and a module. A module plugs into ordinary household outlets. Then the application you want to control—television, stereo, lamps, heater, air conditioner—is plugged into that module, which acts like a docking station. You need separate modules for each application.
A basic X-10 system consists of a controller box that can manage 16 modules. The company manufactures different types of controllers for different applications and different modules to control different types of lights and appliances. Controllers range in price from $15 to $25; appliance modules cost about $15.
The more controllers and modules you connect, the more complicated the process, which is why the company recently introduced a new Home Automation Interface that lets your PC program appliances connected to X-10 modules.
The CP290 Home Automation Interface ($199.99) connects to your computer's serial port using a special cable. Unlike the Dynasty system, which requires a dedicated PC, you can program the CP290 Interface from your computer, then disconnect it. The interface will continue to run your home according to the stored setup even when it's disconnected from your computer.
The Home Automation Interface has its own microprocessor. Set up from your PC or Macintosh, it sends signals over the AC wiring at predetermined times to control up to 256 lights and appliances plugged into X-10 modules, which are in turn plugged into regular outlets through your house.
The Windows version allows you to group lights and appliances into categories called "scenes." Using a mouse, you could assign the "good morning scene" to turn on your TV, coffee maker, and hot water heater. The program is versatile enough to program different events for weekdays and weekends or different schedules for winter or fall.
The Home Automation Kit comes with DOS, Windows, or Macintosh software, connecting cable, and three different X-10 modules. The system is so popular that there's already a slew of add-on and replacement software packages, including Plato for Windows ($49.95) from Home Automation Systems Inc. and a $19 shareware version called X10MSW (contact Tom Gillispie, Creative Processing, P.O. Box 6, Bedford, MA 01886).
Home Automation Computer Interface
X-10 USA Inc.
800-526-0027
201-784-9700
Plato for Windows
Home Automation Systems Inc.
800-SMART-HM
714-708-0610
TimeCommander
JDS Technologies' TimeCommander is another standalone computer programmable scheduler and controller ($295). What's different is that TimeCommander has expansion ports for controlling audio and video equipment as well as hard-wired devices such as motion detectors, temperature sensors, and security systems.
TimeCommander not only transmits X-10 signals, but can monitor X-10 activity on the powerline and can be programmed to respond to any X-10 signal or combination of signals. For instance, pushing A1 can trigger an entire macro of events such as setting up a complete entertainment system by turning on your TV, selecting channel 3, turning on the VCR, playing the VCR, dimming the lights, closing the drapes, and starting the electric popcorn maker.
TimeCommander ships with Event Manager software in DOS and Windows formats. The software allows you to write schedules and interact directly with your home automation system. The Event Manager also includes remote communications software that allows you to hook up TimeCommander to a separate standalone external 2400 baud modem and then access the system from any computer to remotely monitor, control, and program the system.
TimeCommander
JDS Technologies
800-9TEL-JDS
619-487-8787
Butler In A Box
Possibly the coolest system is the Master-voice voice-activated home control product line called Butler In A Box, manufactured by AVSI Inc. Butler In A Box was created by founder and company president Gus Searcy, a professional magician and computer enthusiast who has performed at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles.
"A magician shouldn't have to get up to turn the light on," explains Searcy. "As a result, I decided to create the illusion of an invisible magic genie."
Butler In A Box is a standalone automation computer using smart controller and X-10 compatible devices. You can program information into the Butler using a keypad at the base of the book-size unit. An optional setup program for DOS and Windows allows you to program the unit through your PC.
The company just released Home For Windows ($50) that lets you create easily identifiable icons such as a telephone, radio, or TV. Once the software is installed, clicking on any icon activates the device or appliance. For example, click on lamp and it turns on, click again and it turns off. The product also includes icons for dim, bright, all off, all on, activate, and others.
Similar to the Dynasty and TimeCommander controller units, Butler In A Box receives computer information through a serial port. Unlike the other products, only Butler In A Box controls your home using a combination of timer controls, touch control through the telephone, intrusion detection using built-in infrared sensors for lights and alarm system, and voice control.
Not only does Butler In A Box respond to your voice commands, it also answers your commands in its own human-like voice. For an additional $189 you can choose from 12 different male and female voices including a British butler, a French maid, Betty Boop, and several foreign languages including French, Spanish, and Korean.
The ability to respond to voice-activated commands has made Butler In A Box an excellent aide for the physically challenged by providing a new outlook on independent living. The product won the Easter Seal's Invention Of The Year (1990) and the John Hopkin's University Certificate of Achievement Award (1991) for its ability to help handicapped people.
Butler also can program macros that group commands, so you can perform multiple functions simultaneously. For example, "Party Time" could turn on the patio lights, rev up your hot tub, dim the inside lights, and turn on your stereo and electronic fireplace. Butler stores up to 32 macros, with each macro controlling up to 16 different functions.
The system also features a built-in "hands-free" telephone that remotely dials pre-programmed numbers simply by asking the Butler to call "Ron" or "Whitney."
According to Searcy, users can program the Butler to respond to a name and then a command. A typical exchange would go something like this:
"Yoda."
"Yes, Michael."
"Turn on the TV."
"As you wish."
Butler's security system can detect intruders from 40 feet away. When it does, it says, "Hello. May I help you?" If the wrong password is given, the system immediately blasts sirens, blinks lights, and can even trip a digital communicator to alert the police or any other security station.
If you carry a pager, Butler can page you in case of a plumbing leak, fire, break-in, or just to check in with general "everything is ok" status reports when you're out of town or on vacation.
There are several Butler In A Box models ranging in price from $1,795 to $3,995. A full-featured system without voice recognition is available for $1,200.
Butler In A Box
AVSI Inc.
800-628-5837
714-524-4488
Do It Yourself
Another source of help for do-it-yourselfers is Get Wired, a complete, how-to multimedia program that covers everything from wiring a home for the information superhighway to hooking up a new sound system in your den. The $19.95 Windows program, published by Books That Work, provides step-by-step illustrations and animations, interactive graphics, and sound. A unique Circuit Simulator lets you practice any wiring job safely on-screen before ever touching a live cable. (See "Computer-Aided Home Repairs And Renovations" in the January 1995 issue of PC Novice for a full review of this program.)
Get Wired
Books That Work
800-242-4546
415-843-4401
Whatever your budget or your needs, the current home automation market can put you on the road to programming your household. With development of new systems and add-ons constantly progressing, the future promises nothing but great things for home automation.
by Michael Cahlin
What's changed? Technology, of course! The rapid growth of increasingly powerful microcontrollers and microprocessors coupled with the acceptance and integration of computers into our homes and offices are triggering both an evolution and revolution in the way we interact with our homes. No longer considered an expensive toy, your PC is the key to a futuristic doorway that promises to link household appliances such as televisions and dishwashers, thermostats and micro-waves, and telephones and lighting systems into one big happy electronic family capable of digitally chatting with each other.
This "future" is closer than you think. Just about every coffee machine, microwave, fax machine, TV, dishwasher, VCR, thermostat, dryer, clock radio, exercise machine, and car has a tiny computer chip controlling their specific functions. Missing is a command center—such as a PC—to make each unit "smarter" and interconnect them all.
Industry analysts predict that new and retrofitted intelligent home systems will reach a market penetration level of 12% to 15% of houses by the year 2000, exceeding $6 billion. Already onboard are such industry giants as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Bell-Atlantic, Time-Warner, NEC, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Toshiba, Xerox, Intel, and Texas Instruments. The stage is set for a new generation of programmable household systems.
PC Is The Key
So just what is a home automation system and what can it do for you? The answer depends on whom you talk to, says Tricia Parks of Parks Associates, a Dallas-based residential systems research firm. Basically, anything that can be plugged into an AC outlet and uses electricity can be automated. Parks defines home automation as "microprocessor-based products that can both add communication and process information with each other."
Typically, products fall into one of several general categories: customized vs. standard systems; professionally installed systems vs. do-it-yourself packages; and gateways or interface products that link standalone security systems with home control systems. While these systems differ in features, performance, and price, they all are difficult to program.
PC To The Rescue
The PC may be the last missing piece in the home automation puzzle for several reasons. An estimated 40% of all American households now have a PC. That number is expected to jump to more than 50% by the year 2000. Why reinvent the wheel—or in this case, develop a new controller—when your PC is the perfect command center, loaded with plenty of microprocessor power and intelligence?
As PCs are becoming more powerful and Windows software is becoming easier to use, PC owners are starting to use their computers for more than just word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. Additionally, America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe, plus a dazzling array of new software and CD-ROM products, are adding a new dimension of services to your computer.
As more companies produce integrated products for home automation, PC-based home control becomes a logical extension of your computer's abilities. Companies such as X-10 USA and JDS Technologies already have created independent home automation controllers that can be programmed with a PC. Changing a setting is as simple as powering up your computer, loading the appropriate software, and tapping a few keys.
Then there's the low price of admission. Without a computer, home owners are looking at an investment of several thousands of dollars. With a computer, about $200 will get you started with one of the special software programs and a couple of the plug-in modules and interfaces reviewed in this article.
More importantly, new Windows software products present programming graphically, so information is easier to understand than the control panel of a regular (non-Windows) home controller.
Finally, not only is controlling home automation less expensive and easier with a PC, computer storage offers another benefit. It can log events and keep a running record of what's happened in the house.
Parallel Universes
It's almost ironic that the PC is being heralded as the savior of the home automation industry since the computer industry itself was in the same embryonic stage and critical level of development only 15 years ago, says Michael Lowry, president of Home Automation Laboratories, which publishes HAL, a catalog of home automation products.
The drawbacks of too many competing vendors vying for market superiority and squabbling over confusing protocols and complicated standards still outweigh the benefits of economy, increased security, convenience, comfort, energy savings, and enhanced entertainment features for the general consumer.
Yet with all the seemingly overwhelming drawbacks, there are still a plethora of modern home automation products ranging in price from $100 to $25,000 that can help you transform your ordinary abode into a high-tech hacienda. We'll briefly look at some of the products currently available and summarize their capabilities and costs.
Monitronics
Monitronics is the second-largest provider of electronic security systems in the U.S., with more than 1 million business and residential customers. Nevertheless, what the company offers goes well beyond standard burglar and fire alarms. Monitronics now offers full remote home management and monitoring systems that are both cost-effective and incredibly useful.
With a Monitronics package and a computer, tablet, or smart phone, you can:
- remotely control locks, thermostats, lights and appliances
- open your home to approved individuals at any time of night or day
- arm or disarm your security system
- remotely monitor security cameras around your home
- receive text messages or e-mail alerts when the children arrive home from school.
Monitronics home management and monitoring allows you to save money through the efficient use of thermostats, lights, and appliances. It helps you keep track of the children by always knowing they are home when they are supposed to be. Moreover, it helps you protect your home against burglary by giving you 24-hour access to video surveillance cameras. A Monitronics package is an all-in-one system designed to help you manage your home remotely while also keeping it safe.
Monitronics
1-800-290-0709
Smart House
On the grand scale is the trademarked Smart House, a complete home automation system from Smart House Limited Partnership and developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
The NAHB has been demonstrating the Smart House system, which took about a decade and $40 million to develop, in prototype model homes across the country, including Texas, California, and Florida. The Smart House system is similar to installing a local-area network inside your house. The built-in proprietary whole-house system consists of integrating telephone, power, and audio-visual items using a touch-tone phone, remote control units, and a keypad or personal computer. Price depends on features, and ranges from $5,000 to $25,000.
Smart House
301-249-6000
Uxari Home Automation
Vitex Systems is a Naples, Florida company that markets home security and automation equipment under the Uxari brand. Uxari is a company trademark that represents an innovative new form of home security and automation built on the concept of modularity. Customers can take advantage of this modularity by building their own unique systems from a list of available components.
Those components include devices for home security, lighting and thermostat control, and remote video monitoring. Vitex systems can even include additional equipment that makes remote management of landscaping features and window shades as easy as can be.
Vitex systems offer customers a variety of service packages based on the modular systems they choose. All of the equipment and services are tied together with telephone and internet-based customer service and online account access through the Uxari website.
Since 2002, Vitex Systems has been providing customers in West and Central Florida with reliable home security and automation equipment and related services. Their staff of more than 200 dedicated workers is committed to providing the kind of customer service today's consumers expect. They are proud to offer the Uxari line of security and automation equipment that meets the latest standards of reliability and functionality.
Uxari Home Automation
http://www.uxari.com/home-automation/
877-877-9788
TotalHome
Honeywell's TotalHome links systems for home security, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and appliances. The Total-Home unit brain is a controller that coordinates all of these operations and allows you to create up to 16 modes of operation under such general categories as At Work, On Vacation, Play, Sleep, etc. Similar to a macro or a batch file, each mode causes a series of events to occur. For example, keying in "work" would turn off the lights and any appliances, set back temperature controls in different rooms to save energy, turn on the sprinkler systems, and arm the home security system.
The system is advanced enough to automatically call a parent at work if a child doesn't get home on time and key in a special code. It also can be operated remotely using a touch-tone phone. A typical system costs about $4,000 to install.
TotalHome
Honeywell
(800) 345-6770
(612) 951-1001
Dynasty
Whereas the Smart House and TotalHome systems are proprietary, the Dynasty system from Home Automation Laboratories is more of an open system, integrating a variety of existing automation technologies, including X-10 and CEBus, infrared audio and video controls, room-zone air conditioning and heating, and security.
With the Dynasty system, you can select different products for different applications, all according to your needs and budget. For example, the Dynasty system consists of Windows software ($395) plus one or more interface controllers. There's one for X-10 controllers ($699), another for CEBus lighting systems ($299), and The Red October model ($399) for infrared devices. For best performance, the system requires a standalone 33MHz 486 computer with at least 4MB of random-access memory (RAM) and 4MB of available hard disk space.
These devices are connected to your computer's serial ports. Should you run out of serial ports, Home Automation Laboratories sells special add-on boards starting at $279. In fact, just about everything you need to create a home automation system, from software to controllers, is available through the company's catalog. For a fee, the company provides full design services.
While Dynasty will run macros similar to other controller units, the system's real power is in event management and its ability to coordinate various devices, says HAL President Mike Lowry. For example, by connecting a mini console ($13 to $60), you could have a "bedtime" button. Pressing it would tell Dynasty you're going to bed and then Dynasty would turn off all the lights, arm the security system, set the heating back in the rest of the house while adjusting it in the bedroom, turn off the TV and stereo, and turn on the dishwasher to take advantage of the best power pricing.
Dynasty
Home Automation Laboratories
800-HOME-LAB
404-442-0240
404-410-0003 (BBS settings are 8, N,1 with modem settings up to 14,400 baud)
CEBus
CEBus Industry Council
317-545-6243
X-10
For the rest of us with hundreds of dollars instead of thousands to invest, the easiest and least expensive alternatives to a home automation system are remote control and automation devices from X-10 USA Inc. Geared for people with limited technical acumen, time, and money, X-10 is the biggest single vendor in home automation and has been in business for more than 10 years. Available at Radio Shack, the basic system consists of a controller and a module. A module plugs into ordinary household outlets. Then the application you want to control—television, stereo, lamps, heater, air conditioner—is plugged into that module, which acts like a docking station. You need separate modules for each application.
A basic X-10 system consists of a controller box that can manage 16 modules. The company manufactures different types of controllers for different applications and different modules to control different types of lights and appliances. Controllers range in price from $15 to $25; appliance modules cost about $15.
The more controllers and modules you connect, the more complicated the process, which is why the company recently introduced a new Home Automation Interface that lets your PC program appliances connected to X-10 modules.
The CP290 Home Automation Interface ($199.99) connects to your computer's serial port using a special cable. Unlike the Dynasty system, which requires a dedicated PC, you can program the CP290 Interface from your computer, then disconnect it. The interface will continue to run your home according to the stored setup even when it's disconnected from your computer.
The Home Automation Interface has its own microprocessor. Set up from your PC or Macintosh, it sends signals over the AC wiring at predetermined times to control up to 256 lights and appliances plugged into X-10 modules, which are in turn plugged into regular outlets through your house.
The Windows version allows you to group lights and appliances into categories called "scenes." Using a mouse, you could assign the "good morning scene" to turn on your TV, coffee maker, and hot water heater. The program is versatile enough to program different events for weekdays and weekends or different schedules for winter or fall.
The Home Automation Kit comes with DOS, Windows, or Macintosh software, connecting cable, and three different X-10 modules. The system is so popular that there's already a slew of add-on and replacement software packages, including Plato for Windows ($49.95) from Home Automation Systems Inc. and a $19 shareware version called X10MSW (contact Tom Gillispie, Creative Processing, P.O. Box 6, Bedford, MA 01886).
Home Automation Computer Interface
X-10 USA Inc.
800-526-0027
201-784-9700
Plato for Windows
Home Automation Systems Inc.
800-SMART-HM
714-708-0610
TimeCommander
JDS Technologies' TimeCommander is another standalone computer programmable scheduler and controller ($295). What's different is that TimeCommander has expansion ports for controlling audio and video equipment as well as hard-wired devices such as motion detectors, temperature sensors, and security systems.
TimeCommander not only transmits X-10 signals, but can monitor X-10 activity on the powerline and can be programmed to respond to any X-10 signal or combination of signals. For instance, pushing A1 can trigger an entire macro of events such as setting up a complete entertainment system by turning on your TV, selecting channel 3, turning on the VCR, playing the VCR, dimming the lights, closing the drapes, and starting the electric popcorn maker.
TimeCommander ships with Event Manager software in DOS and Windows formats. The software allows you to write schedules and interact directly with your home automation system. The Event Manager also includes remote communications software that allows you to hook up TimeCommander to a separate standalone external 2400 baud modem and then access the system from any computer to remotely monitor, control, and program the system.
TimeCommander
JDS Technologies
800-9TEL-JDS
619-487-8787
Butler In A Box
Possibly the coolest system is the Master-voice voice-activated home control product line called Butler In A Box, manufactured by AVSI Inc. Butler In A Box was created by founder and company president Gus Searcy, a professional magician and computer enthusiast who has performed at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles.
"A magician shouldn't have to get up to turn the light on," explains Searcy. "As a result, I decided to create the illusion of an invisible magic genie."
Butler In A Box is a standalone automation computer using smart controller and X-10 compatible devices. You can program information into the Butler using a keypad at the base of the book-size unit. An optional setup program for DOS and Windows allows you to program the unit through your PC.
The company just released Home For Windows ($50) that lets you create easily identifiable icons such as a telephone, radio, or TV. Once the software is installed, clicking on any icon activates the device or appliance. For example, click on lamp and it turns on, click again and it turns off. The product also includes icons for dim, bright, all off, all on, activate, and others.
Similar to the Dynasty and TimeCommander controller units, Butler In A Box receives computer information through a serial port. Unlike the other products, only Butler In A Box controls your home using a combination of timer controls, touch control through the telephone, intrusion detection using built-in infrared sensors for lights and alarm system, and voice control.
Not only does Butler In A Box respond to your voice commands, it also answers your commands in its own human-like voice. For an additional $189 you can choose from 12 different male and female voices including a British butler, a French maid, Betty Boop, and several foreign languages including French, Spanish, and Korean.
The ability to respond to voice-activated commands has made Butler In A Box an excellent aide for the physically challenged by providing a new outlook on independent living. The product won the Easter Seal's Invention Of The Year (1990) and the John Hopkin's University Certificate of Achievement Award (1991) for its ability to help handicapped people.
Butler also can program macros that group commands, so you can perform multiple functions simultaneously. For example, "Party Time" could turn on the patio lights, rev up your hot tub, dim the inside lights, and turn on your stereo and electronic fireplace. Butler stores up to 32 macros, with each macro controlling up to 16 different functions.
The system also features a built-in "hands-free" telephone that remotely dials pre-programmed numbers simply by asking the Butler to call "Ron" or "Whitney."
According to Searcy, users can program the Butler to respond to a name and then a command. A typical exchange would go something like this:
"Yoda."
"Yes, Michael."
"Turn on the TV."
"As you wish."
Butler's security system can detect intruders from 40 feet away. When it does, it says, "Hello. May I help you?" If the wrong password is given, the system immediately blasts sirens, blinks lights, and can even trip a digital communicator to alert the police or any other security station.
If you carry a pager, Butler can page you in case of a plumbing leak, fire, break-in, or just to check in with general "everything is ok" status reports when you're out of town or on vacation.
There are several Butler In A Box models ranging in price from $1,795 to $3,995. A full-featured system without voice recognition is available for $1,200.
Butler In A Box
AVSI Inc.
800-628-5837
714-524-4488
Do It Yourself
Another source of help for do-it-yourselfers is Get Wired, a complete, how-to multimedia program that covers everything from wiring a home for the information superhighway to hooking up a new sound system in your den. The $19.95 Windows program, published by Books That Work, provides step-by-step illustrations and animations, interactive graphics, and sound. A unique Circuit Simulator lets you practice any wiring job safely on-screen before ever touching a live cable. (See "Computer-Aided Home Repairs And Renovations" in the January 1995 issue of PC Novice for a full review of this program.)
Get Wired
Books That Work
800-242-4546
415-843-4401
Whatever your budget or your needs, the current home automation market can put you on the road to programming your household. With development of new systems and add-ons constantly progressing, the future promises nothing but great things for home automation.
by Michael Cahlin