Home Security News

Humidity and Temperature Controls

One of the most common things people automate around the home are temperature controls. You can get thermostats that sense the interior temperature and raise the heat or turn on the air conditioning accordingly.  Programmable thermostats can turn on the heat 15 minutes before your  alarm goes off.  Pretty simple stuff.  From there it can get more involved.  Some automated temperature controls can do things like lower the blinds when the sun gets too hot or close the windows once the sun sets.  Others can detect humidity and switch on a humidifier. Some systems are being networked so you can ring up the unit on your cell phone and instruct it long distance. 

To get an idea of what sort of automated humidity and temperature controls are on the market you can browse Temperature Controls & Sensors at Smart Home.

Wireless Home Automation

Wireless home automation is growing more and more popular as it provides a way to make a 'smart home' without tearing into the walls to install wiring. Z-Wave, Insteon, and ZigBee are all battling it out for dominance in the field of home automation. CommsDesign news article Wireless home automation battles heat up takes a look at what the future will bring from these players as well as what it will mean for you, the consumer.

Backyard Automation

Home automation doesn't have to be all about the house. The backyard is an area open for automation, especially if you have a swimming pool or hot tub. From pool cleaners to automated pool covers to pool alarms to lights on the underwater timers, there are a number of options available if you're interested in upgrading your swimming pool. Why bother? Besides the coolness factor of being able to control water features, pumps, jets, heat, etc by remote control, it makes sense from a maintenance point of view. Much of today's pool automation technology is aimed at making maintenance less time-consuming.

For more details on what sort of pool automation is available, read Swimming Pool Maintenance and Automation.

Home Automation, How Much Does It Cost to Install?

Thinking about adding a home automation system to your house, but not sure how much it costs or exactly what can be done with today's technology? It looks like you can spend anywhere from $100 up to $50,000 (which includes things like remote timers for your hot tub and a central music system that hooks up speakers in every room of the house to your stereo.

An article called Home Automation Costs can help give you a guideline. For more information, you can also check out this Introduction to Home Automation.

Home Automation, Where to Begin?

Home automation is, at its simplest, any technology that offers remote or automatic control of household appliances such as lights, electronics, and home security systems. According to Detroit News article Making plans for a hi-tech home is exciting; options are unlimited the choices are unlimited and the challenge lies in figuring out where to start.

Almost everyone is interested in security, the article says, and that is perhaps the most logical (and practical) place to start. For modest homes, a package might start with a simple front door intercom. From there, you could add a security camera to the intercom system and a link to a telephone line.

No need to stop there if the bug gets you.  Home automation isn't just about security. "...the process is advancing: lamps that turn on automatically when someone arrives in the room; speakers playing music that follows a person from room-to-room; portable touch pads that control everything from the television, to the room temperature, to the lights, which brighten or dim to fit the occasion or to match the light outdoors. Draperies or shades that not only open and close with a remote, but are programmed to automatically go up and down based on the time of day. "

While these types of features may be pricey now, as with everything, the price will come down over time, and we'll start seeing home automation in all the new homes coming on the market.

ActiveHome - Home Automation Software and Controls
Protector Plus Security System

Home Automation for Non-Geeks?

Some people get a kick out of automating their homes through their PCs while others regard their computers with a suspicious eye, wishing for the simplicity of a remote. A couple of months ago, PC Magazine published a sort of home automation for beginners article. I got a kick out of the introduction where author Bill Howard writes, "One of life's ironies is that those of us who can dim the living-room lights and switch the stereo to soft jazz at the press of a single button are probably the geeks who can't get a date and take advantage of the romantic atmosphere." The articles goes on to explain the basics of diming lights and what's on the horizon for the quickly evolving home automation field.

Geek-Free Home Automation

Active Home and Wireless Technology

I've mentioned X10's Active Home Professional software before in relation to home automation and home security, but I found an article that relates Active Home to up and coming wireless technologies that are competing for attention in the homeowners' market.  The writer, Rob Enderle, discusses current X10 technology, Z-Wave, Smarthome's Insteon, and tying it all in to make a fully computerized home.

The Insane World of Home Electronics: Home Automation

Home Electronics Expo

The Custom Electronics & Conference Expo is a convention for professional electricians, contractors, computer systems integrators, and the like, but it looks interesting enough to intigue anyone curious about the latest technology and gadgets related to home elctronics and home automation.  They have their calander posted for Spring 2005, so take a peek if it sounds like something your interested in.

Home Electronics Expo

Beginner's Guide to Home Automation

Whether you're thinking home security or I-wanna-live-like-the-Jetsons, home automation can make your home safer and more convenient by centralizing switches, setting timers on lights and appliances, networking electronics, setting up security cameras, or doing something altogether new. Home automation can be a little daunting, however, if you're just getting started.

PC World has an excellent article entitled Digital Home Buying Guide that serves as a beginner's guide. It covers different technologies (including wireless), hardware, alarm and surveillance systems, and if that's not enough, they provide a plethora of home automation links for further reading.

Home Automation Software

What, you've never thought of turning the lights in your house on and off through your computer? Well, this is just the beginning of what you can do with home automation. Home automation software (there are a lot of packages on the market, some starting as low as $50) allows you to control your home's appliances, lighting, sprinkling systems, and more all from your computer. For a lot of this, no extra wiring of your home is required.

I know what you're thinking. Why would you want to do this? Yeah, neat trick to impress company, but is there really any reason to spend the money?

Actually, yes.

Home automation software allows you to schedule things to turn off and on whether you're home or not. This is a good way to protect yourselves from burglars. Thieves look for an easy mark. They want to hit houses where no one's home.

With home automation software, your whole family may be relaxing in Cancun, but if a couple of lights are on in your home, and the TV is chatting away, it will look like someone is home. With many home automation software programs, you can schedule your lights and/or appliances to turn on and off at different times each night. This immitates the randomness of people and further suggests to a would-be thief that someone is at home.

For these reasons, home automation software can play a smart role in your home security plan.

Home Automation Software and Controls