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Decisions, decisions

I'm building a new house. Well, I am having one built by a builder in a residential area, where he is building several houses. The bottom line is, they really don't like the future owners "working" on site. Walking around, taking pictures, and checking up on things is ok, but if I were to bring a bunch of tools and cables, they'd have a problem with that. So...

I would like to jump into the HA pool and get my feet wet. I have been lurking here for a few days, and see that I have many, many options. I think that the only thing I know for sure is that I won't go with X-10. But I sure can't decide which way I will go. It will be self-installed. I am pretty handy with tools, so I feel that I can handle anything that is considered "end-user" installable. I have searched this group for the word "comparison", and have not really found a good site or post that compares and contrasts the many different options.

Firstly, I want to control my lights. Just a few simple scenes should take care of things. Ultimately, I'd like to get into HVAC, sound, security and computer/web controls.

Suggestions?

Skip

Zigbee z-wave insteon homeseer x-10 RadioRA Others

Reply to
Mr. Gibbage
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Before I go any further, you have to see what one of the guys who uses my HA/HT software is doing with security at:

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. It's outstanding and it was pretty simple for him to do. You can make it look much prettier if you want, he doesn't care that much about that stuff.

2 forums that are super-rich in content:

- cocoontech has many posts on HA

- In my opinion, CharmedQuark is the category owner for DIY HA/HT software. It's not as well known as it should be, but the owners have spent more $$ on beefing up the architecture than on marketing. That too shall change shortly, and i'm sure the price will go up as a result. Pretty much every HomeSeer person who's seriously evaluated CQC has gone for it. I use it for HVAC, sound, video, irrigation, soon security, lighting, drape control, camera control. The forum is at

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If you want to see details of my setup, check out my personal website at
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. I've aliased
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and
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to it as that's where i've evolved.

Finally, i'd recommend looking at one of the automation panels to oversee this. I just ordered an Elk M1, which is integratable with CQC.

Hope this helps.

- IVB

"Mr. Gibbage" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Reply to
IVB

Wow! That is some incredible stuff. I wasn't planning on quite that much. I think I want to just get my lighting under control first, but to go with a system that will allow me to get to your level. Will most systems such as Insteon and Z-wave work with CQC/ELK?

Skip

"IVB" wrote:

Reply to
Mr. Gibbage

Yep. There is a native CQC driver for zWave, and there's a new version coming of the driver coming out.

However, I still think the best path is to integrate CQC with the Elk, then let the Elk manage Insteon or zWave. That way you lay down the right foundation for however/wherever you want this path to take you. You can go as far as you want - the nicest thing about CQC & Elk is that both are an example of "best-in-class" for what they do, and are a great value for what you get.

"Mr. Gibbage" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Reply to
IVB

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