The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Smart Houses - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
Recently released by Osborne/McGraw-Hill, Build Your Own Smart Home is a guide to "high tech at low cost". Smart home systems don't stop at intrusion detection, but can be used for automated systems to control lighting, heating, and appliances. Such systems are able to employ LAN and Web technologies for remote monitoring and control.
But first, a caveat: this book has been written for a North American market using standards that differ from those of Australia, especially in respect of electrical wiring and telephone systems. Some of the devices described may not be available here because they are manufactured for 110 volts or do not conform with local regulations. As a certain eminent person was wont to say, having said that let me say this: in spite of such differences, Build Your Own Smart Home is a very good resource for ideas and is a practical guide to the use of computers (and peripherals) for smart-home solutions.
The book is a practical guide to both the physical installation of various smart devices and setting up the necessary computer controls. Costs are discussed in the context of American currency and availability, but should provide a guide to the order of local costs. There are plenty of valuable hints and warnings, advice on the tools required for particular tasks, and 'trade tips'. No special technical experience is required. Because sensors (such as motion detectors) are usually powered by low-voltage direct current, there is not much restriction on DIY users.
The book describes the use of installed electrical wiring to carry signals within in a dwelling place, building, or even a larger site. The method, commonly referred to as X10, has been around for years and equipment is readily available from dealers such as Tandy and Dick Smith. Readers should be aware that "X10" is not a standard, even though the book describes it that; it is a proprietary protocol. I suspect the name, X10, was chosen to give the system a look of being an ITU-T standard.
Before committing to X10 find out if any other premises are sharing the circuit on which X10 devices may be used. It could be embarrassing, to say the least, if control signals initiated in one residence/office activate (or shut down) an appliance or process in the place next door (or even further afield). Non-X10 solutions are also discussed in practical detail; these include wireless, fibre optic, and infrared.
The systems described include home security, garage door controls, lighting control, utilities (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), telephones, and audio/video. The range of sensors and devices is quite surprising. For example, a washing machine leak detector that can activate a shutoff valve to prevent flooding.
A practical DIY manual that covers both physical installations and computer controls. Not all the devices are available here, but the information will help find local equivalents. Illustrations are particularly good, both for helping explain how things are done and for identifying the devices described in the book.
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Robert Elsenpeter and Toby Velte: Build Your Own Smart House ISBN 0-07-223013-4 Published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 360 pp., RRP $49.95 incl. GST. |
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Reprinted from the February 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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