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  I'm pretty much all Z-wave now except for some X-10 wireless motion sensors... but I will try to dig out some x10 lamp modules and put them on the same circuit and see if I have any problems.

So I decided that it was worth spending $15 to experiment. I also had to purchase a new 15A breaker ($7).   I just finished hooking everything up. It only took about 15 minutes and was pretty painless. At first nothing worked but it turns out I had forgotten to enter the house code into the...

Very true! I was reading the slashdot article yesterday and the comments were essentially only link to that XKCD. ^_^ I do appreciate the sentiments in the video though: I don't want my house control to go through your cloud! I don't want a different app for every single lightbulb and widget in...

I've noticed that there are a couple hundred TED 1001 power monitors available on ebay for < $18 shipped. They all seem to be NOS from the Dallas/Fort Worth Area, although from different sellers.   Before anyone gets too excited, and despite some descriptions from sellers that seem a little...

  http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Logitech_Media_Server_CLI

Another vote here for Squeezeboxes.   The best thing about squeezeboxes is that you can try it all right now for free. If you have a few computers handy install Logitech Media Server (LMS): http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download   And then run a few copies of SqueezePlay...

I can't really speak to any of the other options, but I have a Micasaverde Vera 3 (and before that a Vera 2) and I'm really very happy with it. I've had a Vera for two years now and have it interfaced to a DSC security system, some Squeezebox players, a Denon A/V receiver, and a few X10 sensors...

Maybe you don't have to detect it... just poll the air quality from an external source?   For example: http://airnow.gov/ (run by the EPA)

I have what I guess is the older model of the Trane Z-wave thermostat (TZEMT043AB32MAA) that I picked up from Radioshack when they cleared out their Schlage LiNK inventory.   I've been using it for about two years now with a Vera 2 and now a Vera 3. I have absolutely no complaints.

Dan, here are some screenshots:   http://wiki.agocontrol.com/index.php/AgoAdmin   You are right, it appears to be very much a work in progress, but a very promising start.

I have a very cheap way of addressing your problem (at least the distributed sound / TTS part). I am quite fond of Logitech Squeezeboxes. They have been discontinued, but the code is open source so you can make your own.   I have custom python code to pause my squeezeboxes, speak a command with...

Has anyone seen this new software? http://www.agocontrol.com/   It looks like it is a spin-off / modern complete re-write of LinuxMCE: http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php/topic,12944.0.html   It looks useable without all the baggage that LinuxMCE had. That always looked interesting, but I could...

@Rupp, actual facial detection (as apposed to recognition) is very little work. All the heavy lifting has been done by OpenCV. In fact, it is about a dozen lines of python. I already have these cameras running (great for checking up on the house when I'm on travel), so it seems like an easy way...

@BraveSirRobin, that is a good point. I have a mix of mostly 640x480 along with a few 720p and 1080p webcams. I'm pretty sure facial detection will work without a problem but having enough resolution for facial recognition might be a problem. I do have a couple of 10MP+ Canon cameras that I run...

As the scope of my home automation expands I'm slowly looking for new things to tackle. One thing I've been thinking about for some time is applying computer vision to the webcams I have in and around my house. I'd like to do this for occupancy sensing in particular rooms, detection of mine and...

When I've ordered electronics from various Chinese sellers on ebay it has taken anywhere from 10 days to a month. I think they get cheap shipping by bundeling lots of orders togeather so sometimes you have to wait a bit longer. The good news is I have *always* had them arrive eventually, and...

I've purchased three intermatic Z-wave 6 packs (some CA600 dimmers, some CA3000 switches) from AutomatedOutlet in the past few weeks. They have them on ebay for $99 buy-it-now when they first post, but people sometimes bid them up to about $130 for some unknown reason (must not be very good at...

Well in that case, I say give it a shot! And despite what I said about not wanting to use your code, if you get something working well think about open sourcing it. Either way I would be interested in how things go for you, please post some progress reports here as you get further along. I...

I agree with not rolling your own code. In fact, I asked the same question on these forums about a year ago (should I roll my own system). I'm very glad I didn't. I use a Micasaverde Vera 2, but this same advice applies equally to any descent automation system that is expandible with plugins...

I don't think you are asking too much. Wanting full control from your smart phone is a common request! I use a Vera with a DSC security system, but there are plugins for a few other systems as well. I can both control my security system (alarm and disarm) and view the sensor status from one of...