I've been a fan of Universal Devices ' ISY line of home automation controllers for quite a while. They are incredibly powerful, highly extensible, and very reasonably priced. The current model is the ISY-994i , and it supports multiple protocols (Insteon, X10, and optionally Z-Wave), can manage...
I'm replacing the blue fluorescent lighting above my fish tank with LED strips. The original intent was to use blue LEDs, but as I'm already going through the effort, I opted to use RGB LED strips (each LED is made up of three LEDs, one red, one green, and one blue), allowing me to create and...
It's been a while since I posted an update on my home automation adventures. But, having spent some time tweaking my system this week, I thought it worthwhile to share what I've been up to. But first, a detour. As many of you know, I am an aquarium enthusiast, and made the switch from freshwater to...
In previous posts I discussed home automation using X10 and Insteon . There are other technologies out there, and I've tinkered with many of them, but my own system is all built using a combination of X10 and Insteon. Home automation technologies are used for a variety of reasons and to solve a...
In my prior post I introduced the basics of home automation via X10 . X10 is not a new standard and specification, it has actually been around since the 1970s. And over that time is has not evolved much, if at all. X10 is incredibly popular, because of its simplicity and extensibility and low cost....
As many of you know, I am a bit of a home automation nut, and for close to a decade I've been wiring and rewiring parts of my home, while tinkering with all sorts of gadgets (some very useful, some admittedly less so). Part of the appeal is the fun factor. But there is a very practical aspect to...