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The Home Automation site didn't have enough activity during the beta and has been closed. You can download the data dump of all questions here.

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up vote 24 down vote

added by luisurrutia Jun 25 '13 at 1:26

up vote 24 down vote

added by Leslie at Acme Consultancy Ltd Jul 13 '13 at 8:21

up vote 22 down vote

added by BigMacAttack Sep 13 '13 at 15:58

up vote 17 down vote

added by Aaron May 29 '13 at 17:24

up vote 15 down vote

added by BigMacAttack Sep 13 '13 at 15:52

	Sort of. Depending which automation system you are using, NEST have a reputation of not playing nicely with others. There was a Control4 driver that was capable of communicating but was removed after Nest threatened the developers with legal action. – iamchristos Nov 18 '13 at 1:32
	They did open up a developer program. nest.com/blog/2013/09/25/calling-all-developers The are working with Control4 on a product. I haven't seen any other announcements or information. But, this seems to be a good direction. – Paul Hildebrandt Dec 29 '13 at 18:12

up vote 14 down vote

added by Chase Florell May 30 '13 at 4:36

This might be deemed OT as too general or too broad (making a concise answer difficult), though I personally would like some overview. Perhaps a related blog for "world view" wiki articles – HerrBag May 30 '13 at 14:20

up vote 14 down vote

added by John O Nov 21 '13 at 5:30

Just wondering what type of integration you would want. If they are running or not? If they are finished? Do you want to turn them on remotely? If they are "dumb" appliances you will need to hack something in. If that is the case the more control you want the more complicated it becomes. – Paul Hildebrandt Dec 29 '13 at 18:19

@PaulHildebrandt It's not appropriate for us to discuss the question, only to provide questions that would be good examples for the new SE site. If I could ask a real question, there'd be more space to get into the details, which I would certainly get into specifics. – John O Jan 18 '14 at 5:13

Got it. Thanks! I sorta missed the point. – Paul Hildebrandt Jan 18 '14 at 5:18

Why are you asking for a tutorial? The point of SE would be to give you that information directly, not search the internet for you. – Phil Frost Feb 19 '14 at 13:46

I can't write the body of the question. Have a little imagination. Someone posted a step-by-step tutorial for replacing their microwave's guts with an RPi awhile back, including the membrane buttons. It's more than "you can hack an RPi into it", it's the complete recipe along with photos. – John O Feb 21 '14 at 13:23

up vote 13 down vote

added by HerrBag May 29 '13 at 16:04

up vote 13 down vote

added by JcKelley Jul 6 '13 at 0:45

You could ask this on superuser. What's it have to do specifically with home automation? – Phil Frost Feb 19 '14 at 13:40

Cat5(E) is already borderline, it won't work (reliably or at all) with the new 10-Gigabit Ethernet. Right now, even entry level routers are getting Gigabit Ethernet. There's still no consumer market for 10-Gigabit Ethernet, but Gigabit Wi-Fi is a reality with the upcoming 802.11ac standard. With Cat5E you get Gigabit Ethernet + Gigabit Wi-Fi. When the next technology comes out, you'll be left in the cold. So, get Cat6, or even Cat6A (goes to 100 meters instead of just 55). BTW if you really want to go for Cat5E, make sure it's not CCA crap (Copper Clad Aluminium). – Agostino Feb 20 '14 at 9:54

This feels pretty broad and nearly unrelated to home automation. Sure, you can use cat6/5 to automate with, but a question like this most likely won't give specific answers related to home automation. – Ry-Is-InControl Mar 28 '14 at 15:18

up vote 11 down vote

added by HerrBag May 29 '13 at 16:35

up vote 11 down vote

added by Aaron May 29 '13 at 17:13

up vote 11 down vote

added by Aaron May 29 '13 at 17:24

up vote 11 down vote

added by Leslie at Acme Consultancy Ltd May 29 '13 at 19:46

Not the sort of question targeted at the Home Automation section at this time. – iamchristos Jun 18 '13 at 22:11

In that case let me rephrase it looking at the other questions people are now asking - 'How can I integrate a reporting tool into my home automation system' – Leslie at Acme Consultancy Ltd Jun 22 '13 at 15:39

@Leslie at Acme Consultancy Ltd As OP, you can edit your response into your original answer – HerrBag Jul 6 '13 at 12:40

up vote 11 down vote

added by John O Jul 7 '13 at 18:05

up vote 11 down vote

added by schwiz Jul 20 '13 at 4:27

up vote 11 down vote

added by John O Aug 3 '13 at 19:35

up vote 11 down vote

added by Madivad Aug 28 '13 at 23:31

up vote 11 down vote

added by panhandel Sep 6 '13 at 21:39

up vote 11 down vote

added by BigMacAttack Sep 13 '13 at 16:01

up vote 11 down vote

added by smartmeta Sep 14 '13 at 7:18

up vote 11 down vote

added by smartmeta Sep 15 '13 at 9:28

Or is it possible to improve the PCB antenna? – smartmeta Sep 25 '13 at 5:58

These are example questions (not intending real answers .. yet).. The best path is to vote up valid questions to move past the 'definition' phase. – HerrBag Dec 5 '13 at 19:22

@HerrBag: Sure, I know about that. But I think it makes the page in the 'define' state more attraktive and alive if there are real comments. – smartmeta Jan 30 '14 at 11:37

up vote 11 down vote

added by smartmeta Sep 15 '13 at 9:33

up vote 11 down vote

added by Butzke Sep 24 '13 at 18:17

Good question. What would be your parameters? – smartmeta Sep 25 '13 at 5:57

up vote 11 down vote

added by Dee Dec 19 '13 at 1:49

Way too broad, and subject to change over time. – Phil Frost Feb 19 '14 at 13:44

up vote 10 down vote

added by smartmeta Sep 13 '13 at 6:42

up vote 10 down vote

added by BigMacAttack Sep 13 '13 at 16:09

up vote 10 down vote

added by John O Nov 11 '13 at 5:18

and vice versa. – smartmeta Mar 12 '14 at 14:02

up vote 10 down vote

added by Dee Dec 19 '13 at 1:43

up vote 10 down vote

added by Dee Dec 19 '13 at 1:46

if downvoted, then why? – Dee Jan 1 '14 at 19:37

Yah why downvoted? This is a legitimate question and yes similar devices do exist, for example there was x10 version and I am sure this can be done with an arduino, wifi shield, and a speaker. – Bryan Focht Jan 9 '14 at 6:06

I think the downvotes are regarding the specificity of the question. A better question might be, "How can I trigger a sound to be played when my door is opened and I'm not home?" Having a noise machine, whatever sound it plays, isn't really "home automation", and I would guess the downvotes are reflective of this. – Alex Robar Jan 9 '14 at 19:10

@alex, changed... – Dee Jan 13 '14 at 23:26

I have no personal interest in a device, but this seems like a good candidate question. It was submitted in good faith, shows that the asker has a grasp of the topic (home automation), and is a challenging problem that might require asking people here. I have used all my votes or I would certainly upvote this. – John O Jan 18 '14 at 5:08

up vote 10 down vote

added by Dee Dec 19 '13 at 1:47

Christ, I wish we could answer here. – John O Jan 18 '14 at 5:14

up vote 10 down vote

added by panhandel Dec 31 '13 at 22:41

up vote 10 down vote

added by Irgendw Pointer Jan 16 '14 at 7:48

up vote 10 down vote

added by ChuckCottrill Jan 17 '14 at 16:34

up vote 10 down vote

added by ChuckCottrill Jan 17 '14 at 23:39

This is a hugely broad question. There is an entire SE site dedicated to security, much of which involves protection from malicious activity on the internet. – Phil Frost Feb 19 '14 at 13:37

@PhilFrost, I think this question may be very relevant if you understand it in the sense "what are the problems I can cause by connecting..." So it is not about the internet-related security issues themselves or how to avoid them, but about what they can do to an automated home / its inhabitants. So basically about the cost of a problem rather than the problem itself. – Konstantin Karapetyan Feb 26 '14 at 16:00

up vote 10 down vote

added by ChuckCottrill Jan 17 '14 at 23:41

Too broad, subjective. – Adam Davis Feb 20 '14 at 2:58

up vote 10 down vote

added by Paul Hildebrandt Jan 30 '14 at 3:20

up vote 10 down vote

added by Thoth Feb 20 '14 at 6:21

Decide what you would like to do. If you already decided then decide what platform you what to use namely: Arduino, Beaglebone, Raspberry Pi etc.. Research more about your preferred platform and the start building it! – Anonymous Apr 16 '14 at 18:13