Survey: Home Automation

2007_03_09 home automation.jpg Different home automation solutions have been around for some time with X10 being one of the more commonly known systems out there.

Consisting of a number of components that work together to control lights, appliances or your home theater via remote, motion sensor or even pc, almost anyone with a desire to have some level of intelligent control over their home electronics and appliances can put in one of these systems. If you have taken the plunge with home automation we would love to hear your reasons for doing so in the comments.

-image via AV Smarthomes

Comments (3)

I use lighting control in three separate areas of my apartment:

1. Accent lights on the bookcases
2. A light-bar in the bedroom
3. Sconces and overhead lights in the theater

My reasons for each space are a little different. With the accent lights using remote controlled dimmers allows me to control four lights with one button.

For the light-bar in the bedroom using a remote-switch allows me to cover an entire wall with free-standing Ikea PAX wardrobes (which cover the original switch due to some mis-measurements on my design).

For the theater the sconces and overhead lighting are tied into scenes controllable from the remote, allowing me to transition between "seating", "intermission", and "movie" lighting without fiddling with dimmers. It really ads to the cinematic experience.

At some point I'm going to expand the lighting automation, but right now it's taken care of all my primary zones.