Home Automation
It all started off, just making life less complicated. I guess in the end, I'm basically quite lazy. I love building projects, and bringing ideas to life, and I dislike the mundane things of life. Why get up to close the curtains and turn the lights on, when you can have it all done automatically. You can start to see where this is heading!
There is a pearl of wisdom that states, if you ask an engineer to milk a cow, without telling him how to do it, he will use a spanner. OK, not one that will ever make it into the great tomes of wisdom, but it does say that we use the available knowledge and tools we have to hand, to complete a given project. A friend of mine sells and pumps mastic for a living. He does not use anything else for fixing things to the wall. Pictures, telephones, clipboards, power sockets..... I rest my case.
Me, I'm a relay man. I have looked in to the possibility of using "carrier" style X 10 controls, or the like but they are reasonably expensive, and as I live in the UK, and have a 230V mains supply, the US stuff, which is the only kit which is anywhere near affordable, is unusable.
I had the opportunely to wire out my house as I was doing it up, and so installed a vast amount of telephone cable to everywhere I could think of, and a few extra points! The remote ends I terminated on either a four way face plate, consisting of two standard BT telephone sockets, and two RJ45 computer outlets, or a 40 wire junction box.. The heart of the system is an ex BT junction box, made up of 68 removable (Krone) 20 way connection strips, divided into two rows (connection and distribution).
The phone sockets are used for......telephone connections, and the RJ45 sockets are used for low voltage dc signalling.
Power for the signalling circuits is derived from a 12V power source, with a small sealed lead acid back up battery.
Themains installation is based upon the basic UK domestic wiring system, with only few slight variations.
Click on the Pic for a full size view of the Nerve Centre
There are contacts on the doors, and connections to such things as television control, stereo, gas cooker, gas fire, gas central heating, computer and curtains, lighting in the bedroom, hall, landing, stairs, kitchen, outside lights, and lounge.
All of this means that I have a control system, which has cost me very little to build, yet gives me automation to match a very impressive X 10 installation. click on the hot link, for details of the control elements
The picture above shows the repeater panel I built into my new kitchen. Note some spare indicator ways for future growth.
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