Smart Home Hacks

by Meyer, Gordon

• ISBN13: 9780596007225
• ISBN10: 0596007221
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

This is both a guide to and collection of tips, tricks, techniques, hacks, hardware, software, and dongles for budding home automation buffs, hackers dreaming of a smarter home, and Rube Goldberg convoluted "Invention" fans. Smart Home Hacks offers a complete introduction to home automation and how to implement it, along with specific hacks for the home office, media room, kitchen, bedroom, even bathroom. Included are details on using the latest X10 switches, sensors, and actuators; software for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux; security and surveillance systems; controlling a house both locally and remotely-in short, everything that hobbyists need to turn their home into a state of the art machine.

Author Biography

Gordon Meyer is a Chicago-based writer and speaker who has authored dozens of software manuals, numerous articles for Macintosh users and technical writers, and Smart Home Hacks, a leading book on do-it-yourself home automation techniques.

Table of Contents

Credits	vii
Preface	xiii
Chapter 1. A Foot in the Front Door	1	(106)
1. Know the X10 Address	1	(4)
2. Turn On a Light	5	(1)
3. Master Your Appliances	6	(3)
4. Send Xl0 Commands	9	(1)
5. Send X10 Commands Wirelessly	10	(5)
6. Keep Watch with Motion Detectors	15	(4)
7. Turn On the Lights When You Enter a Room	19	(1)
8. Turn On the Lights When They're Needed	20	(1)
9. Ring a Bell to Alert the House	21	(2)
10. Sense What's Happening	23	(5)
11. Control the Uncontrollable	28	(2)
12. Groom Your Home for X10	30	(1)
13. Set Addresses for Modules Without Dials	31	(4)
14. Increase the Spousal Approval Factor	35	(5)
15. Unplug Your Computer	40	(3)
16. Add a Brain to Your Smart Home	43	(6)
17. Get to Know XTension	49	(14)
18. Get to Know Indigo	63	(11)
19. Get to Know HomeSeer	74	(13)
20. Sync with the Sun	87	(4)
21. Choose the Right Controller	91	(10)
22. Maintain an X10 Library	101	(1)
23. Shop for Secret X10 Devices	102	(2)
24. Welcome to the State Machine	104	(3)
Chapter 2. Office	107	(45)
25. Remember Important Events	107	(6)
26. Keep the Lights On While You Work	113	(2)
27. Know Who's Calling	115	(3)
28. Broadcast Announcements to the Whole House	118	(6)
29. Announce Events with Recorded Announcements	124	(2)
30. Send Pager Messages	126	(4)
31. Broadcast Messages on Your Home Network	130	(3)
32. Control Your Printer from Afar	133	(3)
33. Phone Your Home	136	(2)
34. Control Your Home with Phlink	138	(8)
35. Forward Phone Calls	146	(3)
36. Silence the House when You're on the Phone	149	(3)
Chapter 3. Kitchen and Bath	152	(23)
37. Brew Your Morning Coffee	152	(4)
38. Detect the Beer Thief	156	(3)
39. Install a Kitchen Terminal	159	(2)
40. Install a Home TV Server	161	(2)
41. Control Your Heating Remotely	163	(2)
42. Monitor the Refrigerator Door	165	(1)
43. Heat the Toilet Seat	166	(3)
44. Detect Flooding	169	(1)
45. Monitor the Litter Box	170	(3)
46. Avoid Battery Memory Problems	173	(2)
Chapter 4. Bedroom	175	(20)
47. Educate Your Alarm Clock	175	(3)
48. Put the House to Sleep for the Night	178	(4)
49. Lighting for Insomniacs	182	(1)
50. Adjust Lights as the Sun Rises	183	(3)
51. Simulate a Sunrise	186	(3)
52. Motorize Your Window Blinds	189	(3)
53. Outdo Big Ben	192	(3)
Chapter 5. Garage and Yard	195	(58)
54. Monitor Your Driveway	195	(5)
55. Know If the Garage Door Is Open	200	(3)
56. Control Your Garage Door	203	(3)
57. Control Your Home from Your Car	206	(2)
58. See Through Walls	208	(2)
59. Use Indoor Modules in the Great Outdoors	210	(2)
60. Control Outdoor Lighting	212	(6)
61. Track Fuel Consumption	218	(6)
62. Know When the Mail Arrives	224	(1)
63. Mow the Lawn	225	(2)
64. Get the Weather	227	(4)
65. Safely Water the Garden	231	(2)
66. Foster Green Pastures with a Smart Sprinkler System	233	(5)
67. Stop Watering During Rainstorms	238	(7)
68. Adapt Sprinkler Schedules and Solar Water Heating to Available Sunlight	245	(8)
Chapter 6. Security	253	(46)
69. Check for an Empty Home	253	(4)
70. Know Who's Home	257	(6)
71. Avoid False Intrusion Alarms	263	(3)
72. Nobody Here but Us Ghosts	266	(5)
73. Send Notifications of Home Events	271	(2)
74. Who's There?	273	(4)
75. Secure Your Construction Site	277	(4)
76. Monitor Your Summer Home	281	(2)
77. Protect Outdoor Cameras	283	(3)
78. Know When Windows and Doors Are Open	286	(4)
79. Bark like a Dog	290	(2)
80. Unite Your Alarm and Home Automation Systems	292	(2)
81. Instill Peace of Mind for the Elderly	294	(1)
82. Monitor Your Home with a Network Camera	295	(4)
Chapter 7. Advanced Techniques	299	(68)
83. Improve the Response Time of Motion Detectors	299	(5)
84. Check for Dead Motion Detector Batteries	304	(2)
85. Outsmart Motion Detectors	306	(3)
86. Improve X10 Reliability	309	(3)
87. Avoid Common X10 Problems	312	(3)
88. Streamline Your AppleScripts	315	(2)
89. Harness Your Hamster to Power a Night Light	317	(8)
90. Get More Out of Your Motion Detectors	325	(3)
91. Track Home Events with iCal	328	(4)
92. Chart Home Automation Data	332	(8)
93. Share Your Home Automation Mac with Other Users	340	(3)
94. Remap X10 Addresses	343	(4)
95. Control Lights in a Group	347	(3)
96. Block Units for Easier Scripting	350	(2)
97. Calculate Elapsed Time	352	(1)
98. Identify Trouble Spots	353	(2)
99. Control Your Home from a Web Browser	355	(6)
100. Which Way Did She Go?	361	(6)
Index	367