Adding lighting automation and IP control to HT

[stanger89]

I originally posted this in the HA section of AVS Forum, but no bites. I know we've got some active HA'er around here though, so HELP!!!!


I've looked into home automation on an off for a while, and every time I look into it, I just get lost with the options/out of date info, and I just give up. To start with, I've got a pretty simple immediate goal. I want to control some lighting in my HT, I want it automated based on events.

Let's start with goal one, the easiest, I've got rope lights that run around my riser and under the counter. I currently have these on a timer to they're on when I want to go into the HT at night (it's very dark and they're quite helpful). However with my RS600, they create way too much light when content is playing, significantly detracting from black level.

Goal 1: Have the rope lights turn off when content is playing. My two primary sources are SageTV and Kodi. Ideally there'd be a Kodi plugin, and a relatively easy API so I could write a SageTV plugin. I also have a Samsung UHDBD player, which won't be automateable so I would like to control it via my URC MX880.

Goal 1a: Have the rope lights on a "solar" (I think that's the word I've seen) timer, ie have them come on in relation to sunset.

Assuming all that works well...

Goal 2: Convert my existing timers over to the HA system.

Goal 3: Add some sensors, for example external lights on motion sensors, etc.

Some requirements... It must not be cloud based, it needs to work without an internet connection, for both security and reliability (at some point it might be nice to have remote control). I think I want a dedicated box for reliability, but I have an unRAID server so if there's some software that might be an option.

Where I get stuck is with all the options. I think for Goal 1, I could go as simple as just a Hue system. I believe I found Kodi plugins for Hue, and it seems like Hue has a pretty straightfoward API. Hue might even cover a number of the other goals. But then I look and there's Insteon/ISY, Vera, Homeseer, etc. Vera sounds kind of unpolished to me, but also apparently has a bunch of plugins. ISY sounds pretty nice, but some people say it's somewhat limited. I just looked at Homeseer....

I should add another goal, add IP control of some of my new IP controllable devices. Like my JVC RS600 that only exposes some options over IP/RS232. (Hm, I could try and find an MSC400, it can do RS232 control).

[MattHelm]

I've been looking into the same thing, and this is what I've personally decided.

1. 100% Z-Wave.
2. I'm going to try the VeraEdge.

Reasons:
1. I was going to go with ZigBee, but from what I've read, there are a lot of issues if trying to use "Industrial control" (as anything but lights) sensors in a HA. Z-Wave, while controlled by 1 vendor, seems to always work.
2. VeraEdge doesn't NEED the Cloud, but can use it, if my needs change. They also seem to have a VERY active forum. It's also better on the wallet.


Please note, I've just started looking, so take the above with a grain of salt. Hope this helps!

[Zogg]

I'm very new to SageTV but have been doing HA for a while, so I'll chime in. I have a Vera3 that I have been using for about 3 years. A year ago I would have agreed with you that Vera wasn't very polished, but the current user interface is very good and the latest VeraPlus supports pretty much every protocol.

I actually bought a USB Z-wave interface when I first started, but there weren't any good options for Linux software and the only good one I could find for Windows was quite expensive (Homeseer). The Vera was a lot less expensive and has no recurring fees which is great.

I use mine for lighting, security, cameras, and thermostat control. There are free apps for both Android and iOS to control it remotely. Setup is fairly easy. And there are developers writing plugins all the time and coming up with new ways to use it.

For your application, there are a couple of ways that you could tie a Vera into your system. First, it's possible to use "wget" to send commands to Vera from a batch file to run a scene (a Vera script that can do multiple things) or just set a device to a particular state (on/off/70%/etc.). So that would be a very easy way to control what you want.

Second, if you use a program like EventGhost or Girder, you can then map remote control keys to do things. EG has a Vera plugin so that makes it very easy to send commands or get information from Vera, or you can write your own script using wget and just have EG run that. I believe Girder works similarly.

I honestly haven't looked at software based solutions in a few years so maybe there are better choices, but honestly I think you'd find a Vera to be an easy way to get started and incredibly expandable and at $150 it isn't very expensive. And since it's standalone (and small BTW) it can handle chores completely outside your HT.

EDIT: And as MattHelm said, a Vera connects to the cloud but you don't really need it. It's mainly just for remote connection through a web browser or phone app.

[stanger89]

So, can you get an IR input for Vera? And can you have it control arbitrary IP devices? Or to put it another way, can it route/map IR commands to IP commands?

[KarylFStein]

Anyone have experience with OpenHAB? I don't have anything set up yet, but have been researching a bit. I think I'm going to start with OpenHAB (free, has docker containers and can interface with the Harmony hub and Amazon Echo). Also planning to add a Raspberry PI with the touchscreen as a panel. It seemed like a fairly inexpensive way to dip my toes into HA. My second choice was Homeseer.

[panteragstk]

Stanger, you don't use a client PC in your theater from what I remember, correct?

If not then the vera will work for you, but you may have to supplement some of the functions with software.

I used the Home Assistant docker on unraid and it works well, but isn't as easy as the vera for creating scenes, but will interface with the vera for controlling zwave devices.

OpenHAB is another, but I never really put much effort into getting it to work.

Homeseer also has a docker that works with unraid, but I tested the windows version and while it works, the Vera does most if not all the same functions for a small fraction of the cost.

My vera lite died so I'm going to be getting a replacement for it soon. Very good device IMHO. Plenty of IP support and I think you'll be able to get it to do most if not all of what you want it to do.

I used event ghost when I had a client PC in my theater for the exact purpose you are wanting to, but with the android client being so good I don't know if I'll go back to the HTPC when my theater is re-built. That being said, I've yet to find anything that will interface with the Shield and trigger scenes based on actions I take. I suppose I could use tasker, but I don't know how well that would work.

[Zogg]

I've seen a plugin for the Keene IR Tx and Rx devices that let you send an IR command to Vera. I know there is output control for the Global Cache IP2IR but I'm not sure about sending to Vera using that device.

Another way as I mentioned earlier is to use EventGhost on your HTPC. EG has plugins for most input devices like MCE IR and there's a Sage plugin (and XBMC/Kodi) so you can map keys to either program. With the Vera plugin for EG you can map a received IR key press to send a message to Vera.

[Telecore]

For home automation, I would recommend using Insteon products (smarthome.com) with the Universal Devices ISY994i controller (supports both Insteon and Z-wave). It is a low power always on embedded device that is highly configurable - you can write custom programs for it. I use it for lighting, sprinkler control, door lock control, leak detection and more. There is an optional network module that allows it to interface to a lot of IP equipment.

[NetworkGuy]

I have been using the Wink Hub for about two years for home automation. It works with most of the major home automation devices on the market today. (Version 2 will be out within a month.)

It supports the following protocols:

• Bluetooth LE
• Kidde
• Clear Connect
• Z-Wave
• ZigBee

I have been using it mainly for scheduling lights on/off. It enables you to link with a z-wave remote to let you control those same lights. I recently got an Amazon Echo Dot (great deal for $49) and have been using instead of the remote to control all of the devices that the Wink Hub manages.

I have not used it much, but it also provides "robots", the ability to perform certain actions when other actions occur.

I know you said you do not want an Internet connection, but Wink works with IFTTT "IF This Then That" to allow you access to almost anything. (I have it connected to my Harmony Hub to control my home theater.)

Pros:

• Easy to Setup
• Easy to Use
• Inexpensive
• Number of Supported Devices / Protocols

Cons:

• Limited ability to write custom scripts

[jbbtex]

If you're interested in controlling everything in your home, look at HomeSeer. You can control things via JSON and there is a 3rd-party plugin for Kodi.

Scripting is VB .NET

Forum community is great too.

[rnadeau]

I've been using homeseer 2 for many years and used the incontrol plugin. That worked fine till upgrade to sage 9. Now it doesn't work. I started with home control back in the early 80s with x10 products.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Stanger, you don't use a client PC in your theater from what I remember, correct?

If not then the vera will work for you, but you may have to supplement some of the functions with software.

What do you mean by "supplement some of the functions with software"?

OpenHAB is another, but I never really put much effort into getting it to work.

OpenHAB looks interesting, if only because it's free and I've already got an unRAID box running 24/7.

My vera lite died so I'm going to be getting a replacement for it soon. Very good device IMHO. Plenty of IP support and I think you'll be able to get it to do most if not all of what you want it to do.

Originally Posted by Telecore

For home automation, I would recommend using Insteon products (smarthome.com) with the Universal Devices ISY994i controller (supports both Insteon and Z-wave). It is a low power always on embedded device that is highly configurable - you can write custom programs for it. I use it for lighting, sprinkler control, door lock control, leak detection and more. There is an optional network module that allows it to interface to a lot of IP equipment.

Cool, I was looking at that.... Do you have an IR remote integrated? Any thoughts on how easy it would be to have it map IR to IP commands?

Originally Posted by NetworkGuy

I know you said you do not want an Internet connection, but Wink works with IFTTT "IF This Then That" to allow you access to almost anything. (I have it connected to my Harmony Hub to control my home theater.)

Basically I just don't trust these devices to be open to the internet, I don't trust that their developers are focusing enough on security yet.

Cons:

• Limited ability to write custom scripts

Sounds like that disqualifies it for me, I really expect I'll need that sort of ability since I assume most of the devices I would want to control won't have built in support since they're not mass market devices.

Originally Posted by jbbtex

If you're interested in controlling everything in your home, look at HomeSeer. You can control things via JSON and there is a 3rd-party plugin for Kodi.

Scripting is VB .NET

Forum community is great too.

I saw that a bit, but my projector doesn't use HTTP commands, it uses raw IP data, basically the RS232 commands via IP.

[Telecore]

The ISY994i has 40 preset IR codes which are already in the Harmony database. You can write programs to do whatever you want when the IR code is pressed. I use it to turn lights on and off, lock doors and other things.

With the optional Network module, you could have IR commands do things - for example, I had an IR command to reset my Windows Media Center PC using some software called Airytec switch off - I am not an expert on the IP stuff as most of my use involves lighting and Insteon equipment but in this case it amounts to sending some HTTP requests to the PC.

I also have the ISY994i send me e-mails and texts when certain things happen, like if my garage door is open late at night, or if I am out of town and a door gets opened.

I have looked at other home automation options, but as a technical guy, I don't see other things offering the full level of control as the ISY unless it is very expensive.

[stanger89]

Thanks for the first hand comments

[jbbtex]

Originally Posted by stanger89

I saw that a bit, but my projector doesn't use HTTP commands, it uses raw IP data, basically the RS232 commands via IP.

There is a plugin for HomeSeer called IP/Serial that I think would allow what you need for control of your projector.

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by stanger89

my projector doesn't use HTTP commands, it uses raw IP data, basically the RS232 commands via IP.

There's also a plugin for Vera that will do this, VeraAlerts.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Zogg

There's also a plugin for Vera that will do this, VeraAlerts.

Do you mean this?
http://rts-services.com/Vera/Plugin/VeraAlerts/

Because that doesn't look like what I'm looking for.

[Wirenut]

+1 for the ISY controller.

[stanger89]

I kind of keep looking at ISY and Homeseer. I like that Homeseer can run on my unRAID box, but I also like that ISY would be completely independent.

I was about to say I'm concerned about sending commands to my IP devices, but this looks like it's along the lines of what I'd need to do (RS232 over IP basically):
http://forum.universal-devices.com/t...l-of-sharp-tv/

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Do you mean this?
http://rts-services.com/Vera/Plugin/VeraAlerts/

Because that doesn't look like what I'm looking for.

That's the one. It will send raw text over HTTP to a receiving program or device. I use it to send notices to my Caller ID program (a YAC clone) running on my HTPC and desktop.