Home Automation DIY

Now, this is an original concept! Actually, this is no longer a concept, this product is already in production (in The Netherlands only, for now).

I’m talking here about a ‘balcony-on-demand’ from Dutch company called Bloomframe. This product transforms your window frame into a full-sized balcony, capable of holding a whole bunch of grown-up dudes (see photos below).

(continue reading this article and leave comments here…)

SuRF boards

People Power, a green-tech start-up based in the heart of the Silicon Valley, recently introduced a kit it calls SuRF, for Sensor Ultra-Radio Frequency. SuRF helps connect household appliances and gadgets to a wireless network in your house.

“What that means is that you could monitor your microwave, Playstation and coffee machine in real time, check their levels of energy consumption, and make apps to control how they behave. Ultimately, that could lead to substantial savings of energy and money” writes Wired.

Or it could lead to a self-aware network of gadgets that will try to take you (the owner) out of equation, a la Skynet. Just kidding!

Seriously, this is a promising new technology that would need some serious backing from the device and appliance manufacturers to really take off. And when it does it might make our lives better, saving us some energy and money in the process. Sounds good to me!

On a technical note… (continue reading this article and leave comments here…)

INSTEON USB Controller

Smarthome’s product portfolio is so extensive that it’s easy to overlook a nice new product when it comes around. Therefore I would like to share with you this simple but nevertheless interesting new product I’ve recently discovered. It’s called USB2 Insteon USB Controller by Minotaur Engineering (who are these guys anyway?)

You wonder what this new device could do for you? Let’s see what the user’s manual has to say…

The INSTEON USB Controller provides a way to automatically send Insteon “On” and “Off” signals to other enabled devices whenever a computer is turned on or hard re-booted. It contains the required electrical interfaces to a standard Insteon I/O Linc device (purchased separately) and draws its required power from the computer’s USB connection.

Once installed and linked, the USB connector can be left plugged in to the PC. The controlled devices will be turned on only when the computer is turned on, and shut off when the computer is turned off. In the event you wish opposite sensing, press the I/O Linc Set button until it beeps before inserting the USB connector in to the powered computer. This will trigger the “ON” command whenever the computer is turned OFF.

These days USB ports are ubiquitous, so I think the use of this product might be extended far beyond computers, to any other USB-enabled devices, like TVs, DVRs, network storage devices, even the photo frames.

Here’s a couple of sample usage scenarios…

1) You really wouldn’t want to miss recording that new episode of your favorite series, would you? Now, with INSTEON USB Controller you can trigger an email or SMS alert whenever your HTPC or DVR shuts off after the brownout or by the virtue of the curious fingers of your three-year-old kid.

2) This USB interface could be used as a security device like those you see on the shelves of Best Buy stores. Whenever computer gets powered off or USB cable gets unplugged you could trigger an audible alert or make some lamp flash. This could be used for servers (or any PC that should be always ON).

Any other ideas? Share in the comments below.

Normally priced at $56.00 this item is currently on pre-sale for $43.47.

To make it easier to find in Smarthome’s store, look for Item# 71939.

P.S. An X10 version of INSTEON USB Controller is also available (Item# 71930).

TouchLinc #1270

Remember that touchscreen from a decade ago, called TouchLinc? It was one of the few affordable X10 touchscreen controllers at the time. It had black and white screen and three hardwired connections: power, PC Serial port (for programming) and 4-conductor telephone cable to your powerline interface.

Guess what? Smarthome is releasing an updated wireless version pretty soon (expected in stock 5/18/2010). Yes, of course it will support INSTEON, and to accomplish that you will have to have a SmartLinc (aka 2412N) controller in your set-up.

So, what’s new? (continue reading this article and leave comments here…)

Panasonic BB-HCM511A

I’ve been using Panasonic network cameras for quite some time now, and they are great! Though some configuration settings are rather murky and sometimes it takes a lot of “trial and error” to get it right.

But thanks to a brilliant tutorial from HandymanHowTo.com now you can do it right the first time. The 4-part tutorial provides plenty of screenshots, so you might see what you are getting yourself into even before actually buying a camera – how cool it that! I wish I’d found that article earlier!

The tutorial focuses on the BB-HCM511A Network Camera with Two-Way Audio installation, but most of the Panasonic netcams share the same DNA, so after studying the tutorial you should be good to go with any other Panasonic model. (continue reading this article and leave comments here…)