Archive
Get alerted to water leaks through your Insteon system
September 11, 2013
Let’s heap another Insteon Sensing Device on our growing collection of Insteon devices: the Insteon Water Leak Sensor. It’s a simple, (relatively) inexpensive one-trick pony that does what it does pretty well: detect whether it’s sitting in water and triggering…
Save money and energy by starting with a home energy audit
September 14, 2013
Months ago I got a somewhat “junk mail”-looking thing from LEAP (Local Energy Alliance Program), a non-profit home energy resource that “works with local government and utilities to help homeowners lower their bills and save money”. They promised a $250…
Programming your Insteon thermostat with the ISY-994i
September 17, 2013
When we talked about the Insteon-controlled thermostat a while back, I mentioned not to bother with a 7-day programmable unit because you’ll be doing all your programming through the ISY-994i. For those of you that may already have a (non-Insteon)…
Get a text message with a picture of who rang your doorbell
September 21, 2013
For those of you that follow this blog, you’ll see things are starting to come together now. We’ve discussed the powerful ISY994i at length, covered some programming concepts, installed some security cameras, added our doorbell to our Insteon network, and…
Get notified when your mail is delivered with TriggerLinc
September 24, 2013
We’ve looked at using the Insteon TriggerLinc with the included magnet to detect when doors are opened or closed, but a lesser-known fact of the TriggerLinc is that if you open it up, you can add a wire with your…
Check out Amazon’s Home Automation Department for project ideas
September 27, 2013
There’s no question that Home Automation is becoming more and more mainstream; big players like Comcast and Verizon are getting in on the action with their own solutions, and with countless technologies on the market it’s tough to keep up.…
MobiLinc’s Awesome Geo-Fencing Feature
October 4, 2013
By now you’ve read quite a bit about MobiLinc’s Home Automation apps, but there’s a great, relatively new feature to MobiLinc that bears mentioning: Geo-Fence Awareness. A geo-fence allows you to define one or more perimeters around an area (in…
ISY-994i: the difference between state and integer variables
October 7, 2013
Last week when covering MobiLinc’s geo-fencing feature, I mentioned how MobiLinc will change a state variable based on whether you are inside our outside your “geo-fence“. If you’re a programmer, the use of variables is pretty obvious – and even…
Use Pushover as an alternative to SMS or email notification
October 10, 2013
Out of the box, your ISY-994i can send texts and emails. With the Network Module it can do even more, such as calling custom code to send you a picture of who just rang your doorbell. There’s nothing really wrong…
Make your Insteon Smart Home smarter with location information
October 13, 2013
By now you’ve probably got a decent number of Insteon-enabled devices in your home, like switches, thermostats, keypads, motion sensors, door sensors, and leak sensors, to name a few. Your house is getting smarter and smarter every day with your…
Make your own ethernet cable
October 16, 2013
Ethernet cable is traditionally used to connect networked computers, but it’s actually a great type of cable to have in your arsenal for other purposes. Before we get ahead of ourselves on some non-traditional ways they can be used, let’s…
Extend HDMI range to 300+ feet with Ethernet cable
October 19, 2013
If you take anything away from this post, know two things: Over short distances, all HDMI cables are the same. Over longer distances (10+ feet) the signal may cut out depending on the quality of the cable, but you should…
Control your holiday decorations with an Outdoor ApplianceLinc
October 22, 2013
It’s almost that time of year where those gaudy inflatable lawn ornaments will start showing up for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and Hanukkah – hey, I don’t judge, more power to you! In the past you’ve likely used a manual…
LED light strips make great low-energy pathway lighting
October 25, 2013
I had motion-controlled lights on my front steps for about a year when I decided I could do better. While it was nice to move up and down the steps without having to hit a light switch, the overhead lights…
Battery-powered motion sensor for LED light strip
November 11, 2013
It’s been a little while since we covered installing LED Light Strips on stairs for pathway lighting. This concept has evolved over time, starting with wiring the LED lights down a plastic cable run trimmed to direct the light down:…
Installing an Insteon OutletLinc
November 18, 2013
A while back, we talked about needing an electric outlet where one didn’t previously exist for our security camera. While that was an outdoor outlet that required the use of a GFCI receptacle, today we’ll cover the steps for installing…
Powering your LED pathway lighting with Insteon OutletLinc
November 21, 2013
Let’s take a moment to revisit the light strip mini-series of posts – we’ve covered a lot on the topic and it’s time to wrap it all up. We started with the selecting a location and installing a strip of…
A Christmas list for the Home Automation Guru in your life
December 2, 2013
Christmas is coming, and you may be looking for gifts to give that Home Automation Guru in your life. We’ve come a long way since this blog launched in May, so let’s round up some of the products we’ve covered…
Wiring 3-way Insteon Switches
December 5, 2013
We’ve shown how installing an Insteon Switch is really straight-forward: turn off power, remove old switch, connect Insteon switch to the same terminals, restore power. It’s easy to do and doesn’t involve any wiring changes at all. Multi-way switches (also…
Soup up your home router with DD-WRT
December 8, 2013
Most people buy a home Wifi router, set it up, and forget about it. For most of them this is just fine, but as we enter the increasingly connected world of Home Automation, the standard software on those routers can…
Get alerted to water leaks through your Insteon system
September 11, 2013
Let’s heap another Insteon Sensing Device on our growing collection of Insteon devices: the Insteon Water Leak Sensor. It’s a simple, (relatively) inexpensive one-trick pony that does what it does pretty well: detect whether it’s sitting in water and triggering… Save money and energy by starting with a home energy audit
September 14, 2013
Months ago I got a somewhat “junk mail”-looking thing from LEAP (Local Energy Alliance Program), a non-profit home energy resource that “works with local government and utilities to help homeowners lower their bills and save money”. They promised a $250… Programming your Insteon thermostat with the ISY-994i
September 17, 2013
When we talked about the Insteon-controlled thermostat a while back, I mentioned not to bother with a 7-day programmable unit because you’ll be doing all your programming through the ISY-994i. For those of you that may already have a (non-Insteon)… Get a text message with a picture of who rang your doorbell
September 21, 2013
For those of you that follow this blog, you’ll see things are starting to come together now. We’ve discussed the powerful ISY994i at length, covered some programming concepts, installed some security cameras, added our doorbell to our Insteon network, and… Get notified when your mail is delivered with TriggerLinc
September 24, 2013
We’ve looked at using the Insteon TriggerLinc with the included magnet to detect when doors are opened or closed, but a lesser-known fact of the TriggerLinc is that if you open it up, you can add a wire with your… Check out Amazon’s Home Automation Department for project ideas
September 27, 2013
There’s no question that Home Automation is becoming more and more mainstream; big players like Comcast and Verizon are getting in on the action with their own solutions, and with countless technologies on the market it’s tough to keep up.… MobiLinc’s Awesome Geo-Fencing Feature
October 4, 2013
By now you’ve read quite a bit about MobiLinc’s Home Automation apps, but there’s a great, relatively new feature to MobiLinc that bears mentioning: Geo-Fence Awareness. A geo-fence allows you to define one or more perimeters around an area (in… ISY-994i: the difference between state and integer variables
October 7, 2013
Last week when covering MobiLinc’s geo-fencing feature, I mentioned how MobiLinc will change a state variable based on whether you are inside our outside your “geo-fence“. If you’re a programmer, the use of variables is pretty obvious – and even… Use Pushover as an alternative to SMS or email notification
October 10, 2013
Out of the box, your ISY-994i can send texts and emails. With the Network Module it can do even more, such as calling custom code to send you a picture of who just rang your doorbell. There’s nothing really wrong… Make your Insteon Smart Home smarter with location information
October 13, 2013
By now you’ve probably got a decent number of Insteon-enabled devices in your home, like switches, thermostats, keypads, motion sensors, door sensors, and leak sensors, to name a few. Your house is getting smarter and smarter every day with your… Make your own ethernet cable
October 16, 2013
Ethernet cable is traditionally used to connect networked computers, but it’s actually a great type of cable to have in your arsenal for other purposes. Before we get ahead of ourselves on some non-traditional ways they can be used, let’s… Extend HDMI range to 300+ feet with Ethernet cable
October 19, 2013
If you take anything away from this post, know two things: Over short distances, all HDMI cables are the same. Over longer distances (10+ feet) the signal may cut out depending on the quality of the cable, but you should… Control your holiday decorations with an Outdoor ApplianceLinc
October 22, 2013
It’s almost that time of year where those gaudy inflatable lawn ornaments will start showing up for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and Hanukkah – hey, I don’t judge, more power to you! In the past you’ve likely used a manual… LED light strips make great low-energy pathway lighting
October 25, 2013
I had motion-controlled lights on my front steps for about a year when I decided I could do better. While it was nice to move up and down the steps without having to hit a light switch, the overhead lights… Battery-powered motion sensor for LED light strip
November 11, 2013
It’s been a little while since we covered installing LED Light Strips on stairs for pathway lighting. This concept has evolved over time, starting with wiring the LED lights down a plastic cable run trimmed to direct the light down:… Installing an Insteon OutletLinc
November 18, 2013
A while back, we talked about needing an electric outlet where one didn’t previously exist for our security camera. While that was an outdoor outlet that required the use of a GFCI receptacle, today we’ll cover the steps for installing… Powering your LED pathway lighting with Insteon OutletLinc
November 21, 2013
Let’s take a moment to revisit the light strip mini-series of posts – we’ve covered a lot on the topic and it’s time to wrap it all up. We started with the selecting a location and installing a strip of… A Christmas list for the Home Automation Guru in your life
December 2, 2013
Christmas is coming, and you may be looking for gifts to give that Home Automation Guru in your life. We’ve come a long way since this blog launched in May, so let’s round up some of the products we’ve covered… Wiring 3-way Insteon Switches
December 5, 2013
We’ve shown how installing an Insteon Switch is really straight-forward: turn off power, remove old switch, connect Insteon switch to the same terminals, restore power. It’s easy to do and doesn’t involve any wiring changes at all. Multi-way switches (also… Soup up your home router with DD-WRT
December 8, 2013
Most people buy a home Wifi router, set it up, and forget about it. For most of them this is just fine, but as we enter the increasingly connected world of Home Automation, the standard software on those routers can… 
