Matt Gerega

  • First Reactions – ISY994i ZW/IR PRO Controller – Insteon, Z-Wave & IR + PLM

    As I posted last week, I started a journey down the home automation path with the purchase of a controller and some Insteon switches and sensors.  Given my current schedule with work and kids, it’s hard to find time to do much, but I was able to install the switches and one of the sensors and get a few scenes and programs setup, so I’ll run through a quick review.

    ISY994i ZW/IR PRO Controller – Insteon, Z-Wave & IR + PLM

    The controller, purchased from SmartHome.com, was extremely easy to install:  plugged in the PLM, connected the PLM to the controller and the controller to my switch, and then plugged in the power cable for the controller.  Configuration required getting a Java applet downloaded and running.  As a developer, the interface is fine for me, however, it lacks the ease of use that we have come to expect in our increasing mobile-centric world.  With some poking around, though, I was able to setup some scenes and a few programs.

    Of note:  I had to install Universal Devices “alpha” version of the 5.0 software in order to get compatibility with the Siren module, which isn’t exactly a new module.  From what I could tell, version 5 of the ISY Portal has been in development for at least two years now, so I’m not sure what the delay is about, but the installation of version 5 was pretty easy and I haven’t run into any major problems yet.

    The controller has a pretty substantial REST api which I believe I could use as the backend for a better API, either a mobile app or responsive web app.  That being said, that’s a lot of work.  If I was sure I would only be using Insteon products, I may have opted for an Insteon Hub, but I already know I want to interface with some other systems, so I’ll take my chances with this controller.

    Insteon Remote Toggle Switch

    Let me preface this review with the following disclaimer:  I am reasonable comfortable with residential electrical wiring, to the degree that I planned and installed all the wiring for lighting and switches when we finished our basement.  That said, the Insteon switches were pretty easy to install, but I do have a word of warning:  they are bulky.  Before you go investing a ton into them, it might be wise to buy one or two of the ones you want and test fit them in your home’s electrical work boxes.  I know for a fact that in a few of my switch boxes I may not have the room for them boxes without trimming existing wiring to make some room.

    Once installed, the controller did a great job of picking up the new hardware through a “device add” wizard.  From there, adding it to scenes and programs was pretty easy.  I was able to add a program to run my pool pump for 12 hours during the day and created a scene which turns on both the pool pump and lights.

    A word of caution, though:  if you plan on doing a large install and then having the controller pick up changes, make sure you write down the network address for each switch and where you installed it.  This will allow you to quickly name your switches for identification without doing what I did, which was turn one switch on and then check the controller and find the switch in the “On” state.

    Overall, I am impressed with the system.  The controller provides a good balance of features and usability, but as I mentioned, it leans more towards features and less towards a slick user interface.  It’s perfect for someone who wants all the features of home automation at a reasonable cost.  And with the APIs and a few third party software solutions, the UI issues can be addressed.

  • Go big or go home automation….

    First and foremost:  I know, the title really is terrible, but my wit is adjusting to the 30 degree temperature swing our little corner of the world experienced over the last 24 hours.

    Last fall, we put in a pool.  The crazy weather over the last six months, though, means that we still have a few more odds and ends to complete before we can officially call it done.  Two things in this project have led me to put a little investment into home automation over the last few days.

    There are some pretty fancy (and expensive) systems for controlling your pool.  Most of the Pentair systems start at around $600 for just the controllers and go way up from there.  While I would have loved to control all of that through the Pentair systems, I did not want to add another two thousand dollars to the cost of the pool, so we opted out of that one.

    While the electricians were here last week, I mentioned those systems, and the electrician said he would add switched for the pool lights and pump.  I asked him if I could replace the switches he installed with a few home automation-compatible switches, and he said sure.  So, with the right controller, I can control my pool lights and pump from a standard home automation system.  So I started thinking, which is always an expensive proposition.

    In addition to that, per our building code, we need to put an alarm on the back door, since our pool layout is such that the house forms one side of the barrier around the pool (our new fence is the other three sides).  Of course, I could have just purchased a $20 door alarm, but where is the fun in that?  So I went shopping and found a door sensor and alarm unit that will meet our building codes and let me add some additional monitoring to the house.

    As for the technical specs, I went with the Universal Devices controller with the PLM module from SmartHome.com.  The overall completeness of this package was a huge draw, not to mention a fairly substantial REST API interface which should allow me to tinker with integrating the controller with some other items in my home.

    I bought a few of the simple Insteon toggle switches and a four pack of the Insteon open/close sensors for the starter pack, as well as the Insteon Siren for the alarm sound.  My hope, however, is to tie all of this in to my Amazon Echo unit so that the Echo can generate the audio alerts for certain actions.

    So yea, I may have spent a little more than $20, but this little adventure into home automation is something that I have wanted to investigate for a few years now, and it seems like the right time to do so.  That, coupled with a convenient sale on Insteon products from SmartHome, let me to jump into this a bit more than I initially planned.

    Stay tuned for more updates as I get the system up and running.

  • Getting organized with myAgile

    Organization, prioritization, and execution are the keys to success.  Many of us work in positions where projects can run over extended periods, interruptions and distractions are frequent, and we are asked to juggle a variety of responsibilities and tasks.  However, no matter where you work, if you can get things done, you will be viewed as successful.

    There are more books about organization and task management than I care to list here, and I am pretty sure that if you have spent any time in a company which puts some effort into employee training, you have been asked to read one or more of these books in order to improve your efficiency and throughput.  Each author’s method has its own strengths and weaknesses, but reading any of them and implementing at least one aspect of the method can often put you in a better place than you are now.

    The process you use to organize yourself, however, works best if it is personalized.  Yes, it can be based on other people’s ideas, but the most organized people I know have taken parts of other people’s processes and forged them into a unique process that works with their style and situation.  Additionally, their processes evolve over time.  Nothing is stagnant, and new methodologies or technologies will certainly appear that will add a new dimension to your process.

    Recently, I began a bit of a personal journey to get organized again.  The stress of work and family have taken their toll on my desire to organize, and things just were not getting done.  With some prodding from a former colleague, I melded some of the organizational techniques I have picked up over the years with the concepts of Agile software development to come up with an Agile process for organizing my life.  I have dubbed it myAgile.

    Like all good Agile processes, the idea is not just to get things done, but to also identify ways to get better.  So if you are looking for a new way to get organized, give it a shot:  the worst that can happen is you put to paper all the things that you want to do in the next few months.

  • Let’s try this again.

    Throughout my professional career and personal life, I have made several attempts at “resolutions” to blog more.  I’ve gone through several iterations of software, including some home-grown solutions, then wordpress, then blogger/blogspot.  I’m back to WordPress hosted on a small server here at home.

    The goal of this whole endeavor is to document some of the things that I do so that I can remember them, but also so that anyone who may stumble upon this site can use some of these posts as a reference.  So, for this post, a quick note on the setup.

    I have a small home server with Docker installed.  Using Docker Compose (specifically, this quickstart), I setup docker containers for WordPress and a MySql server.  All in all, it only took about 30 minutes to get this up and running.

    So, in the immortal words of Randy Quaid:

    Hello boys, I’m back!