Ask HN: How to setup home systems that can control lights/temperature, etc?

There has to be at least a few people on HN that have done this. Did you use systems like Linux Home Automation (http://www.linuxha.com/) or http://www.linuxmce.org ?

Did you roll your own? Buy a commercial application ?

I first tried to do something like this about 10 years ago. I wanted to put a microcontroller in every switch patress and network them across the mains using a TDA5051A modem. Unfortunately the size of the various components (including all the transformers and other passives) was too great for me to retrofit to exisitng hardware.

I've come back to this recently, as I can now use a ZigBee module for comms, and by going surface mount I can get the required components in a very compact space.

Never tried to do voice recognition in a socket, but that's a very interesting idea - have microphones in every patress and network them to create an array.

X10 is one way (old, standard) to do this. It works by transmitting a couple of bits at each zero-crossing of the 60Hz house current. IE, it works over your existing electrical lines.

I set up a system in my house, controlled partly by controllers in the switches themselves (push a button on a wall-mounted switch inside, it sends an X10 signal thru the house wiring to a listener in a box in the back yard). Also controlled by an always-on computer which can turn off lights at given times, or respond to scripts, or pokes over the internet.

The potential is huge. But the reality, with X10, can be a bummer. At first the system worked quite well -- lights on and off at the correct time, good response to button presses. But for reasons not clear at all, the system performance gets flaky. I put in a repeater/phase coupler (e.g., http://www.smarthome.com/4823/Leviton-2-Phase-X10-Coupler-Re...), changed out some of the off-brand switches with Leviton parts, etc. This helped, but did not make the system solid.

This turns out to be unacceptable. When you press a light switch, you need the light to come on (even if it's just a driveway light). Nobody in the house but me has the patience to use the X10 switches any more. But now, it would be a major pain to replace the X10 components because the cost and re-install time adds up. (E.g., one X10 dimmer is about $70. I have almost 10. One multi-unit wall controller is about $50, and I have almost 10 of those too.)

I put this stuff in myself, but I don't think the problem was with the install. I'm an EE, I'm used to lab work, and I'm familiar with the NEC for home wiring.

Perhaps a Zigbee, UPB, or Insteon system would be better.

My lessons learned: X10 doesn't work in my (modest-sized) house. Don't commit to any home automation system without a long-term small-scale trial. Don't use these components for critical tasks (like "turning on the heat so the pipes won't freeze", or "turning off the sprinkler system").