Home Automation on the Raspberry Pi My Way – there are others.

Many options for Home Automation Most are commercially sold systems Can be very expensive Not much flexibility. Great presentation Limited integration

My Approach Starting point was hardware selection Building a new home But just as easy for an existing home.

Hardware Options Relay boards – USB or Serial 2, 4, 8 or 16 channel Adds to requirement for wiring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2B67hybd AA GPIO options on the Pi Wireless options

Wireless Found Z-wave No wiring requirement Easy to add extras Easy for a retro-fit Affordable Huge range of hardware Caution – Australia/NZ frequency

Z-Wave on the Pi Uses a daughterboard Called Razberry Various controllers available Prices range from $100 - $1500 Can use your smartphone or tablet Keyfob

Useful Websites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-Wave http://digitalhomesystems.com.au/ http://zwave.com.au/ http://www.z-wavealliance.org/about-z-wave http://razberry.z-wave.me/index.php?id=10

Software Initial software to initialise the the hardware devices OpenHab is open source software Highly configurable Interacts with just about anything Very wide range of commercial systems

Software is not yet highly developed and polished Open source so developed by volunteers Getting better all the time No restriction on what you can do with it Limited only by your imagination Good match for the Raspberry Pi