Smart Home Hacks
Smart Home Hacks Tips & Tools for Automating Your House By Gordon Meyer
October 2004
Pages: 400

| Table of Contents | Index | Sample Hacks | Colophon

Table of Contents

  1. Chapter 1 A Foot in the Front Door

    1. Hacks 1–24

    2. Know the X10 Address

    3. Turn On a Light

    4. Master Your Appliances

    5. Send X10 Commands

    6. Send X10 Commands Wirelessly

    7. Keep Watch with Motion Detectors

    8. Turn On the Lights When You Enter a Room

    9. Turn On the Lights When They're Needed

    10. Ring a Bell to Alert the House

    11. Sense What's Happening

    12. Control the Uncontrollable

    13. Groom Your Home for X10

    14. Set Addresses for Modules Without Dials

    15. Increase the Spousal Approval Factor

    16. Unplug Your Computer

    17. Add a Brain to Your Smart Home

    18. Get to Know XTension

    19. Get to Know Indigo

    20. Get to Know HomeSeer

    21. Sync with the Sun

    22. Choose the Right Controller

    23. Maintain an X10 Library

    24. Shop for Secret X10 Devices

    25. Welcome to the State Machine

  2. Chapter 2 Office

    1. Hacks 25–36

    2. Remember Important Events

    3. Keep the Lights On While You Work

    4. Know Who's Calling

    5. Broadcast Announcements to the Whole House

    6. Announce Events with Recorded Announcements

    7. Send Pager Messages

    8. Broadcast Messages on Your Home Network

    9. Control Your Printer from Afar

    10. Phone Your Home

    11. Control Your Home with Phlink

    12. Forward Phone Calls

    13. Silence the House when You're on the Phone

  3. Chapter 3 Kitchen and Bath

    1. Hacks 37–46

    2. Brew Your Morning Coffee

    3. Detect the Beer Thief

    4. Install a Kitchen Terminal

    5. Install a Home TV Server

    6. Control Your Heating Remotely

    7. Monitor the Refrigerator Door

    8. Heat the Toilet Seat

    9. Detect Flooding

    10. Monitor the Litter Box

    11. Avoid Battery Memory Problems

  4. Chapter 4 Bedroom

    1. Hacks 47–53

    2. Educate Your Alarm Clock

    3. Put the House to Sleep for the Night

    4. Lighting for Insomniacs

    5. Adjust Lights as the Sun Rises

    6. Simulate a Sunrise

    7. Motorize Your Window Blinds

    8. Outdo Big Ben

  5. Chapter 5 Garage and Yard

    1. Hacks 54–68

    2. Monitor Your Driveway

    3. Know If the Garage Door Is Open

    4. Control Your Garage Door

    5. Control Your Home from Your Car

    6. See Through Walls

    7. Use Indoor Modules in the Great Outdoors

    8. Control Outdoor Lighting

    9. Track Fuel Consumption

    10. Know When the Mail Arrives

    11. Mow the Lawn

    12. Get the Weather

    13. Safely Water the Garden

    14. Foster Green Pastures with a Smart Sprinkler System

    15. Stop Watering During Rainstorms

    16. Adapt Sprinkler Schedules and Solar Water Heating to Available Sunlight

  6. Chapter 6 Security

    1. Hacks 69–82

    2. Check for an Empty Home

    3. Know Who's Home

    4. Avoid False Intrusion Alarms

    5. Nobody Here but Us Ghosts

    6. Send Notifications of Home Events

    7. Who's There?

    8. Secure Your Construction Site

    9. Monitor Your Summer Home

    10. Protect Outdoor Cameras

    11. Know When Windows and Doors Are Open

    12. Bark like a Dog

    13. Unite Your Alarm and Home Automation Systems

    14. Instill Peace of Mind for the Elderly

    15. Monitor Your Home with a Network Camera

  7. Chapter 7 Advanced Techniques

    1. Hacks 83–100

    2. Improve the Response Time of Motion Detectors

    3. Check for Dead Motion Detector Batteries

    4. Outsmart Motion Detectors

    5. Improve X10 Reliability

    6. Avoid Common X10 Problems

    7. Streamline Your AppleScripts

    8. Harness Your Hamster to Power a Night Light

    9. Get More Out of Your Motion Detectors

    10. Track Home Events with iCal

    11. Chart Home Automation Data

    12. Share Your Home Automation Mac with Other Users

    13. Remap X10 Addresses

    14. Control Lights in a Group

    15. Block Units for Easier Scripting

    16. Calculate Elapsed Time

    17. Identify Trouble Spots

    18. Control Your Home from a Web Browser

    19. Which Way Did She Go?

  1. Colophon

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