Electronic Gadget Ideas for a New House? 413
pmadden asks: "I'll be building a house this summer (standard straw bale construction, earth plaster, the whole low-tech gig). Naturally, I'll be putting gobs of ethernet in the walls, with drops to the rooms, on the roof, and so on. I'll add wireless too, once it's secure enough to keep all of you out. What gadgets should I plan for, so that I don't have to do a major retrofit? I'll have cables for TPZ cameras, for when they get super-cheap. We'll leave niches for putting in routers and stuff like that. What else? What cool thing will be cheap in a couple of years, leading my wife to ask, 'why didn't you plan for that'? Any recommendations for good Christmas light control systems, and so on?"
placeholder (Score:5, Funny)
Re:placeholder (Score:2)
Re:placeholder (Score:3, Interesting)
Have you considered lighting control systems? (Score:3, Interesting)
If you plan to put in a lighting control system -- since you are energy conscious or you like to be able to set the mood or you just like another gadget to play with -- it might be prudent to think ahead and wire the house for it.
(I know some people who claim that ethernet based dimmers work just fine, but i
Motorola (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Motorola (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Motorola (Score:4, Informative)
LoB
Coffee Maker (Score:2, Funny)
straw? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:straw? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:straw? (Score:2)
Seriously, I wonder if the straw is treated for such first.
Re:straw? (Score:5, Informative)
Ferretman
Re:straw? (Score:5, Funny)
Dry with no moisture, you say? Impressive, but not nearly as impressive as the rare dry with moisture :-)
Re:straw? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:straw? (Score:3, Funny)
Anyone attemping to use straw for bail will probably soon discover that the government only takes cash or property bonds.
Re:straw? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:straw? (Score:5, Informative)
Straw bale houses are usually finished with stucco, which has been a popular exterior for a long long time.
How much lateral force does a typical home get exposed to? These [earthgarden.com.au] straw bale houses have survived for over 60 years, and some from the 1800s are still standing in Nebraska. They're strong enough, and obviously they don't dissolve in the rain.
WTF are you talking about?
Re:straw? (Score:3, Funny)
Considering that the technique isn't that old, you'll have to wait. But constant wind, rain, and earthquakes for 1000 years? Dude, which circle of hell do you live in? :-)
Wire mesh == RF screening (Score:4, Informative)
Re:straw? (Score:2)
Re:straw? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:straw? (Score:2)
Re:straw? (Score:3, Interesting)
Since the future is wireless... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Since the future is wireless... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Since the future is wireless... (Score:2)
Re:Since the future is wireless... (Score:3, Informative)
(We just got _Serious Straw Bale_, since we're looking at putting together a cohousing project and straw bale seems ideal. You got your sweat equity potential, you got your *really* good sound insulation between units. And we're in Kansas, so there's plenty of wheat straw around.)
Re:Since the future is wireless... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Since the future is wireless... (Score:5, Informative)
For a new construction, it is silly to install Cat5. Cat5 limits you to 100 MBit/s, the current standard. Unless you want to re-install all cables within the next five years, you should at least install Cat6, which allows using Gigabit Ethernet (10 and 100 MBit/s still work on that cable). You should install some spare cables, so you can add further wall sockets or replace broken cables without having to open walls. Just install two cables whereever you need one cable. And install cable pairs not only in one corner of each room, use two to four different places, depending on the size of the room. Unlike conventional Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet uses all four pairs in the cable, so there are no longer unused pairs in the cable that could be used for a second device or as a replacement pair. You should use tubes so you can replace the cables later. You should have a small room with a little 19 inch rack for servers, switches, and patch panels. Your initial plan should not fill more than 50% of the rack.
For a lot more of good tips, search for "structured cabling" [google.com].
By the way: It is no problem to use Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6 or even Cat7 for ISDN or analoge telephone lines, and you should do this. It gives you a lot more flexibility. There are even solutions to drive video and audio signals over Cat5 or better, and depending on the quality of the cable, it should be possible to drive antenna or cable tv signals over Cat6 or Cat7, using an impedance adapter on each end.
Tux2000
Re:not to mention secure (Score:4, Funny)
Re:not to mention secure (Score:5, Funny)
Air ducts (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Air ducts (Score:2)
Better yet... (Score:4, Informative)
It is all about surface area... Do the math...
Re:Better yet... (Score:4, Informative)
Or this [geoexchange.org]?
How about one of these [trane.com]?
Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:2)
I live in a house that a person in a wheel chair used to live in. There is a phone jack right next to the toilet so that she didn't have to miss any calls (by worried family, doctors, etc)
Plus, if she got stuck somehow, she could call for help..
I don't have a phone mounted there at all. I only have one phone in my entire house and I don't even use it -- I use my cell phone. The ONLY reason I have it is that the phone company *forced* me into it just so I could h
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:2)
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:2)
Also leave space for things such as the next generation of TV-connections and even devices you can not yet think of.
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:2)
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:5, Interesting)
I've seen electricians use pipes for home wiring (and one underground conduit for a light-industrial location). When you put in a new wire you insert the wire in one end, and attach a vacuum cleaner on the other end and suck the new wire through.
I know very few people who have seen this system, including electricians. They think I'm crazy. But I swear I've seen it at least twice...
Re:Not really gadget-related, but: (Score:3, Interesting)
Seriously, though, expect to need things you haven't thought of. Make sure every wall and floor can be opened relatively easily so that you can install the next big thing without having to anticipate it.
Related (Score:4, Interesting)
Better yet... (Score:2)
Put a TV jack in the bathroom as well... Since the price of LCDs are dropping, you might find the morning or evening news a welcome addition to your daily shower.
It is definitely a selling feature...
not hight tech but.... (Score:5, Insightful)
as for everythng else maybe you want to try to keep some conduit space open for the future. honestly who knows what we will be using for TV or internet in even just a few years. will everyone have fibre in the house? will coax be gone? will CAT5 cable be old? is today's CAT5 cable going to be good enough for tomorrow's speeds? i don't know how much it matters in a house setup, but cable is rated for speed.
you might as well plan for ethernet everywhere. wireless is easy, but ethernet is cheap to do from the start. if you put something along the lines of an Audrey http://audreyhacking.com/ [audreyhacking.com] in the kitchen, it would be nice to have the wires ready to go.
Excellent Point (Score:5, Informative)
What to do (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:What to do (Score:4, Funny)
Re:What to do (Score:2)
Re:What to do (Score:5, Insightful)
Another good idea: run a string along the conduit. That way, when you have to pull something later, you can pull it on the string (along with a new string). Easier than using fishtape, and (in my not-so-experienced opinion) less concern about cracking fiber.
When you're choosing the conduit's thickness, don't forget that you're likely to have some runs with some thick bits of cable; for example, your home entertainment center may eventually have RG6 (for the TV cable), cat5 and/or fiber (for the home entertainment PC and/or TiVo), four pairs of speaker wire (to the 7.1 system's surround speakers), a stereo pair of audio signal wires (to the house music distribution panel), plus some stuff I haven't considered. You'll need some more room in the bends to make sure that there's plenty of space and cables don't get kinked; cable kinking can do icky things to signals even when it doesn't affect DC.
I'm no architect, so I don't know how much your choice of building materials here is going to affect fire risk. Talk to a pro to make sure that the conduit doesn't make your home into a firetrap (by channeling fire to all the house walls quickly). You may need to use plenum cables at some points. But again, I'm not a pro.
Re:What to do (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Conduit Was:What to do (Score:5, Informative)
an x10 controlled house will be cool for years (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:an x10 controlled house will be cool for years (Score:2)
Re:an x10 controlled house will be cool for years (Score:2)
Dilbert (Score:3, Informative)
You mean PTZ cameras? (Score:5, Informative)
Better than stringing everything: (Score:2)
Also, the chicken wire in straw-bale construction screams "Faraday Cage." Forget wireless.
Consider Dilbert Ultimate House (Score:4, Interesting)
As far as my suggestion, I say you should account for the possibility of having a small server room in your house. Such a room would should be easy to keep cool (basement?), fire resistant, and have some type of shielding from electromagnetic radiation (like thin sheet metal).
Weather Sensors (Score:2)
Extra Cabling (Score:2, Informative)
If you are worried about using wireless within the house and are not concered with using it outside you could look into using this paint as your base coat to protect t
POWER! (Score:2, Interesting)
Control4 Linux-based home automation (Score:2, Informative)
They came to our LUG this week to do a presentation. Really cool stuff they've got going. It all runs Linux, pretty hackable, etc. Control your lights, multiple audio feeds all over the house, and plenty more.
I was pretty impressed with it all.
Re:Control4 Linux-based home automation (Score:2)
Remember them?
Suggestions (Score:3, Interesting)
Electric deadbolts. You could eventually link these puppies up to your computer and allow remote locking/unlocking of your house, possibly even remove the need of a key and use thumbprint identification instead.
Be sure to put some ethernet ports near your major appliances. Some future appliances are planning to have network integration to let you know when they need to be fixed or require attention. Best Buy already sells a fridge with a wireless internet tablet.
I'd also suggest putting fiber in at your important locations of data transfer. Your main office workstation, media center, etc. Also run wire for a 7.1 surround sound system, and if you want to add even more convience consider possibly installing a house wide audio system so you can pump music into each of your rooms.
Also, you should possibly consider investing in VoIP. Rather than having to put in another jack for telephone, you could run everything through your ethernet.
Consider your house's surroundings. You could install automated irrigation systems, lighting control, and as well as proximity gate/garage openers.
Be sure to invest into a good security system to make sure no one steals everything you just put your money into. A good low-tech solution would be owning a dog.
Keep in mind though, if you do plan to make an entirely large technologically saavy house, you should also install some house wide precautions. You should invest in a serious housewide surge protector/power conditioners. Perhaps even consider getting some sort of backup power supply incase of emergencies. In which case, you should also isolate your power outlets for critical systems that should run off the backup as well so you won't be wasting backup power on non-critical devices during power outages. Also take into account power saving devices, efficiency is good. Consider flourscent and low wattage lighting. Well setup HVAC systems will monitor your house's environment well and know how to properly adjust.
on the security front... (Score:2)
Poster mentioned PTZ cameras, but not where they'd be... Don't forget to run the cable high enough.
Parent mentioned fingerprint scanners... What method of connectivity would those need? I'd hate to try to run USB through the house... hubs, everywhere!
Flamethrower perimeter security (Score:5, Funny)
And please put it on a webcam so we can watch.
DMX for lighting control. (Score:2, Interesting)
alternate power grid (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:alternate power grid (Score:3, Interesting)
Solar DHW & Electric (Score:4, Interesting)
If your utility charges US$.17/KWH or
more (PG&E customers with 2 * baseline
in Silicon Valley) consider solar electric
right away, otherwise put in the 600V
DC wires from the roof to the electric
meter for when the costs come down
enough to make it attractive.
Passive solar heating, digital thermostat (Score:5, Interesting)
If you live someplace with cold winters...
Lots of well insulated south facing windows with eaves that overhang just the right amount so the windows are mostly in the shade from the eaves in the summer when the Sun is overheard but catch tons of sun in the winter when the Sun is lower on the horizon.
Then put remote controlled motors on the curtains so that they automaticly open and close for optimal heat in the winter(all closed at night and open to the east in the morning to the south midday and to the west in the afternoon) and for optimal light and minimal heat in the summer(close the curtains on the east windows in the morning and the west windows in the afternoon when the sun is shining in them, and then open them for light when the Sun isn't shining on them.
If the house is well insulated and you don't open the front door(or have a small entryway with two doors, to much you wont need much heat during the day in the winter. If you want to sink more money in to it you could probably bank some heat in water tanks or such and use them to keep the house warmer at night too.
Passive solar aside, do plenty of research and find a very good digital thermostat and efficient heating, air conditioning system. You also want to be able to program it so it automaticly minimizes energy consumption during times you are always out of the house(at work or school), or in bed, and warms up the house just before you get up or cools it down just before you get home from work in the summer.
Time-Out Corner (Score:4, Interesting)
On a serious note, though... have you given thought to having one room without any hookups other than electric outlets? I have one room at my house that is my "escape" room. I don't have anything other than the room lights and a desk light in the room. I don't carry my cell-phone into the room. It is where I go to think, read books, practice playing music, etc... all free from the distractions of my gaming consoles by the TV, the new mail indicator flashing on the computer, etc.
Your mileage may vary, of course... but when your mother-in-law/father-in-law/mother/father/etc come for a visit, you would also have a room that would be somewhat "safe" to put them in... "safe" meaning that your house doesn't burn down when they try to figure out how to turn down the radio.
Takuryu
PS: You could help out the economy here and buy one of our fine, high-tech toilets [theplumber.com].
Go for solar power (Score:4, Interesting)
Faraday cage - it's a must (Score:4, Interesting)
cellphone signals, computer radiation, high/low voltage cabling radiation goes byebye...
if you plan it nicely you can still have your tv stuff there, just use a projector with mirrored image (back projection)
why? just think of your office, the phone in your pocket... the phones next to you
now you sleep 6-8 hours, at least have all the bad stuff shielded from you and your family - especially small kids
on the other hand i always wanted a sensor like in johnny mnemonic that tells me the water temperature when i open the tap
hmmm
more seriously: i really like the ideo of the house to be in different states depending on time and the number of people being home to automate lights (dicro filter is a nice touch for colour)/..
also temperature control depending on users
maybe have r2d2 bring my coffe or protein shake after my excercise
Re:Faraday cage - it's a must (Score:2)
Why not a nice tinfoil-lined coverall to go with your tinfoil hat? Then not only will all the bad RF radiation go away, the CIA won't be able to use their mind control beam on you.
Re:Faraday cage - it's a must (Score:2)
or a faraday cage for my head for the daytime too
actually as i heard the tinfoil is good for ufo mindcontrol stuff
Conduit with Pull Strings (Score:5, Interesting)
Hmmm... (Score:2)
Re:Hmmm... (Score:2)
A system for wiring (Score:2)
I imagine pvc pipes running through most walls in the house. They would all lead to a closet in the basement where all of the networking, a/v, security, home control equipment would be.
Regardless of the type of wiring, you could just knock a new hole in the wall where you knew the pvc pipe was and install what ever kind of outlet you wanted.
Erm... (Score:3, Funny)
Do you mean an on/off switch?!
*cough* crazy Americans!
Surge Protection (Score:2, Informative)
Drop Ceilings (Score:2)
Ideas (Score:2)
Some Pointers: (Score:5, Informative)
If it's not already obvious, I'm advising you to build your house as if it were flex office space.
Re:Some Pointers: (Score:3, Interesting)
That also typically means that you should have conduit runs...to everywhere you might consider it. Any closet could later become a server closet, so put two conduits to a closet as well.
If your house is multi-story, you would probably want the conduits going between floors. It was the biggest PIA to get CAT5 going to the first floor in my house, as it felt like every conduit was hitti
Possible gadgets (Score:3, Interesting)
Weather monitoring station. Probably somewhere high up for the sensors, with a more convenient location for the display. Presumably, these will be LAN appliances some day, needing only ethernet.
Digital interface for an aerial antenna. If you ever want to transmit pirate TV like the telestreet [indymedia.org] movement in Italy, or do the A/D conversion of over-the-air television closer to the source.
Lighting control bus. Like X-10 works over power lines, perhaps more flexibility would be available if the control circuit has its own data bus.
Irrigation control. Depending on climate, of course.
Whole house audio.
Whole house video.
Toaster network. [casemodgod.com]
That's all I can think of off the top of my head, except for the obvious computer network thing, of course.
glowstrips (Score:2)
CONDUIT! (Score:4, Interesting)
If you're really big on the idea of upgrading in the future, you seriously need conduit. It will save hours of your time in the future, as well as encourage you to do more upgrades! (Upgrade all my CAT-5 to CAT-5E, SURE! No prob!) Well, ok, so maybe it isn't quite that simple, but still, conduit will save you the hassle of drilling through walls, climbimg around in the attic and crawlspace.
Also, make a central patch panel somewhere in your house. If it's already built, put it in the garage where your cable and phone come in, if the house is still in the planning stages, create an MDF room! (Where you house all your patching, as well as your file server and MP3 server than can play any song to any room in the house.)
Xmas Light (Score:2)
Run conduit! (Score:3, Informative)
I've run conduit for some wiring retrofits, and you simply cannot beat it for sturdiness and ability to pur new stuff in. Power wiring has to be heavier when run in conduit, but yopu'll NEVER kill a circuit nailing up a shelf again.
Wire for DC! (Score:5, Interesting)
What does this mean? NO MORE WALL WARTS! Also, you'll save quite a bit of power because the wall warts are very inefficient and burn power (1-5 watts) even when nothing is plugged into them. In a modern (esp. geek) house, those multiple small loads running 24/7 add up really fast.
Re:Wire for DC! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Wire for DC! (Score:5, Informative)
This is poor advice.
1) Well-designed wall warts are not that inefficient. Some geek with an ammeter who doesn't know the difference between real power and complex power may suggest otherwise, but he's wrong.
2) Resistive voltage dividers are either a) mind-bogglingly poor regulators or b) mind-boggingly inefficient or c) both. Add in the fact that the resistors tend to get HOT, and you're got a recipe for unhappiness.
3) Linear regulators, such as the venerable 7805, provide good regulation but the efficiency drops as the input voltage rises. Delivering 1 watt of power from a 5-volt regulator connected to a 24-volt supply is only 21% efficient - it wastes 4 watts to deliver 1! It also uses about 1/4 watt at idle (no load).
4) AC transformers can easily be greater than 90% efficient. Choosing a secondary and rectifier to give you a 7.2 volt unregulated supply and then regulating it down to 5 V with a 7805 will deliver 5 watts with about 52% efficiency, and will draw around 65 mW with no load - far less than the 1-5 watts you've claimed. I'm curious to know exactly what sort of wall-wart is being described there.
5) That 65 mW I calculated will cost (around here) far less than $1 per year. There are 8,760 hours in a year, which is 8.76 kilohours. A constant drain of 1 watt will result in an annual energy use of 8.76 kWh. Electricity at $0.114/kWh would result in an annual cost of exactly $1 for a constant ** 1 watt ** drain. You'd have to have a LOT of really inefficient wall-warts to justify running a complete secondary DC supply system, even if its efficiency were as good as you think it would be.
6) Switching-supply wall warts can be much more efficient than linear regulators, and run cooler. 80%-90% under full load is common, although quiescent efficiency can be much less.
In summary, anyone who suggests using high voltage DC and dividers to increase efficiency clearly knows nothing about power conversion OR efficiency. If you REALLY want to save power used by wall warts, don't listen to parent. Use switching-based wall warts and disconnect them when not using them. If you are really worried about saving $1/year, running a (thousand dollar or more) auxiliary power system is penny wise and pound foolish.
Re:Wire for DC! (Score:3, Insightful)
And in addition to the things you mention, you will get horrible grounding problems as soon as you connect two devices that were supposed to have independent power supplies. Maybe one of them uses a virtual ground at +2.5 V (e.g. computer loudspeakers), while the other doesn't (most digital electronics). Connect both to a computer and you will burn both of them, and possibly the router downstairs that is connected through the ethernet cable as wel
Re:The second little piggy has a message for you (Score:2)
That said, empty conduits are a great idea - run them low (on top of the first layer of bales) so they don't get in the way of windows (Christopher Alexander -- low windows are good.) Think about insulation -- straw bale construction has good fire-resistance