Levels of Home Automation

Level 5 – Learning

And finally the most sophisticated level of control is Level 5. Level 5 incorporates"learning" into the system. The actions of the system might change automatically based on living patterns, etc. This capability is basically the ability for the system to reprogram itself. For example, if the system detects that someone routinely turns a particular device on at about the same time on weekdays, an event would be automatically added to turn on this device.

Another example, could be the ability to use a weather system to measure the amount of rainfall in the past few days, the ability to read a forecast from a web site, and then determine if the sprinkler system should go on, and for how long

Sample Scripting Language - Click for larger image

With the scripting capability available in HomeSeer and the ability to create or modify events with script, HomeSeer has the ability to meet the Level 5 requirements for a system that can modify itself.

Summary

The beauty of most home automation systems is the aspect that you can start out at Level 1 and gradually move up to the more sophisticated levels by adding new hardware. Choosing the right software once you are past Level 2 is key to being able to expand to higher levels. As previously mentioned, a product like HomeSeer provides the basic functionality you need to get started, but also the flexibility and power to move to the most sophisticated level.

Larry Kasevich is president of Action Home Automation. His company is a consulting and system integrator of home automation systems. He is also the developer of the Reporter Plug-In for HomeSeer. This software adds reporting capability for log entries, devices, events, and scripts, as well as other reports for various interfaces to a home automation system. Mr. Kasevich is also a Microsoft Certified Professional with a background as both a software and electrical engineer.