Hi there. DIYer and odd-jobber

[Jymbob]

Hi there. I'm Jymbob (or James, if I'm in trouble). Bit by the Home Automation bug, trying to keep my wife happy as I upgrade our home, always keen to learn best practices, and not to bite off more than I can chew!

 

[DavidSpark]

Welcome! I'm sure you'll find your self in good company here.

 

[Richard Burns]

Welcome to the forum.
I can see you may well have interesting problems as time goes by with home automation.

 

[static zap]

Welcome Jymbob , but do you really have to travel the whole "uk" to get your bits !

 

[Jymbob]

Welcome Jymbob , but do you really have to travel the whole "uk" to get your bits !

Oh, I trawl near and far chasing down bargains from the Bay of 'E'!

I'm based in the Midlands tho

 

[buzzlightyear]

welcome .

 

[chris murphy]

Hello and Welcome Jymbob,

You might find this website helpful - it is called `Automated Home` - and has been established for quite a few years.

Here is a link to the Tutorials / Videos section - the different categories of Automation are way beyond my understanding but there might be something helpful on there for You:

Tutorials – Automated Home - http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/category/tutorials

Please let me know if the website / tutorial videos are any good so that I will know whether to recommend it to people in future.

Regards,

Chris

 

[Jymbob]

Hello and Welcome Jymbob,

Please let me know if the website / tutorial videos are any good so that I will know whether to recommend it to people in future.

Regards,

Chris

Thanks for the link, I had a quick peruse.

The unfortunate summary is, it's basically one guy's blog about his Home Automation projects, so the main install stuff is 10 years old and somewhat out of date (e.g. talking about routing coax for a/v systems, and RJ11 for internet). There's some pearls hidden in there, but you kind of already have to have a good idea what you're doing to find them.
Wiring Guide - http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/content/wiring-guide.html <- this page is probably the most useful for someone thinking about taking on a full refit, although again, you need to read past the out of date specifics to find the general principles. It's full of quick edits saying "Now I'd do it this way."

The forums look a bit more promising though. They're reasonably active.

For an idea of the projects I'm taking on, my house is just over 10 years old, and I'm not a keen enough decorator to want to bash holes in walls if I can avoid it, so I'm looking at in-situ replacements for existing systems. The current focus is lighting, which is going to be a combination of smart bulbs and smart switches. Most switches require a neutral at the switch, so I'm aiming to replace some 2-wire cable runs with 3-core and earth. The loft isn't boarded (yet), so I'm going to start with upstairs and see how it goes before tackling the more inaccessible ones downstairs.

The ace up my sleeve is my neighbour is a registered electrician who's doing up his period house, so in return for occasionally lugging cast iron radiators around for him, he's happy to lend his expertise when he can!

 

[chris murphy]

"Hello again Jymbob",

Thanks for getting back to Us with your views on the `Automated Home` website - sorry that I have not replied sooner - I have only just seen the topic notification email from the Forum [Friday afternoon].

Prior to reading your comments I had thought for some time that it was `The website` for Home Automation and that it would be very up to date with the latest products and techniques.

However I freely admit that when I have read about stuff on there I don`t have enough knowledge to know what is `up to date` / the latest product or technique.

I did post the link for You / other interested Members mainly for the `Wiring Guide` for various Automation projects.

After your `review` I will not be so quick to recommend the website to anyone else unless there is a `wiring query` related to a Home Automation project.

Thanks again for replying with your review and "Good Luck" with your Home Automation.

Regards,

Chris