The Importance of Having A Vision For Your Smart Home Project

One of the co-founders of the Smarter Home club, Kerry Clendinning, put this together to help you think about the important goals and questions you should consider before starting your home automation project!

If you’re just getting started in home automation you’ve come to the right place. We are a community of enthusiasts ranging from beginner to expert and we even have some members who manufacture home automation equipment and write software.

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Getting Started!

Welcome to the Smarter Home Club’s first post.

I’m Doug, a software engineer from Florida.

My background in home automation goes back to the 2000’s, when I lived in NC. I’d worked from a home office for a year or so while waiting for office renovations. A few weeks before my new space was ready, there were a series of neighborhood break ins.

That worried me – a lot! As a recent home buyer, I was “house rich, cash poor” and couldn’t afford monitored home security, but I worked more than half an hour’s drive from home.

My solution was to buy a stack of X-10 wireless door and window sensors, some power line noise filters, a receiver, light switches, power outlets, and floodlights.

At the time, X10 devices were a couple bucks each if you bought specials from the company or from resellers on eBay. I bought a CM15a interface and a V572RF32 transceiver. I then wrote my own home security app in VB.net which sent a text message to my phone if a window or door opened while the alarm was set.

I didn’t worry about a break-in while I was at work, but I wouldn’t exactly say I had peace of mind…. I spent the next tow years refining and perfecting my home automation and security system, enjoying it just under a year before I moved to FL and would need to start all over again!

That’s how I got started.

SmarterHome.club is the website for our Facebook community, The Smarter Home Club – which is an umbrella for all kinds of smart home technologies – home automation, security, custom electronics, weather stations, alternative energy, you name it. DIY focused.

If you’re interested in joining the Smarter Home Club’s Facebook group, please follow this link:

The Smarter Home Club on Facebook