The second in an ongoing series of articles about expanding the realm of your computing environment to encompass your whole home, this article covers my experience becoming a certified Home Technology Integrator. Though the internet is a great source of information for nearly every aspect of home automation, there’s no substitute for a little formal education.
This article is the second in a series of stories about my efforts to design and install my own home automation system in a home that I’ll be building this year. The previous article, which covered my initial attempts at information gathering, was a great success for me, because OSNews readers were full of helpful suggestions and resources. One of these helpful OSNews readers who emailed me works for an organization called CompTIA (the Computing Technology Industry Association) and told me about a new certification they’ve developed called “Home Technology Integrator” (HTI+). He asked me if I would be interested in becoming certified, and writing about my experience, and I said yes. CompTIA sent me all the necessary materials, and I embarked on not just learning more about home automation technology, but also becoming a certified home automation professional.
Since I wrote the first installment of this series, I’ve done a lot of work on the other aspects of my home construction project (working on the plans, lining up contractors, picking materials, etc) but not a lot on the home automation front. I’ve spent most of my effort in educating myself about technologies, products and techniques, and trying to narrow down my specific requirements. I’ve been greatly aided in this effort by the formal education I received while preparing for the HTI+ certification.
CompTIA created the HTI+ certification because, previously, home automation specialists either operated outside of any formal certification or came from another field, such as the electrical, home theater, telecommunications, networking, or security industries, which each have one or more licenses or certifications associated with them. HTI+ covers a bit of capability from all of these fields, covering a breadth of what one would need to know to design, install, and support a wide range of home technologies. HIT+ covers wiring, home networking, configuring a residential gateway and server, security systems, fire alarms, remote access, remote control of lighting and other appliances, wireless technology, audio/video, HVAC control, and home access, among other things.
I don’t have any way of knowing whether having this certification would actually help my job prospects. I haven’t gone out looking for a job, and I suspect that many employers do not even know that HTI+ exists yet, but it certainly would only help. If I were looking to hire someone for my own home technology consulting firm, though, I would look for HTI+ certified people, because I found the curriculum to be quite comprehensive, and the test was downright hard. In fact, if I didn’t have a relatively complete knowledge of networking, computing, and general electronics, I don’t think I would have been able to pass the test even if I had studied the materials provided to me even more thoroughly.
The materials that were provided to me consisted of a hardcover book, a softcover lab manual, and a CD-ROM. The book is organized into chapters that cover major areas: wiring, security, codes and regulations, etc. Though it’s a great primer on home technology and a great way to prepare for the test, I think that its greatest value to me will be as a reference volume. It even has a lot of practical information about running a business, such as how to prepare a contract, and what kinds of end-user support you should offer. As I’m installing the various parts of my system, I’m sure I’ll have this book nearby, and it will get plenty of use.
The materials that I received were sponsored by the Leviton company, so some of what was in there was slanted toward the way Leviton does things. Now, Leviton is a powerhouse in the electrical industry, so that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But, just as an example, when it comes to lighting control, Leviton has made an investment in power line carrier-based lighting controls (like X-10), so the book and the test covered that quite thoroughly. Other companies, especially ones with high-end products, focus on methods that depend on low voltage wiring to remotely turn lights on and off rather than piggybacking over the AC current. It’s a system that provides superior reliability, but as X-10 is more easily and inexpensively implemented, it’s more popular. In other words, this curriculum will not teach you about every single technology, but it will teach you about most of the ones that are the most widespread.
The HTI+ certification draws a distinction between a home technology integrator, responsible for a broad implementation of home technologies, and a home audio technician or home theater specialist. That is to say, even though HTI+ will give you a thorough background in running all the appropriate cable and understanding the basic concepts, it only briefly touches on complicated issues such as setting up distributed audio systems or choosing and configuring audio and video components. The main focus of the HTI+ A/V curriculum is understanding the uses and benefits of different types of cables and connectors. Quick quiz: which connector offers better video quality, component or composite? (Component). Some important issues, such as acoustics, speaker selection and placement, or focusing a projection TV are not even mentioned. This is probably a good thing. There is so much to know about home theater, for example, that it deserves an association and a certification all its own. And it has one: CEDIA. If you have any doubt as to the depth of knowledge required to set up a top notch home theater, browse around AVSForum.com for a few hours. You think Linux geeks are zealous and opinionated? You should see audiophiles!
To be honest, my home automation project is going to contain a pretty serious home theater, and I find myself floundering a bit when it comes to designing it myself. I could probably use some education on that front, but if much of it had been crammed into the HTI+ curriculum, I would have been overwhelmed, and I doubt I would have passed the test.
I’ve been spending most of my efforts in the past couple of months, since I wrote the first installment in this series, working on the house plans with the architect, getting bids from contractors, and working with the county regulators on the various permits I’ll be needing. Most of my home automation and A/V work is back-burnered now. However, my HTI+ training came in very helpful as I was designing the electrical diagrams for my houseplans and in consulting with prospective electrical contractors. A home technology integrator needs to understand much of the electrician’s role, so as to work in harmony with him or her.
There was one area that was not covered in any detail in the curriculum that I have been struggling with: automated window shade control. My home will have some lovely views, and some large windows, but I’d like to avoid having the sun streaming into the house during the summer months, and I’d like to keep the bedroom darkened until a reasonable hour, but keep the blinds open during the day. I find that if I darken a room it tends to stay dark, since going around and lifting a bunch of shades by hand is a hassle, so I’d like to have some programmable motorized shades. Though I ran into a few vendors at the Builder’s Show that offer them, there doesn’t seem to be much consensus in the industry on how to power or how to control motorized shades. I wish I could have learned a bit more during my training. Shades are a niche technology, I guess, and I’m sure other people would have liked to learn more about other niches that weren’t covered. If any OSNews readers have any expertise with motorized shades, I’d love to hear about it.
Home security. Though the HTI+ curriculum covered it at length, I got the impression that it only scratched the surface. Our property is isolated from the neighbors, and bafflingly that makes my wife feel uncomfortable. My point of view is that there are less people around to steal your stuff, but she sees it as nobody there to hear your screams for help, I guess. We’ll call it a Mars-Venus thing. To help ease her mind, I’m planning on installing some measures to help us keep track of what’s going on in our surroundings. In addition to the basic window, door, motion, and glass break sensors tied to a monitorable security system, I’d like to have some other sensors and security features. I plan to install a car sensor that turns on the driveway lights and rings a chime if a car comes up the driveway. I plan to have a few surveillance cameras mounted around, indoor and out. Floodlights will be able to illuminate the exterior, either manually, with a motion sensor, or all at once with a “panic button.” And I’d like the whole thing to be accessible and controllable via the web. I’m still not quite sure how I’m going to get this all working the way I want on the kind of shoestring budget I’m preparing, but we’ll see how it goes. The HTI+ training gave me a little background, but I still have a long way to go. Especially on the video surveillance end.
Conclusion:
I’ve found that self-directed internet-based research can bring you up to speed on just about any topic imaginable if you’re willing to spend a long time slogging through inappropriate and sometime inaccurate information on the web. But it’s all out there somewhere. When I’ve wanted to learn about Tivo Hacking, research the best type of siding to use on the house, or I suddenly wonder how it was that the US came to take possession of Guantanomo Bay anyhow, it’s all out there on the internet. But sometimes there’s just no substitute for formalized, authoritative instruction. Though my informal research on the net gave me a great background, I wouldn’t have much confidence to really design and implement this system if I had not taken the HTI+ training. I certainly wouldn’t feel qualified to start a home automation business or go work for one if I hadn’t been certified, but now, I almost do. I would recommend the HTI+ certification for anyone who’s serious about becoming a home automation professional. For an enthusiast who’s not planning on making a career of it, it may be a bit too expensive, at several hundred dollars for the exams and a couple hundred for the training materials. In that case, you may just want to study some of the HTI+ materials.
The Next Steps:
I’m going to be spending the next couple of months trying to get my permits, finalize my plans, select contractors, and start building. I’m sure I’ll be spending some time doing research as I put together my requirements list in preparation for a formal system design phase. The next installment in this series will probably cover my attempts to finalize the design of my home automation system and begin purchasing equipment.
Reference:
If you’re interested in the HTI+ certification, more information can be found here.
The book that I used to prepare was this one, which was excellent, if a bit pricey:
You may also want to consider these two books, which I have not read, but which cost less and seem to have been well received by the people who have reviewed them at Amazon:
Don’t go with the automated shades. Use those new windows that have LCD crystals embedded in them. Flip a switch and they go from transparent to opaque.
If you are serious about doing all this automation, I STRONGLY recommend checking out http://www.CocoonTech.com, a site dedicated to the marriage of Home Automation, Home Theaters and Home Security.
Steve: Do you have a link to those new windows, I would like to take a look at them and see how expensive they are.
Automating the shades is not a bad idea, it has been done before, the problem is that these motorized units can be pretty expensive. If you find a good deal on them, post on CocoonTech, as many others are looking for an affordable solution.
Please provide a link to a vendor who’s actively marketing the windows you mention Steve. I didn’t know these were on the market yet, and would love to check them out (and their prices, of course).
Thanks
Ah yes, Ive seen those. Not a day goes by since then that I don’t dream of owning some one day. Those things are the shiznit.
Here’s the first company I found for Polymer Liquid Crystal Windows-
http://www.switchlite.com/home.html
Hope that helps
My brother-in-law is a chemical engineer for a Minnesota glass company. He is currently working on those LCD windows.
I first saw LCD windows at a trade show in California about 8 years ago. Many of the implementations I have seen actually have a dimmer on the window. I am glad do see this area making some progress, it will be interesting to see how some of these technologies end up in the next 5 or 10 years.
Many new houses are already being wired with ethernet and Broadband/home networking are starting to expand this area.
Creating access to a central data base of MP3’s and/or movies from anywhere on the home network will be an important step here.
iTunes and TiVo have sort of laid the foundation in these areas.
VoIP is also recently making some progress and many people now have 2 or 3 computers. We are moving into a time where almost every home will have its own small network.
Don’t forget Airport Express, a wonderful new device from Apple that has 6 or 7 functions in one cool little package. Like a lot of Apple stuff, this one seems obvious once you hear about it. I know some people will say that this is not innovative, that this functionality is already available in existing products.
I disagree, I think the innovation lays with the ease of use, the pricing (very reasonable) and the thought that has gone into its design.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/share.html
My wife & I built a new homw about 4 years ago with all the bells and whistles – Full lighting automation, video and audio server, full cat5 wiring and fiber conduits, power shutters, multizone/multiprogrammable HVAC, massively complex intrusion/fire system, etc. The basement looks like the inside of a nuclear sub.
The problem is, if anything happens to me, my wife will have to sell the house, since I am the only one who can operate it (much less know where everything is if something breaks).
You can’t beat the simplicity of the old ‘digital’ (finger-powered) light switch.
Just something tio keep in mind..
K.I.S.S.
Making this too complicated is going to add little value but alot of grief and lost $$$.
With your idea of video surveillance, what are you actually trying to accomplish? Having alot of cameras isn’t worth alot unless somebody is actually monitoring them. Having one at the driveway entry and a video intercom at the front door would suit most basic needs. Anything more is usually at a place that has security staff on-site.
As neat as the idea of remotely controlling the house via the web is, I would recommend against it as that would be an extreme vulnerability. That would be almost like leaving your house keys in the deadbolt of your front door with a banner advertising “Help Yourself”.
For fire and security monitoring, it may be worth it to have the system tied to a cellular service (if a reliable one exists in your area), rather than the house phone line. That is the single weakest point in any security system, as one cut wire eliminates anybody knowing something is going on. The cellular transmitters are pretty neat and reliable. Also, have the system monitored, but also have it page you when an incident occurs.
As far as HTI+ goes, I’d hire people with proven experience. Like alot of so called “MSCE”s I’ve run across, the certification doesn’t mean anything more than somebody knows how to pass a test. In this industry, real life experience is alot more valueable IMHO.
I wish you luck, but don’t get hypnotized by all the glamourous hi-tech gadgets available nowadays. Most of it is unnecessary fluff.
The companies here in the metro who do these type of installations have a licensed electrician, audio geek, computer geek, low voltage lighting tech, and a very experienced designer/project manager handling these projects. A long shot from a couple of dudes with drills and a fish tape, or someone who passed an HTI+ cert after reading an exam cookbook.
Even in a modest sized home the complexity of cabling is absolutely mindbogling.
The last install I was involved with was filled with Speedwrap: http://www.smarthome.com/8682.html
If your building a new home; this is the only way to fly.
A single cable run can handle all of the data, voice, and video, for the entire building. All of the low voltage is ran as a single bundle also; the control wiring, alarm system, speaker cable, and low voltage lighting.
A professionally done installation is not a cheap proposition by any means, and a poorly planned installation would be an absolute disaster.
Solar and wind power were some of the first technologies that caught my eye and interest. Now that I’m into computer hardware, I see all sorts of things that “can” be done.
“Can” does not always equate to “should” be done. Sit and talk to your contractor about every aspect of the system he’s setting up before anything goes in. Ask him if he thinks this system can pass strict “Emma” testing, and if he has doubts you need to go over the design again and see if it can be simplified somehow.
Strict “Emma” testing involves you being able to go on a vacation and have your “Aunt Emma” come stay at your house for a week to a month while you’re gone without having to take a 3-6 week Adult Ed course just to be able to operate and/or maintain anything. Don’t laugh, chances are, at some point, you will need to have someone stay at your home, or you will be too ill to perform strenuos or complicated tasks at least once in the first 5 to 8 years your in your new home.
The goal is really to separate the low voltage work from any IT work. Anything done over an IP network can work great, but can be frought with problems as described by Stephen Wardlaw above. The more plug-n-play it can be the better.
You are correct about the single bundled cable for ease of installation. Even better is doing it over a single Cat5e or Cat6 cable:
http://www.canon.com/technology/detail/software/epsilon/
My wife and I built a completely new custom house in 97-98(-99-00-…) and I have many tips to offer, but here’s the most important:
X-10 signalling, even after 20+ years on the market, isn’t reliable enough (IMO) for anything really critical. I’ve been using it for 20 years, and for the first 15 years I thought it was flakey just because of crappy old wiring, but now that I have a new house with new wiring, I still have mysterious problems — signals that I didn’t send get picked up on my X-10 monitor (and yes, I have a blocker at the service panel); some locations in the house just can’t seem to get signals from some other locations; stuff like that.
I imagine that the same sorts of problems can occur with WiFi or Bluetooth. I’ve steered clear of wireless entirely because I know too much about radio :-).
The point is, don’t control anything critical with X-10. Use something else for HVAC, window and door locks, your Grandma’s iron lung, etc. You might consider RS-485 for that. Or don’t automate that stuff at all! Remember, your stuff (and mine) isn’t UL Approved.