It's pricey. We got a basic system quote for automation and home security with the 2gig brand system. 10 grand, no hike and you have to buy smart lights and switches so it will work. Not worth it to me.

I have been researching this a lot lately. We have many loads in our main spaces and dealing with multiple 4-gang switchboxes was not appealing.

Here's my understanding of some of the options:

Lutron HomeWorks - a "panelized" system - basically there is a panel somewhere central in your home that contains a processor and N dimmer modules. The light fixtures are wired to the dimmer modules (high voltage) and M keypads are wired via low voltage (cat6) to the processor. Keypads then have custom buttons that create scenes with the available loads. Lutron also provides control for other things like window treatments, and generic contact switches that can be used to command the system, e.g. when your garage door opens a contact switch can flip and trigger lights going on. The system is also capable of following schedules, e.g. cycling lights on and off at normal intervals while you're on vacation for security. Because of the home-run, centralized panel, this is not your standard wiring job: normally a wire is run to the switch and then to the light fixture, in HomeWorks, the wire is run to the panel, and the switch is a single keypad connected to the processor via low voltage. The wiring is not proprietary, but you would have to replace the system with another panelized option. For your size of house, depending on where you live and labor rates expect to spend many thousands to $30-40k on such a system depending on how many loads you hook up to it. It's certainly possible to do specific spaces rather than your whole home. Lutron is the leading name in lighting & has been around forever (they invented the dimmer). Every A/V guy I have spoken to speaks highly of them. Schemes are created in software & programmed into the processor.

Lutron RadioRA - a more traditional wiring setup with wires to switches and on to the fixture. In this setup there are keypads that communicate wirelessly with N-gang switch boxes, which you might choose to hide in an inconspicuous location like a closet. I know less about this option but have been told it's supposed to support incremental addition of keypads quite well.

Vantage - a panelized system similar in capability & cost to Lutron HomeWorks. Owned by LeGrand. Some interesting wallplate options.

Control4 - now seems to be entering the panelized lighting control market but this is new and none of the people I spoke to knew about their panelized product yet. They also offer wireless/incremental control systems similar to RadioRA, and offer control of many different types of devices (security, shades, etc). This system has been described as an "end to end, but entry-level" system to me by the contractors. A system for our home (also ~5000sqft) was described as costing about 30% less than HomeWorks

There are probably many others.

Re: control

Control systems can be as fancy or simple as you want. Lutron and Vantage offer their own control systems and smartphone apps that control the devices their processors can handle. Control4 is more of a hybrid controlling lighting and other devices. Note that Lutron (not sure about Vantage?) can be controlled over IP. This is important because it means you can layer a "meta" controller on top of it. If you also have other equipment you're controlling (e.g. whole house audio/video, security, etc.) having a meta control app can bring all of these together in one app. Examples include RTI, Savant, and again Control4.

A note about Control4: because Control4 is an end-to-end solution, it has limited ability to itself be controlled by another system. So you either like its app or you don't. You don't have much ability to change it. With a Lutron lighting system, if you don't like its app, you can layer Control4, RTI, Savant, etc. on top (or write your own if you're technically minded).

Note that Savant only supports iOS devices (no Android).

For our home I'm thinking of a HomeWorks system in key areas, + some kind of layered control on top (yet to figure out which, just doing the wiring right now). As long as all the A/V wiring is home-run to a central location I should be able to pick any kind of control.

caben -- thank you for your very thorough and thoughtful response! I'm fine paying around 2K, but anything above that is not worth it, IMO. Wonder what I can get for tat?

I don't know the cost, but you can ask for a kill switch wiring to one switch that turns off whatever is wired to it. They do it for model homes....

We're doing RadioRA2...it was hubby's thing so I'll not give my opinion really on it's value. I may love it when I'm living with it but..till then I plead the fifth. You won't touch it for 2k, not even close for a whole home. We were told Homeworks was more than RadioRA2. I have no knowledge of the others mentioned.

This sounds like a very bad idea to me:

- Technology changes fast, and this expensive system will become outdated. Remember, in the 80s built-in intercom systems were considered super-cool. Who wants one now?
- I'm always losing the TV remote. I know I'd lose whatever device turns on/off the lights. Even if it's a phone, I don't keep that with me at all times.
- It's one more thing to break.
- Automatic lights that turn on as you enter closets, hallways, etc., can be hard-wired in without need to "go digital".
- Good old fashioned two-way or three-way switches that allow you to turn off the lights as you walk down the hall are inexpensive and won't let you down.

I think the turn-things on and off remotely is more of a parlor trick than something that's actually useful.

Along these lines....are you all wiring your homes for telephone/net? My husband wants to run the wire but not have any visible jacks, but I don't understand why. We already don't have a land line, and don't use cable. If/when we sell this home, it will be 10 plus years down the road.

We looked into it and skipped it...decided money was better spend with central vac system, speakers in main areas...used 2/3 way switches where necessary. With can lighting, one flip of the switch and a whole room is off.
We wired for direct outlets for computers so we have better internet signal. My husband needs that for his work laptop. Wifi wasn't strong enough for his work stuff. If you run the lines, install the jack visibly...they will probably be behind furniture anyways. Later on, you would have to cut the wall open and hope you remember where those lines were.
Our security system is through cell service, so no land line needed.
Pam

I have a DIY automation system that uses 7" glass touch panels in every room. It is built on a POE network with each panel running an ARM Linux kernel with a custom UI written in C++/OpenGL ES2.0.

Due to its network base, I can control everything from a iMac and my iOS devices. Right now it can control the lights, the roller-shades and the HVAC.

The light circuits are home-run to a 19" rack with DMX controllers. The roller-shades and the HVAC are connected to a ethernet enabled Siemens PLC.

MrsPete, I mostly agree with your concern (especially as I work in technology and get to see "new" technology becoming obsolete every day). However I've become convinced that some level of control may be essential in homes of a certain size. e.g. in our great room we have the following loads:

- led cans, kitchen area
- led cans, living room area
- island pendants
- eating area pendant
- living room area pendant
- under cabinet/in-cabinet lighting
- various wall-spots/etc.

There are also 4 key entries into this space and so the ME plan showed several 4-gang switchplates. 4 years ago I completed a smaller remodel with similar lighting load counts and my wife never really got the banks of switches, just figured out which one turned on the brightest lights and hit that. Made me feel like all the accent lighting was a waste of money.

The beauty of these systems is that they have the ability to simplify a complex scene into a single button.

There are a variety of ways to future-proof yourself:

- lutron/vantage I think share the same infrastructure wiring (standard high voltage and cat6 low voltage)
- wireless systems rely on conventional wiring anyway and just add extra keypads to make it easier.

I think the app interfaces might date themselves a bit more. I went to an open house with a (still functioning) Lutron system from the late 1980s. There was a 10" CRT touch-screen (!) built into the wall by the kitchen. It was pretty funny. But most of the house had conventional keypads that were super simple to operate. I would be most concerned about systems that only have controllers compatible with certain brands of smartphone. What if you decide that you want an Android phone next year?

$2000 is tight. The HomeWorks processor alone costs close to that. I think with that budget you are probably going to limit yourself to an area where you have the most complex lighting situation. Take a look at Lutron's GrafikEye.

Look into z-wave. It's wireless and standard. A few hundred dollars gets you started right away. Even Staples sells the controller hub. Don't need do go all out. You just replace a switch wherever you need automated control. It can expand to locks, alarms, and a host of others.

Mi Casa Verde one of the most inexpensive ways