Do you have a Home Automation system and if yes, did you create it yourself? I want to hack my home in a way that it's completely secure and at the same time I can remotely control it without paying thousands. There are a couple of projects in Kickstarter related to this and I wonder how far can we get in making our homes both secured and at the same time smarter.<p>Thanks for sharing!
I am working on something, as well. I currently use a Linux server centrally and an Arduino for prototyping the various sensors I want.<p>One thing I'm starting on right now are door sensors. Anyone found/devised a small, battery-based wireless door sensor? Ideally, I'd like a year or more battery life.<p>I can't run wires to every door in the house, so I'm thinking of some small wireless sensor with a reed switch that sits in power off mode when the door is shut, but flips on when the door is open and wirelessly (Xbee?)sends a UID to the central controller.
I've been working on a DIY Arduino based system for the past year or so. There are a ton of great links out there from people who have done projects with varying degrees of difficulty. What do you want to automate first? Do you have any microcontroller experience?