Another day of research.

After much researching, I've came to the conclusion of using the Arduino as a base controller.

I will be using a Seeeduino Mega as a master, with an ethernet shield, then a couple slave arduino, depending how far the distance is from the sensors/relays to the main Seeeduino, which will be in the server cabinet along with a Windows 2008 Server computer running a web server.

The Seeduino, from now on refer to as (AR-master) will communicate with socket connection to the server, only to send/receive simple data, like if a GET / POST request from the HTTP server. Also will send information on different sensors, so the website will display temperatures / status of the house as well. That's going to be the gist of the controller side.

Here is the outline of the actual Home Automation side:

Door/Entrance

The entrance to the house can be controlled by WIFI through the web page, but that will require the person to have a Smartphone. The alternative way to enter the house, or back up, is with an RFID keytag, which there will be RFID readers at all the door. This will allow me to program who can come in and out by giving them an RFID tag. I can give my maid (if I ever can afford one) one that is set to allow entrance to the house only from 1-6pm on tuesday and thursday to do laundry. At other times, it will deny her access. Nice.

The door lock system will run on 12v, which the Arduino can easily control. There will be a 12V uninterrupt battery backup just in case... and one of the door in the back will use the regular old' key and lock, as precautionary measure. There will also be a smoke detector that will plug into the microcontroller, so that if it detects smoke, all doors automatically unlock. In case of fire ofcourse.

Lighting/Wiring/Socket Controls

The lighting will be simple CAT5 running 12v and pulling 12v car relays. This will trigger the 110v. Very simple set up, most of the main home lighting will be control by the system. Also some power socket, the critically located one, will be control by this as well, so I wont have to get those ugly timers and stuff for the house. This way I can plug a coffee maker or something in, set it on, and it'll go off at 6am and turn off at 6:30. Swell. Or another example would be my Aquarium lighting, set on a timer.

Security

The door and entrance are a security measure. But this section focus on a security system. Most doors and windows will use Hall Sensor, or Reed Switch with a magnet to sense if it's open/close. When the alarm is turned on, all the sensors will be read, and if it state change, the alarm will ring. This mean I can leave any of the doors/windows open and the alarm will still arm. A PIR (passive infrared sensor) will be used to monitor the larger rooms for movements. A laser along with reflective mirrors and a light sensor will be used for intrusion detection.

Monitoring:

As you know from above, there will be a smoke detector, on top of that, I'll have a water meter sensor, to read how much water I'm using by day, week, and month. An electric current sensor will allow me to see how much power I'm using as well. If I can figure out a way to measure my gas usage, I would add that on. A bunch of temperature probes will be installed throughout the house so I can see the correlation between temperature to electric usage, which would deprive at AC usage. Ofcourse I will be able to monitor all this on the web interface.

That's it for now, the shopping has begun. I've bought a Seeeduino Mega, and an Ethernet shield. I already have two arduinos, two Ultrasonic Sensor, a couple PIR sensor, the door locking mechanism, and other stuff to prototype the system with. Once I get everything working, I will order more for the installation and testing.

If you have to ask WHY i'm doing it... you might want to stop reading. Great minds are not limited by logic. **DISCLAIMER** This is MY quote, I will copyright it, please refrain from using it without credit to me :-P