About

Dover Williams, your host.

I launched this website because I've been interested in home automation (HA) for many years. I have been automating my home as a DIY project since my wife and I built the house in 2001. For much of the history of HA, DIY installations usually suffered in comparison with expensive commercial installations. They were often unreliable, didn't support control of very many devices, and devices from different vendors often weren't compatible. There has been a significant advancement in availability and quality in the DIY marketplace in recent years. While there are robust communities of enthusiasts, useful information is often buried deep in outdated user forums. My goal is to make home automation more accessible by creating tutorials that will guide you step-by-step through the selection and setup of your own automated home. I will also provide ideas for how and why you may want to automate your home. These may be for reasons of convenience, security, or aging in place.

Most of the projects will be completed using off-the-shelf components and software. Sometimes when no readymade solution presents itself, I will let my inner geek show through by attempting to construct a custom solution. The need for a custom solution may be driven by availability, interoperability, or cost.

I will approach this site as both a software developer and HA enthusiasts. I will draw on my experience developing tools to support the development of computer based training to build a site that presents helpful information in a clear and direct manner to help guide you in the implementation of your own DIY home automation project. I am also planning to use my software development experience to extend the capabilities of off-the-shelf systems by creating plug-ins or custom software to provide missing capabilities. At least, in the beginning, this site will reflect my personal biases, as I will be using products that I own to create content. I hope that you will find the information entertaining and most importantly, useful. Let's get automating.