Home Electrical Device Control HOWTO
Prev |  | Next

# 1. Introduction

Many people asked me, "Is it possible to control some electrical stuff [e.g. lights, radio, tv, etc.] by using a home computer?" The answer is YES. The process is very easy, and anyone can do it.

After I read the Coffee Machine Mini-HOWTO, I got an idea of how to control my home electrical appliances. I made some modifications on the circuit discussed in that Coffee Machine Mini-HOWTO, and wrote a simple program. The circuit can control many small electrical devices.^_^ You can use crontab to set your lights to come on automatically or to turn on your airconditioner. I use it to control my VCR and VCD ( I do still need some modification on VCR/VCD). By writing a simple program, you can control everything over the web. You can use telnet with SSH and your telephone dial in to control all the appliances you have on the circuit.

This circuit is VERY SIMPLE. Even if you don't know anything about circuits, you can set up this circuit.

Prev | Home | Next
Home Electrical Device Control HOWTO |  | System Requirement