Smart Homes For Dummies

Smart Homes For Dummies, Third Edition, shows you how easy it can be to create and live in a cutting-edge, fully connected home—without breaking your bank account. With this user-friendly guide, you’ll discover all the latest trends and gadgets in home networking, automation, and control that will help you make life more enjoyable and comfortable for your entire family. We help you plan for things such as flat-screen TVs, intercom systems, whole-home audio systems, gaming consoles, and satellite systems. We talk about your wiring (and wireless) options and introduce you to the latest technologies, such as VoIP and Bluetooth. You’ll see how to:

• Build your home network on a budget
• Turn your home into an entertainment center
• Access the Internet from any room
• Get VoIP on your phone network
• Boost in-home wireless and cell phone signals
• Connect your computer to your TV
• Secure your home and property
• Increase your home’s resale value
• Avoid common networking pitfalls
• And much, much more

Complete with a resource list for more information and neat toys of the future, Smart Homes For Dummies is your plain-English, twenty-first century guide to a fully wired home!

In the first edition (1999), Briere and Hurley did a great job providing an informative, helpful overview of home automation concepts, all wrapped up in an easy-to-read style that doesn't talk down to a reader. However, people purchasing the book in 2001 or later would be disappointed as the book showed its age: maybe half the links for automation-related companies yielded the dreaded "404" error (many courtesy the dot-com crash), wireless networking was barely mentioned, and cable modems and DSL hadn't reached critical mass to warrant an extended discussion.

Fast forward to the second edition (2003) and these shortcomings have all been addressed. New URLs are in place, the authors love wireless, and high-speed Internet connections are addressed for both cable modems and DSL modems. In addition, DBS is also discussed in much greater depth as DirecTV and DISH Network receivers have sprouted like mushrooms on homes and apartment buildings across the U.S.

I found the second edition extremely helpful, more so than the first, and it gave me a far better comfort level in figuring out smart home technology. My wife and I are currently remodeling and this book is a huge help to let us know what's possible, what's affordable, and what's do-able by us versus a professional installer.

While the book appears to be more focused on running hard wires for your network, don't let that fool you. The authors are firmly in favor of wireless for many homes and apartments, especially where cost or inability to renovate prevents running hard wiring through the walls. The main idea is that, when possible, put as many wires into the walls as you can. You don't have to connect every home computer directly to a wall; you can install a wireless hub wherever it's convenient (or invisible), and use wireless connections without having CAT5e cabling running along the baseboards to the nearest wall jack.

Further, there are new systems on the market that use CAT5e to distribute audio, video, and IR control to rooms. This means you can run thinner, cheaper CAT5e to rooms rather than bundled cabling. The authors recognize this trend and advise that readers watch for more developments that use CAT5e. My wife and I are leaning towards such a system, as it's easier to replace outlets and distribution boxes than it is to run new wires once the walls are sealed up.

So if you're wondering about having a connected home and what the considerations are, you owe it to yourself to BUY THIS BOOK. Then you can move to a wires-and-circuits discussion without feeling over your head, and without requiring a graduate degree in nerdspeak. Enjoy, and good luck with your own home projects.


Brier and Hurley Get Wired!   December 25, 1999
Heather L. Read (USA)
29 out of 31 found this review helpful

If you work in a multimedia company or a high tech multimedia laboratory, you probably have a systems administrator and lots of eager students of engineering that can help you design a media and data network infrastructure. However, most of us users who would like to design a network for security, multimedia and computing in a home or small business do not have a systems administrator. Brier and Hurley give an enlightened short course on media, data and electrical networking of your home and small business in Smart Homes for Dummies.

The big vision outlined in this book is simplicity afforded by thinking ahead. Save money and space by designing a network which accesses one main computer server; one digital TV; one VCR; one CD player; one radio; one internet or cable service line for multiple users within the home or business. All these media sources are routed via cables, modulators, preamplifiers and switch panels to each room so that users can choose what they want to play on their computer, speakers and video screens. They inform the reader about 'multi-zone' or multiple channel receiving and transmitting devices needed to to push your wired house to full capacity now and in the future. Costs, esthetics, and how to anticipate future technologies are considered. This book is a pleasant read and a fast way to get up to speed on how to 'Get to Wired'. Think of it like an adventure tour of networking wonderland by Bill and Ted. At the same time this is a most excellent (easy to use) source of reference tables for those of us who prefer to bypass the 'Bill sheet' and get something done.


Perfect guide to equiping your house for the 21th cen   October 14, 1999
Angel Lee (Cleveland, OH United States)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

This is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to equip their home for the 21st century. The focus is on networking the home for audio/video entertainment, telephone, computer & security systems, & making it all work together.

Planning for the new home and remodeling options are covered. Practical tips tell you exactly what components are needed for various levels of automation, including what it will cost and how to stretch your budget.

There are enticing hints about technology to come, how to prepare for it now and what is worth waiting for. Specific brand name products now on the market are analyzed with warnings about conflicting standards.

For more in depth study of specific topics there are lists of web resources and print publications. This book will help you understand what is available in home automation and how to make it a reality in your own home.


Great book with lots of valuable information   October 3, 2000
Scott Heinlein (Flower Mound, TX USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I am in the process of building a house and wanted to put some smart home features in. I read this book and it gave me the information I needed to run all the wire in my house. It is very good at explaining how to run the wires to provide the most benefit. I went from knowing very little about smart homes to putting 2,500 feet of wire throughout the home. Each room is wired with cat 5, coax and speaker wire. I did this for a fraction of the cost it would have been to hire someone else to do it.


Easily read, important to know   November 9, 2000
R. WHITTEN (Fresno, CA USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

How far should you go in programming your home for "smartness"? The authors present a very reasonable overview of what is available, what works, and what may soon become available. I found it to be a great resource of information and opinion in planning my next home. It is not a "how to", but a "how much" and "why" kind of book. Well done!