While this project is about Home Automation I would still like to control everything from one simple and easy to use interface.

The main problem is that with all the different brands of equipment, come different smart phone apps or remote controls and even different protocols. The key is to have a system that takes care of everything from one place. Once everything can be controlled centrally then the home automation can take shape.

I have chosen openHAB to control everything for a few reasons:

• Its open source and free.
• There are a wide variety of plugins available for it to control different systems.
• It is still being developed and improved.
• There is plenty of support through forums.
• I can create custom devices to send information about the house to it, using MQTT.
• There are iOS and Android apps available fro remote control.

There is of course a downside to it as well:

• There is quite a steep learning curve.
• It is definitely not plug and play, each device has to be setup manually.
• A lot of problems can arise when programming it.

Without spending thousands on a professionally installed system, I still believe that this is one of the best ways of controlling your home using different products. It is also very flexible with all the different systems and communication methods that exist.