Overview

The Home Control Assistant is a software program that runs on any computer that uses the Windows XP, Vista or Win7 operating system. It works with automation interfaces to control lights and appliances in your home using X10, Insteon, UPB, Wireless and IR technology.

Setting up your home using automation is very simple. First, unplug each light or appliance you want to control, then plug it into a receiving module, and then plug that module into any house electrical receptacle. There are replacement wall switches for lights that you want to control that way. Each device is set with a different address so they all can be uniquely identified. You can also plug or wire-in control panels - keypads - into any house electrical outlet and send signals to remotely control any lights or appliances attached to receiving modules. Wireless remote controllers are also available.

HCA provides:

  • Wizards that guide you through all aspects of developing the plan for your home.
  • The ability to create or modify schedules with a simple drag and drop process.
  • Visually show your home floor plan with icons for lights and appliances. HCA contains over 40 icons for your use. HCA imports or links to drawing files or picture files produced by most popular home drawing programs.
  • Have any number of schedules for your needs. You can have a schedule for use during the week, for the weekend, or while you are on vacation.
  • Create powerful programs that control devices in your home. Over 50 actions including conditionals are available for use in programs. Program are constructed using a visual approach - no programming language - just draw the program you want.

Browse the sections on this page to explore the major HCA features.

So just what can HCA control?

This is an important question and should be the most important one you have when choosing automation software. While we all would like to live in a fully automated home, it takes a lot more than software to make that possible. While the software can drive the process, it takes automation enabled switches to turn on the lights, it takes an automation enabled thermostat to control the HVAC, and it takes automation interfaces to allow the computer to transmit signals and send commands to your devices.

All of these hardware items cost money. Some are expensive and others are available for less. But regardless of how much you spent on the hardware, unless you have home automation software that can wring every drop of function out of the hardware you have wasted your money.

HCA was written to fully expose all the features of each hardware device you have. For example, while most home automation software can send the right powerline signals to control an Insteon switch, HCA can also program it with stored scenes. While some software can control a UPB thermostat, HCA can use all the communication modes available in the thermostat to make sure that your commands to change the setpoint are received and acted upon.

Take a minute to browse through this section and see the great hardware available and other features available to complete your home automation solution. Each of these products paired with HCA ensures your success.

As you take a look through these products and decide that your home automation setup is not complete without them, a good place to look for more information on them is the SmartHome website.