Switch King - Forum

I am one of the two developers of Switch King and this post describes how I am using Switch King.

An Asus Eee PC 1005HA with Windows XP is used as server and is on 24 hours a day. This is actually a netbook, but it has some advantages such as low power consumption (about 15 W) and built-in UPS This computer is also used as a file server and to backup all my computers in the network.

Using Switch King I am controlling about 20 devices and most of them are for lighting (both relays and dimmers). For the lamps I am using the built-in sunrise/sunset function except for a few where I bring in solar insolation in the Goteborg area as a data source and control based on that (described in this guide: http://www.switchking.se/en/use-solar-i ... dusk-relay).

In my bedroom I am using a lamp with a dimmer to simulate the sunrise (described in this guide: http://www.switchking.se/en/simulate-su ... ur-bedroom). I am using one additional lamp with relay to boost light further after I have ramped up the first one to 100%. This has proved really helpful to wake me up in the morning during the dark winters in Sweden In the evening I set the dimmer to 20% which create a nice cosy atmosphere.

I also control my stereo equipment together with Apple Airport Express routers to stream music from the computer. That way I can sit by the computer, turn on all the equipment and then start streaming music from for instance Spotify.

When Tellstick Duo becomes available I am planning to add dusk relays, motion detectors and temperature sensors to the system.

Scenarios in Switch King can be really useful! When inviting guests to our home and it gets late I want to prevent lights from being turned off too early. For this reason I use three scenarios linked together. The first one, Partystarter, will turn on the stereo equipment, but lights will continue to run by schedule. This way I can start the scenario well ahead before the guests arrive without turning on all lights.

At 9 pm the Partystarter scenario ends and is followed by the scenario Party. This scenario will keep lights and stereo turned on until 3 am, except for bedrooms where lights go by schedule all the time. (Note that lights can be turned on before 9 pm since they are all running by schedule before that.)

At 3 am the Party scenario ends and is followed by my Sleep-in scenario. The sleep in scenario will make sure to turn off all lights and prevent them from being turned on in my bedroom early in the morning. The Sleep-in scenario ends at 11 am and after that everything runs by schedule again.

So, from the time I start Partystarter until I wake up the day after I don't really have to touch the system If guests leave early I can always use my iPod Touch and manually stop the Party scenario to turn off lights.

There are many ways to promote music nowadays. Spotify is just one of the social platforms that allow people to recognize you. I created my account, so far there are already a lot of subscribers and also a lot of listens. I have a tip, check right here if you so also I want to have an account with a lot of subscribers and you can also use it.