8 ms·

C++ programming pioneer hacks off-grid, DIY, smart home

88 points by yason 15y ago

6ren 15y ago
Reminds me a bit of Paul Lutus http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1681247 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1681247 Automated homes seem to be like video phones: common in science-fiction, we now have them, but they (curiously) aren't used that much.
- koko775 15y ago
  Don't know about you, but while I knew video phones existed a long time back, almost all of my calls with my parents recently have been over Facetime, now that there's a simple, intuitive way for us to use it (I bought them an iPad). Automated homes may just be a technology waiting to be designed right, not just solved. After all, home is our retreat from...well, anywhere, really. Design matters if you're going to be encountering it all your life.
- bff 15y ago
  Smart and automated homes are closely related to my research so I'll chime in on this. Even though the technology exists to do lots of cool things no one has built a modular system that you can mix and match pieces to. Right now each "smart" feature would be completely separate from the rest so you can't amortize the cost of each one. So if you want a home security system, an automatic door and window locker, and an item tracking system you will need to pay for and install three separate systems. Since the utility of some of those systems just isn't that great people only install the system that has the highest economic benefit -- the home security system. Everything else costs too much for too little benefit.
- Retric 15y ago
  Video chat has much better adoption for close relationships with people that don't live near by. Family moving away, long distance dating etc. Overall communication is a lot more nuanced than most people think. Just consider text messages. What science fiction in 1920 thought people would hold phones that let them call other people and instead chose to write the message down and then send it. Yet, often people find text messages far more useful than a phone call.
cageface 15y ago
and he wired it for pure DC lighting (which makes sense with solar, but Amelang also likes how “peaceful” DC lighting feels). Congratulations are due to him for his resourceful unreasonableness but this sounds a little tinfoil-hat to me.
- chao- 15y ago
  In what manner? I can't say I have an opinion about the way DC lighting looks, but if it made for easier work with the solar power of an already custom-beyond-reason job, why not?
  - cageface 15y ago
    He says it "feels" different. I think it's very unlikely that people can perceive AC power cycles.
    - chao- 15y ago
      I don't know about "feels", unless he has some serious synesthesia issues, but it's far from unheard of to be able to see it. Speaking from personal experience, I have two data points to contribute. I have been able to see a flicker quite clearly from my peripheral vision coming from an LED christmas light fixture. I remember this clearly as it was so distracting that I had to reposition my body during the conversation to face away from it entirely. In another instance, it was noticeably irritating the first few minutes I ever sat in front of a television in Europe (being used to the higher refresh rate in the US).
    - dazzawazza 15y ago
      Is he not referring to the flicker that AC lighting has which some people can see (at least out of the corner of their eye)
    - draven 15y ago
      Anecdotal data point: I can see it. Not when looking directly at a light but on my peripheral vision it is very noticeable at times. I'm pretty sure lots of people are able to perceive it but do not mind. NB: I'm in Europe and the AC is 50Hz.
topbanana 15y ago
Some pics of his house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/faircompanies/sets/72157628674194607/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/faircompanies/sets/721576286741...
VMG 15y ago
Burning wood isn't particularly "smart"
- halfwave 15y ago
  Why ?
  - VMG 15y ago
    Unless he has high-tech stoves, it is pretty polluting. Smoke contains many toxic chemicals. http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-for-heat-really-green.html http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-f...
    - burgerbrain 15y ago
      Hardly anything wrong with them as far as I can tell, provided you don't have neighbours. I would suspect that all the wood people burn in North America as fuel is greatly offset by all the forest fires people in North America put out. Large-scale adoption of course is not a bright idea, but that's not what this guy is doing. (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.)
      - Retric 15y ago
        <pedantic>Your still burning fossil fuels to get the wood chopped and into your house.</pedantic> Granted, if your burning something for heat it's the best option. But, with that much passive solar and the fact he is living in California he could probably get by using more insulation and basically never need to use a wood stove. I mean just look at all those single pane windows.
      - VMG 15y ago
        > (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.) It is carbon neutral only if you plant a tree. Which you can do anyway. Burning gas or oil, which have a better co2/kwh ratio and planting a tree is better than burning a tree and planting a new one.
pcvarmint 15y ago
"C++ programming pioneer"? I'd never heard of him before. From the headline I thought they were talking about Bjarne or somebody like that. And 10,000 lines is not a lot. What's so special about this guy's C++ code? Sorry to be negative, but the article sounds full of hype.
- ginko 15y ago
  The 10,000 lines of code are for controlling the systems in his house. I would guess he wrote a lot more in his career.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
Loic 15y ago
Look at the pictures of the house (cf. comment by topbanana), the house is beautiful, just a pleasure to look at the clean minimalism. This goes in the same direction than this house: http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm Corresponding HN discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=619511 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=619511

88 points by yason 15y ago

6ren 15y ago

Reminds me a bit of Paul Lutus http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1681247 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1681247 Automated homes seem to be like video phones: common in science-fiction, we now have them, but they (curiously) aren't used that much.

koko775 15y ago
Don't know about you, but while I knew video phones existed a long time back, almost all of my calls with my parents recently have been over Facetime, now that there's a simple, intuitive way for us to use it (I bought them an iPad). Automated homes may just be a technology waiting to be designed right, not just solved. After all, home is our retreat from...well, anywhere, really. Design matters if you're going to be encountering it all your life.
bff 15y ago
Smart and automated homes are closely related to my research so I'll chime in on this. Even though the technology exists to do lots of cool things no one has built a modular system that you can mix and match pieces to. Right now each "smart" feature would be completely separate from the rest so you can't amortize the cost of each one. So if you want a home security system, an automatic door and window locker, and an item tracking system you will need to pay for and install three separate systems. Since the utility of some of those systems just isn't that great people only install the system that has the highest economic benefit -- the home security system. Everything else costs too much for too little benefit.
Retric 15y ago
Video chat has much better adoption for close relationships with people that don't live near by. Family moving away, long distance dating etc. Overall communication is a lot more nuanced than most people think. Just consider text messages. What science fiction in 1920 thought people would hold phones that let them call other people and instead chose to write the message down and then send it. Yet, often people find text messages far more useful than a phone call.

cageface 15y ago

and he wired it for pure DC lighting (which makes sense with solar, but Amelang also likes how “peaceful” DC lighting feels). Congratulations are due to him for his resourceful unreasonableness but this sounds a little tinfoil-hat to me.

chao- 15y ago
In what manner? I can't say I have an opinion about the way DC lighting looks, but if it made for easier work with the solar power of an already custom-beyond-reason job, why not?
- cageface 15y ago
  He says it "feels" different. I think it's very unlikely that people can perceive AC power cycles.
  - chao- 15y ago
    I don't know about "feels", unless he has some serious synesthesia issues, but it's far from unheard of to be able to see it. Speaking from personal experience, I have two data points to contribute. I have been able to see a flicker quite clearly from my peripheral vision coming from an LED christmas light fixture. I remember this clearly as it was so distracting that I had to reposition my body during the conversation to face away from it entirely. In another instance, it was noticeably irritating the first few minutes I ever sat in front of a television in Europe (being used to the higher refresh rate in the US).
  - dazzawazza 15y ago
    Is he not referring to the flicker that AC lighting has which some people can see (at least out of the corner of their eye)
  - draven 15y ago
    Anecdotal data point: I can see it. Not when looking directly at a light but on my peripheral vision it is very noticeable at times. I'm pretty sure lots of people are able to perceive it but do not mind. NB: I'm in Europe and the AC is 50Hz.

topbanana 15y ago

Some pics of his house: http://www.flickr.com/photos/faircompanies/sets/72157628674194607/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/faircompanies/sets/721576286741...

VMG 15y ago

Burning wood isn't particularly "smart"

halfwave 15y ago
Why ?
- VMG 15y ago
  Unless he has high-tech stoves, it is pretty polluting. Smoke contains many toxic chemicals. http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-for-heat-really-green.html http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/is-burning-wood-f...
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    Hardly anything wrong with them as far as I can tell, provided you don't have neighbours. I would suspect that all the wood people burn in North America as fuel is greatly offset by all the forest fires people in North America put out. Large-scale adoption of course is not a bright idea, but that's not what this guy is doing. (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.)
    - Retric 15y ago
      <pedantic>Your still burning fossil fuels to get the wood chopped and into your house.</pedantic> Granted, if your burning something for heat it's the best option. But, with that much passive solar and the fact he is living in California he could probably get by using more insulation and basically never need to use a wood stove. I mean just look at all those single pane windows.
    - VMG 15y ago
      > (And it is carbon neutral, so if you're going to burn something, better wood than fossil fuels from that standpoint.) It is carbon neutral only if you plant a tree. Which you can do anyway. Burning gas or oil, which have a better co2/kwh ratio and planting a tree is better than burning a tree and planting a new one.

pcvarmint 15y ago

"C++ programming pioneer"? I'd never heard of him before. From the headline I thought they were talking about Bjarne or somebody like that. And 10,000 lines is not a lot. What's so special about this guy's C++ code? Sorry to be negative, but the article sounds full of hype.

ginko 15y ago
The 10,000 lines of code are for controlling the systems in his house. I would guess he wrote a lot more in his career.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

Loic 15y ago

Look at the pictures of the house (cf. comment by topbanana), the house is beautiful, just a pleasure to look at the clean minimalism. This goes in the same direction than this house: http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm http://www.simondale.net/house/index.htm Corresponding HN discussion: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=619511 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=619511