Indigo 3 Simplifies Home Automation

Indigo 3.0, the Mac home automation program from Perceptive Automation, has emerged from beta and is now available to upgrading and new customers. There are several interesting changes in the new version, such as additional support for INSTEON devices, but a few of the more obscure additions have really caught my eye. Let's take a closer look at three of them.

INSTEON thermostat control: One of the main reasons people get interested in home automation is to save energy. And while automatically turn off unnecessary lights might save a little, I think home heating and cooling is where the real payoff can be found. But until recently, thermostat automation has been complicated and too tricky for most users. This has started to change with better computer-controlled thermostats, and now with Indigo 3 natively supporting an INSTEON thermostat adapter, it should be much simpler and easier to manage. There are other hardware goodies that Indigo supports, of course, and there's a handy list at the developer's website.

DB logging: Indigo 3 stores its logs in a SQLite database, or in a PostgreSQL database if you choose to install the latter. While this is surely the geekiest of the new features, I think it offers a tantalizing opportunity for others to create utilities that mine the logged data for patterns that are interesting, if not useful.

Improved Web control: Indigo has long had a client-server architecture that allows for browser-based access to your automation system. This has been improved in the new version, and now adds support for plugins that extend the functionality. And mobile users will be glad to hear that access from iPhone and iPod touch is fully-supported. For a basic demo of the web interface, visit the sample house at the developer's website.

Have you taken the leap to Indigo 3.0? If so, feel free to leave a comment with your impressions and favorite features.