PowerHome Home Automation Software      Home Automation Software featuring Infrared, X-10, and Insteon control via the Web!

Last Updated:
09/12/2007

Frequently Asked Questions












  • Does PowerHome support Z-Wave?

    PowerHome does not currently have support for Z-Wave. We are however currently investigating the requirements for licensing the SDK and adding support for this exciting new technology.

  • Do you support plugins or have any method of allowing users to extend the functionality of PowerHome?

    Yes. The latest versions of PowerHome now have support for a generic plugin SDK. Using this SDK, you can create plugins for PowerHome in any language that supports the creation of activeX controls. In addition to the plugin SDK, PowerHome is also capable of interfacing with other programs through both it's Windows Messaging Interface and its Socket Server Interface.

  • What is your upgrade policy?

    Upgrades are free for life. While this policy could possible change in the future, anyone who is a registered user before the change will still be entitled to free upgrades.

  • Do you have plans for supporting SAPI 5.x?

    PowerHome currently supports SAPI 4.0 for both Voice Recognition and Text to Speech. PowerHome also currently supports SAPI 5 for Text to Speech. Development has not yet started for Voice Recognition under SAPI 5 but we will be going in that direction.

  • I just installed PowerHome and the first thing that comes up is a dialog for ODBC. What do I do?

    PowerHome is having problems locating the database file (pwrhome.db). Shut down PowerHome and locate the pwrhome.ini file (this file is default located in C:\Program Files\PowerHome). Edit the pwrhome.ini file with Notepad and locate the [Database] section. Edit the "DBF" parameter so that it points to the PowerHome database file.

  • Does PowerHome support UPB

    Not Currently. We will be looking into this new technology shortly.

  • Is the PowerHome database available to other programs or is it exclusive to PowerHome?

    PowerHome uses an ODBC connection to communicate with the Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere database. This database is also accessible to any other program capable of connecting to ODBC databases (Microsoft Access, etc). The userid/password for access to the database is ph/ph

  • How do I start/access the web server?

    From within the PowerHome Explorer, navigate to Setup->Web. From within this screen all aspects of the webserver can be controlled. If PowerHome is the only webserver running, you can use a default port of 80. If another webserver or application is already using this port, you select another. Common ports for HTTP are 88,8000, and 8080.

  • My firewall is going haywire when I launch PowerHome, what should I do?

    The Adaptive Server Anywhere runtime engine opens port 3072 for remote access. You must allow this port to open in order for PowerHome to function.

  • Does PowerHome have an interface for NetRemote?

    No. However, a simple VB app could be written and interfaced to PowerHome using the Windows Messaging Interface. The internal COM routines could also be used to communicate with the NetRemote Interface. Once I acquire this interface, I will add support for it.

  • Does PowerHome have an interface for MainLobby?

    No. We will be creating an interface for Girder shortly. This should allow for interfacing to MainLobby.

  • Do you support the 1132U (PowerLinc USB)?

    YES! Beginning with version 1.03.4.3, PowerHome supports this popular interface.

  • Can you read and write values to an Applied Digital SECU-16?

    Yes. PowerHome has the ability to both read and write values to the SECU-16 via an Ocelot controller. PowerHome is also aware of X-10 and IR commands that are generated by internal programming within the Ocelot.

  • Does PowerHome support downloading of code to the CM11A or Ocelot?

    No. PowerHome does not support the downloading of code to any of its currently supported controllers.

  • Does PowerHome support Caller ID?

    Yes. Caller ID support is now available using the PH_CID plugin available on the downloads page. This plugin supports most caller ID modems and the NetCallerID box and includes hangup support for flagged numbers.

  • Does PowerHome have scripts that can be executed at startup or shutdown?

    Yes. PowerHome allows the user to declare System Process triggers for Startup, Shutdown, and Reinitialize and allows the user to execute macros or other code when these triggers are fired. PowerHome also has support for System Process triggers that allow code to be executed everytime the Control Center data is reloaded.

  • Does PowerHome support VBScript (or JScript, PerlScript, etc)?

    Yes. PowerHome supports any language that is supported by WSH (Windows Script Host). VBScript and JScript are included by default. Others are available for download from Microsoft.

  • Can you call scripts from macros?

    Yes. Use the ph_runscript_? functions.