Transcript DIY Home Automation - PC Users Group (ACT) Inc.

DIY Home Automation
Chris Barrett
Disclaimer
• I am a hobbyist
• I have no attachments to any of the companies that
I will mention other than that I have bought some of
their products.
• References to the companies and their products do
not constitute endorsements.
What is Home Automation?
• “home automation”
• “smart homes”
• “intelligent houses”
• Automating aspects of your home to make
things more efficient and/or enjoyable.
My Introduction to HA
The Technologies in my House
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X10
1-wire
Infrared
Text to speech
Caller ID
Digital IO
X10
• Powerline Carrier (PLC)
• Control signals are sent over the house’s
existing electrical wiring
• no extra wiring is required!
• The signals are not noticed by and don’t affect
the operation of non-X10 equipment.
• Developed and patented in 1978
Examples of X10 Equipment
CM12AU
Computer Interface
AM12
Appliance Module
LM15EB
“Socket Rocket”
X10 Addressing Scheme
• Each device (eg a light) is assigned an address
• made up of a House code and Unit code
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House Code – A,B,C,…,P
Unit Code – 1,2,3,…,16
So a light in the kitchen might be K3
256 (16*16) combinations
• Multiple devices can have the same code but will be
controlled as one.
Examples of X10 Commands
• K3 ON
• Turns the kitchen light on
• K3 OFF
• Turns the light off
• K3 DIM25
• Turns the light on but at 25% of it’s normal power
X10 – “Gotcha #1”
• X10 wont work with devices that need a human
to press a button for it to do something.
• The device needs to be capable of doing its job
as soon as it gets power.
• For example, X10
• Wont work with a VCR, but
• Will generally work with a kettle or a pedestal fan.
X10 - “Gotcha #2”
• X10 signals can occasionally get lost or
corrupted.
• Most X10 modules are not bi-directional.
• No feedback to confirm if the command was
received.
1-wire
• Firstly, it actually uses two wires …
• 1 wire for ground
• 1 wire for power and data
• this is where the name comes from
• The 1-wire devices in my house use the
existing Cat-5E cabling.
• Each device has a unique ID (like a MAC
address)
iButton
• One physical implementation of 1-wire
devices.
• Looks like a watch battery.
• Two main types used for HA:
• Thermostat
• Serial number
• Can be used to identify regular occupants
Infrared
• IR transceiver connected to the PC
• www.usbuirt.com
• Allows the control of:
• devices (eg TV, stereo, VCR) from the PC, and
• the PC using a surplus IR remote.
• An IR->RF->IR repeater allows me to keep the
PC and USB-UIRT in a closet.
Text To Speech
• Reads out information, reminders and
warnings:
• Reads out the weather forecast each morning.
• Reminds me the night before and the morning of
rubbish day.
• Tells me when the news is on.
Digital I/O
• Serial interface board
• www.weedtech.com
• Each of the 14 lines can be configured as
inputs or outputs.
• Switches, LEDs, push buttons, etc
Misterhouse
• The ring master or brain of the the system.
• Open source.
• Written entirely in Perl
• Multi platform – Win32, Linux, Mac, etc
• All of the automation within my house was
created using Perl.
• www.misterhouse.net
Heating
• Wireless thermostat.
• PC based RF receiver (W800RF32)
• www.wgldesigns.com
• The system looks at the temperature provided
by the thermostat …
• Compares it to my desired temperature for the
time of day …
• If necessary sends commands to an X10
controllable relay which in turn controls the
ducted gas heater.
Motion Detectors
• Generally one in each room.
• In some rooms, the lights are turned on
automatically if motion is detected and it’s dark.
• In all rooms, the lights are turned off if no
motion is detected for a user-defined period of
time.
Motion Detectors
• Can double as sensors for an security system.
• A work in progress at this stage.
Doors
• The front and back doors are fitted with devices
that send a signal whenever the doors are
opened or closed.
• The system advises when a door has been left
open too long.
• A device has also been fitted to a closet and a
light is turned when on the door is opened.
• just like the fridge.
Doorbell
• Plays a WAV file when someone presses the
button.
• If the front door is not opened within 45
seconds then an email is sent to me indicating
that we missed a visitor.
• Future plan is to install a camera (eg web cam)
to take a photo and include it in the email.
The code that manages the doorbell
$Doorbell_timer = new Timer();
$Doorbell_Answer_timer = new Timer();
if (state_now $Doorbell =~ /normal/) {
play(volume=>100, file=>'Trumpet1.wav');
flash $LoungeRoom_light;
if (inactive $Doorbell_timer) {
set $Doorbell_Answer_timer (45);
set $Doorbell_timer (120);
}
}
if (expired $Doorbell_Answer_timer) {
Send_Email(undef,"Doorbell"," No-one answered the door",undef);
}
if ((state_now $FrontDoor eq "open") && (active $Doorbell_Answer_timer)) {
unset $Doorbell_Answer_timer;
print_log "Door has been answered - email will not be sent";
}
Caller ID
• Modem detects the phone ringing.
• The system:
• reads the phone number from the modem,
• looks up a database of phone numbers and reads
out the name if it’s known or the phone number, and
• sends an IR signal to the stereo to turn down the
volume.
Weather Data
• The system downloads:
• Weather conditions (current temp, wind speed, etc)
from the Bureau of Meteorology every 20 minutes.
• Forecast information once an hour.
• Conditions are plotted on a number of graphs.
• Forecast is read out each morning, and when
requested.
Irrigation
• Project is on hold because of the water
restrictions.
• Plan is to have a system that will adjust
watering parameters depending on:
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the forecast for today and the next couple of days,
the current conditions,
the recent past conditions, and
any government imposed watering restrictions.
Example #1- My computer room
Each morning when I walk into the room for the
first time, the system:
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Turns on the light if it’s dark,
Reads out the forecast for the day,
Reminds me if our dog needs its monthly pills, and
Turns on the radio in the lounge room and sets it
to Triple J.
Example #2 - Rubbish Day
• We have our rubbish collected on Thursdays.
• On Wednesdays at 18:15, 19:15 and 20:15 the
system announces that “It is rubbish day
tomorrow.”
• On Thursday morning the system announces at
07:15 and 07:45 that “It is rubbish day today.”
Example #3 - Front door
• Motion sensor outside near the front door
detects motion and turns on:
• the exterior light if it’s dark outside and
• the light immediately inside the front door if it’s dark
inside the house.
Example #4 - News Time
• At 17:57 the system announces that “The news
is on soon”.
• At 17:59 the system transmits IR signals to:
• Turn the TV on,
• Set the channel on the TransACT STB to 9, and
• Set the stereo to accept the audio feed from the TV.
Demonstration
• A live demonstration of the system via the
Internet.