This looks like a lot of fun! Using a RaspPi is really attractive to me because you can make everything interoperate, and nothing depends on some company's servers.<p>I've done two Pi projects now that I keep meaning to blog about. One was a sprinkler control system. My old system was dying, and not very flexible, so I decided to run everything off a Pi. The tricky part was driving 13 sprinkler lines with 24V AC current. I bought a 16-relay board and eventually got it wired up. For someone with little electronics experience, there was a lot to learn. [1] is an attempt before I realized I had to use the relays. Eventually I got it working and used it all summer. With cron, I can schedule things however I want!<p>The second is a security camera for a vacation rental home, and is not quite done yet. The hardware side was not challenging at all, but I still need to work out how to copy the images up to S3 or a Linode. I'm using MotionEyeOS and it doesn't seem to know how to do that itself. One of the big reasons I went with a Pi is I didn't want to pay or rely on someone else's servers. Also I wanted to avoid the security problems that have been in the news lately. I don't want inbound traffic to my LAN; I'd rather push the video somewhere else.<p>It took me a long time to figure out worthwhile uses for a Pi. A friend of mine loves using these things for media servers and CI servers and whatnot, but to me it's only satisfying if it's something where you actually <i>need</i> the miniature scale. Also a Pi really hits the sweet spot for me in terms of hardware-vs-software. I'm sure I could have done the first project with an Arduino, but using ssh, cron, and python was really nice.<p>[1] <a href="http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/50435/driving-24vac-sprinkler-solenoids-through-uln2003a" rel="nofollow">http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/50435/driving...</a>
I managed to get bilingual voice activation (Alexa and Siri/HomeKit - maybe Google Home in future) working with Home Assistant, homebridge, pi-mote, raspberry pi 3 and four energenie sockets. (In the US I guess you could use etekcity sockets)<p><a href="https://home-assistant.io" rel="nofollow">https://home-assistant.io</a><p><a href="https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/nfarina/homebridge</a><p><a href="https://energenie4u.co.uk/catalogue/product/ENER314" rel="nofollow">https://energenie4u.co.uk/catalogue/product/ENER314</a><p><a href="https://energenie4u.co.uk/catalogue/product/ENER002-4" rel="nofollow">https://energenie4u.co.uk/catalogue/product/ENER002-4</a><p>I wouldn't call it simple to set up, but it was cheap - about £70 (not including Alexa device, which could even be the same pi - <a href="https://github.com/alexa/alexa-avs-sample-app/wiki/Raspberry-Pi" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/alexa/alexa-avs-sample-app/wiki/Raspberry...</a> )
There's some really useful stuff going on there - nice write-up.<p>Anyone getting into this field should take a look at Peter Scargill's Tech Blog - he has published details and code for a home control system centered around a Pi using MQTT with a range of modules (mostly ESP8266). The most interesting recent stuff is on control, monitoring and dashboard design for phone and Web apps - his work on the dials and gauges is very good.<p>Pete also takes a regular look at other non-Pi platforms from an IoT control perspective.<p><a href="http://tech.scargill.net/" rel="nofollow">http://tech.scargill.net/</a>
Hello and thanks for the post! I'm the author of this repo. I would be happy to answer any questions :) Also any feedback/ideas are greatly appreciated!
Cool! I'm doing something similar, but more from the data-analysis side of things for my condo's efficiency.<p>I've been trying to keep a blog of my progress, if anyone is interested, though please forgive the poor grammar / stream-of-consciousness in the posts... I've been writing quickly to get caught up.<p><a href="https://dan-nadler.github.io/" rel="nofollow">https://dan-nadler.github.io/</a>
Hope that doesn't sound bad, it's not meant to be, but am I the only one who doesn't see a lot of "automation" there?<p>Looks more like monitoring and control, on which you could of course build automation, but I personally am also not sure where to head on that one.<p>Nevertheless: Cool project! :)
Ok, Here is what I have been thinking of:<p>a PI, many sensors and controls.
the pi to do the things the pi always does.
the sensors to sense room temp. in each room.
And this is the hardest one, flow control per radiator.<p>I want that I can set room temp schedules, and can go off schedule using the app (manual intervention)
When the current temp in any room is below the set temp for that room the heater system turns on
The rooms that are already above their set temp have the radiators turned down.<p>Why? Because I don't like to waste heat to a room I don't enter 90% of the day.
And when my living room has reached the target temp there is always a room that is either still stone cold or feels like sauna.<p>The hardest part about this is the controllable radiator valves, the rest already exists.
Nice project. Mine isn't quite so ambitious (yet). I just need to monitor water pumps. Does anyone have a suggestion for a water flow sensor? I need to detect if there is water present at the pump input. So far the only thing I've been able to get my hands on is a water flow meter [1]. But it's overkill because I don't need to measure flow rate, only presence of water.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Black-G1-Inch-Water-Flow-Hall-Effect-Sensor-Switch-Flow-Meter-Counter-1-60L-min-Waterproof/32674346412.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Black-G1-Inch-Water-Flow-Hal...</a>
Cool, working on a similar project, but having a different stack<p>1. Z-wave switches/outlets/locks - all lamps, receptacles and locks controlled by Vera Edge;
2. DSC alarm system - door/flood sensors, integrated with Vera;
3. Nest cameras - not integrated;
4. Nest thermostat - integrated with Vera and Alexa;<p>Currently trying to integrate Vera and Alexa to have fully voice- controlled home.
anyone know good but cheap WiFi/Bluetooth-enabled adapter(?) for lightbulbs? e.g. so I can use any machine (not just Pi) that supports WiFi/Bluetooth to control (at least on/off) the bulb.<p>so: wall --> adapter --> lightbulb
FYI: This was submitted two other times in the past 19 hours, making this the third.<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13491012" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13491012</a>
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13485444" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13485444</a>