I would like to know what IOT projects you are using for convenience factors?
I am busy with a Load cell scale to measure my gas bottles. Thus tracking gas usage and ill know when my bottle is running low.
Ive had some silly ones, like turning on the floorlamp in the babyroom from the wall switch, as the footswitch is a pain.
I am also looking at using car presence for lights.
I already switch the garage lights on if the door is opened after sunset.
But id like to turn specific lights on in the house when I arrive home after sunset.
Looking forward to seeing some other “convenience” projects
Indeed, also one I had in mind for a long time, until I got so fed up with the high gas usage (due to gas geysers) that I did something about it and installed a heat pump. Now I’ve been running 4 months off the last half-a-48kg and I kinda forgot about it…
Pir Sensors in every room of the house to switch on the lights as you go in - and off if you havent moved in X time
Sliding gate switches on the out side light as it opens - also send a TTS message to the displays in the house to announce that the gate is open/closed AND it takes a picture when the gate opens and send it to our phones via telegram.
Lights is also programed on an Away mode - so if the alarm is set the lights will randomly go on and of during night time.
Pressure senor on my Compressor - send the data to Hassio (I had the sensor so I used it )
Bathroom Extractor fan comes on in the middle of the day , when we are not at home just get some airflow (it is a closed bathroom with no windows- very old house)
Geyser temp sensor that is connected to the system , I have a Solar Geyser so if it is not above 50 deg by 15hoo , the alarm is not set and grid is available , it will heat up the geyser.
That is a couple , if I go through all my rules I should find some that I have forgotten about
An “availability” light for my office door, which turns red when my webcam or mic is on, orange if my phone leaves the office, and green otherwise.
Geyser temp sensor, which is used by NodeRed to determine, based on temp/time/solar battery/etc whether to turn on the geyser using my CBI Astute switch or not.
Use a combination of CCTV object recognition and alarm zones to
– Turn on my patio lights after dark when motion is sensed (useful when arriving home at night, etc)
– Send me a notification if movement is sensed when the alarm is on, along with a picture from the relevant camera
– Alert me if a driveway gate/garage door has been left open, again with a pic, with option to close it
I’d love to do one of these. Some of my concerns are…
The large LPG bottles are outside, so whatever sensor I use will be exposed to the elements. It is not clear to me if the load cells you buy at the hobbyist places can withstand water.
Can I use a cantilever setup, with the load cell on the one end? Simply physics should dictate that the load will be spread between the two ends, and if I put the bottle in the middle then the load cell will see half the weight? Or better to use multiple load cells?
Is there perhaps such a thing as a pressure sensor that simply screws into the gas line? Then it could even live in the kitchen next to the gas stove?
I’d also like to know this. We have 2 bottles outside and one is already empty. I thought I’ll wait until the other one is nearly empty or empty and then call in replacements, but I’m dreading the chance that there is a delay of a couple of days (yes, I know that’s why there’s 2 bottles).
Such a sensor outside would give me time to arrange the replacement.
My opinion, its a cheap enough project to try and test, ive bought all the components, will build it at some point, as long as the d1 mini is dry it shoudl be good, if you design your “scale” with the elements in mind im sure the load cells can be fairly protected.
So after switching my hot water over to a heat pump, I really don’t need to ship in 48kg bottles anymore, which means I no longer have to wait for a delivery. 19kg bottles are tall enough to reach the hoses, and easy enough to handle and transport. So I will be moving to 19kg bottles as soon as the last 48kg is empty.
I will probably make a square carrier out of angle iron, probably some 40x40x3 should be fine, and fit this with hinges onto another similar construction, with the load cell on the unhinged side.
I will have to check the math, but intuitively I would think that since it is now supported at three points (two hinges and the load cell), the support itself is triangular, and if you put the bottle smack in the middle, the load cell will get one third of the downward force. So even a 20kg sensor can handle a total of 60kg load and give better resolution.
All that remains then is to protect the load cell, and since it is really an electronic strain gauge and I merely want to protect it from dripping water coming from above, I might get away with mounting an upside down enclosure to the “weigh bed” with the load cell inside the enclosure. A hole in the lid of the enclosure should be okay and whatever is needed to connect to the outside world can go through that. It will probably attract a little insect traffic though, will have to see.
I’m an idiot. I have lots of aluminium left from a dismantled PV frame. I also have a mitre-saw and the right blade. I should make this thing from material that is not prone to corrosion
Hah. I used to work with someone who advocated getting onto the table and announcing to the office that you’re an idiot (to which you would get a round of applause). They did that in a previous company, because it really helped with morale, it emphasised that everyone makes mistakes, and that the faster you recognise it, the better for the product and the team.
It’s a bit like they say of Alcoholics, that the first step in recovery is to admit you have a problem. Or as CS Lewis said, progress means getting to a goal. If you are on the wrong road, moving forward doesn’t get you closer to the goal. Progress means turning around and going back…
Yeah, I overanalysed the dinges out of that simple statement…
I have many various home automations that add convenience. @C.Potgieter knows them all.
Main gate
Can open from HA
HA has gate status, if it’s opened / moving or closed.
Garage
Door(s) open notification sent to my iPhone and TV if its past 21:00
Doors open when mine or my wife’s car is started - each car assign it’'s “door”
Doors close once the car has been off for 90 seconds.
The doors open when arriving home - long driveway - so no security risk.
Garage lights turn on when light levels in the garage drop low enough AND a door is open
LED strip at the back of the garage connected to a sensor - which goes from green to flashing red - so I know when I need to stop the car when pulling into the garage
Light turns on when any door is opened - stays on until door has been closed for 5 mins OR sunlight levels increase
Park sensor used to give Home Assistant a status if there is a car parked in the garage or not
Pool
Pool has a Sonof POW for smart timing control and automations
Pool pump switches off when there are clouds or not enough sunlight (It runs off the Solar)
Pool light comes on when light levels are low - normally happens around 17:45 or so
House
95% of lights are smart enabled and controlled through HA
Power
All of the houses power is monitored and displayed through HA
Various automations to shift loads like the geyser and such when there is enough PV available
Notification to tell me when the grid fails + one for when the inverter switches to batteries or back to grid
I’m sure I am missing one or two other things…
All of this is managed and controlled via Home Assistant + Node Red and visualised in Grafana (Influx as the DB)
I have some other plans, like adding the alarm to HA and some more automations around the power side of things at some point.
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