next topic »

[on:]

I got the idea to create a smart home system (I call it a 'Smart Home Management Service') that would be more beneficial to people than existing systems do today. I decided to expand more on my Undergraduate Senior design project work, and come up with more creative ways of doing things. There are three major elements that I am currently working on. The first is the Active Fire Detection System. The next is Smart Energy & Lighting. How it works is simple. For example, if a person enters a room, and its night outside, you want the lights to turn on automatically. Say its hot outside, but not oven-like, the fan would turn on as well (assuming thats what the user has set in the settings). If a person was to leave the room, the lights and the fan would turn off. Likewise, if its cold outside, the fan wouldnt turn on, but instead the heater would adjust so that the one room the person is in would get the heat of the heater in such a way as to warm the room but not apply direct heat on the person in the room (this concept of the heater is still in the works). Finally, the last component is active home security to detect a threat to your home before it becomes a problem.

So far there are really 3 primary systems to this service:

1) Fire Prevention/Detection
2) Energy Efficiency
3) Home Security

I bounce around between design of each system, but in the meantime I'm working on a shield for the Arduino Uno to step up the 5 volts from the regulator to 9, 12, and 24 volts for use with various relays in projects Im working on, and for any other projects used in the future. Im just trying to get a feel for if there is interest in a board like this, whether its pre-assembled, or as a kit. I could post a parts list if you only want to buy the board by itself.

I also have a relay board in the works with two 30A relays on it that can be powered via the converter shield or via an Arduino Uno depending on the power requirements of relay being used. These two boards will be used in the Energy Efficiency part of my system. Visit my blog for more information on it: tae09.blogspot.com

I currently have a Teensy Relay Shield (which uses SPDT solid state MOSFET relays) in the Fab shop, so once I get that one in the mail and tested, I'll solder it up and get it operational.

Suggestions, and ideas are welcome as well as if you're interested in buying a board.    

Thanks!

[Reply #1 on:]

Hey man,

Sounds very interesting. But are you then planning on an Arduino in every room?
My quick thoughts are a separate arduino in each room with an ethernet shield. Ofcourse xbee is possible too but it would be fairly costly.

For the relay shield, I'm doing kind of the same to automate my greenhouse. Which is not too far off from your idea with controlling temperature, lights etc. I'm driving my relays with 12v, but as I had a pile of optocouplers at home I'm using those. In the past I used transistors which worked a charm.

Anyways I'm very interested about how you are going to make a system for the whole house.

[Reply #2 on:]

What comms do you plan to use between all the sensors and actuators?

______
Rob

[Reply #3 on:]

Sounds very interesting. But are you then planning on an Arduino in every room?
My quick thoughts are a separate arduino in each room with an ethernet shield. Ofcourse xbee is possible too but it would be fairly costly.

For my prototype I've decided to use a dedicated Arduino for each System & Zone it will be monitoring. My setup for now is an Arduino Uno, and a W5100 Ethernet Shield. Basically communications to and from the server will be over LAN, and I'll be using PoE to send power to the board. If the unit will be outside, I'll use a solar panel to recharge a battery. If the unit will be embedded in a wall as is the case for the lighting control, it will have a small transformer and a backup battery to run the board.

For the relays, I plan to trigger them with transistors. Its simple and clean.  

In the long run, Im working on designing my own microcontroller boards using either the ATMEGA32u4 or the ATMEGA128L. For those I've got a set of Crossbow sensor nodes (http://bullseye.xbow.com:81/Products/productdetails.aspx?sid=164) from a previous project, so I like the format and size that they have, so I'll create something a bit more custom for this application, but along the same size and power requirements. The board is only 1.25"x2.25". So you can see why I've chosen it.  

As for wireless communications, I've decided with WiFi. I found a company that sells the WiFly module for only $20, so that will be perfect. My roundabout estimate for the cost of each module will be in the 60-100 dollar range for each one. Probably even cheaper once they are mass produced. Total cost will probably be a few thousand dollars for an entire system complete with extra features, but this would still be A LOT cheaper than say a system you professionally custom designing for your home. Those can easily cost as much as your home.

By the way I've also designed some shields to go with the Teensy 2.0 for various applications (i.e. 3-axis gyro, compass, and 3-axis accelerometer), if anyone is interested. Those aren't directly related to the project, but I figured Id throw them in the soup as well.

[Reply #4 on:]

3-axis gyro, compass, and 3-axis accelerometer

I'm interested in this as I'm in the process of designing an accelerometer board now.

NOTE: I may not have have access to the internet for the next 2-3 weeks, but if you post anything I'll get it eventually

______
Rob

[Reply #5 on:]

3-axis gyro, compass, and 3-axis accelerometer

I'm interested in this as I'm in the process of designing an accelerometer board now.

NOTE: I may not have have access to the internet for the next 2-3 weeks, but if you post anything I'll get it eventually

lol well these three boards are the Teensy 2.0 equivalent of the Arduino Shields on Sparkfun. Let me know if theres anything specific you're looking for and I'll see if I can accommodate you. Since they have no directly relation to my project, I dont think I'd get these boards made unless there was somebody specific who wanted them.