Moving on from my previous project of miniature home automation to actually applying it to a full house.
I have 10 switches in my apartment and I want to add to them remote control, either behind individual switches, in that hole in the wall where the wires meet (I don't know the English term for that), or somewhere else depending on the way it was wired. Since I can't drill holes in the wall, I need to make them wireless and smallest they can be. To do that, I want to design a PCB that would hold a relay (that would connect to a regular switch in SPCO/SPTT), RF receiver and some way of transforming 220V AC to 5V DC.
What is the most minimalist way of converting 20V AC to 5V DC (10mA)?
Is it a good idea to incorporate a relay onto to the PCB to reduce space needed, or to use relays on a separate pcb and just stuff them together into the hole?
Is it a good idea to make an SPCO/SPTT circuit on the PCB and connect the leads of main and switch to it to reduce the additional wiring that would be necessary?
You can get RF activated remote switches which pass all the does-not-set-the-building-on-fire
regulations and then all you have to do is hack into the remote controls for them, much safer?
Your best bet is to go with one of the standard home automation protocols that either use wireless RF or the existing house wiring. [u]X-10[/u] has been around "forever" and there are a couple of other newer standards. (The market is fragmented and as far as I can tell, no one protocol dominates... X10 may still be the most popular.)
Although you might want to build your own timer/controller, you are probably better off buying the switches. I've had an X-10 (or X-10 compatible) system for many years, but I never build any of my own stuff.
I've got several of [u]these dimmer switches[/u] and a programmable controller. Plus, I've got a motion sensor and a couple of other things.
Okay, so making my own transformer is not a good idea.
I have already looked at X10's but its not a good fit for me since this project is my graduate thesis and I need to show that I actually made something rather than just connecting few stuff together. This project isn't just lighting, I'm making an artificial intelligence that would learn from your movements and actions around the house and in turn adjust the house to a person's needs. Light switches are only things (for now) where I will need to control high voltage.
Alternatives that I see to making my own transformer:
-Using this AC 110V/220V To DC 5V/500mA that I would connect to the pcb on each switch
-Or this and run cables from this to each switch along side main line. Maximum current is 2A and I will need total of 0.5A- 1A.
What gives me the lowest probability that I'll burn the house down?
Any other diy remote switch methods you would suggest?
I forgot that I would need to know the light status and with a relay and a regular switch being connected in SPCO mode I can't read the status of the light. I will have to use the switch as a toggle for the relay. I have a lot of work ahead of me
