Motorized Shutter (theory)

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

I am 100% new to Arduino and I need help making sure my theory will work. I have not decided on any particular hardware at this time

The project: I want to put shutters on the exterior of my house, and I want to motorize them so they can be opened/closed remotely. There are 11 window, and each will need its own Motor Unit. I want all Motor Units to communicate with a single Control Unit, so they can all be open/closed simultaneously. I also want to create a website so the shutters can be controlled from anywhere and possibly set on a schedule. Not sure if it matter, but the shutters will be 'barn door' style (just rolls from side to side). Also, the shutters will only be opening/closing a maximum of 4 times/day (open in the morning, close if there's a storm,then open after, and close at night)

The theory: I want to use an Arduino MKR Wifi 1010 for each Motor Unit. These boards will be powered by a 3.7v LiPo battery. I want to use a solar panel (6v?) to provide power to recharge/maintain the battety, utilizing the Arduino's onboard charge circuit. However, since solar panels' output fluctuates, I should be able to use a boost/buck converter to provide smooth 5v power to the board. I will use the Arduino to provide the logic for the converter.

I'm not sure what size motor I need, but I'm spitballing 6-12v. My plan it to connect a jumper straight from the battery to a boost converter, then an H-bridge speed controller to power the motor, again using the Arduino to provide the logic for these circuits.

I'm hoping to get all of this to fit on a PCB that is the same footprint as the Arduino (make a shield).

Is there anything I've overlooked? Will the solar panel provide enough power to maintain the battery charge? Will jumping from the battery cause issues with the charge circuit? Any suggestions on what size motor to consider (I don't yet know the weight of the shutters)? Is there a better motor control circuit?

The Control Unit will most likely be another MKR Wifi 1010, with a row of RGB LEDs to indicate each Motor Unit's status (Green: correct position, Blue: in transit, Red: error) and a button to activate Motor Units. The Control Unit and Motor Units will communicate wirelessly, probably over Wifi, but possibly Bluetooth or other.

The Control Unit will also communicate with the website to allow for control from anywhere/schedule. The website will (hopefully) also indicate each Motor Unit's battery charge level.

2

Not knowing which motor unit makes it very hard to guess what you need. Are you sure your battery will run the motor unit? Running them all concurrently will put an excessive load on the battery. Is there feed back for shutter position? Is the position open, closed, or programed? ..etc

Sorry without more information I cannot answer your questions. Post an annotated schematic showing how this will be connected, include all power sources.

3

The voltage doesn't tell you anything about the size. I have some very very small 12V motors and then I have one that turns the starter on my truck.

You need to think about the power, not the voltage. Look for Watts or horsepower or something like that. You'll also need to consider the amount of torque needed. It's not the kind of thing you want to try to spitball, especially if this isn't something you already have a lot of experience doing.

Measure how much torque it takes to turn the rod to close and open the shutters. That will at least give you a starting point to pick a motor. Until you choose a motor, most of the rest of this thought is premature.

4

Yes, Your shutters need louvers to keep the wind from blowing them off the house. They will need guiding rods or something top and bottom for the same reason.
Explain your mechanism for moving the shutters with your motor. Do you care to know if the shutter is open or is closed?

5

You have described a relatively complex project, and I write only to advise that you slow your role and start with very smaller pieces.

You could start with the hardware and just get any motor using any power supply to run a shutter as you open and close switches.

You could start with software, and even do a lot of development of that without actually purchasing anything at all by using the wokwi simulator.

Something like run a motor to open shutters at dawn and close them at dusk using a real time clock (RTC).

Do something like turn on and off a LED over the internet locally or from, say, Turkey.

Experiment separately with the solar charged lipo battery and boosters and whatever.

A PCB board is nothing you should worry about. Yet. Many things will arrrive at you and make you rethink things.

You say you are 100 new to Arduino, what does that mean? Are you 100 per ent new to programming? To designing mechanical systems for operating shutters? To wrestling with internet protocols? And so forth.

You might be surprised to know we do see ppl who have it all built, PCB and everything who come here since "nothing works"… just don't be that person.

Divide and conquer.

a7

6

You can buy motorized window shutters with remotes, so the theory definitely works.

Take a look at a few to see how they are constructed. One example

PS: rolling from the side sounds like a bad idea, and is much more difficult to implement mechanically than the usual top down style.

7

Start from the motors, whatever adapts the best. Then think if you want to power them (11) separately or from one battery. Find batteries (high discharge rate) suitable for your motor voltage and needed current. You need solar charge circuit for charging, not some buck converter.
Rest of the project is piece of cake.

8

It's a fairly complex project for an experienced builder. Stepper motors would be my choice. On a first quick reading, it sounds like many expensive components as in numerous Arduinos where ESP01's might work.
If you can access it from the net, so can the bad guys. Keep it off your household router.
Don't spend money on custom PCB's until a full bread board mockup is 100% functional.

9

This might help you get an idea….
I don’t use H-bridges to control the motors because I didn’t need speed control.

Brpecausebthete was no sensors or limit switches on the motors, It uses a form of timed ‘dead reckoning’ to determine the positions.

This was for FOUR blinds , but gives you some idea of what’s involved.
Control was via web page on the controller, and telnet (serial) commands sent from a nine automation server over the network.

IMG_0522
IMG_05226806×4746 1.42 MB

It worked fine as long as I was aware of the installation…, for a friend’s elderly mother to control the shutters from her lazy chair as the sun over during the day.

I would probably approach it slightly differently today, but the essence would stay the same.