I'm trying to make a home automation system with arduino.
The major idea is to control different appliances based on time of day and sensor readings (energy management and climate control) and security (alarms/locks).
The missing link is how to network all these devices. I need some kind of wireless system that can broadcast to all devices in simultaneous. A bit like I2C, but wireless.
Any suggestions?
Look into NRF24 wireless networking. There is at least one library for networking those radios. There are two models. One has a PC board antenna and is shorter range (50-60 feet indoors through a couple walls). The other has a real antenna and a pre-amp for longer range (and is more expensive).
You can easily communicate with any number of NRF24s (assuming they are within range). The master can ask each slave in turn to send its data or to take action. All the NRFs will hear all the messages but only respond to the message containing their ID. The differet IDs can easily be stored in a constant when programming the slaves.
...R
Great, thanks for the suggestions. I've ordered a few to try. Also found this library that appears to do what i need:
I used this ManiacBug library with my NRF24
...R
I've had a lot of success with Moteino's which are Arduino compatible with built in transceiver. Not an option if you need to use other Arduino shields as the Moteino's are a different form factor.