Today I want to touch on the topic of home automation.
This has been around for a long time with one of the main players being X10 and their cost effective system of wireless and powerline communications to get the intended message to the end unit. Many other systems are available from stores and mail order outlets. What I find missing however is a system that the hobbyist in the street can embrace without getting tied in to a particular product. Usually one wants to start off small, switching a light or appliance remotely and then moving on to dimming applications.
These simple systems usually involve a central "controller" and one to many end units that can be configured to perform various functions. One of the drawbacks of X10 is the inability to get data back to the controller and nowadays even a simple system would be required to have a duplex communications method for exchanging information. We all want to know what the temperature is! A system would not be complete without a PC interface and some sort of program for monitoring and controlling the data to the end units. Zigbee seems to be a growing data transfer system of choice and Zigbee modules can be purchased that allow a network to be formed automatically almost without user input. This allows the user to concentrate at the message level of data transfer to get the job done - Light No 5 ON - Read TEMPERATURE in room 3 etc.
So what do we need for a basic hobbyist system:
1) A "controller" that is used as a conduit for messages from a PC to the end units.
2) One to many end units that can perform various functions like switch ON/OFF, dim UP/DOWN, read temperature, read switch inputs etc. These end units should be versatile enough that with a simple exchange of internal modules, end unit functionality would be adapted to the current application.
3) A PC program for setting up various scenes or displaying monitored information.
4) A remote control would be a logical next step. This could send a command to the controller which would then transmit instructions to the various end units, depending on the scenes (list of instructions related to a particular input)that had been programmed e.g. Button 1 = dim light 5 to 50% AND switch on appliance 6 AND switch off appliance 9.
Hobby level systems would allow the user to program their own functionality into a system and create their own home automation environment without having to design the hardware.
Marc Jarchow
47 year old entrepeneur providing MODular ElecTRONics solutions for the Professional (custom instruments for your business), Educator (can be used as a training aid), Entrepeneur (can be packaged with your logo) and Hobbyist (make your own home based products) using low cost modules to create whatever application you have in mind.This is all done via
modetron.com
Share this: