From home automation and smart homes in general to a specific example.

Tips for beginners

Technology " smart home" allow you to control almost everything today. Some things, such as devices for turning lights on / off on command, are simple and inexpensive, others, such as video surveillance systems, require more significant investments. Until recently smart systems Home attracted exceptionally wealthy eccentrics, today it is already, as they say, mainstream, i.e. common devices. And the development of these technologies, which received a powerful impetus due to the widespread use of broadband mobile Internet, is going very fast, it is not for nothing that electronic giants such as Apple, Google and Samsung entered this market one after another.

Naturally, complex and voluminous systems that control everything in and around the house, which you access through a smartphone or tablet, are commercially available and, if you have enough money, you may well install them on your own. At the same time, today, almost every company involved in home devices and systems, or security systems, wants to bite off a piece of the home automation market pie and start releasing remotely controlled products. But so far, unfortunately, there are no systems that could unite all devices, regardless of who produces them and on what principle they work. Maybe Apple or Google will make us happy?

However, let's look at what can already be used. And first of all, we will understand why this is necessary.

Why do I need a "smart home".

Automation makes your life in your home or apartment easier and better, moreover, it saves time and money. Here are a few reasons to start building your smart home.

1. Automation improves efficiency. This applies to efficiency individual systems in your home, and to the efficiency of the entire household. For example, since the automation system is capable of controlling multiple devices, you can disable thermostats and turn off lights with the touch of a button when you decide to go on vacation. You won't have to worry that you forgot to do something.
2. Automation saves you money. Only smart control lighting, heating, ventilation or air conditioning can reduce energy costs by 15-20%, according to the developers of automation systems. For owners of their own homes, the possibility of using non-standard heating or cooling systems is added here, which also dramatically reduces electricity costs and allows you to quickly recoup investments in " smart House".
3. Automation is convenient. Ability to control multiple electronic devices(light, heating, audio / video, curtains and doors, locks, security systems, etc.) with a single touch device on the wall or just a smartphone - this alone makes you think about home automation.
4. Automation creates comfort. The ability to actively monitor various electronic elements at home provides comfort in which the environment around you - from setting the lighting to turning on the music center - begins to obey you.
5. Automation brings peace of mind. The home device control system allows you to avoid problems that may arise due to forgetfulness or inability. You can check whether everything is normal in your house from anywhere and, if necessary, make corrections using your smartphone.

Smart home technologies

Before we start buying smart home devices, let's take a look at the technologies that are used in these devices. There are several different communication standards or protocols that these devices use to communicate between themselves and the control controllers. Some devices are wired, some are wireless, some use both. Be sure to check which protocol the device is using before you buy it so that all your purchases are compatible with each other.

x10. This is the oldest of the home automation protocols, which appeared back in the 70s of the last century (sounds terrible, but this is only about 40 years ago, and not during the time of Sherlock Holmes and the activities of the People's Will). Now it is used for both wired and wireless communications. X10 is not characterized by insane speed or ultra-reliable communication between devices in a home automation network, however, this standard has long been debugged and many people still prefer to use X10.

ZigBee. This is another name for the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard that is used by the ZigBee Alliance group of manufacturers. The main advantage in this standard is that a mesh network (mesh network) is created in which most devices are equal and communicate with each other on equal terms. The mesh network offers increased reliability and resilience. When one of the nodes ceases to function, other nodes continue to work, connecting with each other directly or through other intermediate nodes. In addition, this connection consumes very little power.

Z wave. Another wireless protocol owned by one company - a manufacturer of chips, including for smart home systems Sigma Design.

Insteon. This is perhaps the best protocol that combines the power grid communication protocol with the wireless protocol. Both work like a mesh network. All nodes of the Insteon network are equal and can communicate with each other. If one node fails, communication goes through the others. The protocol developer is Smartlabs. The protocol is compatible with X10.

WiFi. This network protocol is now used not only by computer systems. Very fast, well working. And it is not surprising that some manufacturers began to make smart home products that use the advantages of this protocol. Other protocols consume less power and use less bandwidth, but WiFi is much more capable.

HAI. This is the protocol used in professional installations costing over $50,000. We'll leave it aside for now.

Smart home planning

Before you rush to buy those interesting devices, which we will describe below, you need to plan everything in advance and decide on your goals. To do this, you need to make a short list of your actions.

Define your goals. Do you want to monitor your home by phone and check the temperature of the bathroom from anywhere in the world, or are you a little more modest in your desires? Write in detail what you ideally want to receive. The right approach- starting small, but knowing what you want to achieve in the end is a key factor in the successful completion of the project. Try to understand what will be most useful to you. Start, for example, with the security system. Or here are some other examples.
Vacation system. Pressing one button on the keyboard and the heating will be turned off, the security system will enter the "On" mode, and the lighting will turn on in the evening in a certain order to simulate the presence of people at home. Or a mode in which, in the event of a call during front door, your phone receives an image of the caller, and you get the possibility of a two-way conversation with him. And you can decide whether to remotely open the door for him (and then lock it after he leaves).

Choose the standard for home automation. In principle, you can use any. The main thing is to decide in order to select the right devices. X10 and Insteon now dominate. Both are easy, X10 is somewhat cheaper, and Insteon can handle large amounts of data.

1. Determine the phases of installing systems. Smart home devices make life better, but if you decide to immediately install devices on a large scale, then after a while you may decide that you did it in vain. Break the process into stages, make sure that all the devices that you have installed at this stage are working, and only then proceed to the next stage. The more detailed you draw the installation diagram, the easier your life will be when carrying out the work.
2. Select a control system. For example, Activehome for the X10 standard is an easy-to-use solution with somewhat limited functionality. Or Powerhome is a good choice but difficult to master. Some systems allow you to use voice control, but they are not very friendly with the Russian language. Individual Solutions allow remote control access.
3. Install the computer that controls the system. This computer needs to run 24/7, so choose a place for it where it won't bother anyone. Install the software, connect the X10 controller (or other standard of your choice).
4. Install home automation devices and modules. The number and list of devices and control modules depends on your plan. There are many of them, we will not dwell on specific devices here, for example, if you use X10, then to control, say, garage doors you can use the universal module. There are lamp modules, or wall switches, most of which are very easy to connect. We will talk about some devices below.

And a couple of notes.

1. Use to save electricity additional sensors, which will allow, for example, the system to automatically turn off the light when you leave the room.
2. Where possible, use wired switch-type modules rather than plug-in modules. This will allow you to control lights and devices without using the smart home control system, if, God forbid, something breaks in it.
3. Keep in mind that automation requires understanding what you are doing, especially when you are dealing with electricity. Wrong actions can be dangerous for you.

Smart home devices

Statistics say that the most popular home automation project is the creation of a security system. The creation of home theaters and music control systems at home is in second place, followed by the management of light and energy. Then comes the integration of several systems with each other.

Nest Learning Thermostat

The Nest thermostat (owned by Google) not only controls the temperature in the house, but also decorates it. It was designed by the man who designed Apple's iPod. It works on a WiFi network and you can control the temperature remotely using your smartphone or computer. It is not very cheap, but will not be superfluous in any "smart home". In addition, Nest has an open interface, which will allow you to connect new devices to it in the future, as Google promises.

Honeywell Wireless Thermostat

Honeywell wireless thermostat

This is another WiFi thermostat from Honeywell, which has been making home appliances for decades and its line of thermostats offers many connectivity options.

The thermostat has a color touch screen and software, able to learn the habits of users, and can also control the internal and external conditions to optimize the performance of heating and cooling systems. Thermostat settings can be pre-scheduled, or entered directly via the touch screen, computer, or mobile device. The screen displays indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity value, as well as local weather forecast. In addition, several versions of this device can be controlled by voice.

Insteon

Insteon home automation system

Insteon is having a lot good reviews a home automation system that uses both electrical wiring and a wireless channel for communications. Insteon combines dual-band and mesh technology to create a fast, reliable network that is compatible with everything from thermostats to home theater systems.

The Insteon Starter Kit includes a hub and one dimmer module to control the light. The hub connects the entire system to the Internet (through a home router) and works with a mobile application that allows you to control the system from anywhere, program timers and your own "scenarios", as well as monitor the status of the system. The hub can also send email and text messages when sensors are triggered in the home. According to the manufacturers, Insteon offers just about everything from light switches and motion sensors to garage door openers, night vision cameras, water leak sensors and more.

Kevo Smart Deadbolt

If you can open your car without keys, why not do the same with your house or apartment? One option is Kwikset's Kevo Smart Deadbolt, a deadbolt lock with a touch ring on the outside and a Bluetooth 4.0 smart mechanism on the inside. Kevo uses several methods for opening at once: a keychain, an iPhone with the Kevo app, touching the mentioned ring with a finger, as well as a password for opening. True, according to user reviews, the application does not work very well so far.

Belkin WeMo

Belkin WeMo. smart socket

It is an easy-to-install device that can be a great start to your smart home and can be up and running within minutes of installation. Belkin WiFi-enabled outlets allow you to remotely turn on or off appliances connected to your electrical network Through them. Belkin has released a few more very convenient devices are, for example, the WeMo Home Light Switch, a motion sensor that allows you to activate devices plugged into the WeMo outlet, a video babysitter with WiFi access. All this is controlled through mobile app based on iOS or Android.

Philips Hue lighting system

Philips Hue lighting system

Hue is a lighting system consisting of lamps, light strips and a wireless bridge controlled via an iOS app. According to the company, "Each HUE bulb has 600 lumens of light output and can produce all white light options, from warm to cool, as well as various options colored light. Each lamp uses 80% less energy than a traditional lamp. The light can be smoothly dimmed and enlarged, its color can be adjusted and all this is possible from anywhere you can access the Internet. In addition, the application contains a number of "recipes" from experts to help you concentrate or relax better.Hue is compatible with a range of other smart home devices, such as Belkin MeMo switches.

How much can you trust a "smart home"

An important question: what is the reliability of such systems that combine many “smart” devices, how sure can you be that after you command him to close the front door through your smartphone, the lock will actually click? Does such a system have "fool protection"?

All systems in the house, such as lighting, heating and security, are subsystems of a single automation system. The advantage of this system is that it provides very reliable control and integration of all subsystems. At the same time, almost always, when the automation system fails, the subsystems continue to work. This will only create some inconvenience for you. For example, you won't be able to turn off 20 lights at the same time with a single button press, but you can still do it one at a time and in the usual way.

Note that the smart home system uses feedback with its subsystems and receives a signal if something went wrong. At the same time, a message arrives on the user's phone and he can decide what to do in this case.

It is known that almost every apartment or house is equipped with various devices and engineering communications: ventilation, air conditioning, heating systems, audio and video equipment, etc. Regardless of its modernity, each device needs periodic or systematic control by a person. It takes a lot of time and effort. But home automation can solve everything!

The introduction of a home automation system can significantly simplify the management process various kinds electrical equipment and engineering systems in the house, as well as make it more convenient and comfortable. Thanks to dispatching, it becomes possible to fully control the automation process through a single control panel, which receives information about the state of the system.

What does it represent?

The "Smart Home" automation system is a single set of hardware and software that combines the processes of managing the infrastructure of the premises.

MZTA JSC is developing such high-quality certified equipment. The intelligent automation system "Smart Home", which we implement and implement, simplifies the process of managing the systems installed in the house. It automates the heating of a private house, as well as:

• ventilation;
• power supply;
• water supply;
• sewerage;
• a television;
• CCTV;
• security and fire alarms.

Functions of the Smart Home automation system

It allows:

• Remotely control your home using your home computer, smartphone or tablet via local network or via the Internet.
• Ensure consistent work household appliances and engineering infrastructure.
• In automatic mode, regulate the microclimate in the premises (rooms).
• Receive signals from sensors and send them to actuators.
• Ensure the safety of residents security and fire alarm and other protective devices.
• Report any unusual or emergency via mobile phone message or email.

You can get an automation system for a private house, apartment or cottage by contacting us. After reviewing the catalog, you can choose the right equipment, order the development of the project. Help and advice is provided by the technical support service.

Advantages of the building automation system "Smart Home"

The benefits include:

• occupant safety;
• economical consumption of energy resources;
• remote control of engineering systems;
• maintaining a comfortable microclimate;
• improvement appearance Houses.

In summary, I would like to emphasize that automation country house allows you to create cozy and safe conditions residence. The team of professionals of our company will provide your accommodation with a reliable and quality system engineering infrastructure management.

A house that fulfills all desires is not a fantasy, but a completely feasible reality using modern intelligent automation systems. They allow you to significantly improve the quality of life, achieve maximum comfort and safety, allowing you to feel the continuous "care" of the house for all its inhabitants.

Smart House

Managing personal space with the Smart Home automation system is not just a set of devices that perform certain functions, but an individually created project that meets all the requirements and wishes of a particular family. At the same time, the system can be easily reprogrammed in accordance with changing conditions and the “mood” of the household, while continuing to adapt flexibly to the family as a whole and to each person individually.

Home automation avoids searching for remotes for various devices, manual switching on and off of appliances, daily opening of blinds, etc. Now, there is no need to get up at night if the house has become hot or stuffy, Smart Home will avoid this situation by installing functional system climate control. The house itself will reduce or increase the intensity of heating when the temperature in the rooms deviates from the desired norm, if necessary, turn on the air conditioner and perform all other actions to maintain the most comfortable conditions.

Who is Smart Home for?

An intelligent home automation system provides many benefits for its owners. Its installation is equally expedient, both for active people and for those who prefer a calm, measured life.

Smart home is perfect for all population groups:

• many working, busy people - an automated house will take care of most of the worries about its owner, opening windows in a timely manner, turning on the light, watering the backyard, etc., even if a person lives alone, his life will become as comfortable as possible, without requiring additional spending time;
• families with small children - an intelligent system will ensure maximum safety for small households, while freeing up a lot of time for their parents;
• people who often go on business trips, travel - home automation will create a complete illusion of the daily presence of a person, which will protect the home from the risk of theft and other similar threats, will monitor the serviceability of appliances, in case of water leakage, smoke and other problems, it will give a signal to the appropriate service;
• elderly and people with limited mobility - many have relatives, whose health and well-being often causes excitement of friends and relatives. The Smart Home automation system will allow you to easily solve this problem. Whether it is an elderly person or people who, for health reasons, find it difficult to maintain a living space in full, an intelligent system will help with this. Thanks to various sensors, controllers and alerts, neither the burner turned on, nor the forgotten iron or opened window won't become a threat. With proper programming, the House itself will do everything right or give a signal, warning of an unfinished action.

Everyone will be able to find their advantages in the Smart Home automated system and set it up exactly as they see fit, the most comfortable.

Features and Benefits

Buying home automation equipment is an important step in right direction. Today, many large foreign and Russian manufacturers provide a wide range of devices responsible for security, heating, lighting, energy efficiency, ventilation, air humidification, etc. The variety of sensors, controllers, valves and other equipment allows you to create and configure a well-coordinated system that will work as a whole.

Our online store sells automation devices from the best manufacturers. Products are reliable and have a manufacturer's warranty.

It is possible to set up an intelligent system with sound and voice control, as well as a function for solving problems in accordance with external parameters, for example, changing the intensity of lighting or air temperature.

The equipment is easy and quick to program. In the future, the owner can independently make their own adjustments.

The price of home automation depends on the project and, directly, on the selected equipment. If necessary, our experts are always ready to advise you.

Tips for beginners

Smart home technologies make it possible to control almost everything today. Some things, such as devices for turning lights on/off on command, are simple and inexpensive, others, such as video surveillance systems, require more significant investments. Until recently, Smart Home systems attracted exclusively rich eccentrics, today it is already, as they say, mainstream, i.e. common devices. And the development of these technologies, which received a powerful impetus due to the widespread use of broadband mobile Internet, is proceeding very quickly, not without reason that electronic giants such as Apple, Google and Samsung entered this market one after another.

Naturally, complex and voluminous systems that control everything in and around the house, which you access through a smartphone or tablet, are commercially available and, if you have enough money, you may well install them on your own. At the same time, today, almost every company involved in home devices and systems, or security systems, wants to bite off a piece of the home automation market pie and start releasing remotely controlled products. But so far, unfortunately, there are no systems that could unite all devices, regardless of who produces them and on what principle they work. Maybe Apple or Google will make us happy?

However, let's look at what can already be used. And first of all, we will understand why this is necessary.

Why do I need a "smart home".

Automation makes your life in your home or apartment easier and better, moreover, it saves time and money. Here are a few reasons to start building your smart home.

1. Automation improves efficiency. This applies both to the efficiency of individual systems in your home, and to the efficiency of the entire household. For example, since the automation system is capable of controlling multiple devices, you can disable thermostats and turn off lights with the touch of a button when you decide to go on vacation. You won't have to worry that you forgot to do something.
2. Automation saves you money. Only smart control of lighting, heating, ventilation or air conditioning can reduce energy costs by 15-20%, according to the developers of automation systems. For owners of their own homes, the possibility of using non-standard heating or cooling systems is added here, which also dramatically reduces electricity costs and allows you to quickly recoup your investment in a smart home.
3. Automation is convenient. The ability to control many electronic devices (lights, heating, audio/video, curtains and doors, locks, security systems, etc.) with a single touch device on the wall or just a smartphone - this alone makes you think about home automation.
4. Automation creates comfort. The ability to actively control the various electronic elements in your home provides the comfort that your environment - from setting the lighting to turning on the music center - begins to obey you.
5. Automation brings peace of mind. The home device control system allows you to avoid problems that may arise due to forgetfulness or inability. You can check whether everything is normal in your house from anywhere and, if necessary, make corrections using your smartphone.

Smart home technologies

Before we start buying smart home devices, let's take a look at the technologies that are used in these devices. There are several different communication standards or protocols that these devices use to communicate between themselves and the control controllers. Some devices are wired, some are wireless, some use both. Be sure to check which protocol the device is using before you buy it so that all your purchases are compatible with each other.

x10. This is the oldest of the home automation protocols, which appeared back in the 70s of the last century (sounds terrible, but this is only about 40 years ago, and not during the time of Sherlock Holmes and the activities of the People's Will). Now it is used for both wired and wireless communications. X10 is not characterized by insane speed or ultra-reliable communication between devices in a home automation network, however, this standard has long been debugged and many people still prefer to use X10.

ZigBee. This is another name for the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard that is used by the ZigBee Alliance group of manufacturers. The main advantage in this standard is that a mesh network (mesh network) is created in which most devices are equal and communicate with each other on equal terms. The mesh network offers increased reliability and resilience. When one of the nodes ceases to function, other nodes continue to work, connecting with each other directly or through other intermediate nodes. In addition, this connection consumes very little power.

Z wave. Another wireless protocol owned by one company - a manufacturer of chips, including for smart home systems Sigma Design.

Insteon. This is perhaps the best protocol that combines the power grid communication protocol with the wireless protocol. Both work like a mesh network. All nodes of the Insteon network are equal and can communicate with each other. If one node fails, communication goes through the others. The protocol developer is Smartlabs. The protocol is compatible with X10.

WiFi. This network protocol is now used not only by computer systems. Very fast, well working. And it is not surprising that some manufacturers began to make smart home products that use the advantages of this protocol. Other protocols consume less power and use less bandwidth, but WiFi is much more capable.

HAI. This is the protocol used in professional installations costing over $50,000. We'll leave it aside for now.

Smart home planning

Before you rush to buy those interesting devices that we describe below, you need to plan everything in advance and decide on your goals. To do this, you need to make a short list of your actions.

Define your goals. Do you want to monitor your home by phone and check the temperature of the bathroom from anywhere in the world, or are you a little more modest in your desires? Write in detail what you ideally want to receive. The right approach is to start small, but knowing what you want to achieve in the end is a key factor in successfully completing a project. Try to understand what will be most useful to you. Start, for example, with the security system. Or here are some other examples.
Vacation system. Pressing one button on the keyboard and the heating will be turned off, the security system will enter the "On" mode, and the lighting will turn on in the evening in a certain order to simulate the presence of people at home. Or a mode in which, in the event of a call at the front door, an image of the caller comes to your phone, and you get the possibility of a two-way conversation with him. And you can decide whether to remotely open the door for him (and then lock it after he leaves).

Choose the standard for home automation. In principle, you can use any. The main thing is to decide in order to select the right devices. X10 and Insteon now dominate. Both are easy, X10 is somewhat cheaper, and Insteon can handle large amounts of data.

1. Determine the phases of installing systems. Smart home devices make life better, but if you decide to immediately install devices on a large scale, then after a while you may decide that you did it in vain. Break the process into stages, make sure that all the devices that you have installed at this stage are working, and only then proceed to the next stage. The more detailed you draw the installation diagram, the easier your life will be when carrying out the work.
2. Select a control system. For example, Activehome for the X10 standard is an easy-to-use solution with somewhat limited functionality. Or Powerhome is a good choice but difficult to master. Some systems allow you to use voice control, but they are not very friendly with the Russian language. Separate solutions allow remote control access.
3. Install the computer that controls the system. This computer needs to run 24/7, so choose a place for it where it won't bother anyone. Install the software, connect the X10 controller (or other standard of your choice).
4. Install home automation devices and modules. The number and list of devices and control modules depends on your plan. There are many of them, we will not dwell on specific devices here, for example, if you use X10, then you can use a universal module to control, say, a garage door. There are lamp modules, or wall switches, most of which are very easy to connect. We will talk about some devices below.

And a couple of notes.

1. To save electricity, use additional sensors that will allow, for example, the system to automatically turn off the light when you leave the room.
2. Where possible, use wired switch-type modules rather than plug-in modules. This will allow you to control lights and devices without using the smart home control system, if, God forbid, something breaks in it.
3. Keep in mind that automation requires understanding what you are doing, especially when you are dealing with electricity. Wrong actions can be dangerous for you.

Smart home devices

Statistics say that the most popular home automation project is the creation of a security system. The creation of home theaters and music control systems at home is in second place, followed by the management of light and energy. Then comes the integration of several systems with each other.

Nest Learning Thermostat

The Nest thermostat (owned by Google) not only controls the temperature in the house, but also decorates it. It was designed by the man who designed Apple's iPod. It works on a WiFi network and you can control the temperature remotely using your smartphone or computer. It is not very cheap, but will not be superfluous in any "smart home". In addition, Nest has an open interface, which will allow you to connect new devices to it in the future, as Google promises.

Honeywell Wireless Thermostat

Honeywell wireless thermostat

This is another WiFi thermostat from Honeywell, which has been making home appliances for decades and its line of thermostats offers many connectivity options.

The thermostat has a color touch screen and software that can learn user habits, and can monitor indoor and outdoor conditions to optimize the performance of heating and cooling systems. Thermostat settings can be preset according to a schedule, or entered directly via the touch screen, computer or mobile device. The screen displays indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity value, as well as local weather forecast. In addition, several versions of this device can be controlled by voice.

Insteon

Insteon home automation system

Insteon is a well-received home automation system that uses both wired and wireless communications for communication. Insteon combines dual-band and mesh technology to create a fast, reliable network that is compatible with everything from thermostats to home theater systems.

The Insteon Starter Kit includes a hub and one dimmer module to control the light. The hub connects the entire system to the Internet (through a home router) and works with a mobile application that allows you to control the system from anywhere, program timers and your own "scenarios", as well as monitor the status of the system. The hub can also send email and text messages when sensors are triggered in the home. According to the manufacturers, Insteon offers just about everything from light switches and motion sensors to garage door openers, night vision cameras, water leak sensors and more.

Kevo Smart Deadbolt

If you can open your car without keys, why not do the same with your house or apartment? One option is Kwikset's Kevo Smart Deadbolt, a deadbolt lock with a touch ring on the outside and a Bluetooth 4.0 smart mechanism on the inside. Kevo uses several methods for opening at once: a keychain, an iPhone with the Kevo app, touching the mentioned ring with a finger, as well as a password for opening. True, according to user reviews, the application does not work very well so far.

Belkin WeMo

Belkin WeMo. smart socket

It is an easy-to-install device that can be a great start to your smart home and can be up and running within minutes of installation. Belkin WiFi sockets allow you to remotely turn on or off appliances connected to the electrical network through them. Belkin has released some other very handy devices - for example, the WeMo Home Light Switch, a motion sensor that allows you to activate devices plugged into the WeMo outlet, a video baby monitor with WiFi access. All this is controlled through a mobile application based on iOS or Android.

Philips Hue lighting system

Philips Hue lighting system

Hue is a lighting system consisting of lamps, light strips and a wireless bridge controlled via an iOS app. According to the company, "Each HUE lamp has 600 lumens of light output and can produce all white light options, from warm to cool, as well as a variety of colored light. Each lamp uses 80% less energy than a traditional lamp." Light can be smoothly reduced and increased, its color can be rearranged and all this is possible from any place where you can access the Internet. In addition, the application contains a number of "recipes" from lighting experts to help you concentrate or relax better. The Hue system is compatible with a range of other smart home devices, such as Belkin MeMo switches.

How much can you trust a "smart home"

An important question: what is the reliability of such systems that combine many “smart” devices, how sure can you be that after you command him to close the front door through your smartphone, the lock will actually click? Does such a system have "fool protection"?

All systems in the house, such as lighting, heating and security, are subsystems of a single automation system. The advantage of this system is that it provides very reliable control and integration of all subsystems. At the same time, almost always, when the automation system fails, the subsystems continue to work. This will only create some inconvenience for you. For example, you won't be able to turn off 20 lights at the same time with a single button press, but you can still do it one at a time and in the usual way.

Note that the smart home system uses feedback from its subsystems and receives a signal if something went wrong. At the same time, a message arrives on the user's phone and he can decide what to do in this case.

One fine day, I received a notice in the mail about a debt for hot water, due to the untimely notification of utilities about the readings of water meters. At this point, for the sake of idle curiosity, I was mastering the WiFi radio module from “Roving Networks” in order to “train” it to turn it on / off remotely electric water heater to save energy in the long absence of users. And so everything came together that I decided to reduce these tasks and some other ideas of the "smart home" to practical implementation. And of course, it would not be interesting if I used technologies familiar to me, so I decided to use as many new and interesting things as possible.

Formulation of the problem

The apartment has two counters. cold water, two counters hot water and an electric meter. There is also a boiler with a capacity of 1.5 kW. Due to the virtual lack of hot water, the corresponding meters are used exclusively to take readings that are always approximately zero. During the first stage of automation, only one of the cold water meters, the electric meter and the boiler will be subjected to. In accordance with this, the problem statement was developed:

1. Automate the process of taking readings from a cold water meter and an electric meter. For actually not used water meters, provide plugs with constant values.
2. Implement email forwarding with meter readings to utilities.
3. Develop a mechanism for remote switching on (off) the boiler, reading the instantaneous current consumption and water temperature.
4. Develop a Web service to manage the above mechanisms.

Operating principle

In the figure above, I tried to depict the principle of operation of the designed device. The web service acting as a user interface connects to the WiFi module, which, using the telnet protocol, provides the ability to control its own I / O ports, ADC and UART interface. Own I / O ports and ADC are used to control the power switch of the boiler, while the microcontroller is accessed through the UART to read the readings of meters and a thermometer. To get a more correct picture of the interaction, I will start reviewing individual modules from the bottom up.
Sensors.

Sensors

It just so happened that by the time the development of this system began, there was an obligation to take my “cold” water meters for verification to the water utility, which became a convenient reason to replace them with more modern water meters KV-1.5i, manufactured by PJSC Elektrotermometriya, which are equipped with an interface for taking testimony. In this case, the interface turned out to be a wire that is connected to the reed switch inside the meter in such a way that the contact closes every 10 liters of water that has passed through the meter.
Unfortunately, there were no telemetry outputs on the electric meter NIK 2102-02, so it was decided to count the number of flashes LED indicator, which, according to the documentation, produced 6400 flashes per kilowatt. For this purpose, at the nearest radio market, I purchased a bunch of noname phototransistors, among which I found one that responded acceptable to the LED indicator.
As a thermometer, I used the DS18b20 thermometer, familiar to fans of 1wire networks, which was quite easy to make friends with the Attiny2313 microcontroller.
For the longest time, I chose the current sensor. As a result, I settled on the ACS712 30A, the principle of which is based on the Hall effect. Sensor required external source power supply and at the output gave out a voltage value proportional to the current strength relative to the reference voltage equal to Upit / 2.

Power key

As I said, the power of the water heater is about 1.5 kW, so it is better to control such a load using a relay. And such a relay was found inside a conventional power surge protection unit, bought a long time ago in some supermarket. On the board of this block, I cut off the track supplying the base of the transistor switch and screwed it to the I / O port of the WiFly module, whose signal was previously amplified with a transistor. The block case turned out to be quite large and additionally contained a current sensor. Thus, the entire power switch, together with the current sensor, was made in the case of a voltage surge protection unit.

microcontroller

As an application programmer, I very rarely encountered hardware and never encountered MK, so I chose Attiny2313, which had plenty of use cases on the Internet. In addition, the USBasp programmer for AVR microcontrollers turned out to be very cheap, only about $9. Firmware written in C can be found here: github.com/AndriiArtemenko/UARTSensorsReader. Roughly speaking, the MK is engaged in the fact that it counts external interrupts initiated by the counters and, when the power is turned off, saves the values ​​\u200b\u200bin non-volatile memory. The MK receives external commands via UART from the WiFly module and responds to them by sending data in response. So far I have programmed only 5 commands:

“a” - get the value of the water meter.
“b” - get the value of the electricity meter.
“c” - get thermometer value.
“d” - reset the value of the water meter.
"e" - reset the value of the electricity meter.

The ds18b20 thermometer is interrogated by the MC through a regular port using external libraries 1wire and ds18x20_v2. To maintain the performance of the MK in the absence of electricity, an ionistor for one Farad is present in the power circuit.
The main difficulties in working with the MK were caused by the bounce of the water meter contacts, which was suppressed by software using a timer.

WiFi module

For the wifi module I used an RN-171 from Roving Networks, also known as WiFly. In fact, this is not just a wifi module, but a self-sufficient device with its own I / O ports, ADC, UART, WEB and FTP clients. Highly interesting thing, which I recommend to all enthusiasts to get acquainted with.
WiFly has been configured to connect to home network through a wifi router whose telnet port was forwarded to the wifly module. Thus, it became possible to control the module from the outside.
One of the I/O ports was configured to control the power switch, and one of the ADCs digitizes the readings of the current sensor. The UART port is directly connected to the MK.

circuit diagram

How good it is to live in the 21st century when there is no need to keep a huge test bench and a set of components for all occasions at home. circuit diagram I modeled in Proteus 7 Professional, but only the part that concerned the operation of the microcontroller. I just finished the part related to the WiFly module, for the reason that there was no RN-171 model for Proteus on the Internet. For the same reasons, the diagram shows an optocoupler instead of a phototransistor, buttons instead of counters, and just another power output instead of a voltage regulator. Otherwise, the scheme is quite accurate and corresponds to the “iron” prototype. The power supply for the device was the charger from mobile phone at 5V. Only the current sensor and the transistor amplifying the signal of the output port are powered directly from it, WiFly and MK are 3.3V devices and a stabilizer was installed for them. Today, the system is at the testing stage, and therefore mounted on a circuit board.

web service

I decided to create a Web service using Ruby on Rails 3, for the sole reason that I really wanted to try working with this vaunted beast. Initially, I wanted to host the project on Cloud Foundry, but, without waiting for an account, I switched to Heroku. The source code of the Web application can be viewed here: github.com/AndriiArtemenko/SmartFlat .
The application used gems devise, delayed_job_active_record, liquid, simple-navigation, log4r, etc.

On the this moment in addition to displaying the collected data, the application is able to send letters with meter readings to the appropriate authorities according to the schedule and manage the power supply of the boiler. Of course, this is not enough, but the initial task has been completed, and there are already plans to expand the functionality.

Instead of a conclusion

I was engaged in the implementation of this task in my free time and for this reason spent about 3 months on it. During this time, I realized the directions for the further development of the project and its relevance. In the near future, I plan to add the ability to automatically pay public utilities through some payment service, add devices for emergency water shutoff in the bathroom and much more.

Thanks

During the entire time of the project implementation, users of the Radiokot forum provided me with significant assistance in designing the hardware. Guys, thank you very much!

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