Beginner's introduction

Presentations
5

Welcome @Prof_Techno ,

I started home automation for the same reasons: managing temperature and heating. I’ll share my experience in case it helps, do with it what you want :slight_smile:

Equipment :

  • Raspberry Pi 4, then replaced after several months by a Dell micro PC
  • Zigbee dongle (I have this one, but there are lots on Domadoo: http://slae.sh/)
  • Connected thermostatic heads (Têtes Thermostatiques connectées - Compte rendu de mes recherches - #26 par lmilcent) (connected thermostatic heads / thermostatic radiator valves - TRVs)
  • Motion sensors (that also measure luminosity and temperature)
  • Aqara temperature sensors (thanks leboncoin)
  • Aqara door and window sensors (same, on leboncoin or Domadoo)
  • Nous smart plugs (on Domadoo)
  • Nous water leak sensors (on Domadoo)
  • Wireless buttons to trigger actions (on Domadoo)
  • Smart switches (Domadoo)

Evolutions:
Here’s roughly how I evolved my home automation setup over time, in chronological order.

  1. Installation of temperature sensors in each room, at human height to get the temperature most representative of how it feels.
    I was able to measure and understand how humidity evolves in the home as well as temperature depending on the time of day, the weather outside, etc.
    From there I created alerts for when the humidity level is too high, to ventilate the house for example.
    Regarding the heating, which I hadn’t connected yet, I set reminders when bedrooms were too warm for the night (above 17°C).
    I also bought other types of sensors for the fridge and freezer!

  2. Installation of presence sensors
    I wanted to start building a connected alarm for holiday periods.
    When I activate the scene (for leaving on vacation), as soon as movement is detected I receive a message.

  3. Installation of smart switches
    Coupled with the presence sensors, I could turn on certain lights in situations that suited me. For example when I came back from walking the dog in the evening, or in the morning on waking so the kids aren’t afraid to go into the living room if it’s too dark.

  4. Installation of contact sensors
    Now, coupled with the presence sensors, my connected alarm was more effective. And besides, I could create scenes to alert me if a window is open in summer and it’s heating the house. Same for winter, if we ventilate too long and the temperature drops too much.
    I also added a notification when the front door opens. Pretty practical in my case, but not essential :sweat_smile:

  5. Installation of thermostatic heads
    Finally, I can manage heating remotely based on presence, time of day and night, and all that automatically!
    We were able to save on our bill without being colder (well, we were already cold before anyway!).
    The possibilities are big: turn off heating when a window is open, turn off or lower heating when no one is home, same when we go on vacation and especially turn it back on remotely when we plan to return in a few hours.

  6. Installation of smart plugs
    I check the consumption of my fridge (which tends to overconsume), my desk, and most of the plugs in the house.
    My desk turns off by itself if nothing is consumed for 30 minutes (<10W) to avoid the “slow” standby consumption.
    For the Christmas period, I plug my fairy lights into smart plugs to better manage when to turn them on and off. Manually or automatically.
    Finally, I have a UPS connected to a smart plug, which lets me know when there’s a power outage (the UPS allows my box and Gladys to run, and to send me a message).

  7. Installation of a CO2 + VOC sensor (volatile organic compounds)
    Useful to check air quality, whether to ventilate or not and especially if cleaning products for example are polluting the indoor air too much.

I’m surely forgetting other practical cases, but this already gives you a quick overview of my setup and the possibilities.

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