Group Actions
Engagement
  • Author Author: rhe123
  • Date Created: Date Created
  • Views 1465 views
  • Likes 5 likes
  • Comments 8 comments
Related
Recommended

[Pi IoT] Thuis #02: Collecting materials

rhe123

To make my proposal a reality I need quite some electronics in the house. Luckily we already have several Z-Wave devices and Raspberries in the house, and a sponsored Kit on the way. But what other hardware do we still need?

 

More Z-Wave devices

image

The entrance, living room, kitchen and office already have most lights controllable through Z-Wave. We do however plan to make this happen in the bedroom (and bathroom) as well to create a wake-up light. For this I’ll order the Fibaro Dimmer 2 or Qubino Dimmer modules, plus some dimmable LED bulbs and switches. Before ordering I’ll try to find out which combination is working best nowadays, because in the office I’m using the first generation Fibaro Dimmer and that one unfortunately buzzes while it’s dimmed. In a later blogpost I'll let you know which one I choose.

 

iBeacons

image

Next to PIRs I’ll be using iBeacons to detect where in the house we are. I’ve chosen the latest generation of Estimote beacons for this. I’ve used the first generation before and they are nice little beacons with a very powerful SDK. Using at least 6 beacons it should be possible to give a quite accurate approximation of your location in the house. I’ll be giving it a try when they arrive.

This generation is brand new, so I had to pre-order them.

MOVE

image

Another pre-order is the MOVE, which is currently available on Indiegogo. The MOVE is a bluetooth controlled motor to motorize existing blinds and shades. There is a micro USB connector as well which can be used to control it, so when it arrives I’ll experiment with both Bluetooth and USB control.

It will be used in the bedroom as part of the wake-up light. The estimated shipping date is currently in June.

 

HDMI capturing

For the ambilight in the home cinema I intend to use Hyperion. A HDMI splitter will be used so I can intercept the signal to the TV and feed into HDMI-to-RCA converter and a capturing device, which in turn will feed the images into a Raspberry Pi. The software interprets the image and controls the LEDs through an Arduino. Most materials are ordered from AliExpress, so it will probably arrive in about a month.

 

Patience

Now it’s time to be patience and wait for the arrival of all materials. In the meanwhile I’ll be working on some other parts, more about that in the next post!

Parents

  • Some very recent tech you'll be using, that's cool! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be very affordable yet image

    At 60EUR per dimmer and 33USD per beacon, the total cost of the project will increase rapidly. I may consider implementing these solutions at home when they get cheaper though!

     

    Perhaps interesting to have a cost breakdown per project at the end of the challenge. Could be useful for anyone wishing to reproduce a project.

  • in reply to fvan

    Z-Wave components are indeed quite costly, although it's doable when you grow the setup gradually. There are some cheaper brands available as well.

     

    Providing a cost breakdown at the end could be interesting indeed, I'll try to add it in one of my later blogs!

Comment Children
No Data