Posts Tagged ‘Home automation’

Brand specific systems
A lot of switch/power outlet/.. manufactures have their own home automation system. Most of them are easy to configure and are good candidates for a DIY home automation system. There is Nikobus from Niko, QBus, BTichino,… The back draw of this manufacturer specific home automation systems is the dependency. When a component fails [...]

Automating your home is one thing, having a good interface to control it is another. Home automation can do a lot of useful tasks for you and make your life easier but in the end you must be the one who’s in control.
As automation system in my apartment I use a Siemens S7-1200 PLC (Programmable [...]

A while ago I started the home automation over ethernet project. Based on microcontrollers I was able to switch lights remotely, set dimmers to a certain value and measure temperatures.

The disadvantage of home automation with a homemade system based on a microcontroller is reliability and lack of spare parts. In addition, the value of the [...]

It has been a while since I started with my home automation over IP project. There has been a lot of progress but also some changes in the original design.
Previous posts:
Home automation over ethernet
The home automation over IP controller
Software
Right now the micro controller board with the Atmega168 can read analog inputs, switch relays and dim [...]

Finally some progress  in the home automation over IP project. The controller is put into it’s housing, there is some firmware written and there’s also some progress on the computer software.
To make it possible to mount the controller in a common electric cabinet it will be housed in a DIN Rail mountable enclosure.
To bring the [...]

It has been a while since I announced the home automation over ethernet project. It’s time to make some progress!
I’ve been writing some basic software for the microcontroller making it possible to switch leds on and off and change the IP and MAC address of the modules. Also on the hardware part some decisions have [...]

A lot of houses are equipped with a wired Ethernet LAN. So why install an extra network just to turn on and of a light bulb or dim a light? Wouldn’t it be possible to use an ordinary Ethernet connection to control our home appliances?
On my job I use ‘Industrial Ethernet’ everyday. It’s like your [...]