uC friendly open source home automation framework

!!! WARNING !!!
Be careful with that!! Imagine what your insurance company will say after your house burns down because one of your home made sockets had a failure and started the fire…I can guarantee you that you wont see a dime from them.
!!! WARNING !!!

Amen. I think the automation itself should also be invisible. The X10 modules were always unacceptable to me because I didn’t want a bunch of bricks hanging on my walls.

Eric’s warnings are also good. However, I think the insurance company would freak out about many of the things going on in my house… We all accept some risks to play these games.

I’m aware of the security/insurance issues but a guy is allowed to dream right? :slight_smile:

Maybe we’ve just defined a new requirement. It must be made 100% of parts that “disappear” in the presense of fire?

I’m not saying you can’t build your own switches, but if you do, get the help of a knowledgeable person. Have your design reviewed by many people, make sure your traces on the pcb can carry the load it will pass, keeping trace spacing in mind to prevent sparks…

Anyway, you know what i mean. Take care when working with the mains, it can kill you.

That is why I use small relays that switch 24v to control modular din-rail teleruptor or solid state relays that are approved f.e. those from eltaco.

Wouter, speaking of eltako, do you have their modules with RS485?
And what’s the reason behind using a relay when you can accomplish the same with a cheaper opto coupler?

One of the problems with a DIY home automation system here in the USA is that your insurance company would take a dim view of you installing your own non-UL approved devices into switch and outlet boxes connected to the mains power. If something should go wrong, the insurance company probably would not pay for the repairs.

A better approach would be to use Z-Wave or Insteon devices for the switches and outlets, and a power line “modem” device together with one of the open source code bases as a starting point for your own development.

SmartHome has a device they call “SmartLinc”, which is able to run an internal web site and talk over the power lines to a large number of Insteon devices. It comes in a small package, so can’t have much horsepower or memory. It should be possible to do something like this with a Cobra. I intend to work on this project in the future, but right now I just don’t have the time.

Here are some useful links:

[url]http://blog.hekkers.net/[/url]
[url]http://jeelabs.org/intro/[/url]
[url]http://www.madreporite.com/insteon/insteon.html[/url]
[url]http://efundies.com/guides/[/url]
[url]http://www.madreporite.com/insteon/plm_basics.html[/url]

I made my own rs485 protocol, relais, pushbutton, temperature, infrared modules, eltako is only for switching the higher load and insurance companies can’t say anything if you create your serup that way. All material that switches anything above 24v dc is approved.

I use relais to switch and optocouplers to read the feedback. The teleruptors are switched with 24v ac, that’s why I used relais instead of opto’s.

Eric (EriSan500),

I’ve been working on the same idea like you for a while : an open source HA framework based on NETMF.
At present, I have a Panda II that optically reads my gas meter and posts readings to ThingSpeak.com
I also developed simple CAN bus shields for Panda II and Cobra and a software stack to go with it.

Stefaan

If it would be useful…
When I was playing with Zigbee I used Atmel’s free high-level Zigbee stack “BitCloud” and corresponding line of products. You can see it here:

[url]Smart | Connected | Secure | Microchip Technology
[url]Smart | Connected | Secure | Microchip Technology