I intend to upgrade the very simple management system I have.
the upgrade has 3 simple objectives:
1. Reduction of electricity consumption - the cost of power expenditure is too high - and this is all due to the cost of running the PC constantly - 40W. It is simply not possible to go any lower.
2. Possibilities of expansion through modern solutions - a system based on LPT and 1wire is good but very simple and therefore has zero development possibilities. Power problems, need for outdated drivers, need for Windows. Yes, Windows, because the applications I wrote in the early 2000s are for Windows.
3. Giving up a lot of space - currently the whole thing fits in the so-called recess under the stairs, - ok, a theoretically useless place but unfortunately, not very convenient and not very easy to access. Something breaks, something gets damaged - there is a problem.
The original idea of the system was much broader than what remains today.
Today, all that's left is to control the central heating boiler according to a calendar, to measure temperatures. And that's all. An intercom and other things were supposed to be included - but time, technical constraints. Access control was also to be added - all the wiring is there. There was going to be automatic watering in the garden. None of this came to fruition due to hardware (power supply) and software limitations - emergency controllers).
Now I want - because I'm doing a comprehensive refurbishment of one of the rooms - to automate it completely, so I have the option of ripping out plaster and loading cables.
As far as cables are concerned, there is cat 5e double twisted-pair cable stretched across the building in all the sensitive areas. In other places there is already single but this is rare.
The current location of the recess under the stairs is on the ground floor, but now I want to move the management unit higher up, to another room with better storage conditions and access, so a lot of the cables will be shortened, but a lot will also be lengthened - especially those in the boiler room area and outside.
As for what I want to use it for NOW, it's mainly for electrical automation, switching on/off lighting circuits according to various pre-programmed configurations. To do this I need... personally, I like the version using bell-type light switches best. And the system hidden in a box under the switch responds accordingly. It would be nice if I could switch to a normal system, without automation, at any time, just by digging around in the box.
This state WITHOUT automation will continue until I write myself the appropriate software.
On the programming side - I'd rather learn another programming language than continue using some crappy controllers. I was looking at Python - it doesn't look like a difficult language to learn. Will it work?
As for the system itself, I wanted to put this on a RaspberryPi 2B or an Arduino - this is where the internet directed me but maybe there are other better things?
The simpler the better, the less I have to buy dedicated solutions the better. It's well known that I need to rush this over the ethernet.
Is running cat 5e. twisted pair cable to each switch/socket sufficient? The version of running 230V circuits to where the unit will be - is not very happy as in most cases it will be a lot of wires in one place.
Or any other comments? I've been reading the electrode and other sites here for a week now and have a bit of a mettle, especially that there is little activity on both systems - is everything so perfect or can both projects be considered abandoned? Are my assumptions fit for purpose? what if 5V does not reach the relays over a 20m length of cable? What should I power it with? What about the situation of two different phases?
Or perhaps some other advice?
the upgrade has 3 simple objectives:
1. Reduction of electricity consumption - the cost of power expenditure is too high - and this is all due to the cost of running the PC constantly - 40W. It is simply not possible to go any lower.
2. Possibilities of expansion through modern solutions - a system based on LPT and 1wire is good but very simple and therefore has zero development possibilities. Power problems, need for outdated drivers, need for Windows. Yes, Windows, because the applications I wrote in the early 2000s are for Windows.
3. Giving up a lot of space - currently the whole thing fits in the so-called recess under the stairs, - ok, a theoretically useless place but unfortunately, not very convenient and not very easy to access. Something breaks, something gets damaged - there is a problem.
The original idea of the system was much broader than what remains today.
Today, all that's left is to control the central heating boiler according to a calendar, to measure temperatures. And that's all. An intercom and other things were supposed to be included - but time, technical constraints. Access control was also to be added - all the wiring is there. There was going to be automatic watering in the garden. None of this came to fruition due to hardware (power supply) and software limitations - emergency controllers).
Now I want - because I'm doing a comprehensive refurbishment of one of the rooms - to automate it completely, so I have the option of ripping out plaster and loading cables.
As far as cables are concerned, there is cat 5e double twisted-pair cable stretched across the building in all the sensitive areas. In other places there is already single but this is rare.
The current location of the recess under the stairs is on the ground floor, but now I want to move the management unit higher up, to another room with better storage conditions and access, so a lot of the cables will be shortened, but a lot will also be lengthened - especially those in the boiler room area and outside.
As for what I want to use it for NOW, it's mainly for electrical automation, switching on/off lighting circuits according to various pre-programmed configurations. To do this I need... personally, I like the version using bell-type light switches best. And the system hidden in a box under the switch responds accordingly. It would be nice if I could switch to a normal system, without automation, at any time, just by digging around in the box.
This state WITHOUT automation will continue until I write myself the appropriate software.
On the programming side - I'd rather learn another programming language than continue using some crappy controllers. I was looking at Python - it doesn't look like a difficult language to learn. Will it work?
As for the system itself, I wanted to put this on a RaspberryPi 2B or an Arduino - this is where the internet directed me but maybe there are other better things?
The simpler the better, the less I have to buy dedicated solutions the better. It's well known that I need to rush this over the ethernet.
Is running cat 5e. twisted pair cable to each switch/socket sufficient? The version of running 230V circuits to where the unit will be - is not very happy as in most cases it will be a lot of wires in one place.
Or any other comments? I've been reading the electrode and other sites here for a week now and have a bit of a mettle, especially that there is little activity on both systems - is everything so perfect or can both projects be considered abandoned? Are my assumptions fit for purpose? what if 5V does not reach the relays over a 20m length of cable? What should I power it with? What about the situation of two different phases?
Or perhaps some other advice?
