Smart home – how can you control sockets and lighting remotely?

Hello

I’m slowly starting to think about the solutions that could be used in the house we’re building. Specifically, I’m currently looking at how to run cables for future control systems for practically every possible element, and ultimately to automate everything that could make life easier.

What’s clear to me so far:
- audio, TV and LAN installations
- central vacuum system
- alarm system
- weather-controlled heating
- roller shutter control
- remote control of the entrance gate and garage door
- a server with a DSL connection housing a central library of films and music


As for the uncertainties I’m still mulling over:
- control of virtually every mains socket and light switch

What I mean is being able to switch the lights on or off remotely and, for example, switch off an iron that’s been left on

Strange or not, I’ll do it anyway I just don’t know the best way to go about it. Should I have relays in every socket, with thin wires running from them to a ‘control centre’, or a relay cabinet with a huge number of wires running throughout the house (price )? For now, I’m leaning towards the first option.

Thanks in advance for any sensible suggestions and ideas, and if anyone really blows me away with something, they’ll get a few points

Just the usual sort of ideas.

- Simulating the presence of household members – you go on holiday with your family, and in the evening the lights switch on and off automatically in various rooms without you needing to leave your keys with the neighbours.

Generally speaking, a relay-based cabinet is a poor idea… I don’t think it’s worth dwelling on the drawbacks, as they’re quite obvious…
The second version is far better; here, you still can’t do without relays (triacs or other combinations…), but with the right choice of components, you can fit everything needed to control a single contact into a standard flush-mounted ‘box’... As for the implementation itself… Each box contains a small microcontroller, and you can use very thin control cables (1-Wire, I2C, etc.) or transmit data directly via the live wires… It’s a bit complicated… but in my opinion it’s the best solution, as no additional cables are needed…

And to avoid complicating matters by plugging electronic devices into each socket, perhaps you could run a very thin cable alongside the 220V line, which would be used solely to power the relay located next to the socket. You can gather all the cables in one place where you control them. The cable can be as thin as those used for telephone installations. It’ll work out incomparably cheaper and more reliably than plugging electronics into each socket.
As for the control system, I’ll be doing it on a Compaq from Allegro for 30 zł + Linux. Simple Bash scripts, controlling the central heating automation via DS1820 and Digitemp, controlling pumps and other accessories via Parapin, perhaps using a second free COM port and I2C for other automation systems, plus a 1.5 kW UPS – and for a fraction of the cost, we’re replacing expensive automation systems. Admittedly, it’s quite a bit of work, but you can save the equivalent of a good national average wage, and that alone makes it worth spending a month ‘fiddling about’ with it.

Hello. There are smart control systems for individual sockets; you run two cables – one for power and one for control – close together, and the junction boxes are connected via a feed-through. I believe this was described recently in *Elektroinstalator*. For example, the Isys, EIB and Lutron systems... There’s plenty of information about this online. Best regards

The most sensible and cheapest solution seems to be to run an additional cable – for example, a two-pair cable – from each socket or switch to a single point where the control system will be located, You should also consider a centralised temperature monitoring system (with a DS1820 sensor in each room – this installation can be carried out in a ‘serial’ configuration).

As someone mentioned, there are loads of these kinds of systems on the market… for anyone with the cash, there’s nothing you can’t buy these days… If you’re a hobbyist with a bit of a passion for it, I’d go solely for Bluetooth or standard LAN with some microcontrollers as end-points

In my opinion, LAN or Bluetooth with some sort of control unit as the end device is out of the question – let’s assume there are certainly more than 100 sockets and light switches in the house (just think of the cost of installing such a system – cable plus a microcontroller for every appliance we want to control).

Hello
And to make it more difficult to build, the system must be fail-safe, or at the very least allow the automatic controls to be bypassed so that things like the lights can be operated manually and sockets can still be used even if the system fails.

gonzol111 wrote:

In my opinion, using a LAN or Bluetooth connection with some sort of microcontroller as the end device is out of the question – let’s assume there are certainly more than 100 sockets and switches in the house (work out the cost of installing such a system: cable plus a microcontroller for every appliance we want to control.

One Bluetooth module costs as much as 32 zlotys... plus some microcontroller
One such pair could probably control all the appliances and lights – and whatever else someone might come up with – in a single room... There certainly won’t be 100 rooms unless I’m mistaken

Hello
A smart home should always include a mechanical ventilation system. Depending on its complexity, such a system may include a heat recovery unit and an air conditioning unit. And this is where there’s plenty of scope for innovation when it comes to controlling the damper motors of the individual units.

For your solution – using a single Bluetooth module and a control unit to control devices, even within a single room – to work properly, you must connect all the receivers you intend to control to the aforementioned system in some way (you can choose between setting up a wired network or installing Bluetooth at each receiver). In summary, this is the only way to limit the number of UCs, for example, to one per floor.

And you must also bear in mind that sometimes there’s a power cut and there’s no electricity.

I’m working on a similar project myself, but new ideas keep cropping up as the project progresses, which I’m incorporating into it )

Link to the PCB currently being developed
http://www.fotosik.pl/pokaz_obrazek/76b582c6ca33aa68.html

I would, for example, light up the stairs and the other rooms with some 12V LED spotlights and use a relay to switch the power on from a battery in the event of a power cut, so that it would run on a transformer (with the battery, for example, in the cellar, controlled by a switch).

Hello, I don’t think anyone has mentioned the important matter of fire safety systems, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, gas detectors, etc... Halogen lights that switch on one by one as you walk past them – with a sensor in the floor or in the light fitting – look great; this means you don’t need light switches in the corridor. It would be advisable to install electric shock protection devices in the electrical system – you can also link the power supply to the sockets to a smoke detector; if smoke (or a fire) is detected, it cuts off the power supply to that room and switches on the ‘ ‘evacuation’ lights, e.g. 12V. A telephone system, an intercom system, a ‘video intercom’, and sometimes even in a large flat or house – an intercom system; or, in the event of a fire, emergency alarm buttons and some sirens, if you’re feeling creative, you could connect such a button to a tape recorder, etc., via a telephone line, so that in the event of a fire, the system automatically dials the fire brigade’s number and plays an emergency message from the tape, including the address. If you feel like it,
you can install a speaker system in every room, with the option to bridge the connections so that the sound plays in several rooms at once.

I think there should also be a solar panel on the roof – ideally two: one for heating water and the other for heating the greenhouse.
Savings on utilities and environmental benefits!
Best regards

And a decent power supply kit (a few car batteries and a 12–220 V inverter).

I’ll also add some homemade current transformers (wound on toroidal cores and fitted onto the phase wires) to monitor power consumption in the circuits.
If you forget which socket is for the iron and you switch it off via the phone, you can check in the feedback whether the load has dropped.
A mini telephone exchange, of course. I like Fritz best; it supports a landline and (I think) up to 10 VoIP accounts, intelligently divides all this between two internal telephone lines (e.g. young/old), acts as a router and ADSL modem, and provides Wi-Fi.
Automatically opening cat flaps (cut into the main doors) for the cat (the cat needs to be microchipped). Of course, only at specific times when going out, and I think always when coming in.
An environment that automatically adapts to personal preferences, the time of day, day of the week and season – lighting, music, radio/TV programmes, heating and ventilation (household members must be microchipped).
An automatically opening gate, letterbox and entrance to the rubbish chute (the postman, gardener and refuse collectors must be microchipped).

And for steampunk enthusiasts, a steam-powered generator is a must – despite fuel crises, the forests will last for a while, along with old furniture, waste paper, second-hand clothes and carrion.

I suggest considering setting up an automation system using a PLC. I am currently working on such a system; I already have a dimmer, a temperature sensor and control via an HMI (touchscreen). Everything is based on the RS485 Modbus protocol.

-compressed air

As well as the usual alarm systems, intercoms, CCTV cameras and so on, I would fit a few RJ45 sockets connected via twisted-pair cable to each 230V socket (i.e. next to each socket). Just as is done in structured cabling systems. All the cables should be routed to a single point in what are known as patch panels. And, if necessary, you can connect a telephone, computer, additional intercom, remote control receiver, video signal, additional alarm devices and other control systems that you cannot foresee at this stage. But you’ll have a system with a uniform standard, laid out with good-quality cabling. Should changes be required, you simply switch (crossover) the connections at the central point, where all the home control units should be located nearby.
Additionally, I would consider installing 12V power sockets. This power supply would be distributed from a local battery station, which would be powered by local renewable energy sources (e.g. wind turbines, solar panels, etc.).

Best regards, Swornegacie

You just need to think about the thickness of these cables.
For a large, permanent installation, it’s probably better to distribute 230V from an inverter. In that case, we only need sockets in two colours: one for a few ‘mission-critical’ devices with low power consumption (modem, router, Wi-Fi, computer, emergency lighting, task lighting and, of course, the smart home system), whilst the others are for everything else, such as waffle irons, kettles and washing machines. And power to the more sensitive devices can be switched either manually or automatically, alternating between the mains and the inverter.

You might also want to consider an automatic lawn watering system – it’s very popular at the moment, and you can also set it up to control features such as a pond or a fountain.

As for these sockets, wouldn’t it be simpler to fit a relay into the socket, connect one end of the coil to the neutral (230V coil) and the other end of the coil to the cable and to the control cabinet, you could then use a multi-pair cable, say, for the whole room, or even more simply, fit a transformer – say, a 12V one – with one end of the secondary winding connected to the neutral (N) and the other end used to control the aforementioned coil.
Another option is to create something similar to the insulation resistance monitoring system used on ships, i.e. use a transformer to rectify the current, connect the negative terminal of the power supply to neutral, and connect the positive terminal via the previously proposed system of wiring the entire room and the control cabinet with a telephone cable, the advantage of this solution is undoubtedly the cost of the cable itself – it will certainly be cheaper to buy a telephone cable (and the voltage is lower too; what’s more, telephone cables can often be sourced ‘second-hand’ from telephone operators)
As for the lighting, I have staircase switches in the rooms of my house, and sitting at the bottom of the junction box on a small piece of laminate is a JQX-115F relay with dual contacts, whose coil is routed to the control cabinet-12V, whilst the rest forms a staircase circuit with a switch. Currently, they’re set up to control the lighting at dusk and dawn, but there’s plenty of scope for customisation and adaptation. For example, a radio remote control will be added to each room in the near future.
Also, in the corridors, consider LED underfloor lighting – it’s economical and efficient, I’ve also added a standard light up top for when Mum’s cleaning, so she doesn’t have to strain her eyes – everything’s controlled by a single button and a PLC controller segment: one click for the underfloor lighting, another for the overhead lights, and a third to switch everything off.
Outside the house, consider light columns that switch on at night – it looks great, for example, when people put up concrete columns under canopies; you could simply fit a canopy and install lamps on the stairs that switch on at dusk.

It’s also worth considering – if you’re an electronics engineer – having everything connected via a bus system with a converter, e.g. to a LAN, so you can manage everything via the internet.
As for the gates, consider setting them up using PLC controllers (that’s how I’ve done it); then you can connect them via RS-485, which also opens up plenty of possibilities (e.g. connecting to a computer and the internet – that’s where your creativity comes in).
If you’re measuring temperature, stick to DSs, LM sensors and current loops – scaling it afterwards makes no sense. Besides, the whole bus system is very simple in design (as one of my colleagues has already mentioned, you can connect it to a computer or a microcontroller later).

On top of that, I’ve read that you’re considering installing a central vacuum system; if you opt for a BEAM unit, make sure to order the version with the microprocessor. It has a nifty feature where the LED colour indicates what needs doing, so you could connect optocouplers to an LED and receive a notification at home telling you to take out the rubbish or call a service technician.
Of course, a UPS is essential; as I have a three-phase supply at home, it’s set up so that each phase has a separate transformer which charges the battery, and then you can connect it however you like.

You could also consider an access control system for opening doors, e.g. using contactless cards; then each member of the household would have a card in their wallet, for example, with the number stored in the reader. You walk up to the door, hold your wallet up to it – and hey presto, the door opens.(an undeniable advantage of this is the statistics – after all, you could fit the reader with an RTC and record the comings and goings of the household members)
As I read above Someone has already given you the same advice, and I’d like to echo that: don’t forget about safety – smoke alarms are the absolute minimum.
First, work out what you can afford and what’s essential, as the costs won’t be insignificant. The next step is a bus system – either having everything connected to a single point or, alternatively, enabling communication between network nodes to exchange information.

That’s all I’ve got for now; if anything else occurs to me, I’ll post it on the forum. In any case, you’ve got my full support – I’m currently finishing off a room myself, whilst the rest of the house is already more or less up and running. In short, good luck!

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INTEGRA 128 alarm control panel

It can be expanded to 128 inputs and 128 outputs.
It also comes with ready-to-use GSM and Ethernet modules. You’re spoilt for choice. I’ve personally built many alarm systems using these control panels, which also serve as smart building control systems.

Only actuator modules are connected to the INTEGRA. A single input module has 8 inputs. It can be located up to 1,200 metres away from the control board. Output modules can be DIN-rail mounted, fitted into an electrical junction box, or integrated with the input module.
Both types are available in wired and wireless (ABAX) versions.

I recommend this company because their devices have never let me down; they are very user-friendly and offer virtually unlimited expansion possibilities. Furthermore, Satel’s technical support team will help resolve any issue ‘over the phone’. And most importantly: it is a POLISH COMPANY:)

Hello!

Copper isn’t cheap either (and it’s getting more expensive all the time), so why lay ‘tons’ of extra control cables when we already have something as brilliant as this, for example:

http://www.soyter.com.pl/index.php?pid=36

... with a retail price of around 39 PLN per unit for a microprocessor like this, integrated with a transceiver, it’s probably worth setting up a wireless control network, especially as a ‘smart home’ is an investment that’s not exactly within everyone’s budget.

Best regards
PS This is, of course, a link for those who want to build a ‘smart home’ system from scratch, rather than using off-the-shelf solutions available on the market.

... this might also come in handy:
http://www.soyter.com.pl/index.php?pid=329
http://www.soyter.com.pl/index.php?pid=133
http://www.soyter.com.pl/index.php?pid=132
http://www.sensu.pl/?go=product&id=391&cat_id=53&PHPSESSID=702870392ca48fa9b57a046525cffddf

Can someone explain to me why you’d want to control 230V sockets (each one individually)?
I’m obviously not talking about a centralised switch-off.
I don’t see what the point of that would be...

Hello!

This makes it possible to create a more realistic simulation of the household members being at home whilst they are actually away, because as well as automatically switching the lights in the rooms on and off, you can also switch on and off, for example, the radio or the television. Such a simulation is intended to deter potential burglars. You could also imagine simple automated systems which, whilst the household is away, would look after live plants (which, after all, might be in different rooms) or an aquarium/terrarium with fish or pets, etc. All of this, of course, would be centrally controlled.

Best regards
P.S. If someone is building a house, I rather doubt they’ll know from the outset where – or even if – there’ll be an aquarium or pets, or where the plants will be and what their requirements will be. In any case, this is a very dynamic part of a home’s ‘fit-out’ – one that may undergo numerous changes over short periods of time, so separate control of the sockets is entirely justified. Since it’s supposed to be a SMART home and it can be done – and if someone can afford it – why not?? “You can never have too much of a good thing”, provided you’ve got a “well-padded” wallet.

_Tomaszz wrote:

Can someone explain to me why you’d want to control 230V sockets (each one individually)?
I’m obviously not talking about a centralised switch-off.
I don’t know what the point of it would be...

You see, it’s like this: it’s not strictly necessary for survival, just a bit of a whim. Some would say that if something breaks, that’s it for good. As for me, I’m simply trying to let my imagination run wild and build loads of things that might be relatively unnecessary. I’ve already seen an app that controls selected devices via WAP from a mobile phone. I’ve seen a remote control for everything in the house. And me?

I want it all