How to make a simple home automation system with your own hands. A quick guide to home automation for beginners Smart home automation

Films often show a living space that seems to live its own life. Light bulbs light up with a wave of your hand, curtains open, and music plays after a certain word. All this equipment is an intelligent home system, and we propose to consider how to make a smart home with your own hands, what is needed for this, and also what is the diagram of such a system.

Smart home - what is it?

Smart House Home automation is a residential extension of building automation. Home automation can include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), home appliances, gate openers, door openers, GSM and other systems to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security. It should be noted that for some categories of the population (elderly, disabled people) this event may become necessary.

With the latest introduction of SMART technologies into our lives, many can no longer imagine their lives without automatic installations, software equipment, we need wireless Internet, Appliances.

Home automation refers to the use of computer and information technology to control home appliances and their functions. It can vary from simple remote control lighting to complex computer/microcontroller based networks with varying degrees of intelligence and automation. Home automation should mainly be as simple as possible.

Advantages of using " smart home» in an apartment based on PIC or WAVE:

1. Economical expenditure of time on daily setup of various mechanisms, receiving calls, sending mail;
2. The use of gaseous or liquid fuels, and later the use of electricity, allowed increased automation in heating systems, reducing the labor required to manually refill the heater and furnace.
3. The development of thermostats allowed for more automated control of heating, and later cooling;
4. This is how security is often carried out industrial facilities, residential premises;
5. As the number of controlled devices in a home increases, their interconnection increases. For example, a furnace can send notifications when it needs cleaning, or a refrigerator when it needs servicing.
6. IN simple installations, smart can turn on the light when a person enters the room. Also, depending on the time of day, the TV can tune to the desired channels, set the air temperature, and lighting.

A smart home can provide an interface to access household appliances or automation to provide control and monitoring on your smartphone, through a server, mini Smart for iPhone, iPod touch, as well as using a laptop computer (special soft: AVR Studio is required).

Video: Schneider Electric smart home system

Smart home elements

Home automation elements include sensors (e.g. temperature, daylight or motion detection), controllers and actuators such as motorized valves, switches, motors and others.

This heating, ventilation and air conditioning, HVAC can control temperature and humidity, for example, an internet control thermostat allows the homeowner to remotely control the building's heating and air conditioning systems, the system can automatically open and close windows, turn on radiators and boilers, and heated floors.

Lighting

These lighting control mechanisms can be used to control household lights and appliances. This also includes a natural lighting system, the operation of blinds or curtains.

Audio-visual

• Remote control presence effect (This is the most modern technology, which is used to increase security). It involves turning on the lights and playing music.
• Presence simulation
• Temperature regulation
• Brightness adjustment (electric lamps, street lighting)
• Security (alarm, blinds).

How to make a smart home

You can make an intelligent system with your own hands, the most a budget option– this is setting up control of lighting in the house or turning on the computer.

To make a lamp that will light up on its own, you will need to connect it to special equipment. There are several options for solving this problem:

1. Install an acoustic relay (1 or x10-wire);
2. Attach the dimmer;
3. Connect the motion sensor.

The easiest way to work is with a sensor. It is sold in any online store, you can buy a duct device, or you can develop your own according to your parameters. The only note is that you cannot install an incandescent lamp with such a device, it may not withstand the load and explode, it is better to work with an LED one.

Another “smart” silent option is a dimmer. Here you will need to touch the lamp, depending on the number of touches, the speaking device will change brightness. This is very convenient to use on a lamp in a bedroom or children's room.

To set up temperature control and regulation, we need a multi-channel system. The central temperature and humidity control circuit consists of:

• Sensors (ds1820) that measure physical state liquid, air.
• Controllers (rfm12), which can be simple physical components or complex special-purpose devices or embedded computers.
• Lunex drives that respond to controller signals.

Most modern way– this is to buy all the components of a smart home, wires, thermostats. Then install devices in each room, one thermostat for the radiator and one for the boiler. You will also need a controlled unit, or the “brain” of the entire system. It is recommended to install it on the heating inlet pipe.

The easiest way to install a video surveillance and alarm system. Fundamental provisions for installing security systems:

1. You need to connect sensors on the windows, doorways, electricians will be the most productive there;
2. The most difficult thing is to select a board; the smart home controller, the operation of mediocre parts, and the signal level depend on it;
3. Many experts believe that indicators should be mounted at floor level. About 20 cm from the baseboard, this increases efficiency;
4. It is advisable to establish constant monitoring and establish a digital system of contact with the security service. Often responsible owners install a special program on their Personal Computer, which allows you to control the operation of the system from anywhere where there is Internet (Elena Tesla and her book: “Smart Home: How to Do It Yourself” advises doing this; there are also other solutions there). You can enable SMS notifications.

A smart home is very convenient way to make your life easier, often the entire system is purchased completely (Arduino, KNX, Linux).

The cost of each system is individual. The most popular brands are the following: beckhoff, gira, lpt, redeye, Smart Switch IOT screen, teleco. We recommend that before building such housing, you consult with specialists; they will help you calculate the load level and calculate the power consumption.

To get ideas, you can scroll through V.N. Gololobov’s “Smart Home” with your own hands, DJVU or PDF, look at our photos and video instructions, read the advice of famous masters.

Films often show a living space that seems to live its own life. Light bulbs light up with a wave of your hand, curtains open, and music plays after a certain word. All this equipment is an intelligent home system, and we propose to consider how to make a smart home with your own hands, what is needed for this, and also what is the diagram of such a system.

Smart home - what is it?

Smart home refers to home automation, which is a residential extension of building automation. Home automation can include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), home appliances, gate openers, door openers, GSM and other systems to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security. It should be noted that for some categories of the population (elderly, disabled people) this event may become necessary.

With the latest introduction of SMART technologies into our lives, many can no longer imagine their lives without automatic installations, software equipment, we need wireless Internet, and household appliances.

Home automation refers to the use of computer and information technology to control home appliances and their functions. It can range from simple remote lighting control to complex computer/micro-controller based networks with varying degrees of intelligence and automation. Home automation should mainly be as simple as possible.

Advantages of using a smart home in an apartment based on PIC or WAVE:

1. Economical expenditure of time on daily setup of various mechanisms, receiving calls, sending mail;
2. The use of gaseous or liquid fuels, and later the use of electricity, allowed increased automation in heating systems, reducing the labor required to manually refill the heater and furnace.
3. The development of thermostats allowed for more automated control of heating, and later cooling;
4. This is how industrial facilities and residential premises are often protected;
5. As the number of controlled devices in a home increases, their interconnection increases. For example, a furnace can send notifications when it needs cleaning, or a refrigerator when it needs servicing.
6. In simple installations, the smart can turn on the lights when a person enters the room. Also, depending on the time of day, the TV can tune to the desired channels, set the air temperature, and lighting.

A smart home can provide an access interface to household appliances or automation to provide control and monitoring on your smartphone, through a server, mini Smart for iPhone, iPod touch, as well as using a laptop computer (special soft: AVR Studio is required).

Video: Schneider Electric smart home system

Smart home elements

Home automation elements include sensors (such as temperature, daylight, or motion detection), controllers, and actuators such as motorized valves, switches, motors, and others.

This heating, ventilation and air conditioning, HVAC can control temperature and humidity, for example, an internet control thermostat allows the homeowner to remotely control the building's heating and air conditioning systems, the system can automatically open and close windows, turn on radiators and boilers, and heated floors.

Lighting

These lighting control mechanisms can be used to control household lights and appliances. This also includes a natural lighting system, the operation of blinds or curtains.

Audio-visual

• Presence effect of remote control (This is the most modern technology that is used to increase safety). It involves turning on the lights and playing music.
• Presence simulation
• Temperature regulation
• Brightness adjustment (electric lamps, street lighting)
• Security (alarm, blinds).

How to make a smart home

You can make an intelligent system with your own hands; the most budget-friendly option is to set up control of lighting in the house or turn on a computer.

To make a lamp that will light up on its own, you will need to connect special equipment to it. There are several options for solving this problem:

1. Install an acoustic relay (1 or x10-wire);
2. Attach the dimmer;
3. Connect the motion sensor.

The easiest way to work is with a sensor. It is sold in any online store, you can buy a duct device, or you can develop your own according to your parameters. The only note is that you cannot install an incandescent lamp with such a device, it may not withstand the load and explode, it is better to work with an LED one.

Another “smart” silent option is a dimmer. Here you will need to touch the lamp, depending on the number of touches, the speaking device will change brightness. This is very convenient to use on a lamp in a bedroom or children's room.

To set up temperature control and regulation, we need a multi-channel system. The central temperature and humidity control circuit consists of:

• Sensors (ds1820) that measure the physical state of liquid and air.
• Controllers (rfm12), which can be simple physical components or complex special-purpose devices or embedded computers.
• Lunex drives that respond to controller signals.

The most modern way is to buy all the components of a smart home, wires, thermostats. Then install devices in each room, one thermostat for the radiator and one for the boiler. You will also need a controlled unit, or the “brain” of the entire system. It is recommended to install it on the heating inlet pipe.

The easiest way to install a video surveillance and alarm system. Fundamental provisions for installing security systems:

1. You need to connect sensors on windows and doorways, where the electrics will be the most productive;
2. The most difficult thing is to select a board; the smart home controller, the operation of mediocre parts, and the signal level depend on it;
3. Many experts believe that indicators should be mounted at floor level. About 20 cm from the baseboard, this increases efficiency;
4. It is advisable to establish constant monitoring and establish a digital system of contact with the security service. Often, responsible owners install a special program on their personal computer, which allows them to control the operation of the system from anywhere where there is Internet (Elena Tesla and her book: “Smart Home: How to Do It Yourself” advises doing this; there are also other solutions there ). You can enable SMS notifications.

A smart home is a very convenient way to make your life easier; often the entire system is purchased completely (Arduino, KNX, Linux).

The cost of each system is individual. The most popular brands are the following: beckhoff, gira, lpt, redeye, Smart Switch IOT screen, teleco. We recommend that before building such housing, you consult with specialists; they will help you calculate the load level and calculate the power consumption.

To get ideas, you can look through V.N. Gololobov’s “Smart Home” with your own hands, DJVU or PDF, look at our photos and video instructions for free, and read advice from famous masters.

Automation engineering systems in the house or how I taught the house to be smart

It all started in 2012, when I suddenly decided that it was enough to live in an apartment - it was time to move into a house.
I’ll omit the details, but after 6 msc I entered new house. During this time, read forums about how to properly carry out certain engineering Communication I didn’t have any time and did everything rather by intuition (having some education in the field of radio electronics behind me).

By the time the realization began to dawn on me that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to automate a number of subsystems in the house, I already had:

2 boilers Baxi Slim 1300in / Baxi Slim 1620 in. Single-circuit boilers.
Indirect heating boiler Baxi Premier Plus 300, 300 liters.
Heating circuit with radiators. Each radiator is equipped with mechanical (bimetallic) thermal heads for local temperature control.
Heating circuit "warm floor"
The lighting in the house is 90% LED. The signal wires are not routed to the switches, and the number circuit breakers less than rooms in the house.
Automatic sectional doors in the garage (in the house)
Two more automatic gates will be installed in the near future
Remembering previous problems with connecting computers in the apartment, I laid 2000m of UTP Cat5 (more than 50 ports in total).
and much more...

It all started with the need to properly organize the heating of hot water in the boiler.
Baxi has the opportunity to purchase additional weather automation, which also has the ability to work with indirect heating boilers.
Having studied the capabilities of automation and understood how and what it controls, I realized that for the offered price you can buy a smarter piece of hardware, on which a lot more can be organized and more flexible in terms of algorithms. The search began for possible contenders for the title of "cerebellum" in the house. I started learning with adruino. Then I looked at the possibility of using a PC as the main device... but somehow I didn’t like it.
Then one of my friends advised me to pay attention to industrial controllers. Having studied (of course superficially) the capabilities of various PLCs, I came to the conclusion that this is what I need. Standard, industrial protocols, reliability and a huge number of peripherals! The next step was to choose the right PLC for my purposes. I reviewed quite a large number of different controllers. Some were simply drooling, but the toad sitting in the depths did not allow me to press the “Add to Cart” button.

Of course, it was possible to write a technical specification and send it to any specialized company for execution, but I really wanted to do it by hand.

Sketching out a simple control algorithm circulation pumps, operating modes of boilers and hot water supply began to be implemented.

As a result, I connected the boiler thermostat to the PLC and controlled the pumps and boiler operating modes. The system worked in this form for about a couple of months.
Now the water was heated well and the heating responded to changes in external temperature. Priority is given to DHW. If the outside temperature dropped below 15 degrees, the underfloor heating circuit was turned on. If the temperature dropped below 13 degrees, the heating radiator circuit was turned on.
After some time, I realized that the moment we are away from home long time- there is no point in heating water in a boiler to 60 degrees. Then the boiler thermostat was removed and a thermal resistance (pt1000) was installed instead. An analog signal input module was purchased.

There is no central sewerage connected to the house and you have to use a cesspool. (I didn’t know about the septic tank at the time of construction).
It was necessary to monitor the level in the pit and, when filling, call a pumping machine. I looked in several times a month and then got tired of it. It was decided to organize an indication.
I purchased an additional conductivity input/output module and connected it to the PLC via rs485. IN cesspool lowered 4 stainless steel electrodes (total, min, average and maximum levels). I added a processing algorithm to the PLC. Now the PLC monitored the level.

Last edited by moderator: 11/21/17

There is a special topic here regarding the closet. As you know, appetite comes with eating. So that closet, which I assumed would be sufficient with a large margin for my cravings... hmm... after a couple of months it turned out to be too cramped. Some of the wires from the sensors had to be routed directly to the I/O modules without terminal blocks, which in my opinion is extremely incorrect and inconvenient. The system is currently in the process of reorganization. 2 more cabinets appeared, but much more large sizes. The photo shows a cabinet in the boiler room. It will contain 3 input modules (analog signals, and 2 discrete I/O). Everything else will move to another cabinet, along with the head controller. The third cabinet is planned in close proximity to the electrical cabinet in which all the automatic/differential circuit breakers and the 3F input into the house are concentrated. Subsequently, I plan to place network monitoring tools (3-phase multimeter) in this cabinet

as well as install an automatic reserve input system based on a gas generator.
And perhaps some of the machines will be replaced with contactors in order to control part of the lighting circuits. Or, as an option, install X10 equipment for point control lighting fixtures.

The wires are not labeled - yes. Big mistake. There is a journal in which I wrote everything down, but as practice has shown, this is not very convenient. You are right about signing the wires. I'll add captions in the future.
IEK automatic machines are used exclusively as switches.

Last edit: 01/10/15

Besides safety valve installed after the gearbox in the water supply system (6 kg).
A drainage pump was placed in the pit and discharged into the sewer. The drainer is controlled by a PLC through an intermediate relay.

There is an EMERGENCY STOP button on the gate, which completely cuts off the power to the drive. When the car is in the garage it is pressed and it is physically impossible to open the gate.

I almost never have a car in the garage. In exceptional cases.
And I connected the emergency STOP button to the wicket sensor in the gate.
That is, when the gate is in sectional doors is not closed tightly, the gate automation is blocked and does not allow movement. In addition, photo sensors are installed in the opening in case something is under the gate.

Executive relays only for the drainage pump. Everything else goes directly to the PLC contacts. Relay outputs up to 5A. There are no consumers more than 1 A connected.

No more searching for the remote control or getting up from the couch to adjust the blinds. Home Automation Controller will solve all these problems. Installing an automation system improves the living system by replacing some body movements with a remote control, which in the hands of the owner is capable of fulfilling almost all wishes regarding control. The smart home system takes control of everything home equipment and with one click on the control panel it performs on, off and other functions.

Home Automation – Smart Home

Every year, the smart home program is gaining more and more popularity, and hardworking specialists are trying to improve it and make it easy to manage.

helps to remotely control curtains, lights, air conditioning and other equipment. Also, the control panel can be located either on the wall in the form of a touch panel or located in a device, for example, an iPod, iPad and others.

Controlling your home using a remote control is something that is necessary in every home. It’s so nice to wake up not to the annoying sound of an alarm clock and the sun shining brightly in your eyes, but to the sounds of nature, while in a room slowly filling with light. All daily activities can begin with your favorite music, you just need to make the appropriate adjustments to the control system. With a smart automated complex, you no longer need to run around turning off lights and other devices; when you leave the house, you just need to press the touch panel of the control system and everything will be done for you.

Smart home automation systems

• This system simplifies life by providing the ability to control the house using a special remote control. Automated home control allows you to:
• set certain lighting modes;
• give a certain position to curtains, blinds;

turn on and off air conditioning, heat supply and other equipment. Everything you need is now at hand, within reach. Control is carried out via a touch panel that can perform assigned work

any device every day at a certain time. Thus, you can adjust the lighting or set the operating time of the air conditioner. Devices that run on the Android platform and manufactured by Apple can be used as a remote control. home automation systems weight. They are not only about the convenience of managing the house, because such a system allows you to save on electricity. Due to the fact that lighting and other devices will work at the specified time and for as long as required for a comfortable stay at home, you can forget about constant overpayments. All necessary adjustments are easily introduced, so the system can be adjusted to minimize resource consumption. Installed system warnings, will be able to notify in case of problems or indicate possible failures.

Improving your home and making it more comfortable is common to any person. Regardless of whether he lives in a small studio apartment or in a country house with several floors surrounded by hectares of private land.

Modern technologies make it possible to create fully automated houses and transfer many functions for managing life support systems to automated devices, and in some cases, completely automate processes when human intervention is not required at all.

What is the difference between home automation and a smart home?

Many property owners consider any automatic or semi-automatic device that performs the functions of turning on/off any device or is considered an element of a “smart home”. This is far from true. And even the ability to remotely control certain functions using the Internet does not make the house “smart”.

A truly “smart” home is a comprehensive smart automation control of the entire complex of life support systems based on artificial intelligence of a computerized control system and operating in a completely autonomous mode. Human intervention is required only in emergency situations or during the programming process.

Therefore, numerous companies that install home automation elements do not always objectively and reliably convey the meaning of innovations to the potential user-customer.

It is not always explained that the vast majority of electrical appliances included in a “smart home” do not need automation, since they already have built-in functions:

• Refrigerators are fully automatic devices that operate according to a strict program;
• Air conditioners do not require outside intervention to maintain a set temperature;
• Washing machines have a delayed start timer;
• Lighting on/off systems are easily controlled by relays with photodiodes that respond to light levels and so on.

The creation of specialized channels for controlling life support systems—the “smart home” itself—is only necessary in cases where the living space operates in a completely autonomous mode. These include country houses(cottages), where the only benefit of civilization is an access road.

It is in them that all the advantages of remote control and monitoring can be fully realized.

Apartment automation

An apartment in an apartment building is just a cell included in a well-functioning system utilities building. She rarely needs the full operation of smart home automation equipment. The owner does not have to worry about heating, lighting, or ventilation. The water supply system, in general, is beyond the ability to influence its availability in any way. In the event of a shutdown of hot water supply for the period of preventive repairs, those who have the financial means install storage or flow-through boilers that operate in automatic mode and do not need outside management.

Any arbitrary interference with one’s own hands in the operation of communal life support networks is completely unwelcome on the part of management companies. Therefore, to implement the concept of “smart home” in apartment building possible on a very limited scale:

• Install several remotely controlled sockets to which you can connect devices, a timer to turn on/off the lighting, or an old-fashioned iron that does not have a shutdown relay for overheating or time, or other non-automatic electrical appliance.
• Forcibly interfere with the operation of an automatic air conditioner or electric heated floor by completely turning them off, or, on the contrary, turning them on.
• Automate closing/opening curtains or blinds on windows.
• Turning the audio system on/off visual control.

Therefore, when selecting components to equip your home (apartment), remember that the vast majority of Chinese-made gadgets are prohibited for sale on the territory of the Russian Federation, and their possession is a criminal offense.

Security and fire alarm are usually not included in the list of elements of a “smart home”, since they work regardless of the owner’s wishes while in the on state. And when they are turned off, they lose any meaning.

Automation of a private home

Majority country houses are built within designated areas for individual housing construction and, according to the requirements of landscaping, have an electrical and gas supply. Some villages are more comfortable and have central water supply and sewerage systems.

All this makes it easier to maintain suburban real estate without completely freeing you from the worry of maintaining comfortable conditions indoors and outdoors.

A private home can be fully equipped with an intelligent control system according to the “smart home” concept.

Even at the design stage, automation elements related to:

1. With power supply (from an autonomous electric generator).
2. Temperature regulation by controlling a gas/liquid fuel water heating boiler.
3. Control of the water supply system (for borehole/well water supply).
4. A system for regulating air temperature in various rooms (residential, utility, utility).
5. A system for regulating indoor and outdoor lighting of a personal plot.
6. Management of irrigation and feeding systems for farm animals.
7. A system of visual monitoring inside and outside the premises and viewing the local area.
8. It is possible to implement emergency shutdown of gas and electricity supply systems in the event of emergency situations.

For some owners who are away from home most of the time, a “smart home” is a home automation system that is an urgent need.

Choosing a smart home control system

Modern systems allow you to control electrical devices connected to the control module: sensors, thermostats, electric valves using wireless technologies. There is no need to lay wires and cables inside the walls or baseboards of the room, to trench walls and disrupt existing communications or decoration.

The most common is the control path via Wi-Fi channel. The inconvenience is that this function is designed to transmit significant amounts of information and is not adapted for most smart home devices that work with short commands: “turn on/off”, “add/decrease”, “up/down”, etc. . P.

• Z-Wave– a specialized smart home control protocol operating at a frequency of 869 MHz and having high protection from outside influences and interference.
• ZigBee– a similar specialized protocol, specifically designed for the operation of devices in a smart home kit, but using a different frequency of 2400–2485 MHz.

Until now, widespread automation of residential buildings in the Russian Federation is stalled due to high prices for equipment and installation, adjustment and maintenance of equipment. After all, it must work around the clock, 24 hours a week without any failures. Otherwise, faulty smart home equipment can itself become a source of emergencies - fire, flooding of the premises, defrosting of heating systems.

First of all, the economic effect of introducing automation systems is calculated. To roughly estimate the efficiency and payback period of investments, it would be useful to re-read the instructions for the electrical appliances in the house. Most owners use only the basic, most common functions, without bothering to program the full functionality of a TV, air conditioner or water heating boiler.

It is quite possible that the “new” opportunities that seem to you, which will open up after installing the “smart home” system, have already been incorporated and implemented in your existing equipment, and moreover. high level than “turn on/off” or “add/decrease”.

Calculate whether the ability to remotely adjust the air temperature in different rooms is so critical? This function pays off only for owners of country houses, when during the absence of the owners the temperature drops to an acceptable minimum, and by the time the owners arrive it rises to a comfortable residential temperature.

Most of the functions implemented in a “smart home” are interesting only for the first time after their installation. The possibility of remote visual control satisfies only the curiosity of the owner of the premises, without in any way interfering with the actions of intruders who have entered the house. Much more efficient system centralized security. Using the automatic opening/closing function of curtains in the bedroom or the ability to adjust the volume of music in the next room is so questionable that it may only be of interest to true fans of continuous communication with a mobile device, instead of physical movement of the hand.

Probably because the functionality offered within a smart home is small and irrelevant for most, home automation is not particularly popular.