Daniel de Waard

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Build Your Own Pressure Plate Switch

This is a very simple project which could be used for an infinite number of different purposes! You could use your pressure plate switch to add perfect timing into your haunted house, automatically trigger your doorbell when someone stands on your doormat, track the presence of mail or parcels, or even set up your alarm clock to only turn off when you get out of bed and step on the switch!

The possibilities are really limited to your imagination. A project like this could make a really great input device for your home automation system. The best thing about this project is that all you need to get started is some wire, aluminium foil and cardboard! To get started making your own pressure plate check out the following instructable from Jason.

Want to learn more about awesome automation hacks like this? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Thinking about making your own automatic pet feeder? Have a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 19, 2016July 19, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Automated Gardening with Arduino

Want to start gardening but don’t trust yourself to regularly water your plants? With the “Garduino” from Luke Iseman, you can program your Arduino to help you out! This project allows you to automate watering, supplementary lighting, temperature warnings and more, using a number of sensors. All of the parts used in this project are readily available and the instruction guide is sure to help you create plenty of juicy vegetables in no time (and with very little effort on your behalf). More information can be found at the following link.

If you are looking for a temperature sensor for your Arduino garden, SuperHouse Automation recommends the Freetronics temperature sensor module. The module is accurate to 0.5 ℃ and features a wide temperature range, mounting holes and comes with full code examples. To find out more check out the product page.

Want to learn more about awesome automation hacks like this? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Would your neglected veggie garden benefit from some automation? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Weather Station

Are you interested in weather patterns but frequently find yourself frustrated by the lack of precise data for your home? With this fantastic project written by SuperHouse presenter Jonathan Oxer you don’t need to rely on the national weather service anymore. The weather station receiver allows you to build your own personal weather station for your home or office. The weather station consists of an external sensor system that transmits data to a display unit over a 433MHz transmitter.

From a home automation perspective, having your own weather station provides a valuable source of data which can be used for any number of purposes. You could automate your heating and air conditioning, or even monitor its effectiveness by making a comparison between internal and external temperatures. To get started creating your own weather station check out Practical Arduino.

If you are looking for a 433MHz receiver, SuperHouse Automation recommends the Freetronics receiver shield. To find out more check out the following link.

Want to learn more about awesome automation hacks like this? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Have an idea for a project you would like us to feature? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Utilities Monitor

Electricity, gas and water are typically some of the largest regular expenses in any household. Having the ability to monitor trends in utilities usage means that you can easily notice discrepancies and pick up gas or water leaks promptly, saving you unnecessarily high bills! Plotting the daily electricity usage allows you to find out which devices or activities are inefficient and optimise your home accordingly, saving your even more money! This project from Chris Nafis uses an ethernet connected Arduino to send the information it collects from utility meter data packet broadcasts, onto the internet. To get started lowering your utilities bill check out the following link!

An example of the results generated from this project:

Although this project only mentions monitoring electricity usage, there is no reason why it couldn’t be adapted to water and gas. Having up to the minute information about your water, gas and electricity usage would offer enormous opportunities and would be a worthy addition to any smart home!

Want to learn more about awesome automation hacks like this? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Have an idea for a project you would like us to feature? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Fingerprint Security with Arduino

Every wanted to add biometric security to your smart home? You are in the right place! Adding biometric security of this type to your house or apartment could provide convenient and secure keyless entry and will certainly create an interesting talking point when you have people over.

This project works using a fingerprint module that can store up to 1000 fingerprints and has a false detection rate of 0.001%, so you can sleep easy at night! Completing a project such as this is a great way to increase your Arduino skills and is sure to be a lot of fun. To get started check out the following video:

Want to learn more about awesome automation hacks like this? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start! Have an idea for a project you would like us to feature? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Smart Letterbox

Never forget to collect the mail ever again with this useful Arduino mail notifier! Using 315MHz wireless radios, Riley Porter has created a system that lets you know whenever the mail arrives. With this system you never have to worry about soggy mail ever again, and can even keep track of the typical times that mail arrives in your letter box. The notifier uses a light sensor to detect when a letter has been received and then transmits a notification to the receiver over a 315MHz wireless signal. To get started on this project check out the following link.

This project would be a great addition to your existing smart home, or would be a fantastic project to start with if you are looking to add 21st century smarts to your home.

The wireless functionality in this project is based on a 315MHz wireless connection. These types of connections are very common and have the potential to be used in many different projects. If you are planning on working on this project, or any other that requires wireless communications, SuperHouse Automation recommends the Freetronics 315MHz Receiver Shield. The shield has a large, gold plated prototyping area, three status LEDs and a built in reset button. For more information visit the 315MHz Receiver Shield page.

Subscribe to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube to learn more about creating internet of things devices!

Have an idea of another common household item that could benefit from being connected to the internet? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 14, 2016July 14, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Automatic Pet Feeder

Do you ever find yourself forgetting to feed your pets? Do you find it hard to wake up early in the morning to ensure that your pets have the food they need? All these problems can be easily overcome with StevenDeDomenico’s automatic dog feeder.

The dog feeder uses a mechanical system of servos and stepper motors to dispense regular food, or treats at times set by the user. A real time clock ensures the the Arduino powering the project keeps track of the time, and a TFT LCD is used to display a menu for the dog owner to set the feeding times. This is a really fantastic project that highlights the versatility of Arduino. Incase these features were not enough, you can also control feeding remotely from your mobile phone, and use the inbuilt security camera to check that the dispenser is working properly! Although this is quite a complicated project with the many systems involved, Steven’s instructions are sure to give you some inspiration and help get you started.

From a home automation perspective, once set up, this project is sure to remove a daily chore! Indeed, you could even go on holidays without having to worry about organising someone to look after your dog. Check out the video below to see the feeder in action:

Want to learn more about awesome automation hacks like this? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Create a Tweeting Toothbrush with Arduino

Struggle to get your kids to brush their teeth? Want to keep better track of your own teeth brushing habits? Check out this innovative project from Ruben Mortier which uses an accelerometer and Arduino to monitor teeth brushing behaviour.

The “Inventive Toothbrush” not only notifies parents via email and twitter when their children have started brushing their teeth, but also displays helpful brushing tips on a screen and plays music to encourage children to brush for longer. This helpful project is sure to be fun to make whilst also solving a common parenting issue! To get started check out the following link.

Subscribe to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube to learn more about creating internet of things devices!

Posted on July 12, 2016July 12, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Automate Your Chicken Coop with Arduino

Fascinated by the idea of keeping chickens? Hesitant at the thought of having to regularly feed the chickens and get up early to let them out into the yard? Looking to optimise your existing chicken pen? If you answered yes to any of the previous questions, you are in the right place! Blogger Roger Reed has create an excellent fully automated chicken pen.

Chicken Coop

The pen includes features such as fully automated cooling, lighting, food, water, an automated door and even an infrared camera. Not only have these improvements saved Roger a lot of time, they have also increased the number of eggs his chickens “Penny and Henny” have been laying! To get started building your own Arduino chicken coop, check out the comprehensive blog Roger has used to document the project.

Automating your chicken coop could be a great place to start building up your skills before you start modifying your house. Subscribe to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube to learn more about creating your own home automation system!

Have chickens that could benefit from this project? Inspired by this project? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Every Smart Home Needs a Smart Trap…

If you have been having trouble with rats or mice, check out this innovative project from The Brothers McKenty. The rat trap cleverly uses a hanging basket which falls when a rat is detected, trapping the rat inside. An infrared sensor detects the presence of a rodent, and an RGB LED and a buzzer provide you with useful trap status feedback. The project is clearly documented and is likely to develop both your electronics skills and your general DIY construction skills, with the trap based on a solidly constructed wooden cage. The addition of Arduino to this rat trap means that it is far more intelligent and effective than any store bought alternatives! To get started on this project check out the following link.

Linking this project to an existing home automation system could allow you to track trends concerning rodent behaviour. Hopefully overtime you will be able to see how effective the trap has been!

Want to get started creating your own home automation system? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Do you need to rid your house of rats? Love this project? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.