News – Page 13 – SuperHouse Automation

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Automatic Fish Feeder

Do you ever forget to feed your fish? Are you sick of needing to organise someone to feed your fish when you go on holidays? With this awesome project from DangerousTim you can overcome all these problems and more! The fish feeder uses a clock to determine when the fish should be fed and two servo motors to dispense the food to the fish.

Additionally an LCD screen is used to provide information to the user. This project is sure to save you a lot of time and ensure that your fish are well fed, but never overfed! The instructions for this project are very comprehensive and can be found at the following link.

You could very easily incorporate the fish feeder into an existing automation system so that you can keep track of key aquarium statistics and adjust feeding patterns remotely.

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 fish 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 28, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Automatic Door Opener

Do you struggle to open your front door while you are carrying the groceries inside? Do you have elderly parents who could benefit from an automatic door? With this project from Saral Tayal you can add a motor to any door around your house for effortless opening.

The door opener uses an Arduino to control a geared motor which opens the door and an LCD which provides feedback about the door status. Check out the video below to see the door in action!

This is a really cool project and has a lot of potential to be integrated into an existing home automation system. To get started check out the following instructable.

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 door? 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 27, 2016July 27, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Smart Doorbell

Do struggle to hear your doorbell while you are outside or along way from your front door? With this project from the ArduinoProjectHub you can make sure that you never miss a visitor ever again! The smart doorbell will notify you on your smartphone or computer when your doorbell has been pressed. The doorbell uses an Arduino and an Ethernet shield so that the notification can be sent over the cloud.

This project is quite simple and easy to make but has a lot of potential to be integrated into an existing automation system. For example, when the doorbell is pressed you could easily have your home automation system automatically display vision from a security camera located near your front door so you can see who is at the door. To get started with this cool project check out the following link.

Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Are you are thinking about making your own hidden kitchen shelf or do you 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 26, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Aquaponics!

Aquaponics is a unique system of raising fish and growing plants together. At a basic level, the fish fertilize the plants, allowing plants to grow in a water saving, chemical free environment. However, developing effective aquaponic systems can be very difficult. This is why Rik Kretzinger has added an Arduino into his aquaponic garden to make things run as smoothly as possible. Adding an Arduino allows the garden to be fully automated with various pumps controlled by the data inputted by water level, humidity, temperature and moisture sensors. The project even allows you to control and log data from your garden over the internet! The aquaponic garden allows you to combine the joy of making with the satisfaction of growing your own veggies! Although the project requires a number of parts to get started, it could be a worthwhile investment in the long run with likely savings from growing your own produce. To get started building your own aquaponics garden check out the following link. The project is extremely well documented and provides many useful tips to ensure that your garden is as productive as possible.

Want to get started creating your own home automation system? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start! Started on your own home automation 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 25, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Pop-up Kitchen Shelf

Have you ever wished that with the push of a button you could have your spice rack pop up out of your bench? Probably not! However at SuperHouse Automation we still think this is a very intriguing and unique project. Inspired by a customer request, Firgelli Automations have developed a kitchen modification allowing you to have a pop-up shelf on your bench top.

The shelf could be used for all sorts of things such as a microwave, toaster, wine, cutlery or spices and would be a really novel addition to any kitchen. The project uses an actuator to “pop up” the shelf and when hidden you wouldn’t even know that the shelf was there. Although not covered in the instructable, you could very easily control the lifting mechanism from a microcontroller such as an Arduino or the D1 Mini giving you even greater flexibility.

Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Build a Universal Remote with Arduino

With this clever project from Tony DiCola you can overcome the confusion of having multiple remotes by combining them all into an Arduino powered universal remote. The remote is built using a number of common parts including a IR led and an IR receiver. The IR receiver is used to decode the signals from the original remotes so that they can be sent to your entertainment devices by the IR led on the universal remote. When set up, the universal remote can provide an interface between your various entertainment devices and your smartphone allowing you to control all of your devices from your smart phone.

This is a perfect project to integrate into your home automation system allowing you to control your TV system from any smart device and even schedule recording or automatic channel switching and implement any other number of useful features.

To get started on this simple but useful project, check out the following link.

Subscribe to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube to learn more about creating internet of things devices! Considering creating your own universal remote? 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 23, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — 1 Comment

Automated Home Brew with Arduino

There is a certain satisfaction that can only be found when enjoying a well earned beer. However, not even this compares to the satisfaction of enjoying a beer that you worked hard to brew yourself! With this Arduino powered home brewing system from Arzaman, you can autonomously brew your beer using equipment you have also designed and made yourself.

The home brewing system allows you to fully automate the beer production process using an Arduino Uno, and a shield that connects the Arduino to the heating element, pump and LCD menu system. The system can be configured to provide you with an easy to follow brewing set up process, and then will automatically brew your beer, prompting you along the way if you need to do something manually. Furthermore, you can easily customise important parameters and save recipes for future use. The entire project is open source and is known as Open Ardbir. To find out more check out the following link. This project is a great example of the many possibilities of Arduino automation! If you are looking for an Arduino to use in this project SuperHouse Automation recommends the Freetronics Eleven Arduino compatible board.

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 brewing system? 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 22, 2016July 22, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Automated Blinds with Arduino

Do you spend a lot of time opening and closing your blinds each day? With this project from FreedomToCreate you can create your own automated blind controller which allows you to open or close your blinds based on a schedule, current temperature or outdoor light levels. You can even have the added flexibility of controlling your blinds from your smartphone. Although it sounds like a relatively minor “chore” it is amazing how much time you could save across an entire year if you didn’t have to worry about your blinds! You could very easily incorporate this into an existing smart home system so that you can control everything in one place. To get started on this handy project check out the instructable.

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

Thinking about automating your own blinds? 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 21, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

SMS Controlled Heating

Do you ever find yourself arriving home from work to a cold house? With this project from kohleick you can send your heating system an SMS while you are driving home, and arrive to a toasty warm house. The controller runs off an Arduino Uno and custom shields which control timing, temperature measurement and telecommunications. Kohleick has designed the controller to fit unobtrusively into a picture frame. The controller has full functionality including six operating modes, temperature measurement and full SMS control. Additionally, the heating controller features a phone book which specifies which numbers can send commands to the heating system. FBJ3LLZHLSHE77C.LARGE

This is a great project to integrate into a home automation system and could potentially help you save big on energy bills. Although it is quite a complicated project, the instructions are well set out and explained. To get started 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!

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.