SuperHouse Automation

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

DIY 3D Printer

Have you ever wished that you had your own 3D printer? Are you finding the cost of purchasing your own 3D printer prohibitive? With this fantastic instructable from AlmusYang you can build your own 3D printer from scratch! Not only will you learn a lot about how 3D printing works, but you will be able to quickly build models or prototypes right from the comfort of your own home.

If you still weren’t convinced, an Arduino provides the brains for this 3D printer meaning that the project is very easily modified and adapted to your own purposes. Having your own 3D printer can be particualry beneficial when you build your own home automation system as you can easily create your own custom cases, brackets and other assorted objects! This project is very well documented with full laser cutting templates and code samples provided. If the idea of building your own 3D printer sparks your interest you can check out the full instructions at the following link.

Always wanted to create your own home automation system? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

If you have a home automation project you would like SuperHouse to write about let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on August 9, 2016August 9, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Interactive Coffee Table with Arduino

Are you sick of your boring old wooden coffee table? With this fantastic interactive coffee table designed by DanNixon, you are never going to be bored with your living room furniture ever again! The table incorporates a LED Matrix for cool lighting effects, an inbuilt bluetooth connected audio system and LCD’s to display useful information such as weather or RSS feeds.

This is an excellent project that will teach you about all sorts of awesome things you can do with Arduino. To get started checkout the following link or the video below of the table in action:

If you incorporate this coffee table into your home automation system you could configure it to receive up to the minute statistics about your home right from your living room. You won’t even need to pull out your smartphone!

Always wanted to create your own home automation system? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!

If you have a home automation project you would like SuperHouse to write about let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Turn Your Old Phone into a Smartwatch!

Almost everyone has one of those old indestructible Nokia phones from yesteryear lying around! Whilst many people reminisce about their durability no one really does anything with these phones anymore. What if I told you that you could turn one of these phones into a smartwatch of the future?! That is exactly what Tinkernut has done.

At a basic level this project uses the LCD from your old phone and adds a bluetooth connection so that you can display useful messages on the wrist sized display! The project is very well explained and takes you through how to code your watch, and even how to fit it into a watch sized case you can design yourself! While it might not be the most stylish watch it will certainly be unique! To get started on this awesome project check out the instructions.

From a home automation perspective, you could easily configure your new smartwatch to recieve updates about the status of the various connected devices you have in your home!

Are you are thinking about making your own night light? 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 Facebookand Twitter.

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 August 7, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

DIY Public Transport Tracker

Are you someone who is always running late? Are you frustrated when you miss a train or bus and are left waiting outside for the 20 minutes before the next service? With this cool project you can use a DMD (dot matrix display) to display the upcoming times for public transport services you regularly use. You can put this display up on your wall at home and, (assuming public transport is GPS tracked in your city) automatically display the upcoming train or bus time predictions. This is sure to give you the motivation you need to make sure you are ready on time! You could even use this project to display upcoming weather forecasts so that you can make sure to dress appropriately for your trip. This project runs of a Raspberry Pi but could easily be adapted to fun off an Arduino if you prefer. To find out more about this awesome project check out the following link!

If you are looking for an LED dot matrix display to use in this project the team at SuperHouse Automation recommends the Freetronics range of Dot Matrix Displays.

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 thermal imaging camera? 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 August 6, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Smartphone Controlled Fireworks!

Although you definitely don’t want fireworks inside your home, this firework controller is a fantastic showcase of the many possiblities that automation opens up! The project allows you to use your smartphone to remotely trigger up to eight different fireworks. Not only is it really cool to be able to control fireworks from your phone, but the controller has the added benefit of enabling you to stand well clear of your fireworks when you launch them, drastically boosting safety.

At a basic level, an Android application sends commands over bluetooth to the Arduino controller, which then switches a relay. The relay provides power to the appropriate heating coil, igniting the firework! You can even use the Android application to pre program specific pyrotechnic sequences, so you can be running your own fireworks shows in no time! To get started with this project check out the following instructable from tominjose.

Check out the following video to see the firework controller in action:

Interestingly enough, this fireworks controller is very similar to the home automation controller featured in episode 12 of SuperHouseTV. The main difference (obviously) is that our controller was used to control items around a house and not fireworks. But we definitely should try fireworks one day! To find out more about the SuperHouse Arduino home automation controller check out the video below:

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 August 4, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Twitter Enabled Coffee Pot

Do you love coffee but can’t find the time to put a pot on? With the Tweet-a-pot you can send a tweet to your coffee pot and have it prepare you a coffee while you are still stuck in traffic. Brilliant! The Tweet-a-pot works by interfacing between a Computer, an Arduino board and a relay to ensure that you can control your coffee pot from anywhere in the world.

The project uses python to interface between Arduino and twitter. The best thing about this project is that the same principles used to create a Tweet-a-pot can be used to control any AC device over twitter, so the possibilities are endless! From a home automation perspective this project is a great starting point. To get started with this fantastic project check out the instructable from frenzy. Check out the video below to see the Tweet-a-pot in action!

If you are looking for an Arduino board to power your Tweet-a-pot, the SuperHouse team recommends the Freetronics “Eleven” Arduino Compatible Board, click on the link to find out more.

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 Tweet-a-pot 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 August 3, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Open Your Garage Door Using Your Smartphone

For those who are chronically forgetful or who often find themselves locked out of home, Instructables member MegunoLink has developed a system that allows you to open your garage using only your smartphone, granting quick and easy entry even without your keys.

The project uses a Freetronics EtherTen (recommended by SuperHouse Automation) to host a web page which can be accessed from any device on your local network. When you enter the password on the website, the Arduino switches a relay that triggers the opening of the garage door. The project should work on most motorised garage doors and only requires basic soldering to assemble. All of the parts are readily available, and completing this project will introduce you to the basics of controlling anything and everything over the internet.

Once you have obtained the parts required, you could easily add internet connectivity to your garage door in a few days – visit the Instructables page to get started.

Always wanted to create your own home automation system? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start! If you have a home automation project you would like SuperHouse to write about let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on August 3, 2016August 5, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Powered Thermal Imaging Camera

Are you fascinated by the idea of thermal imaging? Well I bet you didn’t realise that you can make your very own thermal imaging camera using Arduino! With this awesome project from stoppi71, using an Arduino, some servos and a thermal sensor you can be producing awesome thermal images in no time.

This is quite an advanced project but if you are willing to put in the effort you will be rewarded with a whole heap of new skills and a working thermal imaging camera. Worth it in our opinion! From a home automation perspective the applications of this project are not immediately obvious, however, they do exist. For example you could use a thermal imaging camera to check for hot and cold spots in your insulation so that you can lower your heating and cooling costs!

To get started on this fantastic project check out the instructable!

If you are looking for an Arduino board to power your thermal imaging camera, the SuperHouse team recommends the Freetronics “Eleven” Arduino Compatible Board, click on the link to find out more.

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 August 2, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Night Lamp

Are you kids scared of the dark? Do you spend a lot of time and effort setting up lights for your kids so that it is the perfect ambience for them to get to sleep? With this Arduino-Controlled Night Light from Andre you can very easily automate this process and never have to worry about setting a night light ever again. The project is very simple and uses an Arduino and a photodiode to automatically turn on a night light when it gets dark. You could very easily get all the parts to make this project in a quick (and cheap) trip to your local electronics store! Furthermore, you can easily customise this project to suit your exact needs. Although it is a very basic project, from a home automation perspective, it is sometimes the very basic projects that can provide the greatest benefit. To get started with this cool project check out the following link.

If you are looking for an Arduino board to power your night light, the SuperHouse team recommends the Freetronics “Eleven” Arduino Compatible Board, click on the link to find out more.

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 August 1, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Internet Connected Swimming Pool

You may be wondering why you would ever want to connect your swimming pool to the internet? The answer is simple. Adding internet connection to your swimming pool allows you to monitor the temperature and water quality, and gives you precise control over the pump, filtering and heating systems! This pool collects data from a number of sensors which are fed into a Raspberry Pi via an Arduino. A relay then allows the system to have precise control over the workings of the pool based on the sensor inputs! Convinced? Check out the instructions Kevin has prepared to find out more!

Check out the video below to see it in action:

If you are working on a projected that requires interaction between an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi the team at SuperHouse Automation recommends the Freetronics PiLeven!

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

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.