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Arduino Tank Level Tracker

Do you ever find yourself wondering exactly how full your water tank is? With this project from Boris Landoni you can create your very own water tank level sensor using Arduino. This is a perfect addition to a smart home, allowing you to track tank level trends, and even potentially automatically switch between tank water and mains water if your tank runs dry. An ultrasonic distance sensor is used to determine how far the water is from the top of the tank, and uses this to calculate the current water level. The output output is displayed on an LCD screen so that you can easily see how full your tank is! Although not specifically detailed in the project, it wouldn’t be hard to feed the water level data into an existing home automation system. The possibilities for a project such as this are really limited to your imagination! To get started on this project check out the following link.   

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Do you think this is a useful project? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

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Connected Laundry with Arduino

Sick of losing valuable drying time when you forget to take the washing out of the machine? This project allows you to turn your washing machine into an Internet of Things (IoT) device which notifies you via Twitter and sms when the washing is finished. Rather than modifying your washing machine, the project cleverly uses an accelerometer to detect when the washing machine is in use.  The project can be made very cheaply from commonly available parts and could be easily finished in a few hours.

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Completing this project will teach you a lot about building internet connected devices and could end up saving you a lot of time. To get started check out the instructable from MakerBee.

If you are looking for a accelerometer to complete this project, SuperHouse Automation recomends the Freetronics 3-Axis Accelerometer Module. The module has independent X,Y and Z axis outputs ready to connect directly into an Arduino. To find out more and to order check out the product page.

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

Considering optimizing your washing machine? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to hear how your project goes! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

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Add Keyless Entry to Your Home or Office with RFID

Being able to open and unlock a door with the quick touch of an RFID tag adds a new dimension to managing access to your home or office. Gone are the days of fumbling in the dark trying to find the right key for the particular door you are trying to open, or having to keep track of all the different sets of keys you have had cut. With an RFID enabled electronic door you can open your door with a simple “tap”, easily and securely manage who has access and even keep a log of who has opened the door. If you are keen to get started check out our video about how we added RFID to the door of our office:  

Although this project sounds difficult, with many electronic door locks commercially available it is really a simple matter of configuring the RFID reader to trigger the electronic lock. Indeed, the RFID Door Lock Shield from Freetronics provides a fantastic and simple interface between the RFID reader, your Arduino Compatible board and the electronic lock. For more information visit the RFID Door Lock Shield page.

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Want to get started creating your own home automation system? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!  Inspired to add an RFID door to your home or office? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

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Monitor Your Rubbish Usage with the Arduino Smart Bin

Sick of your rubbish bin overflowing? Sick of never remembering to take out your bins? Check out this Arduino powered smart rubbish bin! The project allows you turn your bin into an internet of things (IoT) device so that you can keep track of how full your bin is, and even schedule reminders to take your bin out. The bin uses an IR distance sensor to sense the height from the top of the bin to the current rubbish level. This information is then sent to an Arduino which makes a comparison between the current distance and the height of the bin to work out the rubbish level and update a web app (or push data to an existing home automation system).

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You can even configure your smart bin to tweet or email you when the bin reaches capacity! This would be a perfect project to incorporate into an existing smart home. Love the idea of a smart trash can and can’t wait to get started? check out the Instructable from jsigmier to get started.

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

Started on your own home automation 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.

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Monitor Air Quality Wirelessly Arduino

Ensuring that your home or office has sufficient air quality is imperative for maintaining good health. Many people would have no idea about the quality of the air in areas they spend large amounts of time, and would be under the impression that building a project to find out would be prohibitively expensive. However, this project from AriV4  demonstrates how you can create an internet connected air monitoring system for well under $50!

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While the project only explains how to create the monitor, there is no reason why you couldn’t integrate the sensor into an existing home automation system. This would create many potential uses. For example, once poor quality air has been detected you could configure your fan to turn on, or a window to open. Although it sounds simple, it could make a real difference to your health and even potentially save your life in the event of a carbon monoxide build up! To get started with this project check out the following link.

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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? 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.