Automation – Page 5 – SuperHouse Automation

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 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!

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 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.

Posted on July 10, 2016July 10, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

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.

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

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.