IoT – SuperHouse Automation

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

WiFi Toilet Vacancy Sensor

Do you ever get up from your desk to go to the bathroom only to find that it is occupied? With this cool project from hassaku you can use a number of sensors, a buzzer, and a Spark Core to create a toilet vacancy sensor. The Spark Core interfaces with a Google Chrome extension which allows you to see in a quick glance if your bathroom is occupied. To get started on this unique project checkout 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!

Working on your own home automation projects? 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 September 25, 2016September 25, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

IoT Wardrobe

This intelligent wardrobe system automatically reminds you of the types of clothing and accessories you will need based on the weather! Not only does it provide these recommendations, but using a clever LED indicator system it also reminds you of where the different items you will require are located! For example the wardrobe might recommend that you take your umbrella with you if rain is forecast. This is an idea with lots of potential! To get started and to build upon the existing IoT Wardrobe concept, checkout 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!

Working on your own home automation projects? 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 September 23, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

IoT Propane Tank

If you live in a remote area it is possible that you are living in an area not service by a gas connection. For many people this means relying on a propane tank. Wouldn’t it be great if you could reliably track the amount of gas remaining in your tank so that you could schedule a top up and not risk running out of gas! This project from Julio Aguirre you can turn your propane tank into a solar powered IoT device that sends you up regular information about your propane tank. Not only does it provide you information but it also automatically emails or SMS’s your gas supplier to arrange a new delivery when you are running low. To get started on this project check out the following link.

If you are looking for an Arduino board to work on this hack the team at SuperHouse automation recommends the Freetronics “Eleven” Arduino Compatible Board.

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

Working on your own home automation projects? 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 September 14, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Eject-A-Bed

Do you ever struggle to get your kids out of bed in the morning? With this awesome hack from Jamie Dixon you can modify an old adjustable hospital bed so that you can control it over the internet, from anywhere in the world. With a simple push of a button on your phone or computer you can tilt the bed from a comfortable horizontal position into a vertical position sending the occupant flying out of their bed and hopefully waking them up without causing any serious injuries!

The eject a bed is controlled by Raspberry Pi 2 which talks to a servo and an Arduino. This is a really great project for learning how to control things over the internet and is sure to be lots of fun as well. For more information check out the following link or the video below.

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

Working on your own home automation projects? 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 September 12, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Visualising Arduino Sensor Data

As fantastic as the Arduino IDE can be, it doesn’t provide an easy way to graph data that you receive from sensor inputs on your Arduino projects. Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to visualise in real time how the light levels inside your house have changed over time? Or be able to track fluctuations in temperature or humidity? Instructables member CrtSuznik has put together a neat set of instructions which outline how you can send data from your Arduino into Excel and visualise it. This is a really useful skill when you start to build your own smart home and are looking for ways to effectively turn sensor values into useful information! To find out more check out the following link.

If you are looking for an Arduino board to collect sensor data, 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!

Working on your own home automation projects? 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 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.

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 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!

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 7, 2016 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

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).

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.