27 May 2021 zigbee2mqtt Setup in Docker for Home Automation a setup to allow off the shelf zigbee devices to report to a mqtt server. Total cost Categories Home Automation/IT & Networking/Technology Comments: 0
27 May 2021 Kogan Smart Plug: No Esp8266? (Tuya WB2S) It is getting more and more common to get smart devices that have chips other than ESP8266 in them, and these chips are usually not flashable with the likes of Tasmota, espHome etc. This Kogan power monitor had an Tuya WB3S Categories Electronics/Home Automation Comments: 3
12 May 2021 Kogan Smart Plug and Tuya Local Notes It is better to replace the hardware and run all devices locally, which is what I did, However, before I did that, I wanted to see what was involved in running tuya local in home assistant. I have not given much detail here, but my YAML setup is below for reference. Categories Electronics/Home Automation Comments: 0
17 April 2021 LED Strip Ambient Up-lighting Some notes re how I have used LEDs for decorative up-lighting in between ceiling beams, and controlled with Tasmota and Node Red. Categories Home Automation/Lighting Comments: 0
12 April 2021 Internet Speed test to InfluxDB & MQTT with Docker Use of the Ookla speedtest cli to test the internet connection regularly, and push the results to influx db & MQTT. Categories Home Automation/IT & Networking Comments: 0
20 March 2021 Controlling a Computer Remotely with MQTT I was looking for various ways to control my computers via home automation, and my method of choice MQTT. I found mqcontrol by albertnis to be the best option and simplest for my use case. Categories Home Automation/IT & Networking Comments: 0
3 November 2020 Using an SDR and RTL_433 in docker with MQTT Mainly to grab weather station data, but also useful for other 433MHz data, this is the setup I use in Docker. It uses a cheap Realtek USB SDR, and pushes data received straight to an MQTT server. Categories Home Automation/Weather Comments: 0
31 October 2020 Tasmota Flash of GLD110HA Smart Globe Flashing a cheap Wifi connected smart light bulb with Tasmota (attempting to use Tuya Convertmethod, but reverting to a hardware flash) Categories Home Automation Comments: 0
21 September 2020 Using nsupdate to update a DNS server using docker Summary This sets up a continual check (using cron) to obtain the current external IP, and if it has changed from the last check, update the remote dns server (that you need full access to). Notes do not as yet show how to set up the dns server and certs. Suggestions for simplifying welcome, maybe holding the current IP address... Categories Home Automation/IT & Networking Comments: 0
29 July 2020 Tasmota Energy Meter Pulse Output Counting Summary This monitoring was built as part of my whole house 3 phase monitoring project. I had a couple of kWh counters (often called Check Meters) on my main and a sub board. Not as accurate, and can’t monitor V or power factor etc, but useful to look at targeted areas of power use as well as having their own... Categories Home Automation
26 July 2020 Whole House Surge Suppression for 3 Phase Summary Common in Europe and other locations around the world, but not really in NZ is the use of surge suppression modules in a main DB. I have a few servers and sensitive equipment so thought it might be a good idea as I was building a small power monitoring switchboard anyway. Standard install practice is to use an MCB... Categories Home Automation
21 July 2020 Whole House 3 Phase Power with PZEM-004T A robust, accurate, low cost and safe whole house electricity monitoring setup, using PZEM-004T modules. These use current transformers (CTs), and send data as TTL Modbus-RTU. Recently Tasmota has added support for up to 3 of these directly (on the same data channel) so there are fewer hoops to jump though to get them working (previously my testing involved sending serial commands) Categories Home Automation
11 June 2020 Secure the Chocolate: Simple Cupboard Security We have created a self contained area of our house that we still use a lot ourselves, and part of the need is to be able to store and use spaces for our own stuff… without guests having access. One of the bedrooms and a full sized cupboard can be locked with a key when needed, but what do you... Categories Home Automation/Home Renovations/Security Comments: 0
2 June 2020 USB Weather Station & Weewx using Docker Use of a Low cost WH1080 USB Weather station, connected by USB to an intel NUC running docker. Weewx pushes data to a local MQTT server (on the same NUC) and also uses SFTP to push graphs and displays to my commercial webserver. Categories Home Automation/Weather Comments: 0
17 May 2020 Sinilink USB XY-WFUSB Tasmota Flash Summary Pics and notes for flashing a Sinilink USB Stick XY-WFUSB with Tasmota This is a USB A Male to female stick, with an esp8266 in it to switch the output. It can be flashed with Tasmota, but has annoyingly small 1.27mm pitch headers. I used the ‘sewing pin’ method suggested in a couple of places. If I was doing... Categories Home Automation Comments: 0
24 April 2020 Tasmota based Equipment Cabinet Fan Controller More an exercise in playing with Tasmota & documenting how Tasmota Rules work, this overly complex fan setup is a standalone fan controller/thermostat for my equipment cupboard. Categories Home Automation/IT & Networking Comments: 0
28 February 2020 Yunshan HW-622 Network Relay Module Setup of a HW-622 Relay Module from AliExpress and other places. Approx NZ$6 with free shipping at the time (end 2019) Categories Electronics/Home Automation Comments: 0
13 November 2019 Home Automation: Future Thinking So, home control with your own setup is great, but you have to think about what happens in the event you sell your house, get hit by a bus or someone needs to work on it in the future. Home Automation should add value to a house, not turn people off a sale. This is part 2 of some of... Categories DIY Projects/Home Automation/Projects/Technology Comments: 0
13 November 2019 Home Automation: Electrical Safety This is part one of some of my notes regarding Home Automation concepts. Part 2 is about planning for the future and house resale value. Electrical Isolation/Safety Electrical safety is very important obviously for home automation, and as well as my tendency to over-engineer, I’m often thinking about ‘what could possibly go wrong‘. One of the things I want to... Categories DIY Projects/Home Automation/Projects/Technology Comments: 0
12 May 2019 Lachco Front Door Lock for Home Automation I researched, bought and installed an electronic front door lock to go with the home automation & security system for under NZ$200 in 2017. I looked for one with these features specifically as it was a free egress handle, would lock on door close (not a deadlock) and had a wireless RF remote… which is an easy way to connect... Categories Home Automation/Home Renovations/Security Comments: 0
4 February 2019 5 Steps to DIY Home Automation You can spend thousands on home automation equipment. You could get yourself an ecosystem like Apple Homekit, Samsung Smart-Things, Control4 or many others, however with just some moderate techo skills you can set up or convert your home to pretty awesome home control with DIY. My take on home automation is that it should be pretty much invisible. Things should... Categories DIY Projects/Home Automation/Technology Comments: 0
