Smart home #8: Garden automation
Some things you may want to automate in your garden: Detect when it rains and track how much Monitor soil humidity Control irrigation If you’re collecting rainwater, monito...
Hi, I’m Jan
These are my notes on various tech topics. Feel free to use whatever you find here, I hope some of it is useful.
Smart home #7: Windows and curtains
Window sensors There are a lot of advanced wireless sensors on the market that will tell you whether a window is open or closed. But since I had the option of running new wires, I d...
Smart home #6: HVAC
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). I can only speak about air conditioning and fans. Unfortunately, I have no experience with heating as in Singapore, excessive heat ...
Smart home #5: Lights
Things you may want to do with lights, in order of usefulness: Turn on/off - absolutely necessary Dim up/down - very useful, I’d highly recommend this Color temperature, also...
Smart home #4: Manual control
There are different ways you control your smart home manually: Physical switches Home Assistant dashboard Apple HomeKit Voice assistants Desktop I’ve covered the physic...
Smart home #3: Switches
I’ve used KNX to connect the physical switches, some sensors and actuators. It’s a 30-year-old technology used by hotels and offices. It may be overkill for a home, but it is wired ...
Smart home #2: Architecture
In this chapter I’ll introduce the architecture I chose, list some of the platforms I’ve used and describe how I integrated them together. Decoupling First, let’s talk about the ...
Smart home #1: Introduction
This series of posts documents my journey to a smart home and home automation. What smart home isn’t? A common misconception is seeing smart home as just a way to control home de...