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semoHtramS)tramsos(NotforDummiesHow Smart Hometechnology mightactually be more usefulthan you think

Smart Home?I’m in a café inMontmatreand I can turnmy central heatingoff!Hey Alexa,tell me aknock-knock jokeMy TV turns off mycomputer screenMy toaster burns today’sweather symbol onmy toastIf it’s raining outsideturn my room light blue

OK, if Smart Homes are stupidideas, what’s this talk about?“Smart” devices can actuallybe really usefuleven when unconnected tothe Internet“Smart” devices cansave energy.Can save you money!(and save the planet)“Smart” devices canprovide usefulmonitoringdataWhy struggle withtiny buttons whenyou can use amobile phone forcontrol?Ease of UseBetter ControlEnergy & Money SavingSimple Installation “Smart” devices areEspecially important forLiz and I away inthe campervanMany connect via‘cloud’ so accesiblefrom the internetWireless.Wireless means“no wires”Means freedom to positionwhere “you want”!

Topics1. Smart Socketsa)Familiar “smart” socketb)A programmers solutionc)Real smart sockets2.Smart Lightinga) “Dumb” Smart Lightingb) Adding a little Smart3. Smart Heatinga)Smart thermostatb)Controlling the radiators?4. The Internet and connecting devices togetherOK I lied!

Surelyeveryone hasused one oftheseStandby SocketsA bit fiddlyto programThese aren’tmuch betterRestricted to24 hoursChristmas lightsSecurity lightTurn off standbyFailed LCDsegmentscan bea painHarnessingthe screen of aphone has to bea better way!7 dayprogrammingBut stillfiddly

A Programmer’s Smart SocketEnergenie Remote Sockets Raspberry Pi Control boardRemote controlbut noautomationAll the control youcan imagineNeedsProgramming skills(API is simple)Easy to add schedulesor web controlEasy to add realautomationScenarios like turn ondepending on weather(for example)Rpi can be usedfor other projects(Webserver?)Control butno monitoringor feedbackCostRpi 30, Board 10 7 per socket(based on 4)RangelimitedNot a solutionFor everyoneLimited to4 socketsRpi Zerocheaper 9

Real Smart SocketsSonoff range Cheap ( 4 for the basic) Standard ESP8266 – so upgradable/hackable Large range of offerings: Including waterproof, GSM, Socket adapters etc.Sockets Hub/Gateway Energenie, Hive et al Expensive 80 for Hub 2 sockets Different functionality sockets Control, monitor, control monitorWireless Socket TP-Link et al Expensive ( 25 each) But down to a tenner when on offer Simply connects to phone – cloud for internet access Easiest to use/set-up ( 5 mins)

What is Smart Lighting?BulbCan be white,white spectrum,or colour868MhzOne controllerone or morebulbsCan be switch,motion detector,dimmeretc.Controlleror2.4GHzAlwayspowered onBattery operatedRX controlson/offbrightnesscolourSimple1. Plug in bulb2. Pair with controller3. Done!Can be placedanywhereOften Optional(depends on brand)If you have a hub:1. Add hub to home net2. Pair controller with hub3. May be security steps tooInternet/Alexa/PhoneHub/Gateway

“Dumb” Smart Lighting – Scenarios(all genuine “use-cases in our house)I want a dimmer switch(yes, I know there arenon-smart ones)My light switchis in thewrong placeNice to turn lightoff from in bedWarm light LEDs are warmingBut I need daylight lightfor colour matching myquilting fabricsTwo lights double-gangedonto one switch.Be nice to controlthem separatelySecurity.Motion sensing or timedlighting.

Buying Smart Lighting Can be expensive! Philips Hue is the brand leader– IKEA Trådfri much cheaper– 15 for a white bulb, 20 for a dimmer, 30 for a motion sensor 9 for a bulb, 8 for a dimmer, 16 for a motion sensorKits even cheaper–IKEA bulb dimmer 15–Compare with Screwfix non-smart dimmer switches starting at 12 (exceptfor their 5 ultra-basic model)Other companies too–Hive, Osram, Innr, Chinese imports

GOUKB/MOACL use cases Bedroom needs dimmer switch–IKEA Warm-white bulb dimmer 15 Lounge lighting need complete change–2* IKEA white-spectrum bulbs controller 44 Would have to pay 12 for normal dimmerController now accessible from in bedAlso bought IKEA gateway so have Alexa controlActually 65 as included gatewayController now correct side of doorWarm light for comfort, daylight white for Liz colour matchingDownstairs loo light being left on too often–IKEA Warm white bulb motion sensor 25 A luxury perhaps, but this was annoying both of usWe are all a mature audience so no need for jokes about motion detectors in toiletsAlthough this might seem expensive/frivolous the bedroom NEEDED a dimmerand the existing lounge spotlights were terrible so the whole room needed alighting rethink

Adding a little smartIkea phone app and Alexa(needs gateway) Phone AppAllows full control off lights On/off Dim Colour Note Living Room has two sub-sections Coffee Table and Table Can be controlled together or separatelyOnly works with phone connected to same network LAN not WAN Easily fixed if need be – see later AlexaRemote control from anywhere (in earshot) Makes positioning of remote immaterial“Alexa, turn the bedroom light off” is nice Especially after Alexa has just read more of Stephen Fry’sexcellent rendition of the entire Sherlock Holmes canon (96hours!)

Dumb Thermostat & time controllerWho’s got oneof these?A right pain toprogram!Tucked awayin the airingcupboardAt least we didn’thave to grovelin theairing cupboardDo you allturn temperaturedown whenyou are away?Or is it justtoo mucheffort?Still not theeasiest thingto programOnly LizcouldmanageWe replaced ourdumb statSo, we oftenstill heatedan emptyhouse

Enter the smart stat Either directly replaces existing stat or wires directly to the boiler/controller(your choice)–Also has hub that will connect to internet Excellent self-install video instructions Just like the wireless stat in the previous slide But now your controller is your mobile phone or a web page (or even Alexa)–So, so much easier to program–Different heating schedules for each day (if you want)–Away mode, set at a click – Drops heating to low level (12 for me)Can set return date/timeManual over-ride also via switches on statExpensive c 150.–Leading brands Hive, Nest, Netatmo –Some control hot water as wellWatch out for Amazon (et al) deals my Netatmo was 35% off for 2 days only, this Jan.

Smart stat smarts Monitors outside temperature– Either from weather station or weather report from webCalculates thermal efficiency of houseAfter data gathered switches from simple hysteresis control toPID (proportional-integral-derivative) control–Supposed to be more efficientPIDHysteresis

Web and Phone interfaces

Savings? - The jury is still out The above report was for 10.5 days in January - first week was on Hysteresis control.It appears to be still “learning” - PID graph getting flatterThe easy saving was using the “Away function” 5% saved by heating off from 2pm – 7am next morning Trivial to doWill make heating off much easier when we are away in the van Can even switch to “Away” from that café in Montmatre if we’ve forgottenNeed to save 15% of current heating bill to recoup cost 2 years? Maybe just over 1 year (because of ease of setting “Away”)

Even smarter? Smart Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs)?–Could control heating to 3 bedrooms during the day Boost master bedroom temperature well before bedtimeKeep guest bedrooms at a much lower temperature–––When no guests staying of courseOr if we want to discourage guests to lingerExpensive though About 70 per valveCompare with 9 - 40 for dumb equivalent Will see what current stat alone saves Suspect some of the cost is style and limited uptake– Style not a decision point for me!Each one probably 3-4 years before payback–But does help save the planet!

When this stuff might be useful Smart Sockets–Complex schedules, different days/times–Saving money/energy turning equipment off standby when away or overnight Smart Lighting–Want to change to dimmer without touching wiring–Current light switch inconveniently placed–Motion sensor lighting Care – IKEA sensor is not weatherproof, others may be–Want colour or white control–Want to schedule lighting (security, perhaps) But simple remote control sockets might be adequateIKEA not easy without additional softwareSmart Heating–Want more control over heating on/off times and temperatures Really easy to set “Away” or complex time schedulesCan be set via internet if forgotten–Want to see heating usage–Want to save money switching from hysteresis based control to PID Jury’s still out on thisOr when you want to automate!!

Basic Automation(thanks to IBM Hursley) Lots of products out there– Home Assistant, OpenHAB, IFTTT, Domesticz et alThis demo is based upon the following:–Raspberry PI used as a Gateway running: –Node-RedMQTT brokerOther computers and devices may need MQTT and code to publish or react to subscriptionsYes I know the above may be gobbledegook to some of you but the presentationreally ended at the last slideNode-Red and MQTT are free open-source products produced by IBM Hursley

Node-RedWire together componentsMany device APIs supportedLittle or no Javascript code neededBuilt in Dashboard componentsTiny bitof code toextract readingsPollevery 5minutesUse NetatmoAPI to getCurrent dataGo todisplay

Node-Red Dashboard

MQTT Simple messaging system–Industry standard–Very lightweight Simple idea – post and subscribe–Computers post messages with topic titles to MQTT Broker–MQTT Broker sends messages round the network–Computers subscribe to messages Even runs on an ArduinoAnd so get given messages and can act upon themTrivial to install and test–I had it working in a couple of minutes

Simple (and facile) automationProblem: My computer monitors cause glare on my TVSolution: Automatically turn monitors off when TV is first turned on1.Node-red polls TV every 30 seconds2.TV responds with ‘on’ or ‘off’3.If TV status changes Node-Red publishes MQTT message with topic ‘TV’4.MQTT message broker fires message around to interested parties5.My Linux desktop computer has long-running Python app subscribed to MQTT topic ‘TV’6.Python code checks if previous state of TV was ‘off’ and now is ‘on’7.Python code invokes a Linux command to blank my monitor screens8.Any keyboard or mouse interaction awakens screenNot necessary but purely written as a simple proof of concept.The Node-Red code side was trivial and required ZERO codeThe Python code was taken from a basic MQTT example and a little poking around onhow to blank monitor screens

Summary Smart switches, lighting and heating can be useful even in ‘dumb’ mode–Much easier to control–Much better user interface via web or phone–Can be money savingSmart devices are often plug and play–Sockets often just a case of plugging in and downloading phone app–Lighting is just plugging bulb in and pairing with controller–Heating requires thermostat replacement but then is just a matter of plugging ingateway and downloading app/registering on website Smart devices don’t need to be exposed to the internet Automation might have some advantages–But sometimes may be a “solution in need of a problem”

(Not so smart) Smart Homes for Dummies How Smart Home technology might actually be more useful than you think. Smart Home? I’m in a café in Montmatre and I can turn my central heating off! My toaster burns today’s weather symbol on my toas