EnOcean push buttons and actuators

December 31, 2019Devices, Sensors No Comments

EnOcean is well known low power wireless standard and as a technology it is being integrated into wide range of home automation solutions, either as an integral part of the smart home ecosystem, or as an standalone wireless technology used for some sort of dedicated remote control (blinds, garage door, remote wall switch, …). It … Read More

Water level measurement

October 10, 2018Garden, Sensors 39 Comments

The background I have been posting few updates in this forum where I listed the options I was considering for water level measurement in my rainwater tank. I somehow strongly accentuated the ultrasonic method of measuring but never actually implemented it as the price of these sensors kept this item low on the priority list. Until … Read More

Mailbox with new mail sensor

September 10, 2018Configuration, DIY, Ideas, Sensors, Solutions 1 Comment

If your’e about to start wiring your new home, think of one additional cable going towards your mail box. In many cases this can be done quite easily, as the mailbox sits together with doorbell or intercom and you can either use some of the cable wires there or add few additional. This fully depends … Read More

Connecting your water meter

August 5, 2018Sensors, Solutions 7 Comments

Finishing the story about the utility meters and its connection to Loxone. After articles about the electricity and gas meters I am focusing on the water meters here. Of course, there are water meters with pulse output already on the market, but in my case I wanted to read the data from the official meter I got from the … Read More

Connecting your electricity meter to Loxone

February 15, 2018Sensors, Solutions No Comments

Continuing the story about the utility meters and its connection to Loxone. Again, not talking about any Modbus meter integration here, I am about to get the data from official utility meters. I described the integration of a gas meter in my previous post, let’s focus on electricity meter here. Before we jump into it, let’s … Read More

Connecting your gas meter to Loxone

December 27, 2017Sensors, Solutions 1 Comment

I always planned to integrate utility meters into the smart home system. In my case this would mean to connect the electricity, gas and water meters. For all these I did the cabling preparation while I was building the house, so I was literally ready to go. But as usual, there were things higher on … Read More

Finger scanner integration

September 3, 2017Devices, Sensors, Solutions 3 Comments

I am sure you know the situation when you lock yourself out while your keys were left inside. Or when your kids told you they lost the keys. With bio-metric door access you don’t have to worry about this. This is definitely my family favorite feature. Accessing your home using your finger as a key For key-less … Read More

Motion sensors for Loxone

August 22, 2017Interior, Sensors 4 Comments

PIR sensors suitable for 24VDC Quite often I have been asked for any recommendations for motion sensors that could be used in SmartHome installations. Obviously, there is a wide range of products on the market these days, however there are two important attributes people mostly care about. Motion sensor must be totally silent I am … Read More

Soil moisture sensor

July 24, 2017Garden, Sensors 5 Comments

Measuring soil humidity to control the garden irrigation I have ordered Vegetronix VH400 – Moisture Sensor Probe. This is very interesting device. It is amazing in particular by the speed of measurement and immediate reaction to the moisture level change. Its power consumption is less than 13mA. However, the supply voltage has to be between 3.5V and 20 VDC which in … Read More