Outdoor power outlet

September 5, 2018Devices, Garden No Comments

Let’s start today with a more lightweight topic here. I have been searching for some nice garden power outlets, that can be placed permanently outside the house,  regardless of the weather conditions. Typical usage would be anything from electric lawn mower to birthday garden party 🙂 I do not need any extra functions there, like movement … 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

Conversion to new light controller V2

January 10, 2018Configuration 1 Comment

You might have noticed that there is a new light controller block released together with the config version 9. It has some cool features that were not easily possible before (like continuous color sequence, easier control of RGBW LED strips or mixing moods) but also few drawbacks. See where you need to pay attention when … 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

Starting new lawn from seed

December 10, 2017DIY, Garden No Comments

At some point of the house construction, or quickly after, there is a moment when the focus moves to the garden area all around the house. Usually this happens after the winter, when the snow melts and you’ll suddenly see all the work that needs to be done in order to get to a state … Read More

Motorized door locks

November 20, 2017Devices, Solutions No Comments

Multi-point motorized door locks If you have read my article about finger print scanner integration this is the right follow-up for you. To enjoy the full experience of the keyless access system, motorized lock is what allows you to enter your home when you’re authorized and secures your door after closure.  I have found two different approaches providing similar … 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 3 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