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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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