Musings about requirements engineering, the internet-of-things, and open source software
Before I leave the house, I want to see an overview of all relevant home automation variables: are all the windows and doors closed? are all the lights off? is my computer off? is the washer or dryer still running?
For this, I built a small, battery-powered display next to the front door. It has a Wifi connection to the home network, and pulls all relevant OpenHAB variables via its REST interface, every hour, and at the push of a button
Continue readingWinter is approaching, so I needed to bring my kitchen herbs collection inside, and I thought some artificial light might help to keep them thriving during the dark part of the year.
Continue readingLet’s explore a couple of strategies to maximize battery life for home automation nodes based on the MySensors framework. Applying those strategies, I have built sensor nodes that run for more than 36 months on one CR2032 coin cell.
Continue readingIn the previous parts of this series I described my objectives for and anticipated benefits of my home automation system (part 1), and described the implementation (part 2). Now let’s have a look at which of the anticipated benefits I am really seeing today, after several years of use. I will also share some technical “lessons learned”.
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