Smart Home Blog

That weather station can display its data directly on your big plasma instead of small monochrome LCD monitor. It includes a temperature sensor together with radio transmitter, wind sensor and rain sensor. The information can be transmitted up to 60 meters (196.85ft) to the indoor receiver for displaying. The receiver, connected to the TV using RCA cable, analyzes 11 weather conditions and generates easy-to-read weather report.

I’m also thinking about creation of personal weather station. But my choice won’t be TV one. Because for me much more important to connect the weather station to the PC. In that case using special software like Oww and home automation system like LinuxMCE you can show weather report on PC, TV, Internet Tablet or smartphone.

Share This

I already wrote about Rain8 which is a nice and power sprinkler controller. But it has a big disadvantage (at least in my case). There is not any Linux-based software to configure it. I found only mcsSprinklers but unfortunately it’s suit for Windows users only. It offers a good set of features which cover all cases of your setup. Moreover, it allows an integration with home automation systems Homeseer and xAP. So, if you’re using them or other Windows-based system mcsSprinklers is very good choice.

Personally, I’d prefer to have a simple web interface in the controller to access it from any systems. It can make the price of the controller higher. But its integration with other software will be much easier. We were planing to use Rain8Net together with Plutohome but without the interface it too difficult (we didn’t have time to do that). So, we created our own solution based on ICPDAS controller which offers a web interface for configuration and communicates with Plutohome core using General Serial Device (GSD).

Share This

The Cyber-Rain XCI is an eight-zone sprinkler controller system based on ZigBee wireless protocol. Together with PC-based software, it allows conveniently set watering schedule and reduce consumption of water. Because Zigbee is a two-way communications protocol, the sprinkler system talks back to the PC, enabling users to track water usage. The controller reports every time each sprinkler comes on. You can use the activity report for fine-tuning the sprinkling schedule or keeping track of water usage for individual zones.

The Cyber-Rain XCI automatically checks the local weather forecast several times a day via the Internet (I suspect it needs a PC for that) and makes appropriate adjustments to the watering schedule. The system also takes humidity into account. It’s good but the most appropriate way is to connect the sprinkler system with weather station and use temperature, humidity, presence of rain from there instead of the forecast.

Cyber-Rain XCI is currently available and priced at $295 for the first sprinkler controller system, and $245 for additional controllers.

[via Electronic House]

Share This

HomeSeer, well-known company which develop Window-based home automation software, announced its new product - Z-Wave Multi-Sensor. It combines three sensors: motion, illumination and temperature sensors in one. The motion detector has a range of 10 meters and the sensor angle of view is 90° (horizontal). The illumination sensor allows to detect the amount of light in the room. The temperature sensor range is 0° - 40°C. So, it can be used indoor or outdoor but in soft environment (like on Cyprus :)).

The Multi-Sensor uses Z-Wave for communication and can placed up to 100 meters from nearest Z-Wave access point. It’s compatible with HomeSeer software. But since it based on Z-Wave chip it can be integrated with other home automation systems such Plutohome.

[via Ubergizmo]

Share This

IP Thermostat offers the simplest way to control a temperature in you home. Just install it on your local LAN and control it with your web browser on your local PC. The IP Thermostat is compatible with most HVAC systems, so whether you have a gas or oil furnace or boiler, hydronic heating or central air conditioning, you’ll be able to integrate this single-stage heat and cool thermostat into your existing heating system.

The IP Thermostat allows to program each day in the year. So, you have amazing flexibility for $374.99. Additionally, the thermostat can send notifications in the event of required maintenance or hight/low temperature.

The IP Thermostat includes a passive 110 punch-down block which provides power to the IP Thermostats over the Cat5 wiring and easy patch-cable connectivity to your LAN switch or router. The Ethernet Power Adapter provides power and network connection for up to six IP Thermostats.

Share This