Home Automation - Smartkit

rodga said:
Are all your fans non remote at the moment?
I have a 2 fans that have a remote. I wonder if it will work properly with them.
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Yes, they're all non remote, but I don't think the remote function should make a difference to how you install the iFan02. It literally gets installed between the fan and the power, so the fact that the fan is remote controlled, should make no difference.
 
R4m80 said:
Fitted my iFan02 to my bedroom fan. Had help from a friend that is more familiar with electrical installation than I am. Must say, was a lot easier than what I expected. Works well. 4 more fans to do.
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So what happens with the pull chain?

Do you leave it on the highest setting and let the iFan do the work now or what?

Because I don’t understand how it can control it otherwise if it hooked up in line with the power.
 
The_Mowgs said:
I recently built a new braai area but there is no light in the braai. My garage motor is plugged into a lead in the garage with a extra space for another 3 point plug.

I was thinking of running a wire from the additional three point plug to the braai where I will add a light.

Now, I would like to add a sonoff device to switch the light on and off but I want to add a light at the carport which is between the garage and the braai.

What type of wire would I need to get?
What sonoff device should I get?
How do I split the wire to a light for the carport (will not be running off a sonoff) and to the braai?

The carport light will be on a day / night bulb and wont be able to be controlled with the sonoff, only the braai light.

I can place the sonoff device under the carport roof so it will be hidden from the elements.

This should be relatively easy would it not?
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Wire: 1.5mm twin & earth on a 3-prong plug in garage. Run to carport into chocolate block. Split one line to day/night switch then into carport light (or just one of those lights with a built-in day/night), split the other line from the chocolate block to the Sonoff Basic, and from Sonoff to braai light.

Disclaimer: I’m not an electrician and this probably won’t pass COC, proceed with caution
 
bees said:
Wire: 1.5mm twin & earth on a 3-prong plug in garage. Run to carport into chocolate block. Split one line to day/night switch then into carport light (or just one of those lights with a built-in day/night), split the other line from the chocolate block to the Sonoff Basic, and from Sonoff to braai light.

Disclaimer: I’m not an electrician and this probably won’t pass COC, proceed with caution
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Thank you very much appreciate the help.
 
R4m80 said:
@phaktza Do you know if the older Sonoffs will be compatible with the firmware that will be available on the R3 models? And when will you be getting the R3 models in stock. Want to place an order, but think I should wait for the R3 models.
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OK, so we're looking at end of June for stock - we've been promised availability toward the end of May.

I'll also try for a smaller retail order to satisfy the early adopters.

The firmware will remain a mystery until then.
 
SauRoNZA said:
So what happens with the pull chain?

Do you leave it on the highest setting and let the iFan do the work now or what?

Because I don’t understand how it can control it otherwise if it hooked up in line with the power.
Click to expand...
The pull chains stay in place.

There is just to much wiring going on there for me to figure out what must be removed and what to connect where.

You are correct, leave the pull chain on the highest setting and the iFan02 will control the different speeds for you. The speed control is build into the iFan02.

On my fan, and fans I've seen online, so I assume most fans work this way, you have 2 live wires and 1 neutral wire going into the fan. 1 live will be marked "Fan" and the other one will be marked "Light." The neutral is common between the fan and light. This is exactly how the wiring is on the iFan02.

When you remove the fan from the ceiling, you'll have 2 wires coming out of the roof, 1 live and 1 neutral. Connect the live wire on the iFan02 input to the live wire coming from the roof and the neutral wire on the iFan02 input to the neutral wire coming from the roof.

Then, connect the live wire on the iFan02 output side marked "Fan" to the fan live wire that's marked "Fan." Then connect the live wire on the iFan02 output side that is marked "Light" to the fan live wire that is marked "Light." Connect the neutral wire on the iFan02 output side to the neutral wire on the fan and Bob's your uncle. Done.

It sounds much more complicated than it is. I was also a bit worried of how it would work until I took the fan off and saw how easy it actually is.
 
I'm looking for a Smart Alarm System for my home.. Any Ideas? I've seen the NEST and Scout Alarm, however I can't find any local places that sell them.
 
Recallza said:
I'm looking for a Smart Alarm System for my home.. Any Ideas? I've seen the NEST and Scout Alarm, however I can't find any local places that sell them.
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4kids said:
I am currently looking at replacing my outdated security system with a wireless solution.
Had a good look at Paradox and paid a visit to a local dealer who showed me a new product called AJAX which they import and distribute.
The demonstration of the system was impressive and the features with ease of installation and programming on a phone App from where the system is controlled “which by the way is free”
The sales guy also showed me that the system can be linked to a number or companies without a need for a separate Radio to be installed via a automated request.

The system also allows Ip camera integration to the App and control of gate motors and 220 volt lights etc.

Anyone here that can comment or have this installed as yet.

Click to expand...

Check this out. Looks awesome
 
R4m80 said:
The pull chains stay in place.

There is just to much wiring going on there for me to figure out what must be removed and what to connect where.

You are correct, leave the pull chain on the highest setting and the iFan02 will control the different speeds for you. The speed control is build into the iFan02.

On my fan, and fans I've seen online, so I assume most fans work this way, you have 2 live wires and 1 neutral wire going into the fan. 1 live will be marked "Fan" and the other one will be marked "Light." The neutral is common between the fan and light. This is exactly how the wiring is on the iFan02.

When you remove the fan from the ceiling, you'll have 2 wires coming out of the roof, 1 live and 1 neutral. Connect the live wire on the iFan02 input to the live wire coming from the roof and the neutral wire on the iFan02 input to the neutral wire coming from the roof.

Then, connect the live wire on the iFan02 output side marked "Fan" to the fan live wire that's marked "Fan." Then connect the live wire on the iFan02 output side that is marked "Light" to the fan live wire that is marked "Light." Connect the neutral wire on the iFan02 output side to the neutral wire on the fan and Bob's your uncle. Done.

It sounds much more complicated than it is. I was also a bit worried of how it would work until I took the fan off and saw how easy it actually is.
Click to expand...

My deeper issue is that I have a fan that has either a cockeyed capacitor or a pull chain wiring or both.

So I was wondering if I could bypass the entire lot by connecting the right wires together so that it’s at full speed and then install the iFan02.
 
Recallza said:
Thanks, it does look awesome! I see there are two resellers on their site for South Africa, I've contacted both.. I hope they don't charge an arm and a leg for a starterkit
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Let us know what prices you get quoted. Very curious
 
Recallza said:
Thanks, it does look awesome! I see there are two resellers on their site for South Africa, I've contacted both.. I hope they don't charge an arm and a leg for a starterkit
Click to expand...
Will the product work in SA though?
I know I've been wanting to get Nest Hello brought in, but SA isn't a supported country yet so setting your address, timezone, etc are a bit of an issue. Limits functionality.
 
SAguy said:
Will the product work in SA though?
I know I've been wanting to get Nest Hello brought in, but SA isn't a supported country yet so setting your address, timezone, etc are a bit of an issue. Limits functionality.
Click to expand...
I assume so, considering on their website, they have South African resellers.. I'll find out once I get a reply from the resllers though
 
I am super keen to get my alarm into HA. Sadly I have a rubbish PIMA kit, and putting in a new DSC panel is looking very expensive right about now. I looked at Konnected.io, and it looks really good. They have 2 main products:

The alarm panel kit which replaces your alarm panel (Alarm Panel); and

An interface kit which essentially piggy backs off your existing system, but leaves everything in place of the existing system you have. Basically it gives HA access to your sensors.

Ideally the alarm panel kit would be my first choice, but it doesn't output to a radio that works with my armed response. I have an FSK GSM radio which was supplied by my armed response provider, and one option I thought was perhaps I can program an arduino or ESP8266 to take the output from HA and communicate with the radio.

Alternatively, the interface kit appears to be able to at least arm and disarm the alarm, but that seems to be about it, no zone disabling or arming.

Oh and the final thing, the local supplier seems to be completely unresponsive which sucks.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
SukkaFoo said:
I am super keen to get my alarm into HA. Sadly I have a rubbish PIMA kit, and putting in a new DSC panel is looking very expensive right about now. I looked at Konnected.io, and it looks really good. They have 2 main products:

The alarm panel kit which replaces your alarm panel (Alarm Panel); and

An interface kit which essentially piggy backs off your existing system, but leaves everything in place of the existing system you have. Basically it gives HA access to your sensors.

Ideally the alarm panel kit would be my first choice, but it doesn't output to a radio that works with my armed response. I have an FSK GSM radio which was supplied by my armed response provider, and one option I thought was perhaps I can program an arduino or ESP8266 to take the output from HA and communicate with the radio.

Alternatively, the interface kit appears to be able to at least arm and disarm the alarm, but that seems to be about it, no zone disabling or arming.

Oh and the final thing, the local supplier seems to be completely unresponsive which sucks.

Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
I've found that there is a massive gap in the market for smart alarm installers - and I don't just mean installers of smart(er) alarms, I mean installers who have even the most basic grip of the smart home evolution.

My alarm installer is very good, and is very highly regarded by the local Texecom branch - but even he doesn't know anything about the smarter side of alarms.
 
SukkaFoo said:
I am super keen to get my alarm into HA. Sadly I have a rubbish PIMA kit, and putting in a new DSC panel is looking very expensive right about now. I looked at Konnected.io, and it looks really good. They have 2 main products:

The alarm panel kit which replaces your alarm panel (Alarm Panel); and

An interface kit which essentially piggy backs off your existing system, but leaves everything in place of the existing system you have. Basically it gives HA access to your sensors.

Ideally the alarm panel kit would be my first choice, but it doesn't output to a radio that works with my armed response. I have an FSK GSM radio which was supplied by my armed response provider, and one option I thought was perhaps I can program an arduino or ESP8266 to take the output from HA and communicate with the radio.

Alternatively, the interface kit appears to be able to at least arm and disarm the alarm, but that seems to be about it, no zone disabling or arming.

Oh and the final thing, the local supplier seems to be completely unresponsive which sucks.

Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...

I recently programmed a nodemcu with this —> https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface It’s connected to my DSC panel and allows me to interface my HA through the MQTT alarm panel component. All the zones are loaded as binary sensors so I can see when a door is opened/closed or motion sensor triggered. Great for automations (think telegram, lights etc) and I can arm/disarm remotely and see which zones triggered the alarm. I still have my FSK GSM module as a backup for sms notifications and remote management via mobile. Mine is not linked to armed response but I’m sure the two can operate in parallel. You just hooking into the dsc keybus.
 
So deep down the rabbit hole... The PIMA system really is not great, it appears to be rather niche. Anyway, I did some more research on the konnected interface, and it seems its possible to read the alarm state as well as arm or disarm via relays and a key switch. I currently have an FSK remote control as well, which allows me to arm and disarm, so I assume its using the same key switch logic, and I am pretty confident this will work for what I need. Its not perfect, but its pretty close.

I guess the alternative is throw it all out and just get a DSC system, but theres a lot I would need to do on top of that as well anyway...
 
Slip said:
I recently programmed a nodemcu with this —> https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface It’s connected to my DSC panel and allows me to interface my HA through the MQTT alarm panel component. All the zones are loaded as binary sensors so I can see when a door is opened/closed or motion sensor triggered. Great for automations (think telegram, lights etc) and I can arm/disarm remotely and see which zones triggered the alarm. I still have my FSK GSM module as a backup for sms notifications and remote management via mobile. Mine is not linked to armed response but I’m sure the two can operate in parallel. You just hooking into the dsc keybus.
Click to expand...

Do you have the Envisalink module with your panel to be able to connect it to HA?
 
Tinuva said:
Got myself the dual-core version of this: MinnowBoard Turbot
Added a 256GB SSD (had a wd-green lying around) as the drive instead of sd-card, running openhab+influxdb+traefik+teamspeak3+mqttwarn+nodered+mosquitto on it, all in docker containers. Working perfect. I was worried that influxdb+openhab+nodered would kill it, but they all seem very happy. (I do make use of cpu and memory limits in docker)

Code: 
CONTAINER ID        NAME                CPU %               MEM USAGE / LIMIT   MEM %               NET I/O             BLOCK I/O           PIDS
484da6bacfda        influxdb            0.46%               476.8MiB / 640MiB   74.50%              206MB / 4.29MB      717MB / 856MB       11
ae15038371d7        openhab             7.20%               412.2MiB / 750MiB   54.96%              0B / 0B             437MB / 409MB       176
78345b9d71e2        mqttwarn            0.04%               11.97MiB / 50MiB    23.94%              1.79MB / 1.58MB     75.3MB / 0B         3
4fac615ef7ce        teamspeak           0.84%               9.547MiB / 50MiB    19.09%              1.52GB / 2.23GB     74.1MB / 8.19kB     28
c4ca7d7e8ef6        nodered             1.10%               61.75MiB / 100MiB   61.75%              287MB / 14.9MB      174MB / 104MB       20
84f518f6159e        watchtower          0.00%               4.879MiB / 50MiB    9.76%               618kB / 9.47kB      67.9MB / 0B         9
5546160e816b        mosquitto           0.11%               956KiB / 50MiB      1.87%               22.3MB / 14.2MB     7.86MB / 1.93MB     1
10949772cd04        traefik             0.65%               42.78MiB / 250MiB   17.11%              1.83GB / 1.85GB     47.5GB / 3.87GB     16

Those few things pretty much max out the memory on it. So Grafana, sabnzbd, sonarr ect all run on my fileserver. If those go down during loadshedding I am not worried, but the home automation stuff needs to keep going.
Click to expand...

https://www.diyelectronics.co.za/st...a-windows-10-mini-pc-4gb64gb-unactivated.html
Those Lattepanda's are also quite nice and available locally. I considered that route but Im on a Pi 3 at the moment and its working ok for now. I will probably migrate everything to the mini-ITX i7 I have when I upgrade my gaming box.
 
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