--- /dev/null
+---
+author: admin
+categories:
+- Technical
+date: 2024-11-07
+tags:
+- data logging
+- home automation
+title: 'Home automation'
+---
+
+I added some temperature sensors around my house.
+
+
+
+The sensors run on AAA battery, and periodically transmit the temperature on [zigbee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zigbee), a radio protocol in similar frequencies as Wifi. The signals get received by a USB dongle designed to receive and transmit zigbee.
+
+
+
+This is connected to a raspberry pi running [zigbee2mqtt](https://www.zigbee2mqtt.io/). The messages get sent to an [mqtt](https://man.archlinux.org/man/mqtt.7.en) broker via wifi. mqtt is a pub/sub protocol that runs over the internet. Any computer on my LAN can then be notified of temperature updates, by asking the mqtt broker to send them updates.
+
+I wrote a small server which stays on all the time, listening to updates and recording changes to a database. It also generates reports periodically.
+
+I think my database format is mildly interesting, in that it's designed to use a fixed amount of space. Anyone who wants to see the technical details, can check [the github repo](https://github.com/za3k/temp-monitor), specifically [this file](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/za3k/temp-monitor/refs/heads/master/database.py).
+
+Temperatures can be seen in [celsius](https://status.za3k.com/house-temp.c.txt) or [fahrenheit](https://status.za3k.com/house-temp.f.txt) online. An example in Fahrenheit is below.
+
+ Current Temperature
+ last updated: 2024-11-07 8:34pm
+
+ Sensor Temperature Humidity Last update
+ Outside - Front 51.51°F 69.86% 1 minutes ago
+ Outside - Back 64.26°F 99.99% 22 hours, 49 min ago
+ Upstairs - Dining Room 69.67°F 53.24% 0 minutes ago
+ Upstairs - Bedroom - Za3k 71.35°F 60.15% 21 minutes ago
+ Upstairs - Bedroom - Master 68.90°F 58.11% 4 minutes ago
+ Upstairs - Kitchen 71.20°F 50.50% 6 minutes ago
+ Upstairs - Garage 65.55°F 60.65% 2 minutes ago
+ Basement - HVAC/Server 68.02°F 51.27% 3 minutes ago
+ Basement - Workshop 67.10°F 52.91% 14 minutes ago
+
+ -------------
+
+ Hourly Temperature
+ last updated: 2024-11-07 8:34pm
+
+ outside inside
+ 2024-11-07 8am 54.49°F 69.44°F
+ 2024-11-07 9am 53.81°F 69.04°F
+ [...]
+ 2024-11-07 6pm 56.11°F 69.86°F
+ 2024-11-07 7pm 53.53°F 69.65°F
+
+ -------------
+
+ Historical highs and lows
+ last updated: 2024-11-07 8:34pm
+
+ outside inside
+ 2024-11-07 51.51 - 64.15°F 67.06 - 81.54°F
+ 2024-11-06 61.21 - 71.24°F 68.36 - 81.18°F
+ [...]
+ 2024-10-10 49.39 - 60.89°F 67.59 - 77.49°F
+
+ -------------
+
+ Code: https://github.com/za3k/temp-monitor
+
+---
+
+Having tested out zigbee and mqtt, I felt ready for my actual use case -- curtains. I live across the street from a major parking lot, and they have floodlights on all night. To sleep, I need blackout curtains. The problem is, it's pretty hard to wake up with blackout curtains drawn.
+
+My solution was to get some smart curtains, and have them automatically go down at the end of the day, and go up in the morning.
+
+
+
+This worked fine, after I got the curtains set up. I've completely forgotten about them, which is exactly how I like my home automation--I want to never think about it. For more about how to set up IKEA smart curtains, see [my notes](2024-10-17-ikea.txt). It comes with 6 manuals.
+
+[blinds](https://github.com/za3k/short-programs#blinds-mqtt2mqtt) controls my blinds via the computer, and [mqtt2mqtt](https://github.com/za3k/short-programs#blinds-mqtt2mqtt) allows my IKEA remote to control them too. cron and [heliocron](https://github.com/mfreeborn/heliocron) automatically open and close the curtains on a timer.
+
+---
+
+I worked on monitoring power usage via my circuit breaker with current transformers and the [circuitsetup ESP32 energy meter](https://circuitsetup.us/) but it's currently stalled. The main problem is that I can't fit the CTs into my circuit breaker. If I get it working, I'll post an update.
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