How the Smart Home system works and what it consists of - overview of types and reviews. Universal switch: control of light, climate and other smart home functions

Films often show a living space that seems to live its own life. Light bulbs light up at the wave of a hand, curtains open, and music plays after a certain word. All this equipment is intelligent home system, and we propose to consider how to make a smart home with your own hands, what is needed for this, and also what is the diagram of such a system.

Smart home - what is it?

Smart House Home automation is a residential extension of building automation. Home automation can include centralized control of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), home appliances, gate openers, door openers, GSM and other systems to provide improved convenience, comfort, energy efficiency and security. It should be noted that for some categories of the population (elderly, disabled people) this event may become necessary.

Photo – Smart home distribution ideas

Photo – Simple smart home

With the latest introduction into our lives SMART technologies, many can no longer imagine their life without automatic installations, software equipment, we need wireless Internet, Appliances.

Home automation refers to the use of computer and information technologies For driving household appliances and their functions. It can vary from simple remote control lighting up to complex networks based on a computer/microcontroller with varying degrees of intelligence and automation. Home automation should mainly be as simple as possible.

Photo – Smart door lock

Advantages of using " smart home» in an apartment based on PIC or WAVE:

Economical expenditure of time on daily setup of various mechanisms, receiving calls, sending mail;
The use of gaseous or liquid fuels, and later the use of electricity, allowed increased automation in heating systems, reducing the labor required to manually refill the heater and furnace.
The development of thermostats has made it possible to adjust more automated control heating and later cooling;
This is how industrial facilities and residential premises are often protected;
As the number of controlled devices in a home increases, their interconnection increases. For example, a furnace can send notifications when it needs cleaning, or a refrigerator when it needs servicing.
IN simple installations, smart can turn on the light when a person enters the room. Also, depending on the time of day, the TV can be tuned to necessary channels, set the air temperature, lighting.

A smart home can provide an interface to access household appliances or automation to provide control and monitoring on your smartphone, through a server, mini Smart for iPhone, iPod touch, and also with the help laptop computer(requires special soft: AVR Studio).

Photo – Home control via tablet

Video: system Schneider Electric smart home

Smart home elements

Home automation elements include sensors (e.g. temperature, daylight or motion detection), controllers and actuators such as motorized valves, switches, motors and others.

Photo – House control diagram

This heating, ventilation and air conditioning, HVAC can control temperature and humidity, for example, an internet control thermostat allows the homeowner to remotely control the building's heating and air conditioning systems, the system can automatically open and close windows, turn on radiators and boilers, and heated floors.

Lighting

These lighting control mechanisms can be used to control household lights and appliances. This also includes a natural lighting system, the operation of blinds or curtains.

Photo – Smart home diagram

Audio-visual

Remote control presence effect (This is the most modern technology, which is used to increase security). It involves turning on the lights and playing music.
Presence simulation
Temperature regulation
Brightness adjustment (electric lamps, street lighting)
Security (alarm, blinds).

How to make a smart home

You can make an intelligent system with your own hands, the most a budget option– this is setting up control of lighting in the house or turning on the computer.

Photo – Smart home control option

To make a lamp that will light up on its own, you will need to connect special equipment to it. There are several options for solving this problem:

Install an acoustic relay (1 or x10-wire);
Attach the dimmer;
Connect a motion sensor.

The easiest way to work is with a sensor. It is sold in any online store, you can buy a duct device, or you can develop your own according to your parameters. The only note is that you cannot install an incandescent lamp with such a device, it may not withstand the load and explode, it is better to work with an LED one.

Photo – Smart home concept

Another “smart” silent option is a dimmer. Here you will need to touch the lamp, depending on the number of touches, the speaking device will change brightness. This is very convenient to use on a lamp in a bedroom or children's room.

To set up temperature control and regulation, we need multi-channel system. The central temperature and humidity control circuit consists of:

Sensors (ds1820) that measure the physical state of liquid and air.
Controllers (rfm12), which can be simple physical components or complex devices special purpose or embedded computers.
Lunex drives that respond to controller signals.

Most modern way– this is to buy all the components of a smart home, wires, thermostats. Then install devices in each room, one thermostat for the radiator and one for the boiler. You will also need a controlled unit, or the “brain” of the entire system. It is recommended to install it on the heating inlet pipe.

Photo – Smart home system

The easiest way to install a video surveillance and alarm system. Fundamental provisions for installing security systems:

You need to connect sensors on windows and doorways, where the electrics will be the most productive;
The most difficult thing is to select a board; the smart home controller, the operation of mediocre parts, and the signal level depend on it;
Many experts believe that indicators should be mounted at floor level. About 20 cm from the baseboard, this increases efficiency;
It is advisable to establish constant monitoring, establish digital system contact with the security service. Often responsible owners set special program to your place Personal Computer, which allows you to control the operation of the system from anywhere where there is Internet (Elena Tesla and her book: “Smart Home: How to Do It Yourself” advises doing this; there are also other solutions there). You can enable SMS notifications.

A smart home is very convenient way make your life easier, often the whole system purchased in full (Arduino, KNX, Linux).

The cost of each system is individual. The most popular brands are the following: beckhoff, gira, lpt, redeye, Smart Switch IOT screen, teleco. We recommend that before building such housing, you consult with specialists; they will help you calculate the load level and calculate the power consumption.

Photo – Light control via phone

To get ideas, you can scroll through V.N. Gololobov’s “Smart Home” with your own hands, DJVU or PDF, look at our photos and video instructions, read the advice of famous masters.

Controlling a smart home from a computer

3.3 (66.67%) 3 votes

Residents of apartments and houses spend a lot of time regulating many processes in their homes: turning electrical appliances and lights on and off, video surveillance. However, not everyone knows that these and other processes can be automated by controlling the corresponding equipment from an ordinary desktop computer which everyone has.

Controlling your home from a computer is a logical idea. And it appeared even before the start of mass sales in automation complex stores. Thus, every homeowner can now construct a “smart home” with their own hands - the computer in this system is the key node. It can be installed directly in the room or in a separate closet.

User computer will perform all the “smart” functions, and the signal from external sensors passes through standard TCP/IP or USB channels. The convenience of creating such a unit is also explained by the fact that more than half of the manufacturers produce equipment based on wired connection , which is equipped with adapters (to connect it to a computer or laptop). Possible variant working with analogue or digital signals

- module for output and input, connected via USB. The capabilities of such a device are insufficient, and the automation itself is suitable for signals with a level of 0-5 volts. To convert the received signal, such a complex uses shapers and converters.

Home control from a computer

Advantages and disadvantages

For computer users, a PC-based smart home seems like a promising idea for the following reasons: node availability for intelligent control
. Homeowners have at least one computer at home, and if necessary, even a budget netbook is purchased for these purposes;
it has no restrictions on the number of connected devices (ready-made kits usually contain a small amount of equipment for controlling light and safety, and the controller is not designed for many devices). Having assembled a smart home yourself, you can configure it to perform the options you need, as well as a convenient way to control it, be it voice commands or a smartphone;
the ability to create a complex complex with a wide range of functions.

Don't forget about possible disadvantages systems, among which are the following:

the need to select a reliable node (the computer itself) with a sufficiently reliable operating system and wide functionality;
dependence of the components of the complex on the laptop, which breaks down during use due to mechanical failure, wear and tear or loss of light;
the need for personal planning of schemes and their implementation.

Control technologies

It’s hard to imagine controlling your home from a computer without controlling the power supply. To implement this technology, experts recommend using 1-wire from Maxim/Dallas. This technology is used in industrial and domestic systems and has proven itself well there.

In addition, it is convenient to manage and control the security complex from a computer - in remote mode you can view data from video cameras and information from sensors to find out how children or animals behave, and also see if there has been unauthorized entry into the apartment. In addition to a computer, to implement this idea you will need video cameras with motion or door opening sensors, which can be connected to the equipment via a USB connector. If you are concerned standard limit wire length is 5 m, buy an active one long cable or connect the wires through special hubs that have external power supply(other options are possible).

To teach the smart home system to understand the owner and even talk to him, you can use the most accessible method and adapt the speech recognition functionality from Google. Millions of people around the world have already appreciated its decent level of voice translation and search.

Smart home control technologies from a computer

To coordinate and control the system using a computer, it is best to write separate program for all its components or use ready-made solutions(Ardublock).

This software environment for automation of equipment comes complete with some electronics kits. In addition to managing alarms and electricity, such a program will be able to:
manage the status of electrical appliances (connect and disconnect equipment via a smart socket, program the on time and operating mode);

measure and control the constant temperature in the house.

It is necessary to place an acoustic system around the house, consisting of highly sensitive microphones and speakers to control smart home systems

Usually the user gets a system with standard commands, which he can add with his own hands through a computer. Any programmed function of the equipment connected to the scenario will be executed by voice command.

The role of arduino in programming

Personal design of a smart home system includes the selection of equipment that will meet all expected requirements. In particular, a controller will be needed that will allow you to collect all the house management on one device, from which the management will be carried out. Among hobbyists, Arduino controllers, which are an empty printed circuit board

, whose peripherals and protection from damage are up to the user. You can connect anything - the program is easy to write. In general, Arduino has many advantages:
addition or copying is possible; large amount of information available about possible use
controller, circuit options for different results;
fixed pin arrangement (this allows manufacturing companies to easily release new devices to add functions - shields);

Arduino does not need a programmer or extensive programming knowledge.

Appearance of the main home systems control device - arduino controller

This controller can be connected to a computer and is often used in robotics and in the creation of autonomous devices.

Voice control capabilities At the dawn of its development, voice control had certain limits, and it was difficult to imagine its current interface. This seemed like something out of a science fiction movie. But now the situation has changed, and the opportunity alternative option control in addition to already existing methods (remotes and digital devices

A kind of guarantee of better interaction between humans and automation will be the recording of several versions of one order (“Turn on the light in the bedroom,” “Turn on the light,” and so on), then the system will understand exactly what is required of it.

Such control, even created by yourself, most often includes the following common actions:

turning household appliances on and off;
climate control and curtains;
irrigation program in the area in front of the house;
listening to news, weather forecasts and other information that the control will be configured to receive and reproduce.

Some programs allow you to introduce a distinction for each stage of the scenario: control can be carried out in one room, and the command will work in another.

You can program any word with your own hands as a command. Some developers offer standard options in which commands for managing a smart home are written in plain text. This is very convenient for the average user.

Description of one of the possible options

Voice control over the smart home system will not be activated until the owner activates it with a specific command or action (voice recognition is also available). Depending on the area where operation is intended, for better functionality the house can be equipped with several controllers subordinate to one device. Using “smart” equipment is easy; the program includes several languages, which it easily recognizes.

You don't need to shout to control home systems. Highly sensitive microphones pick up quiet voices. Depending on the type of microphone and the shape of the room, they need to install 1 microphone per area of 20-30 m2

Among other supposed amenities, there is an instant response to orders, there is an interactive connection, which creates the impression that the house is really smart and is independently talking to the owner (although in fact it is a high-quality recorded live speech). Automation can report that householders forgot to close the gate, or inform about a violation of the security of the site.

One of the many advantages is invisibility. All speakers and microphones are located out of sight of the owner (on the cabinet, under the shelf, hidden in pieces of furniture). This is very aesthetically pleasing since there are no wires.

The equipment is installed in false ceilings or partitions at the pre-installation stage; in houses with a fine finish, visual decoration is used for household appliances

A strong security system notifies about unauthorized entry into the premises via a message on a smartphone or verbally, and responds adequately in the event of an emergency.

This system can be controlled using a smartphone. "Smart home" connects to its operating system, and through it the owner can give the necessary instructions to the controller.

Automation is increasingly being introduced into daily life modern people. And if earlier automated production could be considered the pinnacle of progress, now even everyday life, an apartment or private house, you can quite simply radically improve it by introducing the “smart home” concept there. After all, today “smart home” systems are designed not only to optimize energy costs, but, first of all, to make a person’s life more comfortable. About the capabilities of modern smart home systems and we'll talk in our article.

To combine home cinema, lighting control, water supply, video surveillance system, climate control, power supply and access control, gas supply and multiroom into one system - this is the task that the smart home system solves today. Let's go through each of the points sequentially, consider what they can do modern systems automation in relation to our everyday life.

Climate control

The microclimate of public and residential premises greatly affects our performance, and our health in general. Indoor air conditions vary depending on operating modes climate control technology. Heating and ventilation equipment, lighting equipment, and other devices - all of this together has a certain overall effect on the human body, on well-being, on health in the end. And the technology is becoming more and more complex.

Automated systems not only allow us to quickly monitor and manage all this equipment, but ultimately take care of our health. Monitors using sensors Current state air in the room, and through control panels the operating modes of air conditioners, supply ventilation, and heating are adjusted. That is, the climate is adjusted automatically to the person’s requirements, which are specified by preliminary settings.

So climate control allows the following. Air quality control depending on the weather outside and the time of day. Timely ventilation of rooms by controlling heating and opening windows.

Control of heated floor operation. Maintenance optimal temperatures and humidity individually in each room. For example, a food storage room requires its own special climate, which differs from the climate in the living room or kitchen, etc.

Control of temperature, humidity, inflow intensity fresh air, air purification system and ozonation. In each room, the conditions should be different, most suitable for each family member, taking into account the place in the house where this room is located: some to the north, some to the south - and management in each case will be individual.

Drafts are not allowed in the nursery, the bedroom should be warmer, the floor in the bathroom should be heated on time, and there is no need to keep it warm all the time. That is, the control is optimal so that the energy saving effect also takes place.

The setting varies according to the lifestyle of the family or group. On weekends, the heat supply to work areas is reduced or turned off.

Autonomous heating system country house— on the contrary, it turns on on weekends. The boiler is turned on remotely or switched to economy mode, etc. Everything is rationalized to combine efficiency and comfort of life. This especially applies to water supply, electricity supply and heat supply.

Entertainment

It’s been a long time since you’ve surprised anyone with a home theater. But manage from different places sound and video, as well as stereo systems located throughout the apartment - these functions are implemented using the “smart home” system.

Home theater connected to automated system, and the entire complex of multimedia equipment along with auxiliary devices is harmoniously integrated into the apartment. There can be several audio and video sources, and they can be multi-channel: Acustic systems, receivers, plasma panels, projectors - everything is controlled directly or remotely from anywhere in the room.

You can watch movies and shows, listen to music in all rooms or just a few, program a scenario and activate it with one button touchpad or from the remote control. The scenario program can be adapted to individual conditions: the blinds close, the lights go out or become less intense, they turn on plasma panel, the projector extends, the player starts.

Scenario programs can be edited, adjusted in time for automatic start, set related settings for watching movies, for example, turn on the air conditioner near the place where the home theater is installed if the weather is hot.

The “multiroom” function is exactly the function that allows you to hear sound or watch video in several independent areas of the apartment. It becomes possible to adjust the volume from any room, each of which has push-button or touch, wall or tabletop control panels, and also has remote controls.

What could be a more expressive sign of the intelligence of a smart home system than smart control lighting? Lighting in a smart home is truly smart and therefore economical. Electricity resources in an apartment, house or office are used as economically as possible, without unnecessary waste.

The advantage of an automated lighting control system is that, based on data from external and external lighting sensors, as well as timers, it allows you to turn on and off the light of the desired brightness and only where it is really necessary. In addition, they open up wide scope for creativity. In addition, the option to simulate the presence of hosts is available.

The modern “smart home” system is a complex of technologies for comfort, safety and efficiency. Stability is ensured by integration in the event of a centralized power supply failure, so that the electronics remain operational at all times.

Batteries and inverters, charging device and liquid fuel generators are installed in the system and software integrated. In the event of a power outage, the system will automatically switch to a backup source; in extreme cases, the batteries will remain powered by security systems and the most important equipment.

Automated security system

The “smart home” system includes, as part of it, a security and fire alarm and video surveillance, so that both the owners’ stay in the house and their absence would be safe for both the house and the owners themselves. A video intercom and a perimeter security system can be installed here to protect against uninvited guests.

As for security in general, the “smart home” system can provide: protection from short circuits in electrical wiring, protection against water leaks, protection against gas leaks, by triggering a smoke sensor and turning on an autonomous fire extinguishing system, autonomous power supply, alarm system, automatic call rescue service.

Thus, a “smart home” will protect itself and its owners from any dangerous situations, because the system can include: automated gates and doors, automatic security shutters, a video surveillance system, security alarm, presence sensors, smoke sensors, gas leaks, etc.

Controlling access to the premises, video surveillance of adjacent areas, turning on floodlights when penetrating the perimeter are three more pluses in the treasury of advantages. Through the Internet, the owner will be able to remotely receive a picture from any of the cameras of the video surveillance system, this also includes the video baby monitor function.

Video surveillance as such

Intelligent video surveillance is one of the main components modern "smart houses". Video cameras connect to the Internet and allow you to access them from anywhere in the world.

The owner can be abroad, while quickly observing any of the zones, and the video cameras here can be controlled. For example, controllable cameras are usually equipped with gates, courtyards, nearby buildings, and areas near apartment doors. The operation of the video camera can be interfaced with a motion sensor, and signals can be sent to the control center.

The Internet and satellite television networks, as the main sources of information, are conveniently integrated into smart home systems today. While inside the house, the owner can receive information and send it to various rooms, on TVs and monitors. This also applies to the transmission of information received from video surveillance systems. Thanks to the multiroom function, all these possibilities open up. Of course, it is possible to set up remote control via the Internet if desired.

Control with mobile phone through direct voice commands and via SMS is available today for owners of smart home systems. You can also set up phone call forwarding to your mobile phone if you are away from home, even if you are in another country.

If necessary, you can let guests into the house by simply sending the appropriate command from your mobile phone to your automated system. Similar opportunities can be conveniently implemented via the Internet; all you need to do is find Wi-Fi for your smartphone or laptop.

Andrey Povny

Ecology of consumption. Science and technology: A smart home control system is a complex of hardware and software designed to perform basic functions.

The name “smart home” technology itself implies intelligent control of the room. Many devices combined into one system ensure home safety, comfort and resource savings. The system allows you to easily control room temperature, lighting, alarms, security systems, etc.

A smart home control system is a complex of hardware and software designed to perform three main functions.

The first is managing the various equipment in your home from one point. Using a smartphone, computer, tablet and other devices, you can control all the smart devices that your apartment is equipped with.

For example, you can turn the light on and off in any room or change its intensity, close or open the curtains, turn the air conditioner on and off, change the temperature, control any functions household appliances that have this capability, as well as issue commands to execute any scripts.

Executing scripts is the second way to control a smart home. A scenario is a set of programmed actions previously agreed upon with the user, which the smart home system performs on command.

For example, when a user comes home after work and sits down to watch TV, he can send the command “Watch a movie” to the smart home, then the complex will dim the lights, close the blinds and automatically adjust the sound volume. It should be added that commands can be carried out not only using the touch panel, but also using a PC or mobile phone.

The third point is automatic control smart home. In this case, the system itself makes decisions about certain actions, for example, maintaining a constant temperature in the room, focusing on the thermometer readings. In a similar way, you can control, for example, an electric sauna or watering plants.

Will significantly simplify life washing machine with SmartManager - you can start washing your clothes remotely and whenever you want. A washing machine repair technician can handle any equipment problems.

There is an opinion that in order to fully benefit from all the benefits that a smart home can provide, the management of a smart building must be comprehensive. IN Lately there is a desire among customers to full automation engineering systems housing.

If previously they generally agreed to install individual systems- only lighting and curtain control systems, only climate control systems, and so on, now the full complex is increasingly being installed. However, installation complex systems automation requires the intervention of professionals, which is not always convenient. Moreover, this smart home option is quite expensive.

Perhaps it is for this reason that hubs have recently begun to be used to control smart devices in the home. They provide an excellent starting point to begin creating a comprehensive intelligent system. Essentially, a hub is central controller, which controls many other devices at once, which are purchased either immediately or gradually and are capable of performing a wide variety of functions: from lighting control to security.

One of the most popular hubs is called SmartThings Hub. Management is carried out through applications on iOS and Android, as well as through the web interface.

SmartThings offers several products that can be integrated with the hub: leak sensor, motion sensor, door sensor, and smart plugs, lamps, cameras, thermostats and many others. Moreover, it can integrate with devices developed by partner companies, such as Belkin WeMo switches.

Another hub on the market smart devices presented by Insteon. Control is also carried out using an application for a smartphone or computer.

With its help, you can configure the behavior of devices depending on the time of day and receive emails with alerts (plus push notifications) when an event occurs. Insteon products include thermostats, sockets, switches, door locks, motion sensors, leakage sensors, wireless cameras and other devices.

One more accessible system home automation is VeraLite. Thanks to the use of the Z-Wave protocol, it can “communicate” even with those products that do not belong to the VeraLite line. VeraLite automatically configures itself when connected to home network. Moreover, it can function as a router.

However similar systems have one drawback. You can connect motion sensors to light switches, you can program the thermostat to only heat rooms that are occupied, you can even turn on and off electrical sockets using your smartphone. However, this is only possible if you permanently live in this house. If you rent an apartment and move frequently, then transporting equipment and reinstalling it immediately turns into a tedious task.

This creates certain difficulties in adapting smart home technology to young people who travel frequently. This is exactly the problem that IOTAS and its co-founder Sce Pike are trying to solve. IOTAS collaborates with property developers to bring smart technologies. Its goal is to ensure that tenants can fully enjoy the capabilities of the Internet of Things.

The integrated IOTAS control system can currently only work with motion sensors, switches and sockets, however, using the company’s application, the user has the opportunity to create their own rules for operating apartment equipment. For example, IOTAS can turn off all the lights in the house after 10 pm when you go to wash, or, conversely, blink the light if you receive an SMS message.

You can “carry” your smart home with you thanks to cloud service. Moreover, you get access to settings made by other users. Hardware IOTAS is wireless and can work with regular light bulbs and switches.

Pike also says the company wants to expand its range available devices: introduce smart locks, thermostats, wearable devices. Complex solutions of this kind will allow clients to feel as free as possible and will be able to satisfy all their little whims. It is not surprising that industry giants such as Google are already looking to compete with the company. But maybe this is a good thing, since competition is pushing the market forward.