Instead of a forum (seemingly) dedicated to problem solving, was thinking we need a section for people to share some cool things they have done with their Vera (along with sample code). Some idea generation opportunities. Any forum admins game?
Simple Example:
I have the Google Weather Plug-in
When the outside temp hits 73 the house fans come on for an hour then turn off. The issue was it polls this device often so (the trigger fires) it is issuing an on command even when the fans are already on and reseting the timer.
So I added a Virtual Switch called auto cooling mode. So when the trigger fires to activate the scene I first check the state of this virtual switch (auto cooling activated). If I am not already in auto cooling mode I turn on the fans then set auto cooling mode on. Then if the trigger is still active the scene returns false and doesnt send un-necessary zwave commands. Then after an hour the fans turn off along with the Virtual Switch. So that if it is still warm the fans will kick on again next time the scene runs. I also now have an indicator (the virtual switch) that tells me the fans are on.
DeviceID = 65 -- AutoCooling Active Virtual Switch
local autoscene = luup.variable_get("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:VSwitch1","Status",DeviceID)
if (autoscene=="1") then
return false -- Already active
else
luup.variable_set("urn:upnp-org:serviceId:VSwitch1","Status",1,DeviceID) -- Set it as Active
end
Yeah. Good idea. I have tried starting threads like this a couple times but they never seemed to take off for some reason. Vera is somewhat limited to controlling lights, thermostats and locks out of the box. But… There is ample room for imagination. I’d really like to see what clever things other people are doing with their Vera.
some things i was thinking of in the process since i dont have money to get new devices to play with
-using a door sensor as a rpm meter for a windmill
-switching 12 pieces of 600 watt lights in a succesive pattern so it looks like the sun is comming up
-doorbell incl video and talk
-using motion sensor to check if my rat is still alive
-pushbutton control for a pump
-heater-control with temp-controll
-humidity control with a switch for a humidifier incl emergency stop for the watersupply
-garden path lightning that walks along with you
-using a greenway 6 power node as a vu-meter
-using a greenway 6 power node as nightrider kit-light (you know this moving lights)
-master slave for my stereo (like in if you press play on the remote control for the cassette to play it will auto turn it on and switch the amp to cassette)
-temp device that measures different temp sensors and google temp and makes a calculation on mean values and set the cooler/heater accordingly
-auto switch from using motion sensor for turning on lights while ther is movement for a preset period of x minutes or so to alarm mode when u leave the house
using android gps to see if ur left the house and if so turn off all lights and set tempcontrol to low state
using rfid to open the front door and auto-set the motion sensors for auto-lighting
-using keypad or phone to pan and tilt the ip-cam and show the image on pip screen on tv
i have many ideas which involves a lot of coding and knowledge of the system and loads of coffee and time and most irritation of all a empty pocket lol
ohhhhh these are all very nice ideas! and I really wish there was such a section! looking for cool new ideas is one of the biggest reason I read every single post in this forum 8)
some projects I am testing (or will be testing) (most based on fibaro):
– make my iRobot 581 able to be started from vera and regognize the different errors
– making my nespresso machine fully integrated, so I can not only turn it on and of but also set size of coffee withe vera (based on the length it runs) and track how many coffees the machine makes
– attached a normal 230v motor with gearbox to a fibaro shutter controller (kind of like a proof of concept to move all kind of things), can post a picture of that later today
– making the buzzer which can open my frontdoor zwave compatible
cool ideas chixxi
the buzzer is easy… just take a fibaro 2x1.5kw switch and connect the button of the buzzer to 02 and s2 and the light of the hallway or something like that on 01 and s1… you can also take a 230v relais and put it on the shutter control
my philips xelsis black allready counts coffee and whatever drinks you make with it… even the amount of water and all other things i didnt think of when i bought it lol . the only thing is it goes to standby when i switch it with z-wave to ON … and the buttons are touchscreen with an lcd kinda sucks for z-wavin it… on the other hand it has build in 3 wake-up timers
whats an i-robot ?
good to know a motor works with the fibaro shutter… was planning to buy one but this stopped me from it
can it be directly attached to the fibaro ? as in it outputs 230v ? or does it have a dry contact ?
I wired my drive with lights … have not put in ZWave yet because I am expecting
distance problems ~ 500ft.
What I want to do is for the lights to look like the Rabbit on an Airport ILS approach.
That is start with ALL lights on … then with one going off than on … then the same with the next light in the direction of motion … then the next … wrap around to the beginning.
Actually for an ILS it’s the reverse … ALL OFF … then sequence 1 on/off at a time in the direction of the runway. But I want to be able to see my driveway as I am leaving or coming home.
500 ft is not a problem just use devices that support routing and it will forward the signal to the rest.
donno what a rabit airport ils is but i guess you mean this running lights on a runway on the airport (not this apple thing)
but it is costly… using some 6 power-node is a cheaper solution i think as you have the wires allready
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