Do It Yourself

Hardware

• Smart Home Server – a computer on which the software will be installed to implement the home automation logic.
• Controller – a device with inputs and outputs to connect peripherals and sensors that will act according to control signals coming from Smart Home Server
• Sensors: temperature, motion, door open, fire, water leakage, etc.
• Actuators are actuating mechanisms, among them various relays to control lights, water valves, fans, radiators, etc.

For Smart Home server, use a single-board microcomputer Raspberry Pi 2 or Rasberry Pi 3. It has a quite powerful processor to handle the home automation tasks and a considerable RAM. Other advantages include a moderate price and an amazingly wide range of peripherals and accessories.

Raspberry Pi has 21 digital inputs/outputs and an input for 1-Wire temperature sensors. For simple solutions based on Raspberry Pi, you will not need any controller. 

Software

It will process data from sensors (temperature, motion, fire, water leakage and others) according to the logic that you have set (through scenes, automatic modes, etc.) and send signals to actuators (to turn on/off lights, energize/deenergize electrical sockets, open/close water valves, switch on/off heating groups, fans, control curtains, etc.). The Web server embedded in intraHouse system will enable visualization and control from any computer, tablet or smart phone via a browser.

Make sure you have a micro PC, Raspberry Pi 2 or Raspberry Pi 3, a power supply, a microSD card (minimum 8 Gb). At your option, you can buy a box.

Please go to intraHouse e-shop. Download the intraHouse system image for Raspberry Pi and tips how to copy the image to an SD card.

Please follow the tips and copy the system image on your SD card. The intraHouse system image for Raspberry Pi 2 (Pi 3) contains:

• operating system Raspbian Jessie Lite
• intraHouse system
• all other necessary packages and settings

Please insert the SD card in Raspberry Pi and connect it to Ethernet via a cable. Connect the power supply. Start Raspberry Pi.

Connect to Raspberrry Pi from any computer connected to the local Ethernet network. To do so, open any browser and type in the default address 192.168.0.245. To enter the system, please type in the login and password (default login is “admin”, password – “admin”).

Note: to prevent unauthorized access to the server, it is recommended to change the default login and password.

As you open the intraHouse system interface, you’ll see the trial configuration of Smart Home system, with its sensors and hardware. Certain Raspberry inputs are bound to sensors, while outputs are linked to actuators, and the automation logic is configured. To start, you can simply connect LED lights to outputs (as actuators) and pushbutton switches to inputs (to imitate sensor signals). You can view connection diagrams here. You can change and configure everything here and, if you wish, delete the whole configuration and restore it. We recommend you explore the system in a specific context to get a lot of information that will be useful when you are ready to create your own system.

After you have come to know the software, you can start formation of your own system. The resulting system will depend on your preferences. It can be a fully-fledged Smart Home or automation of a certain subsystem, e.g. automated irrigation or climate control, or light control. You can see some standard solutions here. On intraHouse website, Blog page, you can get to know other users’ experience in smart home system creation from scratch. You will be able to configure the system according to the objective, write scenes and schedules and check the system operation in a virtual mode. Virtual mode is here to help you create your own Smart Home and test it.

Now make ready sensors, actuators and interface modules. Please connect them all to your Raspberry Pi. Now your system has turned from virtual to real!

To get the latest updates of intraHouse system, please register in our e-shop and buy a license key.