Hardware platform: DZ + Android + Arduino

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello lurkers,

Milestone: http://diy-zoning.blogspot.com/2012/04/dz-android-arduino.html

Bottomline:

- No more messy software installation - DZ will install from Android Market.
- No more messy hardware installation - all necessary peripherals are
reduced to the Arduino board with the connector shield on it.
- No more messy configuration.
- There's a good chance that soon you will be able to - gasp - just
buy it, nail it to the wall and it will "just work".

For those already using the Android app: yep, just like that.

--vt

[Darren Carter]

Very cool Vadim.  This looks to be a very usable solution.  I will probably design a custom PCB (fully compatible with the Arduino (Atmega) pinouts with RJ-45's for 1-wire and the like - eliminating shields, etc...  I will post as I develop it so maybe we could collaborate a bit on a good layout w/ features.  This could become an official DZ board with firmware preloaded - making it even more plug'n'play.  I'm quite excited to get a robust DZ system going.

Darren

[Ben Madison]

I know everyone has their own ideas on how best to install the temp
sensors, but I think it would be kind of neat to create a small form-
factor housing unit for the individual 1-wire sensors as well as one
for the xbee/sensor/battery combo). Essentially something SWMBO would
not be completely against screwing to the wall where ever you felt the
need. Of course, proper air flow would be necessary to ensure acurate
and timely readings, but it isn't a stretch to get there.

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello Ben,

> I know everyone has their own ideas on how best to install the temp
> sensors, but I think it would be kind of neat to create a small form-
> factor housing unit for the individual 1-wire sensors as well as one
> for the xbee/sensor/battery combo). Essentially something SWMBO would
> not be completely against screwing to the wall where ever you felt the
> need.

I was really surprised recently to see a wall sensor made by Honeywell
that looked really nice - here's the picture:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkachenko/7347403268/lightbox/ - outside
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkachenko/7347403268/lightbox/ - inside

Just a thermistor.

I'm having hard time identifying it, looks like T7047C2015, here:
http://www.drillspot.com/products/154791/Honeywell_T7047C2015_Temperature_Sensor_Remote

(now looked at the price and realized that there's no way in hell I'm
paying THAT for a *thermistor*)

I think the best way to manufacture an enclosure would be to simply 3D
print it. This will work with both standalone 1-Wire sensors (you'll
have a stick on a spring, sticking out of RJ-45 wall plate) and XBee
sensors (either battery, or just plug it in into the power outlet).

> Of course, proper air flow would be necessary to ensure acurate
> and timely readings, but it isn't a stretch to get there.

That is probably not such a big problem. One of my sensors is located
behind a stand up mini piano which is no more than 100mm away from the
wall (there was a heated debate about every extra millimeter). I was
afraid it'll suffocate, but no, it works just fine, reacts to
temperature change within seconds.

--vt

[Jerry Zdenek]

There's a honeywell part on the drillspot page that's alot cheaper.

http://www.drillspot.com/products/686207/honeywell_c7189u1005_remote_indoor_sensor

It's almost in the reasonable range; it's about 1/4th the price.

Jerry

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello Jerry,

> There's a honeywell part on the drillspot page that's alot cheaper.
>
> http://www.drillspot.com/products/686207/honeywell_c7189u1005_remote_indoor_sensor
>
> It's almost in the reasonable range; it's about 1/4th the price.

And it looks much more like the part I saw.

Wonder if there's someone willing to take it apart and see whether it
can be used as an analog sensor with general purpose ADC like the one
in XBee, Arduino and IOIO?

The range is pretty limited, though - 45F is OK for indoors, but 88F
is sure not, at least not for my climate - I run parts of the house at
95C in away mode.

> Jerry

--vt

[Jerry Zdenek]

Vadim -

I took a look at the datasheet, and it looks like it's a standard 10k
Thermistor. The sensor resistance is specified to 100 F. Take a look
at page 4 of the datasheet:

http://customer.honeywell.com/techlit/pdf/PackedLit/69-1710EFS.pdf

It looks like it's a thermistor with screw terminals:
http://images.drillspot.com/pimages/9126/912627_600.jpg

That should work with any standard ADC.

You can also buy them through Amazon, for a touch cheaper if you're only
buying one.

I don't think it'll make it up to 95C though. That's pretty toasty. ;-)

Jerry

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello Andrew,

> I've been lurking here for awhile and have become very interested in
> implementing this. I'm thinking I want to implement it with dampers (rather
> than registers) and go with the "next-gen" method of android/arduino, etc...
> Finding this post had me very encouraged for a more plug and play solution
> but then I noticed it was a year old. Is further integration something that
> is being actively worked on?

Yes. The reason you don't see anything is that Android system will be
distributed a bit differently - straight from Google Play.

> I'm honestly not even sure how all the pieces fit together. From what I can tell with the new method, I just need a 1-wire
> temperature sensor and a damper per zone and then plug those into the
> Arduino ADK board running your firmware and plug my HVAC unit (single unit)
> into the board as well.

At this point, the Android/Arduino duo supports just analog sensors
(TMP36, LM34 and others like it). XBee and 1-Wire are in the works.

Hope you saw this page: http://www.homeclimatecontrol.com/adk - if
you're up to trying this, let me know and I'll send you the APK.

This is what you can play with without my involvement already:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sf.dz4.adk It
requires the firmware available from here:
https://github.com/home-climate-control/arduino

> Then I use my phone (Android Jelly Bean)

Actually, Ice Cream Sandwich and up.

> or tablet (I could buy one) with USB to configure it with the app?

No configuration, it works out of the box, provided your electrical
connections are correct.

> Then can I control it wirelessly somehow or does it always need to be plugged in with USB?

Needs to be plugged into the USB. ADK Is just a dumb actuator. ADK 2.0
provides Bluetooth connectivity, but I didn't seriously consider it,
it's an overkill for the task.

> I appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks!

Anytime.

--vt

[Andrew Simmering]

Thank you very much for your help. I'm still not quite clear though. I apologize, this would be my first Arduino-based project. Let me make sure this is right. I buy the Arduino ADK board, I add the Arduino firmware that you have on github somehow, then I get the HCC Accessory Driver from the Play store and add that to the Arduino firmware, then I connect my android device (running Home Climate Control Remote from Play store) via USB to the Arduino ADK board. I know I'm missing something because I don't have whatever APK you were going to send me in the equation...

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello Andrew,

> Let me make sure this is right. I buy the Arduino ADK board, I add the Arduino firmware that
> you have on github somehow, then I get the HCC Accessory Driver from the
> Play store and add that to the Arduino firmware,

No, you install it on the phone or the tablet.

> then I connect my android device (running Home Climate Control Remote from Play store) via USB to the
> Arduino ADK board.

No, you install the missing piece (Overseer), and it connects to HCC
Accessory Driver. Then, you can connect HCC Remote to Overseer. Remote
doesn't care whether DZ instance is running locally, or over Internet.

You're ready for the missing piece when you have the HCC Accessory
Driver controlling your Arduino Mega ADK.

--vt

[Andrew Simmering]

Thanks again. I think I'm getting it. I made a "conceptual" drawing of how everything hooks together (as I understand it). I'd really appreciate it if you took a look:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2R0ZerUN77ISUlMclItbGZqQTQ/edit?usp=sharing

I have two more questions if you don't mind.

1) Is it possible to use the Arduino and android device running HCC Accessory Driver and Overseer without dampers and temperature sensors as a non-zoned thermostat to just turn the ac/heat/fan on and off?

2) Is it possible to charge the Android device that's connected via the same usb cord to the arduino? I've seen things that inject power while using USB OTG (I do this with my Razr).

Thanks!

On Saturday, April 21, 2012 1:35:47 AM UTC-4, Vadim Tkachenko wrote:

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello Andrew,

> Thanks again. I think I'm getting it. I made a "conceptual" drawing of how
> everything hooks together (as I understand it). I'd really appreciate it if
> you took a look:
>
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2R0ZerUN77ISUlMclItbGZqQTQ/edit?usp=sharing

Actually, that's better than I ever produced :)

> I have two more questions if you don't mind.
> 1) Is it possible to use the Arduino and android device running HCC
> Accessory Driver and Overseer without dampers and temperature sensors as a
> non-zoned thermostat to just turn the ac/heat/fan on and off?

Without dampers - absolutely, but without sensors... Never tried that,
and doubit it will work - HCC needs a temperature source to make a
control decision. Why would you want that? If I knew the reason, maybe
I could say something relevant.

> 2) Is it possible to charge the Android device that's connected via the same
> usb cord to the arduino? I've seen things that inject power while using USB
> OTG (I do this with my Razr).

Yep, that's the way it works.

--vt

[Andrew Simmering]

Without dampers - absolutely, but without sensors... Never tried that,
and doubit it will work - HCC needs a temperature source to make a
control decision. Why would you want that? If I knew the reason, maybe
I could say something relevant.

Sorry, I would have one sensor (like a standard thermostat) that would determine when to turn the whole thing on and off.  Thanks for the help! I remembered I have an old HTC Incredible I might be able to use for the main android device. 

[Vadim Tkachenko]

Hello Andrew,

>> Without dampers - absolutely, but without sensors... Never tried that,
>> and doubit it will work - HCC needs a temperature source to make a
>> control decision. Why would you want that? If I knew the reason, maybe
>> I could say something relevant.
>
> Sorry, I would have one sensor (like a standard thermostat) that would
> determine when to turn the whole thing on and off.

Of course that'll work. Moreover, if you attach more than one sensor,
you will most probably get a significant improvement in at least
comfort.

Case in point: my bedroom. Can't pull wires, wireless dampers are not
ready yet, so I'm just running two sensors and two zones (bedroom and
big hall, probably five times the heat capacity of the bedroom). At
daytime, the hall drives the HVAC. At night, the bedroom does. Common
sense would suggest that a small room will cause the HVAC to short
cycle, lose efficiency and work more, but this is not what is
happening. Since they're connected, the hall drives the temperature in
the bedroom in the right direction, and as a result - the HVAC works
less, and temperature changes in the bedroom are slower, but! it's the
bedroom that drives the temperature, hence, we're comfortable.

> Thanks for the help! I remembered I have an old HTC Incredible I might be able to use for the main
> android device.

Before spending any money, make sure the Android device you're
planning to use supports ADK. Today, the best bet would be probably
Nexus 7 - $200 for the 16GB one (and rumors are that the price will
soon drop to $150 while simultaneously upgrading the hardware, so stay
tuned).

You can make it breathe even without Android for now - look at the
source code, hope it's pretty simple to fiddle with it to accept
commands from the serial port and send the readings over it.

--vt