Home automation (French style)

#1

Just to prove I’ve not been skiving over the summer, I though I would post a quick note about the automation system I built for a house in SW France.
The European electrical system is much easier to automate as most things are connected directly to the main board, no fuses in plugs etc.
This system uses an ESP based 4 channel module and two single channel modules reprogrammed to connect to an MQTT cloud system while in turn connected to a node-red workflow system.
While it sounds a bit long winded, it means that complex rules and interactions can be setup just by drawing flow charts and including other feeds.

The system controls the VMC (fresh air ventilation system), the hot water and the pool as well as 3 lamps and can be updated or changed remotely.
It can also be controlled using Alexa voice commands !

Will add some more detail as it progresses but it’s working so far !

Courty

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#2

If you have a locally hosted MQTT server like this, what’s the best way to open it up to the wider internet?

Also, what front end do you use in the house?

#3

I use the public comcloudmqtt.com service for the MQTT server for France (and Mosquito on a pi3 locally in the UK but that’s another story).

For the interface(s) I use Node-Red UI as that creates a web based set of forms for switches and meters etc that can be used via PC’s, phones or an old Android tablet that’s sitting in the front room. Most of the time though we use Alexa to turn off lights etc

Courty

#4

How are the switches wired ? how do you automate lights and also have light switches that continue to work without the automation system? Is it easier with the European setup than the UK ring live only switches ?

#5

The communial lights in the hallway work on a contactor system in the breaker board so a pulse toggles the lights on or off so easy to connect (hot water has a similar contactor too) The rest are lamps with these ESP modules on which have a push button on them to toggle the lamp.

Courty

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#6

So if the internet goes down you can’t control the lights any more…? I’m torn between a local MQTT server that will work if the net connection goes down, and a remote server that will be easier to access remotely. Complicated by the fact that the internet in the house is done via 4G and a mifi box.

#7

France is internet based MQTT so yes, the control stops if the internet dies but there is nothing too vital on it. UK has a local server as I have a lot more on it and use the UI to present a control page to devices… its swings and roundabouts but given you can get a Pi W zero for under a £10’r I may well go local in France too and use the external server to poll remote commands but the local server to do the actual control

Courty