Our Smart Home is equipped with sensors and actuators according to the EnOcean standard. The control software, here myHomeControl from BootUp, is a Windows application. In principle, this means that every power-saving Windows computer can be used. However, it is important to remember that the computer has to work 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. The game pc is not the right choice.
Connection via an EnOcean gateway
As a building computer, we use a silent industrial computer from MSI in our example. Other small systems, such as Pokini or Sapphire, suitable for continuous operation can also be used. The building computer does not have to be particularly fast and also does not need a large hard disk. Its strengths should be high energy efficiency, reliability and low noise.
Introduction to EnOcean
For our sample project, we also need two USB ports for the EnOcean gateway and the mouse. The connection to the Smart TV takes a short HDMI cable. The computer does not have to have HDMI, as most modern Smart TVs have a VGA computer screen interface. The TV is easy to access to the computer screen.
Commissioning
Since the computer is very flat and quiet, it can be hidden behind the TV or within the range of the HDMI cable. A keyboard is not required for operation. As input media, we use a 3D mouse: a wireless pointing device the size of a TV remote control.
It can also go without
This mouse detects whether it is moved to the right, left, up or down by built-in sensors. This information is sent to the computer, which displays the mouse pointer on the TV screen. For our test we chose the cheap Mele Mouse. However, there are other products from various manufacturers that can be used in the same way.
Anyone who is accustomed to a two-dimensional mouse moved on the desk often has difficulty using the device in the third dimension. However, after a few minutes of aiming and clicking, this new type of mouse control should work much better.
Tip: Practical helpers for an economical home
The gateway provides a good connection between the EnOcean sensors and actuators. Whenever a light button is pressed or a temperature sensor undergoes a change, it transmits a radio signal, which is a few milliseconds long. The gateway receives the data and the software evaluates it. It is therefore important that the gateway has a good and secure radio connection to all sensors and actuators. The gateway is therefore installed at a central point in the building. In our example, we simply glued it to the back of the TV.
The myHomeControl software also supports gateway types that are connected to the building computer via a serial interface (RS-232 or RS-485) or the local network (LAN). Since the building computer is integrated in the LAN anyway, it is necessary to use a LAN gateway, for larger objects also several. You can choose the best place for the gateway installation. In our example, we have used the USB interface of the building computer for the sake of simplicity.
EnOcean is a wireless radio standard for building and industrial automation. The patented radio technology makes it possible to produce a signal with astonishingly small amounts of ambient energy. With only 50 μWs, an EnOcean wireless module can transmit a signal over a distance of 300 meters (in the free-field).
The secret lies in the signaling, the entire process is triggered, carried out and completed in only one thousandth of a second. EnOcean, which has been ratified by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), is characterized above all by its particularly low energy consumption. This makes it the first and only radio standard suitable for low-energy generation. Thus it is also optimized for battery-powered networking technology.
When setting up the Smart Home project, the target computer plays no role, there is no hardware reference. The project is transferred to the target computer only when the display is coherent, ie all luminaires, blinds, window and door sensors are drawn in and the logic functions. In the case of our example setup, this is a MSI Wind Box II industrial PC. The EnOcean gateway is connected to a USB interface as is the 3D mouse. For the video signal the computer has a DVI output.
With DVI-VGA adapter, we make the connection to the TV again. Now only the computer has to be switched on and "PC" has to be selected as the input on the TV set. The computer powers up and starts the software "my-HomeControl" automatically. The TV set should now display the ground plan of the ground floor with all sensors and actuators.
Communication with the door
With the mouse pointer, we select the light or the shade that we would like to switch, just as you would on the specially installed touch display. When the switching process is finished, TV remote control returns to the program.
Now, however, not everyone would like to place a computer behind the Smart TV. In this case, there is another variation: in the second example, the building computer is located in an installation room in the cellar of the house near the switch or fuse box. Now the video signal from the computer has to go to the TV, two USB channels from the living room to the cellar. The router is also usually located here, for example a FRITZ! Box or the LAN switch.
Conclusion
If this is not the case, we can route the network cable to the computer. If this is not possible, we are looking for a place where both a network connection and power are available. If the SmartHome has a digital video doorphone, such as the T24 from Mobotix, we must also be able to transfer sound between the computer and the TV. After all, the visitor should be able to talk to us at the front door via the TV.
There are special hardware, so-called HDMI extenders. We have used the Startech IPUSB2HD2 in our test. It transmits image, USB and sound over a network line. On the computer side we use the supplied software. Depending on the computer, it takes about ten minutes for everything to be set up automatically. The software is installed as an additional display as well as a USB server. It recognizes the HDMI extender automatically as well as its connected devices such as the HDMI interface of the TV set, the USB port of the 3D mouse and an analog microphone.
The software bundles the data and sends it via LAN. Therefore no adapter is needed at the building computer itself. However, the data must be separated again for display on the TV.
This task is performed by the HDMI extender. Image and sound transmission of the digital Mobotix video door phone connected to the local network can thus be reproduced with high quality on the TV set. A tiny microphone on the extender ensures that the visitor can understand us at the door. And, of course, the Smart-Home visualization and the 3D mouse pointer are also displayed on the TV.
If you do not want to install your own building monitor in an intelligent home, you can use TV sets for visualization and as a control screen. For the industrial machine you have to invest between 400 euros and 1,000 euros. In addition, the HDMI extender for about 250 euros. A special building computer with touch-screen costs 1,000 to 3,000 euros. The variant with TV saves not only space, but is also significantly cheaper.
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