Building A Smart Switch Ep 01
Some of the ideas that we get, does not live longer, but if it does, it is worth implementing. Smart Switch is something, that I’ve been pondering on for quite sometime. I thought I’ll use this space to mark my progress on my journey towards building one. Perhaps I wouldn’t succeed in building one eventually, but what’s more important, for me, is the journey of knowledge. So, lets get started - this, ladies and gentlemen, is the Episode 01 of ‘Building a Smart Switch’
Where did it start
So this is how the idea sprung. When we built a office cabin in our garden, I thought it would be great to switch on the heater remotely to make the room warm before I could start my work. I checked for smart heaters which connects to the home network and noticed that they were quite expensive. While a normal heater is around £30-50, a smart heater started at around £200s. That is when, I decided to purchase a smart plug point - a plug socket which connects to the home network and any appliance, which is plugged into this smart plug point, becomes a smart appliance. I looked for options - there were plenty which works on Android, but it was too hard to find one compatible with iOS. After some decent search, I found Meross. Well, Meross isn’t bad. It works like charm in ideal cases. But very soon, I realized that it wasn’t reliable at all. There were days I thought the heater was ON for over an hour, but I ended up shivering in the office later.
The plan
So, now, the plan is to build one all by myself. I’m pretty sure that the final product that I’d end up building would be a little bigger that the products sold in the market. No, not like this, maybe a little smaller! :)
In my free time, I jotted some designs on what features it must have and how potentially it could look. I also had to weigh my skills on what could be possible with the limited resources I have. Based on that, here are few designs.
Features
As I said before, I did list some of the features that the Smart Switch must have. But again, I might add or drop of the features based on what I will learn eventually in this process.
- Timer : It should allow the user to set the duration on how long the appliance should be switched ON.
- Display : It should, at any point, let the user see the running timer countdown.
- Wifi : The Smart Switch must be accessible via the home network.
- Sensors : When a sensor is attached to the Smart Switch, it must publish the results to the display/mobile. For example, if a temperature sensor is attached, the display must show the temperature. The temperature must be published to the home network too. This will help the user to take a decision on whether to switch ON the appliance or not.
- Programmable : If required, a skilled user must be able to reprogram to his/her needs.
What’s next
In the days to come, the plan is to make a simple block diagram and then a detailed circuit diagram to check what is achievable. I’m also planning to keep a track on what I purchase and the amount I’d be spending towards making this Smart Switch.
Do keep an eye around here…