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I'm working on building all of my own IoT (outlets, lights, sensors) using ESP8266's, Amazon Alexa, and a Raspberry Pi as the "hub". If Alexa gets deprecated, o

by deegles 11y ago

I'm working on building all of my own IoT (outlets, lights, sensors) using ESP8266's, Amazon Alexa, and a Raspberry Pi as the "hub". If Alexa gets deprecated, or I want to use some other voice control, I can (hopefully) easily swap her out with whatever is cool then. Of course, this is cheaper in $$ but way more expensive in my own time. Fortunately I think of it as a hobby and not work.

digitalinfinity 11y ago
Can you share more details on your work? I've wanted to build my own connected outlet for a while and if you have any pointers to resources on this, I'd love to see them.
- 05 11y ago
  This could be as simple as directly connecting ESP8266 GPIO to a solid state relay and programming ESP8266 to change the state of the pin in response to a HTTP post, e.g. [1] Note that you should probably familiarize yourself with basic electrical safety rules when working with mains voltage, as well as fire safety. An intro to digital electronics would probably be a logical next step. Lastly, SSRs have an undesired feature of failing in connected state, so don't connect any loads that could overheat when plugged continuously. [1] https://www.openhomeautomation.net/control-a-lamp-remotely-using-the-esp8266-wifi-chip/ https://www.openhomeautomation.net/control-a-lamp-remotely-u...
  - digitalinfinity 11y ago
    Super helpful, thanks!
manyxcxi 11y ago
I started down this route forever ago. Had a garage door opener with status and geofence, outlets, my own iOS app. It was fun but it was taking too long. I bought a bunch of z-wave outlets, switches, power strips, a thermostat, and a garage door opener. If my hub dies or the company goes the way of the dodo I can switch to another hub that supports z-wave. Also, my hub has Echo integration for most things. I can't turn the heat up but I can turn off any light or light grouping. In the end, everything works much better and I switched to building robots for the kids.

by deegles 11y ago

digitalinfinity 11y ago

Can you share more details on your work? I've wanted to build my own connected outlet for a while and if you have any pointers to resources on this, I'd love to see them.

05 11y ago
This could be as simple as directly connecting ESP8266 GPIO to a solid state relay and programming ESP8266 to change the state of the pin in response to a HTTP post, e.g. [1] Note that you should probably familiarize yourself with basic electrical safety rules when working with mains voltage, as well as fire safety. An intro to digital electronics would probably be a logical next step. Lastly, SSRs have an undesired feature of failing in connected state, so don't connect any loads that could overheat when plugged continuously. [1] https://www.openhomeautomation.net/control-a-lamp-remotely-using-the-esp8266-wifi-chip/ https://www.openhomeautomation.net/control-a-lamp-remotely-u...
- digitalinfinity 11y ago
  Super helpful, thanks!

manyxcxi 11y ago

I started down this route forever ago. Had a garage door opener with status and geofence, outlets, my own iOS app. It was fun but it was taking too long. I bought a bunch of z-wave outlets, switches, power strips, a thermostat, and a garage door opener. If my hub dies or the company goes the way of the dodo I can switch to another hub that supports z-wave. Also, my hub has Echo integration for most things. I can't turn the heat up but I can turn off any light or light grouping. In the end, everything works much better and I switched to building robots for the kids.