4 ms·
I can think of several reasons: - Reading information from utility providers which few people are able to measure locally - You want to integrate with
by rekoil 3y ago
I can think of several reasons:
- Reading information from utility providers which few people are able to measure locally
- You want to integrate with some system which is physically outside your home, like I don't know a smart mailbox if those exist (and god damnit now I want that...)
- You are forced to because the product you have can't be controlled any other way and it's not feasible to replace it
- A locally controllable version of X exists, but it's three times the price of one from vendor Y which requires a cloud integration
- paradox460 3y agoRE: Smart Mailbox I've seen a few people DIY them. You can put a reed switch or similar on the door, and watch for state changes, to trigger a "PostBox opened last at" style sensor, or use a light sensor in the box to do the same. If you want to seriously over-engineer, you could put the box on a load cell, and measure the weight of the post. Use an ESP32 for your control board, and its pretty much just basic ESPHome plumbing
- rekoil 3y agoUnfortunately I can't do any of those things because I live in an apartment and we have mailboxes like these: https://kopbrevlada.se/pub/media/webp_image/catalog/product/cache/9ee025d4de222759f4b25feadcc9b7f2/f/a/fastighetsbox-renz-budget-789d.webp https://kopbrevlada.se/pub/media/webp_image/catalog/product/... But I appreciate the suggestions!
- drra 3y agoSurely low power PIR sensor would work. Something like this maybe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGZFg4SVySM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGZFg4SVySM
- paradox460 3y agoA light sensor on an ESP taped to the inside of the mailbox would probably work, and a note to the postal carrier informing them of its function, but I suspect you'd have issues with the range of the device.
- rekoil 3y agoYeah, I live 3 floors up and on the other side of the building from the mailboxes.