The Onion Thermostat
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Like the Nest, as in:
- Learns your habits
- Knows when you are away
- Observes local weather
- Allows for remote access through [secret sauce] secured applications
- Makes recommendations
Like the Ecobee3, as in:
- Draws power from the 'C' wire
- Has multiple remotes to give temp/humidity readings from other rooms/locations besides the thermostat interface
Unlike Nest and Ecobee3, and only for this device:
- All data captured is sent to localhost or user's own cloud
- IFTTT - like recipes are created and hosted locally and not on someone else's cloud
- Larger screen area (6.5" x 4") - https://www.adafruit.com/product/2354
- Application management done at device, tablet or PC. Remote management done on phone device.
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I have exactly same idea for Omega2 and I started development. The problem that I met for now is missing framebuffer kernel module in opkg repo in order to use full functional color display without additional VGA chip. I wondering did you find any module or driver to supporting any kind of color display ?
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@Todor-Penchev While not quite what you were asking about, have you considered using something like
RA8875 Driver Board for 40-pin TFT Touch Displays - 800x480 Max(see: https://www.adafruit.com/products/1590)
It can drive an 800x480 pixel display with 40-wire interface using just SPI without needing any special frame buffer code.
The above link provides a link to C++ code used to drive it. The code given is for Arduino but shouldn't be too hard to adapt for Omega
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@Kit-Bishop The Adafruit-module is pretty damn expensive, though. One can get both the driver-board and a display for it for nearly the same price from e.g. http://www.buydisplay.com/ There are a billion different alternatives to the RA8875, too, including many of which are available on that website.
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@Kit-Bishop
Thanks for your prompt replay and suggestion! I will try the small one https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-2-4-tft-touch-screen-featherwing. Also I think this one will work with some additional work
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-4-inch-TFT-touch-LCD-Module-LCD-Screen-Module-For-Arduino-UNO-R3/32222072219.html?spm=2114.30010308.3.9.I25NxB&s=p&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_1_116_10065_117_10068_114_115_113_10000009_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10060_10062_10056_10055_10037_10054_10059_10032_10099_10078_10079_10077_10000012_426_10103_10073_10102_10000015_10096_10052_10053_10107_10050_10106_10051,searchweb201603_10,afswitch_5_afChannel,single_sort_0_default&btsid=53b255a7-d0e4-4188-b8d8-20231e99ab7bThanks!
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Out of curiosity, does code for all of this exist? or is this simply an idea?
Either way, I have some working code that meets at least some of the requirements above. Also, it could potentially eliminate the need for a screen connected directly to the Omega.
When I get my Omega 2 in the mail, it should be any day, I will try and get the code running on it.
I'm not even sure the project will fit on the Omega.
Other parts that I needed to get my current device working:
- At least 3 relays
- Transistors (NPN) - # of relays you have.
- Rectifier and AC/DC converter (need 5 wires coming from your wall to utilize this setup)
- If you dont have 5 wires, a wall wort to power the Omega.
- Any device with a javascript enabled web browser.
No guarantees any of this will actually work.
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@James-Harding you asked if this is just an idea.
These things are already being built and they use existing screens i.e. your Smartphone so zero cost for most users. See an example below.
The smartphone means the display is readily portable too.
The app above costs from nothing to a few dollars and the rest is just javascript on the Omega.
If you want ready made code there are several HVAC examples in C++ at http://community.blynk.cc/
Most users are favouring the $5 WeMos as it runs the tried and tested Arduino C++ or the Pi but it is being done with Omega's too.
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@Costas Costas I am aware that these things already exist for micro controllers that have been out in the wild for longer than the omega. I was referring to a thermostat project that was built specifically for the omega, sorry if i was vague.
I got my Omega2's last week and took a crack at putting my pre-existing thermostat code on to them. Unfortunately, my code base sits at about 21mb, and apparently I didn't buy the omega2 +. So until I get my omega running off of a usb drive I wont be able to do further testing.
My current thermostat project is built using javascript and nodejs. It uses expressjs to create a server that hosts the UI for any device that is connected to the local network. So far the code has a built in local weather forecasting widget, a graph widget, a remote control widget, a photo widget, and a few other interesting bits. I would really love to get this working on the omega for all to enjoy...
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@James-Harding nice looking project you have there. The screenshot in my earlier post was interfaced with an Omega. Another Omega interfaced screenshot below with temperature now shown, following the 1-Wire fix completed by Onion in the last couple of days.
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@Costas-Costas That looks like the Blynk app, I didnt know it was compatible with the omega. What are your goals for your system/How far do you plan on taking the idea?
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@James-Harding Onion have a tutorial for installing Blynk at https://wiki.onion.io/Tutorials/blynk-library
Very straightforward and fine for the 2's even though the set up is for the 1's. Blynk are aware they need to update to the new pinout but you can use pins common to 1 and 2 for now.
The code is just slightly too big for a 2 but fine for a 2+ so anyone that has a 2 would need to find 1 or 2MB or setup the filesystem on a USB stick.
The tabs that are shown in the screenshot have video streams from our USB and IP cameras. Our main use for the video is that we are big fans of RF transmissions and it gives us a way of being 100% sure that when we made the request to control our thermostat from the other side of the world the thermostat responded as requested.
We wouldn't want to arrive at our luxury beach side villa (if we had one) to find out it was too hold or too cold because someone pressed their keyfob at the same time as we sent our RF request from the airport.
Blynk has oodles of widget these days including GPS and light sensors etc. All using free hardware i.e. your Smartphone sensors. Great system for average coders that don't want / can't port forward.
For us personally we will probably not take it further with the Omega's until the $1 docks arrive and by then it might be Omega 5 or 6. We use alternative hardware for our main thermostat systems but the Omega is quite capable, if a little expensive.
