Request: Home Automation

[Jakob77]

@AK-47

It is good you warn about that 220 volt is dangerous to mess with.
I'm mostly afraid of it because I hate getting shocks.
But unless it's very unfortunate, I'll probably only get bristly hair.

If you think about Track 2
viewtopic.php?p=755983#p755983
I believe the security risk will be very low.
It will likely not matter if they crack my wifi. They will also be up against a MX-Linux computer before they can mess with my relays.
viewtopic.php?p=756537#p756537
And the things I plan to control are not as critical as for instance the room temperature is.
If it fails so the hot water gets cold or hotter all the time for a day or two it is not a big deal.
Also if the heat pump is heating some more water for a few days is not a big deal.
However if it works well for a year I recon there can be saved a good amount of money and coal.
How much will depend on the government, and at the moment they are hurting the project with unintelligent taxes and too little will to put up more windmills.
But over the last two years and with war in Ukraine there has been a huge variety in the electricity prices on daily and hourly basis.
30-60 Watt for a MX computer is not much to talk about if the 3000 Watt water heater alone can run at half price or sometimes even make money.
Most of the energy for the computer will also help heating up the room where it is put so it won't be pure waste.

About downloading the price list I hope to get it for free.
I am waiting for an answer from these guys:
https://www.energidataservice.dk/

As I see it the biggest hurdle for me will be to make the scripts I need to download the list and make the computer find the right time to turn the relays on and off.

Do you perhaps have some advice about how I find the codes for some of it.?

I believe the Home Assistant people has made something for Windows but can that help anything in MX.?



In case this subject is also locked soon, I will be happy to receive any inspiration and hints about the script codes in a PM from anyone.





@MikeR

No, in Denmark where I live, the sun never shines...
Just kidding.

I did use some old radiators to heat water for some years but it was hardly worth it because I lost too much heat in the long pipes I have here.
I know a small summer place where it works very well.
However I believe solar panels are so cheap now that they in most cases will be a better solution.

[MadMax]

It is good you warn about that 220 volt is dangerous to mess with.
I'm mostly afraid of it because I hate getting shocks.
But unless it's very unfortunate, I'll probably only get bristly hair.

220 V can and will kill you, there's also nasty illnesses like arrythmia that can come from a shock even if you survive - please be careful with what you're doing and don't play it down.

It's the other way around - you have to get lucky to get away with bristly hair (it depends on how well you're grounded, the better the more likely it will kill you). There's a reason ground leakage circuit breakers are mandatory in most (if not all) of Europe.

[AK-47]

It's more the possibility of arc flash and the relay exploding in one's hand or catching fire during operation because of it not having the correct properties or being of insufficient build quality and insulation strength and output isolation that is worth being concerned about. Speaking of arc tracking, you may find without sufficient isolation the 220V gets dumped into your beloved MX box via the USB port. These kinds of failure modes (particularly when carbon traces form due to insects or surges) which are much more subtle than just getting bristly hairdo electric shocks.

[j2mcgreg]

For your own protection, you should get a pair of these (or similar):
https://www.uline.ca/Product/Detail/S-2 ... kwQAvD_BwE

[Jakob77]

Yes, yes, yes, I agree with you all.

So can I have the scripts now.?



AK-47

The electric water heater is 380V and 3000 Watt.
That is too much for the USB relays I have, so it has to be a small USB relay activating a bigger relay to turn it on.
I have already bought the bigger relay also, so I am a bit prepared. :-)

[Eadwine Rose]

Yes, yes, yes, I agree with you all.

So can I have the scripts now.?

I didn't know our forum name was MX Google?

The MX Forum is for help with MX, not a general research and help site for whatever strikes your fancy.

[AK-47]

Actually it's MX Ask Jeeves!

[Jakob77]

Back on Track 2.

My search for electricity prices on hourly basis for download has taken me to this page:

https://www.energidataservice.dk/tso-el ... spotprices

And with a link like this I can download a list:

https://api.energidataservice.dk/datase ... es?limit=5

To a file:

Code: Select all

wget https://api.energidataservice.dk/dataset/Elspotprices?limit=5

The content of the file then looks like this:

Code: Select all

{"total":1703998,"limit":5,"dataset":"Elspotprices","records":[{"HourUTC":"2023-12-24T22:00:00","HourDK":"2023-12-24T23:00:00","PriceArea":"DK1","SpotPriceDKK":-0.750000,"SpotPriceEUR":-0.100000},{"HourUTC":"2023-12-24T22:00:00","HourDK":"2023-12-24T23:00:00","PriceArea":"DK2","SpotPriceDKK":118.400002,"SpotPriceEUR":15.880000},{"HourUTC":"2023-12-24T22:00:00","HourDK":"2023-12-24T23:00:00","PriceArea":"NO2","SpotPriceDKK":175.949997,"SpotPriceEUR":23.600000},{"HourUTC":"2023-12-24T22:00:00","HourDK":"2023-12-24T23:00:00","PriceArea":"SE3","SpotPriceDKK":175.949997,"SpotPriceEUR":23.600000},{"HourUTC":"2023-12-24T22:00:00","HourDK":"2023-12-24T23:00:00","PriceArea":"SE4","SpotPriceDKK":175.949997,"SpotPriceEUR":23.600000}]}

That is pretty ugly, and I realize more than ever before that the size of the trouble we will have using the data depends on the output.

Therefore I am thinking about asking the company somehow to make it beautiful for us.
It is just not that easy to get the details in place, and I don't know if I can make them do it but I do know I better ask for the right output the first time.

For instance if they make some options in links, so I can link to the cheapest 1, 2, 3 etc hours for my specific area the next 2, 3, 4 etc. hours and that provides an output with just the times, then it can be pretty easy to search the file for a specific time, and if it exists the script turns on a switch at that time.

Does that make sense.?

I know this is not for the whole world yet so a global solution is ahead of time.
However I think Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany is a good start.
And maybe there are more countries with other good download options I don't know about yet.?

[Eadwine Rose]

I have told you that this forum is not for your personal projects.


I am closing this thread.