During hot days, the air in my attic can reach temperatures much higher than the outside. This causes the rest of the house to warm up. As a result, cooling the living space requires more energy. To prevent this, I use gable fans to force the hot air from the attic to the outside. I have two fans, each located either on the east or west side of the house. Each fan has an independent thermostat that engaged the fan…
When creating PCBs, the quality of the work is the most important element. If the design has a flaw, the work can lead to malfunction, damage, or worse depending on the application. Quality is key. It’s good practice to keep that in mind regardless if the design is complex or rudimentary. I’ve found that component placement on the board to be a good first step. It allows you to know that parts will fit and connect with the outside world…
One challenge with piecing together devices are the connections. We discussed how we’ll use communications protocols to link devices that are physically separate. This same problem occurs for our nodes that have sensors, controllers, or other circuit boards that need to be linked. To solve this, we’ll develop and manufacture printed circuit boards, or PCBs as they are commonly referred to. Having a custom PCB that makes the links also provides us a cleaner build. In addition, devices can be…
The sensors and devices that I plan to control are located several meters from each other. This is just the nature of things. If I want to successfully deploy and reliably use the system, it means I’ll have to reconsider how everything is powered. The bench in my lab allows me to use AC adapters to power the devices. The wall outlet is nearby and I don’t have to fuss so I can focus on other things. This isn’t true…