Autoflow3r Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Hello everyone, I was hoping you lot can help me out. I'm busy developing a new product that will automate your climate controls. so how it works is a sensor gives a reading about your climate ( like rh and temps ) and will switch your appliances on and off according to how you set your desired climate variables (eg: temps between 22 and 26 ens. ) I am also looking to develop a super cool app where it will record all the data from your grow and you will have remote control over your grow making things like a holiday or weekend easy and simple. I was just wondering what you guys think about the idea before I dive too deep into it. If I start up it will only be available for you SA growers at first so any indication on your thoughts of my idea will be great . (Ps I have a prototype up and running in my own grow that only controls my light cycle and temps and I'm super happy with it.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Jay Posted July 24, 2021 Share Posted July 24, 2021 Think its a great idea. Was looking at the Xiaomi ( Loot sent a mail about stocking them) products yesterday for home automation, I look at automation crap quiet often when I have smoked too much, dream, plan etc, never really bought into yet, but its coming. They seem affordable, wide range of local products available and lots that have not been shipped here. I am personally looking at it for a better security system, with a little household automation. They also cross-compatible with other hardware and have stuffs that I dont understand as yet. Funny enough this week an old contact is also taking me through their proprietary seed to sale software, www.growtrack.io ,which has already made a name for itself in Lesotho to help automate the cultivation process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty.Psychonaut Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Hi there @Autoflow3r Your product sounds pretty interesting! Have you any experience working with any Sonoff gadgets? It seems very similar to what you are planning to make. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autoflow3r Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 Thanks you guys @Chris Jay and @Naughty.Psychonaut No I dont know much about sonoff gadgets but ill definitely have a look to get an idea of what these things cost and so on 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty.Psychonaut Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 only a pleasure man, excited to see what you bring 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grass Baas Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) What's up dude. Great idea man. I'm also super into the whole remote control thing. I'm still abit of a noob but I manage a few simple things using sonoff switches. They're great. Have had really good success with them. I could be 300km away working and I could monitor some of the basic elements of a perpetual grow. 1) I use a sonoff switch and temp gauge to monitor the temp in my propagation chamber. It switches a heating pad on and off. I keep it at 20 - 24 Celsius. All the little clones love it. Helps alot in the cold winters. 2) I use a sonoff switch, humidity gauge and an extractor fan to control my humidity in both my flowering and vegging tents. Each having their own switch, humidity sensor and extractor. I use a humidifier in the vegetative/mother tent to keep humidity nice and high and then the sonoff will switch the extractor on and off, keeping it at about 65% humidity. The flowering tent has no humidifier and the switch puts the extractor on and off keeping the humidity at 45-55% humidity. Depending on where in the cycle the flowers are. And all these sonoff switches are pretty smart. Known as smart switches. They keep logs of when they switch on and off. You can also remotely change parameters. It's really great. Edited July 26, 2021 by The Grass Baas Shitty spelling 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolJ Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 3 hours ago, Naughty.Psychonaut said: Hi there @Autoflow3r Your product sounds pretty interesting! Have you any experience working with any Sonoff gadgets? It seems very similar to what you are planning to make. Sonoff's are excellent and affordable! I just wish they could save data for you to be able to view over period of time. @Autoflow3rif you could write a script that saves the sonoff data somehow I'm sure you could make some money. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grass Baas Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Hey man. With sonoff, the person that created the link to the sonoff sensor is able to view logs under the options menu when viewing the device. I see when it goes on and off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty.Psychonaut Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 18 hours ago, CoolJ said: Sonoff's are excellent and affordable! I just wish they could save data for you to be able to view over period of time. @Autoflow3rif you could write a script that saves the sonoff data somehow I'm sure you could make some money. I have a th16 and I can view my logs very simple, I click on the icon that gives a list of options and the logs are right there 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autoflow3r Posted July 26, 2021 Author Share Posted July 26, 2021 On 7/25/2021 at 10:12 AM, CoolJ said: Sonoff's are excellent and affordable! I just wish they could save data for you to be able to view over period of time. @Autoflow3rif you could write a script that saves the sonoff data somehow I'm sure you could make some money. Yeah I don't want to give away to much of my game in public domain just to be safe but im hoping to develop some really cool software that will include data collection so that people can really intuitively keep track of their grow and previous grows 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsyCLown Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 @Autoflow3r I think you need to find a way to differentiate what you are offering from what is already available. Every grow is different, some have aircon some do not. Some have dehumidifiers, others do not. Aircons and dehumidifiers, you set to a specific temp or RH and it will run until it reaches that temp or RH and then try and maintain that. No automation required there really. To get something to integrate into these "dumb" devices may be a challenge as there are soo many different makes and models of aircons and dehumidifiers. If you are talking about extraction fans, well, AC Infinity have fans with nice controllers which will adjust the fan speed according to the temp or RH and can even give alarms. I know they have one controller with more functionality, not sure if this controller allows one to do so remotely though. Lots of home automation devices out there, like the Sonoff devices and others which can monitor the temp and RH and allow you to view it world wide and add triggers to turn items on / off if a certain situation is met. ie. If temperature is over 28C, then turn on Fan #1. Majority of these home automation devices will keep logs for you as well, I think on average upto 3 months and most tie into other systems and devices and one can even take it a step further and add cameras with facial recognition and door and window triggers and all sorts of other cool stuff. If you are driving your car, when you get to the garage it must open the garage door. If the wife is driving your car, it must not open the garage door - but this is going deep into home automation now and a little off topic. So, there are already products out there which do this, however there can still be a bit of separation at times. AC Infinity fan does not speak to the sonoff temp & RH device for example - but does it need to? A simpler fan might make more sense, allow it to be turned on / off based on temperatures however most have their extraction running 24/7 anyways. The other issue is cost, how much is it going to cost and how much benefit will growers get from it? Why should they use what you are offering over other products? Perhaps why use it at all? What would be cool is when we start talking full on automation, having a system which will mix nutes for you (you can tell it which chart to base it on) and PH accordingly, adjust height of lights as required as well as the dimming of them... But then there are certain requirements which would need to be in place first, such as water intake for the res to be filled automatically. I believe there are systems out there which can do this, but the price is the issue and the average home grower can generally manage by doing it themselves. I think such a system becomes more of a want or need when you are talking big grow, like commercial scale to help run the facility with fewer staff. Not trying to be negative, just giving some info to think about and maybe take a look into. I am one of the more fortunate growers, I have an AC and a dehumidifier so climate is pretty spot on consistently. My AC Infinity fan, I do not even use the feature to adjust the fan speed based on temp and RH, however I do like the fact that there are 10 speed settings and I use those to help balance intake and exhaust air flow rates but I set it manually. I plan on adding a sonoff type of device to the room so I can remotely monitor the RH and temperatures, although it is more just because I can and the devices are cheap. I am moving over to sonoff POW R2 switches to replace my digital timers as they are around the same price but allow me to turn the lights on / off remotely and view the power usage and do so over a period of a few days / weeks / months and easily adjust the light cycle remotely and not have to mission to get a ladder to get to the timer on top of my tent (where I keep mine and my power supplies). I have an automatic watering system which uses a water pump and airpump which run 24/7, so if I need to go away I just top up the res and that will last a few days without me needing to do anything and I can remotely ensure my lights are on via the POW R2. I think for most watering on time would be the issue, but is easily achieved with an automatic watering system. In a situation like mine, I am not seeing much appeal for a product which you are describing. Even thinking about some of my friends who do not have an AC or dehumidifier, very similar situation and they'd likely go for an automatic watering system before monitoring the temps. Changing temps without a heater or aircon isn't always achievable. You can move as much air as you like, if the air you are bringing is in 26C, you won't get the temps below 26C, same for RH. Welcome to the forum though and please stick around! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autoflow3r Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 17 hours ago, PsyCLown said: @Autoflow3r I think you need to find a way to differentiate what you are offering from what is already available. Every grow is different, some have aircon some do not. Some have dehumidifiers, others do not. Aircons and dehumidifiers, you set to a specific temp or RH and it will run until it reaches that temp or RH and then try and maintain that. No automation required there really. To get something to integrate into these "dumb" devices may be a challenge as there are soo many different makes and models of aircons and dehumidifiers. If you are talking about extraction fans, well, AC Infinity have fans with nice controllers which will adjust the fan speed according to the temp or RH and can even give alarms. I know they have one controller with more functionality, not sure if this controller allows one to do so remotely though. Lots of home automation devices out there, like the Sonoff devices and others which can monitor the temp and RH and allow you to view it world wide and add triggers to turn items on / off if a certain situation is met. ie. If temperature is over 28C, then turn on Fan #1. Majority of these home automation devices will keep logs for you as well, I think on average upto 3 months and most tie into other systems and devices and one can even take it a step further and add cameras with facial recognition and door and window triggers and all sorts of other cool stuff. If you are driving your car, when you get to the garage it must open the garage door. If the wife is driving your car, it must not open the garage door - but this is going deep into home automation now and a little off topic. So, there are already products out there which do this, however there can still be a bit of separation at times. AC Infinity fan does not speak to the sonoff temp & RH device for example - but does it need to? A simpler fan might make more sense, allow it to be turned on / off based on temperatures however most have their extraction running 24/7 anyways. The other issue is cost, how much is it going to cost and how much benefit will growers get from it? Why should they use what you are offering over other products? Perhaps why use it at all? What would be cool is when we start talking full on automation, having a system which will mix nutes for you (you can tell it which chart to base it on) and PH accordingly, adjust height of lights as required as well as the dimming of them... But then there are certain requirements which would need to be in place first, such as water intake for the res to be filled automatically. I believe there are systems out there which can do this, but the price is the issue and the average home grower can generally manage by doing it themselves. I think such a system becomes more of a want or need when you are talking big grow, like commercial scale to help run the facility with fewer staff. Not trying to be negative, just giving some info to think about and maybe take a look into. I am one of the more fortunate growers, I have an AC and a dehumidifier so climate is pretty spot on consistently. My AC Infinity fan, I do not even use the feature to adjust the fan speed based on temp and RH, however I do like the fact that there are 10 speed settings and I use those to help balance intake and exhaust air flow rates but I set it manually. I plan on adding a sonoff type of device to the room so I can remotely monitor the RH and temperatures, although it is more just because I can and the devices are cheap. I am moving over to sonoff POW R2 switches to replace my digital timers as they are around the same price but allow me to turn the lights on / off remotely and view the power usage and do so over a period of a few days / weeks / months and easily adjust the light cycle remotely and not have to mission to get a ladder to get to the timer on top of my tent (where I keep mine and my power supplies). I have an automatic watering system which uses a water pump and airpump which run 24/7, so if I need to go away I just top up the res and that will last a few days without me needing to do anything and I can remotely ensure my lights are on via the POW R2. I think for most watering on time would be the issue, but is easily achieved with an automatic watering system. In a situation like mine, I am not seeing much appeal for a product which you are describing. Even thinking about some of my friends who do not have an AC or dehumidifier, very similar situation and they'd likely go for an automatic watering system before monitoring the temps. Changing temps without a heater or aircon isn't always achievable. You can move as much air as you like, if the air you are bringing is in 26C, you won't get the temps below 26C, same for RH. Welcome to the forum though and please stick around! I hear what you are saying and sounds like you have a good mind for business, something I am still working on. I am however aware none of these options have really specialised features for indoor gardening … something im working really hard to add into what I to offer to make it worth it for the buyer. I also believe in not overpricing products because at the end of the day only one person wins where as hundreds could have so like i said my target market will be hobbyist growers and I will assure that it will be fairly priced for consumers that fit that description. Anyways just wanted to say the feedback you guys have been giving me is interesting and great and gives me plenty toe work on ! Thanks guys. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolJ Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 On 7/26/2021 at 4:22 AM, Naughty.Psychonaut said: I have a th16 and I can view my logs very simple, I click on the icon that gives a list of options and the logs are right there I'm only seeing this when I click on Logs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughty.Psychonaut Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 On 7/28/2021 at 9:40 PM, CoolJ said: I'm only seeing this when I click on Logs Yeah, on the log that sonoff provides I only get the on/off times aswell, so this is where the last bit of physical labour comes in. I have a file with printed out pages with a little excell spread on it where I capture the data. I've learned that having things so automatic that you don't have to pay attention to it at all things will go wrong without you noticing it, so even when things are fully automatic you gotta do check ups, so I just put it on myself to open the sonoff app at least 3 times a day (morning, noon and night) and take a screenshot of the readings. Then I have a folder under my camera album on my phone where I collect all those screenshots. I've stopped filling in the data sheet as I don't care to use that much paper and I mean what are smart phones for if not helping us remember stuff. So I know I have a back log of all that happened, here is an example of the excell spread I used to use. Now, here is where mr. @Autoflow3r can jump in. If there's a way to design an app that automatically fills in the data so you don't have to take screenshots 3 times a day every day, that's maybe something he can look into. Personally I prefer "having to check up" and change as needed, instead of just keeping log of where things went wrong because I trusted technology. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsyCLown Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 You get other devices, similar to the Sonoff TH16 which I believe keeps logs for a longer period of time I believe. Records the temp & RH every hour. Blitzwolf make one as well: https://www.blitzwolfeurope.com/BlitzWolf-BW-IS8-Smart-ZigBee-temperature-and-humi It is a zigbee device, can tie into home automation and sonoff devices. This Blitzwork is just one of what I am sure are many other devices out there which can do this. Runs off a battery, so even easier to have inside a grow tent - no need for wires for power etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzcanna Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 On 7/26/2021 at 4:46 PM, PsyCLown said: If you are driving your car, when you get to the garage it must open the garage door. If the wife is driving your car, it must not open the garage door - but this is going deep into home automation now and a little off topic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Wijk Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 Or you can also look into setting up Home Assistant, then you can connect a huge list of devices to it (including sonoff) and create any automation your heart desire and get different devices from different brands to interact with one another. It's a bit of a steep learning curve but very rewarding Here's just my grow setup I've been working on and I've also got my whole house automated. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Jay Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 (edited) That is very cool @Van Wijk, well done on making your own setup. I wish I could get there, but need to take the first step. Just came across this Tenti Controller, only 100 are being built and sold, shipped from November 2021. Tenti WiFi Grow Tent Controller https://growershouse.com/tomatotent-controller-stand-alone-controller Edited September 2, 2021 by Chris Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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