Hi all,
Got a home automation project I'm toying with. There's going to be a very small, very cheap PLC controlling a watering system on my balcony. Due to the construction of my building, I can't easily get mains water out there, so I'm planning on just putting in a small water tank and a pump to run the system. I'm then going to put a low level sensor in the tank, because otherwise it won't be until all my plants are dead that I wonder when I last filled up the tank.
What I'd really like is to have an iPhone app that gives me a notification if the low level alarm goes off. Obviously, this means connecting my PLC to the internet (I'm not concerned with security at this point, if someone wants to hack in and water my plants they can go their hardest).
My question is, what methods can you think of to achieve this? Bonus points for whoever can make it work with the cheapest components
My current ideas are:
- Have the PLC send an email on low level. I'd prefer an actual notification to an email, but if that's not feasible, it's an option. Only thing is, the only PLC I know of that can send an email is a Compact or Control Logix. A little bit overkill (and expensive) to be sitting on my balcony watering plants.
- Use some sort of SCADA app like SCADAMobile or perhaps AdvancedHMI. The PLC won't have an external IP, it'll have to be forwarded from the router, and I don't know if any of them support remote connection to the PLC over the internet. Even if they do, I don't know if any of them can be configured to "check in" on the PLC every hour or so and check for alarms and give me a notification.
- Use a raspberry pi or something similar instead of a PLC. I've found this article about using a raspberry pi to send push notifications using a free push service, so it looks doable. I've never delved into the world of raspberry pi, python code, or anything terribly similar, so it would be a massive learning curve for me, but if it's a cheap, viable solution then I'm open to giving it a go.
Any other ideas? I'm feeling stingy and creative, so all comers are welcome!
Got a home automation project I'm toying with. There's going to be a very small, very cheap PLC controlling a watering system on my balcony. Due to the construction of my building, I can't easily get mains water out there, so I'm planning on just putting in a small water tank and a pump to run the system. I'm then going to put a low level sensor in the tank, because otherwise it won't be until all my plants are dead that I wonder when I last filled up the tank.
What I'd really like is to have an iPhone app that gives me a notification if the low level alarm goes off. Obviously, this means connecting my PLC to the internet (I'm not concerned with security at this point, if someone wants to hack in and water my plants they can go their hardest).
My question is, what methods can you think of to achieve this? Bonus points for whoever can make it work with the cheapest components
My current ideas are:
- Have the PLC send an email on low level. I'd prefer an actual notification to an email, but if that's not feasible, it's an option. Only thing is, the only PLC I know of that can send an email is a Compact or Control Logix. A little bit overkill (and expensive) to be sitting on my balcony watering plants.
- Use some sort of SCADA app like SCADAMobile or perhaps AdvancedHMI. The PLC won't have an external IP, it'll have to be forwarded from the router, and I don't know if any of them support remote connection to the PLC over the internet. Even if they do, I don't know if any of them can be configured to "check in" on the PLC every hour or so and check for alarms and give me a notification.
- Use a raspberry pi or something similar instead of a PLC. I've found this article about using a raspberry pi to send push notifications using a free push service, so it looks doable. I've never delved into the world of raspberry pi, python code, or anything terribly similar, so it would be a massive learning curve for me, but if it's a cheap, viable solution then I'm open to giving it a go.
Any other ideas? I'm feeling stingy and creative, so all comers are welcome!