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$30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

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Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#141

Post by sokoloff »

scotty79 wrote: post #100
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only tricky part being that it's desirable to limit the amount of sun shining into the house in the warmer months, but not the cooler ones. Awnings that fold or are otherwise removable are a reasonable solution, there are also sunshades which mount outside, and also use a spinning rod to raise and lower (if the electronics and motor here could be weatherproofed a little they might be quite usable).

In cooler months the sun is lower over the horizon so the awning block less of it.

Indeed. Our 100 year old house has exactly the right-sized roof overhangs to shade to the bottom of the upper floor windows for the peak sun periods in the summer while still letting much of the winter sun in.

Then, for the lower floor we accomplish a similar effect with tall, deciduous plantings.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#142

Post by yencabulator »

foobarian wrote: post #46
J_Shelby_J wrote: post #8

I just want to share that these are by far the best home automation you can have. I love my smart lights, hacked together smart humidifier, smart fans (the vornado dc fans with outlet switches), intake air pump, and air quality monitoring. But nothing has the quality of life impact of smart blinds. It’s the best, and probably only, way to reliably keep your sleep schedule in sync. Smart lightbulbs - four of the brigh…

The blinds shown under this article are pretty ordinary vinyl type blinds that leak a ton of light. I wish I could find blinds thick enough to behave like cardboard over windows, that could also be opened on a daily cadence. At this point I gave up on blinds and put a shirt over my eyes to sleep. I thought about just covering the windows permanently but I don't relish that idea.

Maybe you want shades, instead? They can be motorized too.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#143

Post by madaxe_again »

toxik wrote: post #129
madaxe_again wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the principle two things are “they can’t pull it off the wall and onto themselves” and “they can’t hang themselves”. With automatic openers you add “they can’t get snarled up/lose a finger in the mechanism” and “they can’t electrocute themselves”. I went extremely belt and braces with our blind opener - but it is toddler proof. Attached the lower end of the cord to the ceiling, attached a pulley that hangs on…

What in Rube Goldberg is this setup?

Heath Robinson, in fact, as I’m British.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#144

Post by 542354234235 »

AnotherGoodName wrote: post #7

Fwiw automated blinds in the bedroom are a 100% no brainer benefit. It's wonderful and better than an alarm clock with 0 mental load (set the times to open close across the week once and then never think about them again, you can keep the weekend manual if you like). As in a lot of home automation actually makes things worse. Replacing a convenient light switch with an app? 100% terrible idea and actually makes thing…

>As in a lot of home automation actually makes things worse. Replacing a convenient light switch with an app? 100% terrible idea and actually makes things inconvenient, don't automate those.

But this isn’t automating anything, you are still just manually controlling things. I lights in my office automated, so that they do different things based on the time of day, room occupancy, door open or closed, etc. The lights follow circadian rhythm to be cool during the day and warm after dark. When it is close to bedtime, I run one command that changes the behavior of many things in the house, including turning off certain appliances and changing light behaviors. That includes the bedroom only turning on a red light under the bed when the door opens so we can find our way to the bed without waking the other person, and other rooms only turning on a very low level “night light” for moving through the house comfortably for a glass of water or something.

Everything can be overridden with manual input at light switches or app commands, and each behavior will turn off automatic control for a set period so it doesn’t fight me when I set something myself. That is home automation, not being able to turn your living room lights on by yelling at Alexa.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#145

Post by crazymalhavoc »

m463 wrote: post #106
mikepurvis wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a pull-down honeycomb shade with a basement window that's behind my TV: https://www.amazon.ca/Persilux-Blackout-Cellular-Protection-... It's a total blackout, though it definitely benefits from the window being deeply inset; on a typical bedroom window at midday I expect a bunch of light would find its way around that.

I got something similar (amazon yoolax blackout cellular honeycomb shades). They have extra help from L-shaped side panels blocking light along the sides. bedroom is ultra-dark, with just a hint of light.

Those are pretty slick, will check those Yoolax ones out, have manual versions from Ikea that work well for both temperature control and light control.

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/trippevals-blackout-cellular-bl...

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#146

Post by crazymalhavoc »

danielheath wrote: post #53
foobarian wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The blinds shown under this article are pretty ordinary vinyl type blinds that leak a ton of light. I wish I could find blinds thick enough to behave like cardboard over windows, that could also be opened on a daily cadence. At this point I gave up on blinds and put a shirt over my eyes to sleep. I thought about just covering the windows permanently but I don't relish that idea.

You can get very nice sleep masks (padded, shaped to your head, etc) for under $30 online (or much less pleasant ones for a few dollars).

The Wirecutter Reviews folks regularly look at sleep masks and I've used a few that they recommend though I can say from experience ones that have velcro straps on the back as opposed to being fitted to your head can be problematic from a comfort point of view if you normally sleep on your back.

I use the Nidra ones primarily as I can blink without my eyelashes catching the mask

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-sleep-mask/

Another wrap around option with audio are the SleepPhones, while not designed to go over your eyes they work well that way and before switching to the Nidra and A20 ear buds that was my primary headset for about a decade.

https://www.sleepphones.com/

As to audio specifically, the Anker A20 work well even if you are a side sleeper

https://www.soundcore.com/products/sleep-a20-sleeping-earbud...

Notwithstanding the above, blackout blinds are awesome as long as they extend above and below and past the sides of the window frame. Can be quite low cost from places like Costco.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#147

Post by Chris2048 »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #137
Chris2048 wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a whole science of how natural sunlight differs from leds (and its biological effect) and how to recreate it. I believe SAD lights try to replicate sunlight, but generally modern LEDs, even "warm" ones are missing key wavelengths and have a different profile from sun/sky light. There are now LEDs much closer to real sunlight, but they are also more expensive (though arguable not more so than knocking out more…

My local IKEA has light boxes with a film sheet over them to make fake windows. They look surprisingly realistic.

yep, and for some reason they use them to sell blinds, but not the lightbox itself. I'm sure they'd sell like hotcakes.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#148

Post by ars »

martin_a wrote: post #126
ars wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have that, but for my entire house - in the Summer the walls get covered with sun blocking plates, and in the winter the walls are exposed to the rays of the sun. If you want your own, you can buy it, it's called: Parthenocissus tricuspidata or you can get the Parthenocissus quinquefolia. It really does work!

Don't they damage the underlying brick work or other stuff? I think I've heard something like that before.

The kind with piercing tendrils does, but the species I listed have glue pads that cause no harm.

You do need to manage windows and gutters. What you do is pull the vine of off the border of the window and leave it dangling in the air (a little bit of it). This signals to the vine that it reached the end of what it's sitting on, and it will stop growing there. (If you cut it instead, it thinks it has an opportunity.)

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#149

Post by ars »

modo_mario wrote: post #135
ars wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have that, but for my entire house - in the Summer the walls get covered with sun blocking plates, and in the winter the walls are exposed to the rays of the sun. If you want your own, you can buy it, it's called: Parthenocissus tricuspidata or you can get the Parthenocissus quinquefolia. It really does work!

Does it not create humidity issues? I always liked that look but I live in Belgium where it can be way too rainy in spring/autumn and i'd assume there'd be leaves then.

No humidity issues, the leaves have lots of space between them - they arrange themselves to catch every bit of sun as seen in 2D from a distance, but up close some stick out farther, some are closer, and there's plenty of air flow.

Re: $30 Homebrew Automated Blinds Opener (2024)

#150

Post by foo42 »

J_Shelby_J wrote: post #8

I just want to share that these are by far the best home automation you can have. I love my smart lights, hacked together smart humidifier, smart fans (the vornado dc fans with outlet switches), intake air pump, and air quality monitoring. But nothing has the quality of life impact of smart blinds. It’s the best, and probably only, way to reliably keep your sleep schedule in sync. Smart lightbulbs - four of the brigh…

curious if you have any more details on your hacked up smart dehumidifier?
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