Automate your grow space, for a fraction of the price!

[Doctorgrinspoon]

So, your lazy,broke,and dont know how to code.
welcome to my life.
the Smart home platform called Tuya/smart life app, will let you control, view and change parameters from your phone anywhere in the world for FREE, as long as you, and your home have internet connection.
it works very well, and the sensors and plugs are EXTERMLY cheap.
for about 150$ you will:

led dimming+timing
Air conditiner on/off+temps+speed
humidifier and dehumidifier on/off at speccific humidity
inline fan speed
flood alert
low level water tank alert
PIR motion detector
smoke detector

but thats just the start: the beauty of the app is its "tap to run" option, its a basic "IF->Then", so :
"IF humidity over 65 THEN turn on dehumidifier"
"IF temperture over 24 THEN turn on A.C"
"IF temperture over 28, THEN dim lights 50%"
"IF motion dectected THEN send me a notification"
"IF A.C off, THEN send me notification"
etc
you can setup the specific times when these rules apply, you can also choose to active a rule as long as other rules apply.

what do you need:

a router with 2.4 bandwidth, useally its a matter of turning that feature on in the router managment page.

1.a ZIGBEE/TUYA hub make sure you choose the "Multi-mode Gateway 1" model:
aliexpress.com/item/1005003473319533.html

2. this will learn your A.C remote, so you will be able not just to turn it on and off, but also control temps, speed and change modes:
aliexpress.com/item/1005003146539954.html

3.a dedicated accurate humidity and temp sensor:
aliexpress.com/item/33060070467.html

4. a PIR motion detector, will let you know if anyone goes near your grow roon:
aliexpress.com/item/1005006278388113.html

5. a 2 in 1, flood and low level alert, i use it in my water tank to let me know when im out of water in the water tank:
aliexpress.com/item/1005005354265974.html

6. flood alert, i use one in the tent floor, and one next to my water tank:
aliexpress.com/item/1005006150108845.html

7.Tuya dimmer for Led grow lamps, 0-10v (make sure you ask for the tuya version)
aliexpress.com/item/1005005950559856.html

8. Tuya controler for inline fans
aliexpress.com/item/1005005307140048.html

9.tuya smoke detecctor
aliexpress.com/item/1005006108177872.html

10. tuya motion detector
aliexpress.com/item/1005006278388113.html
11.2 tuya smart plugs, i wont post a link, cause you''ll need to get one that either 220v, or 110v, 2pin or 3pin etc, depending where you are in the world.


looking at the down sides:
is that its all cloud based, if your place isnt connected , you wont be able to view or change anything, also, if you are disconnected, none of the rules youve made will actually happen.
that said, its nevver happend to me and its a huge company.
and last but not least, they will probably collect everything thery can, but thats the reality of most smart house's.
I grow peppers, and i dont mind.
any questions are welcome

 

[Creeperpark]

So, your lazy,broke,and dont know how to code.
welcome to my life.
the Smart home platform called Tuya/smart life app, will let you control, view and change parameters from anywhere in the world, as long as you, and your home have internet connection.
it works very well, and the sensors and plugs are EXTERMLY cheap.
for about 150$ you will control dimming, Air conditiner, humidifier and dehumidifier,inline fan speed, flood alerts, low level water tank alert, included in this price, is also a PIR motion detector for your security.
but thats just the start: the beauty of the app is its "tap to run" option, its a basic "IF->Then", so
"IF humidity over 65 THEN turn on dehumidifier"
"IF temperture over 24 THEN turn on A.C"
"IF temperture over 28, THEN dim lights 20"
"IF motion dectected THEN send me a notification"
"IF A.C off, THEN send me notification"
etc
you can setup the specific times when these rules apply, you can also choose to active a rule as long as other rules apply.

what do you need:
a router with 2.4 bandwidth, useally its a matter of turning that feature on in the router managment page.

1.a ZIGBEE/TUYA hub make sure you choose the "Multi-mode Gateway 1" model:
aliexpress.com/item/1005003473319533.html

2. this will learn your A.C remote, so you will be able not just to turn it on and off, but also control temps, speed and change modes:
aliexpress.com/item/1005003146539954.html

3.a dedicated accurate humidity and temp sensor:
aliexpress.com/item/33060070467.html

4. a PIR motion detector, will let you know if anyone goes near your grow roon:
aliexpress.com/item/1005006278388113.html

5. a 2 in 1, flood and low level alert, i use it in my water tank:
aliexpress.com/item/1005005354265974.html
6. flood alert, i use one in the tent floor, and one next to my water tank:

Thanks, friend for sharing your skills. You wore me out just reading this post. Set one up and post some photos so we can see what you are talking about. Sounds very interesting.

 

[Rocket Soul]

Im also looking into automation and just came over tuya a couple of days ago.

Have you had a go to set this all up?

Also, does tuya allow you some programming other than if/then? Im specifically looking for a way of having my automation calculate VPD.

As for driver dimming; what piece of equipment are u using? Is it that zigbee hub?
How many channels of dimmjng does it allow? We have far red, uv and multiple drivers and trays so would ve great to pull of those together in one place. Also how does it connect to the led driver? PWM or resistive dimming?

 

[Doctorgrinspoon]

Im also looking into automation and just came over tuya a couple of days ago.

Have you had a go to set this all up?

Also, does tuya allow you some programming other than if/then? Im specifically looking for a way of having my automation calculate VPD.

As for driver dimming; what piece of equipment are u using? Is it that zigbee hub?
How many channels of dimmjng does it allow? We have far red, uv and multiple drivers and trays so would ve great to pull of those together in one place. Also how does it connect to the led driver? PWM or resistive dimming?

*the dimmer has 3 channels in the app, but my lights dont, so im not sure about the channels. it connects to the RJ port on your Led controller.
*Tuya has a very simple platform for creating appz, but its out of my leauge. didnt find any VPD app.
*im not too good with makin videos or posting, i''ll try to post a video. depends on the intrest...

 

[doc_loomis]

Hi guys, I wrote a custom python controller to automate my grow tent. It works with the hardware I currently own only, but it's rather easy to add devices to it, especially tuya devices.

The controller tries to keep the leaf VPD in a configured range all the time, and controls the fans and ventilation every 30 seconds. You can see it in action in my (German) grow report.

I released it as open source, so people can jump into the development if interested.
open source grow tent controller (ups, seems links to gitlab are not allowed, sorry. look for loomsen grow tent controller, you'll find me )

Here's a screenshot of the grafana dashboard, that visualizes all the metrics. As you can see, the controller does a good job at controlling the VPD and switching on and off powerplugs. Ignore the nutrition readings, I just got the device and it needs to be calibrated. It's a tuya device as well, and it took only about 2 hours to integrate.

 

[Ca++]

I have the $100 tank thing. Measures temp/ec/pH and you can set alarm points to switch power points for dosing. The pumps were another $100, but it's nice kit.