2. Home automation

Home automation is about many projects that may greatly simplify your life at home. Many home appliances do not have inbuilt intelligence. A washing machine may not have programing logic to switch on at night when low electricity tariff starts.

If you are planning longer holidays it might not be a bad idea to have someone switch the lights on and off on random to make potential burglars think that you are at home.

If you think of buying a standard house alarm, you should take two major things in consideration. A sophisticated alarm with an inbuilt PC-like computer is costly, but a simple device might just lack some tricks to scare away a burglar.

However, there is a third option. You may decide to assemble your own home automation system that is based on a mini PC which communicates via USB to various microcontrollers that in turn control all the parameters. Perhaps, the easiest things to measure and control are light intensity and temperature. By closing revolving shutters at night you will save energy.

It is worth to mention that a simple preprogrammed microcontroller and an improvised heater may save your food stocks in a refrigerator in the cellar when the temperature drops below 10 °C. This is because most refrigerator temperature operating range is from 16 °C to 32 °C. If the temperature is higher than 32 °C the refrigerator compressor motor may get overheated due to constant operation. On the other hand, if the temperature drops below 16 °C a mechanical thermostat in the refrigerator might get out of operating range and the food might freeze. A microcontroller with two temperature sensors and a relay can save the day! And what is most important! It does not cost much!