ThermoState; The IoT Home Automation System

IR Sensor monitoring the status of the window
Air conditioning status and temperature/humidity sensor
Fan, light, and Air conditioning status (Blue and Red LED)
Wiring, power distribution, and Arduino

Inspiration

After doing some research about waste in the household, we found out that the number one cause of waste is air conditioning and heating. We set out to create a system that helps reduce this waste by automating various parameters in the home.

What it does

The home automation system monitors the status of the home and depending on whether the user is home or away, automates the home's systems to make the house as energy efficient as possible. This prototype focuses on reducing energy waste on air conditioning/heating, which is the number 1 cause of waste in the common household.

How I built it

We used various sensors and system outputs that pass through an Arduino to a python program/UI. The python program then uses the sensor data to set optimal energy saving settings throughout the house.

Challenges I ran into

The biggest two problems we faced while developing this product was getting the Arduino IDE to talk to python and creating a power management system that wouldn't overload the Arduino.