Heater Minder Project Details

Problem:

It’s a simple problem… the bathroom is COLD at 6 AM during the Winter.  So, the goal of this project is to take a dumb bathroom space heater and turn it into a SMART space heater.  While I’m at it, the solution needs to be Alexa capable, so I can tell my echo devices to warm the bathroom for me before I get out of bed.

Solution Concept:

Create an DIY IOT space heater add-on that allows me to control the bathroom space heater remotely.

Features:
  • Uses IR remote control emulation to control the space heater.
  • Sets the heater timer on, so that it will turn off in 1 hour as a safety precaution.
  • The Heater minder will increase the temperature set point by 3° Fahrenheit above the default 72°.
  • WiFi wireless based data link to control the Space Heater.
  • Compatible with Amazon Alexa commands.
Circuit Boards and Wiring
Boards Inside 3D Printed Case

Prototyping a solution:

Components:

Micro-controllerS

Two Micro-controllers are used:
First, to handle the WiFi interface and control from Alexa, I chose the Particle Argon micro-controller.  I often choose Particle micro-controllers because of the underlying OS and Over the Air (OTA) programming capability.  I enjoy the fact that Particle offers a device console where I can check status on all my devices associated with my account.
 
Second, to handle the Infra Red remote control emulation, I used a SparkFun Pro-Micro 5v/16MHZ.  With this micro-controller, I wanted bare bones and highly compatible with many IRRemote libraries.

Circuit Boards

  1. Power Supply Board – For the power supply, I repurposed a breadboard power supply that provides two separate output rails.  Each of these outputs can be configured for either 3.3V or 5V.
  2. IR Controller Board – I used an Adafruit Half Size Perma-Proto board to build the IR controller board. This board contains the SparkFun ProMicro as well and appropriate level shifters to interface the 5V logic of the Pro Micro with the 3.3V logic of the Particle Argon.
  3. WiFi Interface Board – Again I used an Adafruit Half Size Perma-Proto board to build the interface board for the Particle Argon. This board also has a few discrete components used hold the ProMicro controller RST pin low while the Argon is booting to avoid false triggering at device power Up.

IR Interface

Fortunately, this space heater is equipped with a IR Remote control. Thus, my design approach was to create a WiFi based control circuit that emulates the IR Remote control.

Amazon Alexa Capable

This was a nice addition to expand the functionality of the Heater Minder.  I leveraged a couple apps to make this work. 
First, I used VoiceMonkey to setup a API and Event that when triggered can call an IFTTT event.  Then, IFTTT, triggers a API call to my Particle account to execute the desired function.  As you can see there were a few steps required to set this up. But overall very easy thanks to these external applications.
 

3D Printed Components

Enclosure – I printed an enclosure on my Prusa i3 Mk3S+ printer from Prusament PLA.  My first prototype version was printed from blue filament because I didn’t have any black on hand at the time.  
IR Emitter mount – attaches to the case by a magnetic foot and holds the IR emitter LED in the perfect spot.

Final Implementation:

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Final Set Up
Final Install of Heater Minder

Alerts

I built logic in Node Red that sends an ALERT to my phone and my wife’s phone when the pumps lose power or when the Backup battery voltage decreases below 12.0V.

The Push Alert Service that I use is Pushover.net

Project Summary

Summary

This project was a success.  I can use Alexa to control the Heater Minder by saying “Alexa, warm up the bathroom.”

Lessons Learned

  • Finding a good match between IR Remote Library and Micro-controller was a bit tricky, but ended up that simple is best.  The SparkFun ProMicro 5v/16 MHz worked like a champ.
  • The Mini-Magnetic feet, sold by Adafruit, are a great way to mount a project such as this one.  I will definitely use these magnetic feet again.
  • I leveraged VoiceMonkey and IFTTT for the Alexa interface.  These services allow for all sorts of customization of Alexa routines and speech.
  • augue.