PLC for home automation

Hello everyone,

I am about to start building our new house and I'm looking how to integrate home automation into it. Basically nothing is set in stone yet, so all suggestions are appreciated. The main reason for this topic however is to decide on which PLC to use. 

Because I want to be in control of the software and program exactly what I want the house to do, I fear off the shelf home automation systems might not be completely satisfactory. This is the reason I am looking into programming everything myself. Since my knowledge lies with Siemens PLCs I am aiming to set up home automation using a simatic s7 PLC.

When making an overview of all sensors and actors I am reaching about 213 inputs. Most of them are switches, but also motion sensors, light sensors, window and door status feedback, water flow monitoring etc. Because of the high amount of I/O I'm pushed towards a bus system. This brought me to KNX. I didn't do thorough research yet on which bus system to use, but KNX seems to be a widely known and used standard. Regarding outputs I'm looking at controlling 19 lighting points of which 6 should be dimmable, 11 curtains and 3 roller shutters.

Additionally I want to integrate the audio system as well. Because I've been using Sonos for a few years in my current apartment I've been looking how to implement that. I think it should be possible using a Raspberry Pi which runs an application to convert incoming TCP messages from the PLC to http Sonos comands.

This could all be running within the same network. In the end though, I want to be able to control everything using an android app as well. I guess I could modify the app running on Raspberry Pi to do this. I need to dive into this as well.

The main question for now is which PLC I should use for all this. I prefer programming STL, so I guess s7-1200's are no option? Obviously pricing is another important factor, which I think excludes the 1500's as well. So would a s7-400 or s7-300 be a good choice for projects like this?

I look forward to your replies. 

Regards,

Hello,

use LOGO.

If you use KNX then S7-300/400/1500 not the right choise.

Regards
Christoph

There are so many resources available for IOT based systems. I do not think a traditional PLC is the best solution.

There is hope if you are not familiar with programming languages beyond those used by PLCs. Many of the systems uses the "Blockly" (https://developers.google.com/blockly/) programming concept.

The community driven designs and help for IOT based systems is remarkable. In my opinion such solutions has the potential of biting into the traditional PLC market.

Do you know that Siemens also has an IOT product range? The IOT2000.

Using an IOT solution seem to me like future-proofing your design.

Hello,

The best solution is to use BMS (Building Management System ) it's available in Siemens and other companies, also it's cheaper than industrial automation components.

BMS it's familiar with Ac, Lighting and other home sensors . 

Hope I touched your maid.

Regards 

Hi,

I'm also not sure if an industrial PLC is the best option in this case regarding costs. but anyway, because you prefer to write in text (witch I perfectly understand )  you're only option is the 1500 serie.

ChristophD

Hello,

use LOGO.

If you use KNX then S7-300/400/1500 not the right choise.

Regards
Christoph

What ChristophD is saying here is true, I don't think there is an easy way to establish a connection with a PLC and KNX, so if you still want to go for a PLC as heart of your automation project you'll need to change to either an industrial protocol or convert to data somehow. If I was you, I'd wire every sensor and actuator to your electrical cabinet and put it just on PLC IO. You can also work with several remote IO's by adding multiple control cabinets across your property (like for example one extra on the first floor and another one for the garden witch also improves your expanding possibilities but of course this is not the cheapest solution.

Second comment I want to make is way you just don't use the build in webserver of the PLC to control everything? You can write your webapplication as basic or as complex you want (depending on the time/fun you want to invest in this). By connecting your PLC with the 2nd ethernet adataptor to your home network you have an modern control interface that you can access on every device with just a browser. So you don't need to update all your devices with every update of your app. And nevertheless using an API you can easily make your connections with a RPi or to any other thing you want.
Taking good cybersecurity measures into account and you can even access remotely by opening a port on your home router. 

Hello to all,

I have built home automation using S7-300, CPU315/2DP, still in phase of development and learning to program.

I have wired all switches, lights, blinds motors, PT100 probes and other sensors directly to cabinet.

For control as HMI am using VIPA touch panel which has an MPI port for communication, but am hopping to find something better to switch with. Currently scada is running on winCC so graphics sucks.

Stay safe,

Simon