About Thorian Home Automation was an idea I had. Born out of frustration at the cost of home automation hardware (at that time), I decided to have a go at developing my own. It was battery operated sensors that I wanted to design. I had discovered ESP8266 devices that were very capable of managing everything else, just battery operated sensors were my requirement.
Thorian Home Automation is hardware modules designed specifically to be controlled using "Open Source Automation", a project founded by Vaughn Rupp. This software is extremely flexible allowing control from a website and mobile device. It allows infinite combinations of control via simple scripting. There really is no limit. The Thorian USB interface can control a maximum of 254 of its own home automation devices. I had plans for future software releases will allow control of some other manufacturers products. 1st version USB interface for PC (without housing)
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| Planned devices were | |
| Temperature sensors
to monitor rooms / outside temperature / fridge etc.
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1st prototype |
| RGB LED strip light controllers,
allowing automated operation as well as local via the existing IR remote control. |
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Multi appliance controller Ability to individually control up to 5 appliances locally and remotely. |
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| 5 way I/O interface,
allowing you to switch low powered lighting, etc from one unit. 5 inputs also available for local control, or connection to sensors / PIR / light sensors etc.
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Repeater to extend wireless range |
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Future 'out of the box' ideas |
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| Interface to super cheap PIRs movement sensors to automate lighting and use for security. |  |
| Control and receive X10 devices (over RF only) via the same USB interface. Nothing extra required! |
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| Infra red controller device to power off TV’s, sound systems or maybe sky box that have been accidentally left on. |  |
Lidl remote control sockets.
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Danfoss RX1 central heating control. (A solution was found to this in the future!) |
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| Audio sensor to detect presence / intruder | |
| Vibration sensor to detect movement of doors, windows etc. | |
light sensor that will detect a whole range of brightness. Could be used to switch on lights during the day when weather conditions are really bad.
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| Soil moisture sensor | |
| Rain Sensor | |
So there it is, a rough outline of my objectives with Thorian Home Automation. Writing this is weird as this original document was wrote before hardly anything was built (circa 2015). I spent around 6-12 months getting the over air data working which tells me this must have been late 2014 onwards. Datestamps on photos will eventually reveal all. Today (2025) devices have been built and work - still work to this day, but things have moved on. Open Source Automation faded away, and although I continued to use it long after Vaughn Rupp stopped contributing to it, I eventually shifted to Home Assistant and have never looked back. I added hardware to the Thorian bridge to work with Home assistant and it still does today.
Now hardware prices have come down if you know where to look for home automation hardware. I did enjoy the challenge of building a wireless protocol in Thorian. As of writing, this is the only document that is online. More will be coming ! Ian. |
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