Domotics – Brock at Cliff Cottage

2026-01-032026-01-01

Cyprical Actions

Sometimes titles do not accurately reflect a topic being discussed. Initially, I thought this post would just be about air-fryers. However, this post evolved, and has more to do with some aspects of the infrastructure of our house = Fjellheim (unique official name in Inderøy municipality, from a time before numbers and street names were used) = mountain home (translation) = Vangshylla 82 (current official street name and number, followed on the next line with our postal code 7670, then Inderøy. Outside of Norway, we add Norway on yet another line) = Cliff Cottage (our unofficial English language name for the house).

We are not the only creatures living at Cliff Cottage. We have squirrels (currently 3), titmice, magpies and several other species of birds. Below is a photo of an underground entrance belonging to another resident, most likely a badger, although we have not seen it for several years. New entrances are found periodically.

Many people, especially those who know me, will be surprised that I possess culinary skills. These are activated about once a week, often on a Wednesday, when I take responsibility for making dinner. On 2025-12-03, at 13:00, I took responsibility for making fish & chips, one of my standard meals. I was going to use an air-fryer for the first time.

What seems normal, even logical, in a kitchen does not always feel that way for me. I made notes for the future. Including, that next time I should have the two buckets stop cooking at the same time. Thus, I thought I should probably include more detailed instructions putting all of the steps in sequence. Thus, I told myself to insert the buckets before heating. I followed this up by writing, that I should outsert those buckets after the meal is cooked, but before the next step, serving the dinner. I thought outsert was a better word than remove.

For me, the use of re is problematic. In letters, it seems to preface the letter body, and seems to mean: in the matter of or concerning. I am told it originates from Latin. It seems redundant. Another usage of the term, appears to be again, as in reheat. It has been in the English language since 1727. Thus, if one is going to place something into position, I am content to use the term insert. If the opposite is being considered, then outsert seems the logical choice.

Redundant is not another use of re. It comes from the Latin redundāns, present participle of redundō (to overflow, redound), from red- (again, back) + undō (to surge, flood), from unda (a wave).

I appreciate words being balanced. For example, using the same verb but with different prefixes or suffixes. In the above example, other choices could have been to plug in/ in plug/ inplug the buckets before heating, and to plug out/ out plug/ outplug them after the meal is cooked.

After eating this meal, I decided that I should follow this internal pondering with a weblog post. The next challenge came almost immediately. Half of me wanted to write the post title as: Reciprocal Actions. Except, when I said that first word aloud, it turned out to be reciprical. Another percentage of me felt that there should be no re. Thus, I decided to write it ciprical, rather than ciprocal. Cyprocal refers to a syrup that contains cyproheptadine, which is an antihistamine used to block the action of histamine in the body. It is commonly used to control allergies and stimulate appetite.

Yes, I have spelling challenges, which is why I appreciate text processors making wavy red lines under words they regard as misspelled. Their built-in spelling checkers, even provide sugestions for spelling wurds corectly, if one follows them. However, I am also a person who believes that sugestion is the operative wurd in the above sentence. If I don’t feel like spelling wurds corectly, I won’t follow the sugestion. This may explain why I encounter more wavy red lines than most people.

There are great linguists among us, who can provide some enlightenment. Bugs Bunny is one of them. The Tasmanian Devil is fast on the trail of Marvin the Martian. Bugs pulls Marvin aside by the scruff of his neck. The dialogue is as follows: What’s up, Doc? You’s gotta unlax. … It’s only a cartoon. A furry bunny hand reaches outside of the TV and punches pause stopping the Tasmanian Devil in his tracks, allowing Bugs and Marvin to converse.

I try to follow the advice of Bugs. Should lax = engage in some activity, and unlax = rest. No, Bugs has it wrong. In Latin, laxus = lax means loose, wide, spacious or relaxed. It can also refer to something that is not tight or firm. So to engage in something should actually be to unlax, while to rest should be to lax. So even the experts can get things wrong. Rather than saying that I am going to demolish, unbuild or unmake something. I use the word pair construct and destruct. The first from Latin cōnstrūctus, from cōnstruō (“to heap together”), from com- (“together”) + struō (“I heap up, pile”). Destruction is from the Old French destrucion, from the Latin dēstructiō, dēstructiōnem.

Air-fryers

Yes, I took the above photo of symbols are on our Philips air-fryer, with my hands and pink phone case clearly visible. The symbols are as follows: On the left, there is an on-off switch, with increase and decrease controls for temperature. On the right, there is a temporary start-stop switch, with increase and decrease controls for time. At the top are ingredient symbols, allowing for an automatic temperature and time setting. The ingredients from left to right are: frozen fries, fresh fries, chops and steaks, chicken, fish, vegetables, cakes, reheat. In the middle row one sees the values for basket 1 (left): shake, temperature, time; On/ off status to have both baskets finish at the same time; values for basket 2 (right): temperature, time and shake; To the left, in the centre, and to the right, bucket symbols refers to the basket(s) being controlled: 1, 1 & 2 or 2. To the left of the 1 & 2 bucket control, there is a button to control having both buckets finish at the same time. To the right of the 1 & 2 bucket control, there is a button to pause the cooking process mid-way to allow the bucket contents to be turned or shaken.

Some Cyprical Actions involve Circuits

Introductory comment: Bureaucracy in Norway can be frustrating, but it differs from that in other countries. For example, while a building permit is needed to construct a house, there are no permits needed to make most modifications. For example, some years ago now, I decided to extend a walkway on the upper floor of our house, so that if people needed to escape the kitchen, say from a fire, they could climb through the windows ending up on the walkway about 70 cm (28″) below. Before the walkway was built the distance was about 3m (10 feet). I did not apply for any permit to do this work, but at some point someone from the municipality noticed the change, and updated the official house plans to incorporate this change.

Plumbers and electricians are allowed to undertake changes without any municipal paperwork. Every 20 years, we have our electrical circuits inspected. If there are code violations, then we have to use a licensed electrician to correct those. During the last inspection, it was noted that some rooms contained a mixture of grounded and ungrounded sockets. This was in clear violation of newer regulations. All of the sockets in a room have to be one or the other, but not both. I quickly changed most of the sockets myself, then contacted our electricity provider to change the one remaining ungrounded socket in each room to grounded, five in total. All of these contacts have worked without any problems for the past fifteen years.

All of the boxes associated with electrical circuits in our house are marked with a device type – circuit number – device number. Device type codes are A = appliance; J = junction box; P = power outlet; S = switch. The circuit number is from 01 to 14. For each device type, on each circuit, the boxes are numbered starting at 1, for the one closest to the circuit breaker box. There are no regulations enforcing this coding. This is just an activity I like to do.

All of the power outlets inside and outside the house are now grounded. Unofficially, these are a type F socket, patented in Germany in 1929, gaining international use in 1951. Officially, they are referred to internationally as a CEE 7/3 socket, associated with a matching Schuko = Schutzkontakt, Protective contact CEE 7/4 plug. CEE is an abbreviation of Commission for Conformity Testing of Electrical Equipment. It is undertaken by the Commission de l’Électrotechnique Internationale = the International Electrotechnical Commission. These sockets can accept devices with up to 16 A of power. Ungrounded sockets are restricted to 2.5 A. These are referred to as type C (on the diagram below) but often have a more squished (a rounded rectangle rather than circular) appearance.

Most Norwegian houses have their electrical power cables dimensioned to use up to 63 A at a nominal 240 V. The actual voltage in Norway, like the rest of Europe, is 230 V with a frequency of 50 Hz. That involves three x 16mm² cables into the house, coloured brown, black and grey to the circuit breaker box. After that, single phase wiring is brown (line) and blue (neutral). Grounding is yellow and green.

North Americans will see some similarity with their circuit breaker boxes, but European boxes are offset 90°. American colours are black, red, and blue are used for phases in 120/208V systems; brown, orange and yellow for 277/480V systems. They also use white or grey for neutral lines,

While we have 3-phase circuitry into the house, our circuits are not grounded with external wiring. This is referred to as an IT network layout, and is very common in Norway, but uncommon in the rest of Europe. I have asked our electrical provider when a fully grounded system will be installed, and was told, not before 2050. That means that we have to provide our own grounding, which I have done! It involves providing grounding circuitry from the circuit breaker box, with a cable that leads to a 2.5 meter long stake, located in wet soil. From inside the circuit breaker box everything is grounded.

Political digression: One has to remember that before oil was discovered in the North Sea, Norway was one of the poorest countries in Europe. Everything had to be done as cheaply as possible, and that meant installing three electrical cables instead of four. This cheapness also meant that our roads were narrower than in most other countries. This means that Norwegians have to drive more defensively than many others. The benefit is that Norway ranks 6th best in the world in terms of motor-vehicle related deaths at 2.14/ 100 000 people/ year. Countries that are better are: 1 Monaco (0), 2 Hong Kong (1.3), 3 Maldives (1.6), 4 Japan (2.1) tied with Singapore (2.1). Other values are: 32 Canada (5.3), 111 USA (14.2). The global average is 15.

In the circuit breaker box, the first device encountered is a 63 A power = amperage overload limiter, followed by a voltage overload limiter. The second one is most often used to prevent damage from lightning. Beyond these devices, we have 14 circuits, providing us with up to 15 kW of power. Three of these are 3-phase circuits, while the remainder are single-phase. The largest of these 3-phase circuits provides up to 32 A of charging for our electric vehicle. The other two provide 20 A of power for general heating in the attic ( for a currently uninstalled heat exchanger), and for use in the playshop = workshop (previous use) = garage (original use). The remainder of the circuits are 1-phase (pronounced single phase) with anywhere from 15 to 20 A, each. At one time we had a mix of 10 A and 16 A 1-phase circuits, but all of the 10 A ones were replaced.

In Norway, we are encouraged to disconnect the electrical power supply to devices with heating elements. No, not the induction stove top or oven, that are both fused with circuit breakers. These are on two separate circuits: A-01-01 provides single phase, 20 A of power to the stove top, while A-06-01 provides single phase 06 – 15 A, slow fuse = circuit breaker reaction, respectively.

The rest of the kitchen uses circuit 12 – single phase, 16 A, fast reaction. This includes the lighting. The main light is controlled by S-12-01, in addition to two counter top lighting units that are controlled with other switches S-12-02 and S-12-03. Then there are six sets of power outlets. Four of them have two plugs: S-12-01, S-12-02, S-12-03 and S-12-06. The remaining two have four plugs: S-12-04 and S-12-05. Other places in the house have outlets with six plugs.

Air (Vacuum) and Water

These are not the only items marked in this way. The central vacuum has two plugs, marked V-01 (downstairs, closest to the vacuum unit) and V-02 (upstairs, or the main floor).

Then there is the water supply. I believe Norway is unique in the world, mandating pipe in pipe connections. An inner pipe provides the water, while an outer pipe ensures that if there is a leak, that the water will flow to a place where it will not cause damage. Our cold water pipes are marked C followed by a circuit number, while the hot water pipes are marked H, again followed by a circuit number.

I have considered marking the waste water with a W, followed by a number, but this has not been implemented – yet.

Ethernet

We also have Ethernet wiring throughout the house. We have a 48 port switch with a Power-over-Ethernet (POE) system to pass electric power along with data on twisted-pair Ethernet cabling to ports. All of the Ethernet ports have PoE apart from the port to the play shop, which is connected with fibre-optic cable, because of the potential for lightning damage. Currently, 19 Ethernet ports are in use, of which six are access points (AP) for wireless communications. Four of these are in the house, two on each floor. There is also another AP in the play shop, and a final AP in the carport, which serves most of the outside area. Most of the other ports service a pair of connectors. However, the port that leads to the play shop is attached to a switch with 24 ports. The switch on my desk has five ports.

Our doorbell is aIso connected to the Ethernet, so we can see what is happening at the door, by connecting our devices (phones, computers) using the APs.

A Realink doorbell (black) and chime (white) using the POE Ethernet system for power and communication. The chime is activated through an AP.

In addition, there are three additional places in the house that need to have Ethernet cables installed. Once that work is finished each port will be numbered, starting with E.

From Workshop to Playshop

Slowly, my facade is cracking. At 77, I am no longer in my prime. Thus, I decided that it was time to stop working in my retirement construction job, and to take on lighter tasks. The workshop, that supported this construction work, has had most of its specialist woodworking tools removed. They have been given to a young (63) neighbour. Hopefully, he will let me use them in an emergency. Otherwise they are his to do what he wants with them. I had also purchased a CNC = computer numerical control machine. It was never used, so Alasdair had taken it over.

I now have a playshop, that will support my hobbies. These involve: airbrush painting, electronics and synthesizers. However, the playshop is a topic for a future weblog post.

2020-02-062020-01-18

Domotics: Laundry

Open air museum Roscheider Hof, Germany, The history of laundry (Photo: Helge Klaus Rieder)

Full disclosure. At one time, I had responsibility for laundry, washing the family clothes/ bed linen/ textiles more generally. Unfortunately, my supervisor was not totally satisfied with the results, and I was fired from that position. Since then, and a couple of washing machine purchases later, that same supervisor is still in charge of laundry. Thus, this weblog post is being written as a spectator to the washing process, and not as an active participant in it.

What does environmentally friendly clothes washing look like? At one time, say, until minutes before starting to write this post, I thought it was all about energy savings. Lower temperatures used less hot water. Now, I find that there are other considerations. A University of Leeds in-house article points to research on this topic.

Lucy Cotton, Adam S. Hayward, Neil J. Lant & Richard S. Blackburn, have written an article, “Improved garment longevity and reduced microfibre release are important sustainability benefits of laundering in colder and quicker washing machine cycles”, that appeared 2020-01-14 in Dyes and Pigments. The article’s abstract can be found in the last paragraph of this weblog post.

Clothes and bed linen have to retain their integrity: neither falling apart, nor sending microfibres into waste water, nor sapping textiles of their colour, nor shrinking. For decades now the washing temperature chez McLellan has been set to 50C, unless there is some specific reason for decreasing/ increasing it. The most common reason for decreasing the temperature, is that the laundry load consists of garments made from wool. These items are washed at 30C. We use Milo, a laundry liquid, for wool (and silk) textiles. We use Neutral Colour, a laundry powder, for everything else. One reason for increasing temperature could be an attempt at stain removal.

A Guardian article about the research, explained that 25C was selected as the working temperature, because that is a common inlet temperature for water in washing machine in England – the natural, unchilled and unheated temperature at which the water enters the drum. I am looking forward to gaining some empirical data on Norwegian inlet temperatures. Currently, my estimate is that they are closer to 10C. A post will be written after data has been collected and analysed, with updated information.

Cotton’s research did not test cleanliness at different temperatures. Instead, it examined the release of dye (desorption) and microfibres from a range of consumer clothing. So, the pesky question remains: Can cleanliness happen in a cold, quick wash?

Cleanliness has a social and cultural dimension beyond the requirements of hygiene for practical purposes. Numerous internet sources are quick to state that higher washing temperatures improve cleanliness, but there is seldom any empirical data associated with it. There seems to be a common expectation that cleaning will not only remove dirt, but also kill microbes. Some people may expect textiles generally, and clothes especially, to have a pleasant odour, others may want textiles to be odour neutral. Some may even expect a miracle and have white (or more correctly, some version of off-white) whitened/ lightened/ bleached.

Yet, excessive cleanliness may not be a virtue. The hygiene hypothesis, developed by David P. Strachan holds that environmental microbes help develop the immune system; the fewer microbes people are exposed to in early childhood, the more likely they are to experience health problems in childhood and as adults. So, it might be a good idea to reduce washing temperature, to avoid killing so many microbes.

However, it may be suitable to wash clothes and bed linen at higher temperatures when people have been sick with contagious diseases, but to use lower temperatures more generally. The instructions on Neutral Colour specifically state that 60C should be used for washing bed linen, if the user is allergic to dust. The instructions on Milo state that both 40C and 30C can be used.

In an attempt to get empirical data on the relationship between cleaning effectiveness and washing temperature, one article explained the futility of the effort. “No more washing: Nano-enhanced textiles clean themselves with light.” Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a cheap and efficient new way to grow special nanostructures—which can degrade organic matter when exposed to light— and to incorporate them onto textiles. They are working at producing nano-material enhanced textiles that can spontaneously clean themselves of stains and other dirt when exposed to light, artifical (as in lamp) or natural (as in the sun).

Then, Wikipedia writes: “Animal studies indicate that carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers can cause pulmonary effects including inflammation, granulomas, and pulmonary fibrosis, which were of similar or greater potency when compared with other known fibrogenic materials such as silica, asbestos, and ultrafine carbon black. Some studies in cells or animals have shown genotoxic or carcinogenic effects, or systemic cardiovascular effects from pulmonary exposure.” It is definitely a hint that relying on nanoparticles, may not be the way to go.

Domotics

Domotics, or household automation, is defined in an earlier weblog post. The main concern there was with room controllers. However, domotics intersects many different areas. Its early history, began with labour-saving machines/ devices, frequently electrically powered. Thus, initial advances were dependent on electric power reaching the houses of consumers.

In this post, laundry represents a very specific yet important application of domotics. Most people have a concern about the cleanliness of their textiles, but there needs to be a middle ground. People can be too slovenly or too finicky. Neither extreme is particularly good.

It can be difficult to date the first washing machine. Progress and significant developments occurred in 1691/ 1767/ 1862/ 1904/ 1937, depending how one defines a washing machine, and one’s expectations from it. However, it is not until the late 1940s, that one finds machines vaguely similar to today’s.

In Europe, washing machines have to meet an assortment of standards including 1. washing performance (A to G) 2. spin drying performance (A to G), 3. energy consumption (A+++ to G), and 4. waste water filtration. In addition to these, products must also be labeled to show capacity (in kilograms), water consumption (in litres), noise while washing and noise while spining (both dB (A)).

Only washing machines with category A performance in terms of washing and spinning, are allowed to be sold in Europe. This is because of an unexpected consequences of the earlier focus on energy consumption: Reduced rinsing after washing saved water and energy, but left more detergent residue in clothes, which created health problems, especially for people with allergies or sensitivities.

The waste water filters ensure that hazardous chemicals are not improperly disposed of, or allow feces and other waste to enter the washing machine with back-flow through the waste water line.

Most washing machines in Europe are connected only to cold water, which after filling uses internal electrical heating elements to heat the wash water, to 95C, if desired. This may be useful in certain situations, either to kill pathogens, or to improve detergent cleaning action. These machines can use detergents formulated to release different chemical ingredients at different temperatures, allowing different type of stains and soils to be cl eaned as the water is heated.High-temperature washing uses more energy, and may damage fabrics, especially elastics.

Temperatures above 40C inactivating biological detergent enzymes. Thus, if these are used, temperatures should be kept below 40C. Front-loaders used to need low-sudsing detergents, because the drum’s tumbling action caused over-sudsing and overflows. This is no longer an issue, if one reduces the quantity of detergent. This will not lessen its cleaning action.

Characteristics of some modern washing machines offer:

Delayed execution settings, with a timer to delay the start of the laundry cycle.
Time remaining indicator.
Predefined programs for different laundry types.
Rotation speed settings.
Temperature settings, including cold wash.
Child lock (some machines).
Microcontrollers have been used for timing processes since the 1990s. These are more reliable and cost-effective than electromechanical timers.
Touch panel displays have been in use since 2010.
LG Electronics invented a direct drive motor system in 1998, with the stator attached to the rear of the outer drum, with the rotor mounted on the shaft of the inner drum. It eliminates a pulley, belt and belt tensioner.
Electronically controlled motor speed.
Hydraulic suspension, with freely moving steel balls contained inside a ring mounted at the front and back of the to balance the weight of the clothes.

Other innovations include:

Water jets/ sprays/ showers and steam nozzles. These claim to reduce soil and reduce washing times. Water jets use recirculated water from the bottom of the drum.
Titanium/ ceramic heating elements claim to eliminate calcium build up and can heat water to 95C.
Automatic dispensers allow users to fill or replace tanks with detergent and softener but transfers dosage control to the washing machine.
Detergent dilution is used to prevent detergent from damaging fabrics.
Pulsators are mounted on a plate on the bottom of the drum. When the plate spins, the pulsators generate waves that help shake soil out of the fabric.
Mechanisms can be installed to remove undissolved detergent residue on the detergent dispenser.
Smartphones can be used to troubleshoot problems. LG Electronics LG’s approach involves sending signals that can be received by a phone. These signals are interpreted by an app. Samsung Electronics’ approach involves the user photographing the washer’s time display with a phone. The problem and steps to resolve it are displayed on the phone itself.
Some washing machines are Near-Field Communication (NFC) enabled. These allow automatic and fast connections, wireless data transfer and identification. Its downsides include limited throughput, limited range and potential security vulnerabilities.

Comparison of domestic washing machines. Front-loaders are usually considered better than top-loaders.:

Front-loaders usually have lower operating costs than top-loaders.
Front-loaders usually have a lower total cost of ownership compared to top-loaders.
Front-loaders tend to have more advanced features such as internal water heating, automatic dirt sensors and high-speed emptying compared to top-loaders.
Front-loaders usually use less energy than top-loaders.
Front-loaders usually use one-third to one-half the water used by top-loaders.
Front-loaders usually use less detergent than top-loaders.
Front-loaders can spin at 1 400 RPM while top-loaders have a maximum speed of about 1140 RPM. Spin speeds and drum diameter determine the g-force working to removes residual water, allowing textiles to dry faster. This also reduces energy consumption if clothes are dried in a clothes dryer.
Front-loaders have longer cycle times than top-loaders, in part because top-loaders emphasize operational simplicity.
Front-loaders use paddles in the drum to repeatedly pick up and drop clothes into water for cleaning. Top-loaders use an agitator or impeller mechanism to force enough water through clothes to clean them effectively. Washing with a front-loader decreases fabric wear compared to a top-loader. One proxy for clothes wear is the amount of link found on a clothes dryer lint filter. Lint is largely stray fibers detached from textiles during washing and drying.
Top-loaders have greater difficulty cleaning large items, because these items may float on top of the wash water rather than circulate within it, and the agitator may damage delicate fabrics.
Front-loaders are usually quieter than top-loaders, because the door seal insulates noise. They usually have fewer problems with load imbalance. Top-loader agitators usually require the use of a mechanical transmission, which generates more noise than front- loader drives.
Front-loaders can be installed underneath counters. They can also be stacked with a clothes dryer to reduce their area usage.
Front-loaders have simple motor drives in contrast to top-loaders that use mechanical gearboxes with increased wear and maintenance needs.

There are some areas where top-loaders are better than front-loaders.

Front-loaders usually have a higher initial cost than top-loaders.
Front-loaders are more prone to leakage. On top-loaders, gravity keeps water inside the drum. Previously, front-loaders require a gasket/ seal on the front door. This door had to be locked while operating to prevent it from opening. Many modern front-loaders use so little water that they can be stopped mid-cycle for addition or removal of laundry. The water level is below the door level.
Top-loading washers are more tolerant of maintenance neglect.

Other comments

All washing machines should have access to a a floor drain or an overflow catch tray with a drain connection.
Front-loaders are more convenient for short people and those with mobility issues. Controls are front-mounted and the horizontal drum eliminates the need for standing or climbing.
Risers, often with storage drawers underneath, can be used to raise the height of a front-loader so that it is at the user’s preferred heigh level.

Combined washer dryers, provide washing cycles and drying cycles in the same drum.

The need to transfer wet clothes from a washer to a dryer is eliminated.
It encourages overnight cleaning, which may help optimize power usage during low priority periods, but may increase the risk of fire.
Drying uses more energy than using two separate devices, because a combo washer dryer not only must dry the clothing, but also needs to dry out the wash chamber itself.
A combo machine can be fitted into the same space as a single machine, allowing it to be used where the lack of space is an issue.
The washer may have a larger capacity than the dryer, decreasing their functionality.

A laundry centre is an appliance with two drum units. It is found in two varieties, one where the dryer and washer are beside each other, and the more common situation, where the dryer sits on top of the washer. Laundry centers have a single control panel for both units.

The Future

In the course of the coming years, I hope to look at many different household appliances, from a Domotics perspective. This includes revisiting washing machines, when I have learned more about how they will be operated. My most obvious limitation is my status as spectator, rather than participant, in the laundry cleaning process. To remedy this, I am going to ask reader with insights into washing clothes, to answer some open-ended, even vague, questions. These are preferred because they might actually lead to some insights.

Tell me something/ anything/ everything about washing textiles that you want me to be concerned about!
Tell me about yourself. What is your status? Participant/ Spectator/ Other (please specify). Are you female/ male/ non-binary/ a human bean? What is your approximate age? Have you ever had training to wash textiles? For example, did you learn anything at school about it?
How are your laundry facilities organized? A separate laundry room/ part of a bathroom/ part of another room/ other (please specify). What type of equipment do you use for washing? Comments. What type of equipment do you use for drying? Comments.
Do you use services outside of your residence to clean textiles? What services do you use? How often? Why? What are the challenges?
Do you use the services of non-family members, who come into your residence to clean textiles? What services do they provide? Why do you use them? What are the challenges of using them?
What are your textile washing objectives? Do any of them involve general dirt removal, stain removal, killing microbes, eliminating odours, adding odours, neutralizing odours, preventing shrinkage, preventing colour bleeding, increasing garment longevity, reducing microfibre release in wastewater, reducing operating costs, reducing energy consumption?
What are your textile washing behaviours? For example: What temperature settings do you use? What cleaning chemicals do you use? What additional chemicals do you use? Do you have any special procedures used in particular situations?
What would you like to automate in terms of laundry processes? Some choices include: start time, finish time, determining washing cycle, determining detergent quantities, automatic dosing of chemicals, other (please specify).
Washing machine characteristics. Do you use a front-loader or top-loader, please specify brand, model and approximate age (I will try to find out other details from that). What do you like about this machine? What do you dislike about it? When do you expect to replace this machine? What do you think will be the reason for its replacement?
Future washing machine characteristcs. What characteristics are missing in your current machine would you prioritize in your next machine? What characteristics are present in your present machine that you would avoid in your next machine?
Did you want to tell me something else?

Abstract from Cotton et al.

The global impact of laundering clothing is significant, with high levels of water, energy use, and pollution associated with this consumer care process. In this research, the impacts of washing temperature and washing time on garment colour loss (dye fading), colour transfer (dye staining), and microfibre release were evaluated using retail consumer clothing. Significantly greater colour loss and greater colour transfer were observed for a 40 °C, 85 min wash cycle compared to cold-quick (25 °C; 30 min) cycle. Desorbing dyes were found to mainly be reactive dyes. From fundamental kinetic studies, it was observed that significant increases in both rate of dye desorption and total dye desorption occurred when increasing from 20 °C to 40 °C, but the difference in dye release between 40 °C and 60 °C was not as significant; the same kinetic trends were observed for dye transfer. Microfibre release was significantly greater for the 40 °C, 85 min cycle in comparison with the cold-quick cycle, and this effect continued with further washes. These results mean that reducing time and temperature in laundry could have a significant impact in terms of extended garment longevity and reduced dye and microfibre liberation into the environment, in addition to energy savings.

2019-02-162020-01-18

Domotics: Room Controllers

Controllers for buildings have existed since 1883, when Warren Johnson, a Milwaukee school teacher invented the thermostat. Back then, it was not just a round device on a wall. Rather, when room temperature fell, a light in the boiler room was turned on, indicating that janitors should shovel more coal into the furnace.

You’ve come a long way, Virgil!

In the 135 years since this invention, building controls have improved, and are extensively used in offices, commercial buildings and factories. Most owners of these buildings have deep pockets, and are able to afford integrated solutions vendors provide.

The pockets of the average Joanne, or median resident as statisticians want to refer to her, are not quite so deep, and this weblog post focuses on room controllers that can be used by an extremely average person.

Domotics, or if you prefer terms that people actually understand, house/ home automation, refers to systems used to control: lighting, temperature and humidity (indoor climate), audio and video (entertainment), unauthorized access, smoke/ fire detection (security) and related services, in a residence.

There are three main reasons why I am interested in this field. First, it is a field that combines my studies in computer science and operations research. Second, I like to play with technological toys. Third, I interact with people who have allergy and other indoor environment issues, and have a need for indoor climate control with very fine tolerances.

A potential fourth reason, is that I know people who are aging, and may in the future need assistive devices, for dispensing medication or spoon feeding. As mentioned in a previous post, I certainly don’t want to be spoon fed by another human being; give me a robot any day. I would rather have human contact with another person as an equal, not as a patient requiring help.

At Cliff Cottage, there are plans to install one room controller in most of the rooms of the house.

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

Factoid 1. All devices need power. Some get it from batteries, others get it from wall sockets. PoE devices get it from Ethernet data communication cables.

Factoid 2. Most devices need to communicate. Some communicate wirelessly using Bluetooth or WiFi. However, the number of such devices is limited, and the speed can be slow. Thus, it can be appropriate to connect devices using cables, and Ethernet cables are the most common ones used today.

Factoid 3. A switch is a device that allows multiple other devices in a local area network to be inter-connected. Yes, these connect using Ethernet cables. A typical switch may have up to 48 different cables connected to 48 separate devices.

Factoid 4. PoE eliminates the need to have two different cables. Each device can is provided with power from the switch itself. Voltage levels can be up to 48 volts, and the same cable can be used to send data in both directions.

At Cliff Cottage, we have now invested in two PoE switches. A person was trying to sell five switches for NOK 1 000 (USD 120), or one for NOK 300 (USD 36). They were very inexpensive because businesses won’t buy used equipment, and most other people don’t know what they can be used for. Each of the PoE switches will allow us to connect up to 24 devices, and provide power to them. A cable is connected between a switch and a device through the walls of the house. So these cables are being installed, as the house is being remodelled. We have 305 meters of CAT 6A cable to make these connections. CAT 6A was selected because it is the fastest cable type currently available for Ethernet, allowing for PoE. That means it won’t have to be replaced anytime soon. Hopefully, the cables will last 30 years.

Other cables are not so important, as they are not placed in walls and can be changed easily. The same is true of devices, such as a NAS (network attached server) or a room controller.

Room Controllers

Room controllers, and similar devices, are one of the main categories of devices that need PoE connections. Take, for example, a front-door access controller. It will typically have an infra-red camera, proximity sensor and infra-red light connected to it, that will be activated as someone approaches. Video of each event will be sent to an external location, that could be located anywhere in the world. A room controller may have proximity sensors as well as others to register temperature, CO2, humidity levels and more. Data gained from these sensors and others throughout a house, can be used to activate lights, or heating, display time, temperature and other data on a touch screen. It can even listen and answer using a microphone and speaker.

Controllers need to be placed in the following locations: 1) access control at entrance doors; 2) living room control; 3) dining area control; 4) kitchen control; 5) bedroom control; 6) study, studio and workshop control. Some people may want to have controllers in 7) bathrooms and/or laundry rooms, while others may want to avoid this. In addition, there will be 8) PoE access points for WiFi.

A second switch, without PoE, can be used for other devices dependent on higher power levels. These include: 1) a home theatre connections; 2) a printer and/ or scanner; 3) clothes washer and/ or dryer; 4) dishwasher; 5) refrigerator and/ or freezer; 6) stove top and/ or oven; 7) microwave oven; 8) kettle; 9) hot water tank; 10) heat exchanger; 11) heat pump or solar thermal controller; 12) greenhouse controller.

The preferred solution uses a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+. Unlike more conventional Raspberry Pis, the CM is totally flat, but uses the bottom edge for connection. There are five versions of compute modules available with 0 (Lite), 4, 8, 16 or 32 GB of eMMC memory provided. A Compute Module Development Kit is made for developing industrial applications with these and other CM boards. The purpose of a development kit is to provide hardware that allow the use of CM boards in custom systems that avoid unnecessary components.

The Compute Module IO (CMIO) board, is a simple, open-source breakout board into which one can plug a Compute Module. The board hosts 120 GPIO pins, an HDMI port, a USB port, two camera ports, and two display ports.

A Compute Module on a Compute Module Input-Output Board used for development purposes (Photo: Raspberry Pi Foundation)

Not everyone will have the possibility to retrofit their dwellings with Ethernet cable, so one will always have to provide a backstop room controller. In terms of current technology this could be based on a Raspberry Pi Model B 3+, with a Pimoroni Automation HAT for Raspberry Pi. See: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3289

A Pimoroni Automation HAR on top of a Raspberry Pi Model B (Photo: Piomoroni)

Each of the room controllers would have a 7″ touch screen. This is a standard RPi product category, so there is no problem finding these in Norway.

The Invisible

What I can’t show in this weblog post are the plastic fittings, and the printed circuit board populated with electronic components, that I intend to use with this room controller. The reason for this is that they have not yet been designed.

I am waiting to design them until a 3D printer and a PCB printer arrive at the local makerspace. This could be a matter of weeks away. The proposed printer is a Ultimaker 3.

Ultimaker 3 with dual extruders, allowing for 2 materials to be used in the same product (Photo: Utimaker)

While there are many different systems that can be used to make printed circuit boards, the additive process provided in a Voltera V-one has many advantages. Its one drawback is initial cost.