motorized skylights can be triggered to close with our temperature sensing sytem

Motorized Skylights & Windows: Automatic Temperature Sensing


Bulletin

If you already have a Z-Wave system, you may prefer our Z-Wave interfacing products. Most Zwave hubs have easy voice control integration, so if you want to use Alexa or Google Home, a Zwave hub is a good choice.

BroadLink® RF-IR Blaster Automation Hub: We also have an affordable hub that supports Alexa or Google Home voice control. Take a look at our affordable home automation hub, operated by Android and IOS apps. This RF-IR blaster hub can control your TV and learn RF radio signals for our blind motors and skylight/window openers!

It also has IR learning for TV and Projector control; see how we use this for temperature sensing to open skylights and windows. This is an older article, but it still works the same way with the new version of the hub (please see above paragraph for the new apps).

Introduction temperature sensitive skylights can be opened automatically when a room gets hot

This is the first article in this series about creating a skylight temperature sensitive monitoring system using the BroadLink® HA-RFIRW-5V RF-IR blaster automation hub phone app and ES-WIFI-5V e-Air environmental sensing module (a companion product).

The e-Air environmental sensor can monitor VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) air quality, temperature, humidity, light level, and sound level.

It also has IFTTT event capabilities (if-this-then-that) that can trigger the automation hub to activate our skylight/window openers, blind motors, smart film, drapery motors, and many other devices, such as fans and LED lights.

In this article we will be discussing the temperature aspect of the sensor as applied to the operation of a skylight opener motor, such as the dual setup you see in the picture. This photo was kindly provided by one of our clients that we helped to make a dual skylight motor system for a fairly heavy unit. You can also offset weight issues with spring loaded systems, gas shocks, and counter-balancing weights.

You can also see more info about the actual RollerTrol™ motors that open and close windows and skylights here:

motorized skylight/window actuators

Buy These Products In Our Online Automation Store

If you are interested, you can also purchase these products in our DIY online automation store.

The BroadLink® ES-WIFI-5V e-Air Environmental Sensing Module

This environmental sensor can be used to trigger the closure of multiple shade and blind motors (and our skylight/window openers), and there are 3 main components to this system:

Environmental Sensor Specifications


smart hub acts as an RF and IR blaster
ModelES-WIFI-5V
MaterialFlame-resistant PC
Height~6" ( 15cm )
Input Voltage5V DC
Input Current1.0A
Working Temperature0-50°C
Operating Humidity≤80%
Wireless Power≤0.5W
Wireless TypeWi-Fi 2.4GHz b/g/n
Operating System
(phone or tablet)
Android / IOS
Supported IOS VersionIOS 7.0 or above
Supported Android VersionAndroid 4 or above

The HA-RFIRW-5V RF/IR Blaster Hub

If you didn't see the previous article series about using our HA-RFIRW-5V RF/IR blaster hub for home theater, you may be interested to review that series about the RF and IR "learning" capabilities. The IFTTT environmental sensor is an add-on to that system, using the smart hub to simulate remote control of devices with RF or IR.

The next article will discuss the software setup and activation of the IFTTT (if-this-then-that) environmental sensor.

Buy These Products In Our Online Automation Store

If you are interested, you can purchase these products in our DIY blind and shade online store.

Articles in this series:

Part 1-Temperature sensitive skylights and windows: Introduction (you are here)

Part 2-Temperature sensitive skylights and windows: Activating the sensor

Part 3-Environmental sensor program installation

Part 4-Environmental sensor IFTTT event handling

Also, see the related articles about our other devices: