What is smarthomatic?
smarthomatic (SHC) is an open source home automation system providing a framework for building up a bigger network of sensors and actuators that all work together. It consists of several completely developed hardware devices you can build up yourself and the software running on those devices.
This project concentrates on hardware devices and their software (firmware), not on user interfaces to control tasks like web interfaces or smartphone apps. Nonetheless this system is designed to be easily integrated into such systems.
Typical Use Cases
Measure outdoor temperature
Switch lamp remotely
Control your smart home
Get notified when plant needs water
Switch off hot plate when forgotten
Show a status by RGB lamp
Dim CFL lamp remotely
Regulate air humidity
Remember open windows
Features
...and advantages over typical commercial products:
Simple and affordable | For basic setup, the base station and e.g. a temperature sensor are sufficient. All devices consist of few parts, are easy to build and reasonably priced. |
|---|---|
Extendable | You can extend the system with new sensors and actuators to support any new functionality you like. |
Future-proof | As an open source project, the system can be changed any time. This ensures long-term maintainability. |
Highly secure | Communication is AES encrypted. Even fake repeated commands from an attacker are ignored. |
Confirmed | Commands for changing states of devices are confirmed with acknowledges. If a request is not answered, it will automatically be repeated several times by the sender. |
You can use the system by simply entering commands through a serial terminal. The base station is connected over a USB virtual COM port or directly to a physical COM port. You can integrate this system into a home automation PC software to support complex control tasks.
What's New
- (01/2026) The source repository was moved to Codeberg.
- Important note: If you encounter situations that the Power Switch or RGB Dimmer are not reachable anymore, read the part about switching the RFM12 power, replace the capacitor to 100µF and use the newest firmware.
- (07/2025) Start using the HW watchdog additionally to the RFM12 transceiver (SW) watchdog.
- (04/2025) Introduced new device IR Transceiver, which can send IR codes or forward received IR codes to your home automation.
- (06/2024) Introduced new device Proxy, which can forward packets to devices too far away from the base station based on a set of rules.
Next Steps
- build up roller shutter device