After nearly a year of development, I’m thrilled to share my solution for battery-powered, solar-recharged automated blinds. Inspired by @jetpuf’s ESP8266 implementation, my design focuses on ultra-low power consumption, enabling operation on batteries with solar recharging. Here’s how it works:
The system comprises a central hub connected to WiFi, communicating with blinds via 915MHz RF. The blinds are in a low-power sleep mode, waking only when receiving commands. The hub uses a WeMos D1 Mini with an RF shield (RFM69W), while each blind has a Moteino from lowpowerlab.com, also equipped with RFM69W.
Key features include:
- Fully self-contained, no need for wired power
- Ability to move to 180 different set points
- Customizable open and close positions
- Manual override capability
- Group and all-blinds command functionality
- Theoretical battery life of 8.9 years on a 2200mAh LiPo
- Solar charging with quick top-offs
- Battery voltage and charger status reporting
I’ve documented the entire journey, from prototypes to the final product, and am currently offering the custom Moteino shield on Tindie. If you’re interested in replicating this project, feel free to reach out for details!
Here’s a glimpse of the setup:
This project has been a labor of love, blending creativity with engineering to achieve a seamless, energy-efficient solution. I’m excited to share it with the community and hope it inspires others to explore similar projects!