How Smart Is Your Home?

Enter our Home Sweet Home Automation contest for your chance to win a $150 DigiKey gift card! [3602421454791242043.png] Wednesday, March 13, 2024 [Smart Power Meter Gives a Snapshot of the Grid >>]( The 2024 Home Sweet Home Automation Contest Rolls On There's still plenty of time to enter our[2024 Home Sweet Home Automation contest!]( Do something awesome by April 16th, [document it on Hackaday.IO]( and you could win one of three $150 DigiKey gift certificates so you can do even more awesome things. Check out the entries below if you need a little inspiration. We've also got five honorable mention categories to inspire you, so go on and create some [creature comforts]( dial up the [efficiency of your home]( show us your [ad-hoc Rube Goldberg system]( tell us how you display and/or [gather all the data]( or wow us with your [retrofit of an older system](. [There are still a few tickets left for Hackaday Europe]( as of this writing, but they are going fast! Can't make it to Supercon all the way in Pasadena? Hackaday Europe is the next best thing. Don't forget to bring something to show off! Highlights from the IO POPULAR BITS [project thumbnail]( [Low-Tech Window Closer Uses Gravity]( [Gauthier] has a couple of cats who love to go out on the balcony, but neither one can be bothered to close the window. Enter the gravity-powered low-tech window closer, which uses a pulley and weights to gently pull it closed after every cat that paws it open. [project thumbnail]( [Timed E-Bike Charger Turns Off Automatically]( It might be easy to remember to charge your e-bike, but what about unplugging it when it's full? Did you know that many manufacturers recommend this? Here's a solution that uses a Raspberry Pi and the python-kasa library to automatically turn off the charging after a few hours. [project thumbnail]( [Automated Curtain Uses Cable Winch]( If you have a tall, angled window, then opening the curtains can be a difficult chore. Not so with [Nik Reitmann]'s automatic curtain closer, which uses a cable winch. Inside the control box is a Raspberry Pi running scripts that control the motor and recognize the end stop switch. Hack Chat LIVE CHAT WITH LEADING EXPERTS EVERY WEDNESDAY You Should Host a Hack Chat! If you've been thinking about hosting a Hack Chat, here's your chance. Do you work in an interesting field that people would love to hear about? Do you have a cool project you're working on? Or maybe there's just something you'd like to discuss? Then host a Hack Chat! Check out [our FAQ]( for all the details. And if there's someone you're just dying to see on the Hack Chat, let us know and we'll try to make it happen. [Send us your ideas](mailto:tips@hackaday.com?subject=Hack Chat Tip) and we'll see what we can do. Featured Projects POPULAR BITS [Pelletmon Monitors the Fuel Level of a Pellet Boiler]( [A Workaround for OpenSprinkler and MQTT]( [Simple Home Automation Tool Utilizes the Unihiker SBC]( [Manipulating an Apartment's Heating Via SMS]( Live Events MEETUPS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS [Trenton Computer Festival - March 16]( The longest-running computer festival in the world will return for its 48th year in 2024. You can expect a full-day of talks and workshops with a streaming component for those who can't make the trip to The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in person. [VCF East - April 12-14]( Please note that VCF East has changed their dates to April 12-14th. The Vintage Computer Festival East is an absolute must-see event for anyone with a love of vintage hardware. Themes for 2024 include the Rise of the GUI and Computer Art. [Hackaday Europe 2024 - April 13-14]( This two-day event is a must-attend for anyone in our European contingent who can't make it to Supercon in the States. The event unofficially begins on Friday, April 12 with drinks and socializing, so be sure to get to Berlin early if you can. Saturday is full of presentations and food, and Sunday rounds out the weekend with brunch and a bunch of lightning talks. [Los Angeles Maker Faire - April 6]( The Los Angeles Maker Faire is back at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Mark your calendars and fire up your soldering irons now. Don't you want to have something to show off? [Philadelphia Maker Faire - April 21]( Save the date for the return of the Philly Maker Faire! We don't have a lot of information at this point, but we can tell you that it's taking place at the Cherry Street Pier. [OSHWA 2024 - May 3-4]( This year's summit will be held in Montreal, Quebec, both remotely and in person. The speakers include leaders from industry, academia, the arts, and the maker community. Talks cover a wide range of subjects from electronics and mechanics to related fields such as digital fabrication, fashion technology, self-quantification devices, and IP law. [HOPE XV - July 12-14]( Spread the word! The fifteenth Hackers On Planet Earth conference will be held once again at St. John's University in Queens, New York. Tickets are still available as of this writing, so please help support one of the most must-see hacker events to ever take place. [twitter]( [facebook]( [instagram]( [Terms of Use]( [Privacy Policy]( [Hackaday.io]( [Hackaday.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Hackaday · 61 South Fair Oaks Avenue · Suite 200 · Pasadena, CA 91105 · USA