Home ventilation: remote control and automation. Part 1

Hello everyone! My name is Alex and I'm a beaver :)

Just kiddin. My GF often says "your inner beaver woked up – you are drilling something AGAIN".

Today I will tell about ventilation system and how did I automated it.

I'm living on the first floor, and it's really low. Here in Moscow, Russia, environment is not very clean, so air here needs to be filtered. Also just open your windows is a really bad idea: it's dust, noise and risk to be robbed. Plus – opening windows manually is not cool :) So let's automate!

We can solve all problems with a home ventilation unit. There are lots of them on the market.

So what we need: light weight, filter, insulation, low working noise. Recuperation will be a great advantage, because here in Russia winters are often very cold and you'll not be happy to open windows when it's -25^o C outside.

Also, air conditioner is NOT what we need. Conditioner NOT RE-NEWS air, just cools or warms it. And ventilation is removing old bad air with a lots of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and injecting new air with a lot of oxygen, just to breathe :)

My choice was Mistubishi Lossnay VL-100EU5-E.

Some about Mitsubishi Lossnay VL-100EU5-E – a little review and some user experience

It's light-weight so it can be installed on a window and that's what I needed. Performance is 100 m³ and it's enough. Noise level is 35 dB (by tech specs) and it seems a little high but noise is very monotonous and after a half a hour you are totally not aware of it anymore. And it has a recuperator and it is working perfectly – when it's cold outside hold on to the night :)) Lossnay gives you air just a little less warm than inside. This technology is really green, and overall power is less than 35 W.

Here in Russia we like DIY very much (and it's because we have no options xD). Disadvantages of VL-100EU5-E are:

- it has no automation at all (even power cord is not included! But for me it's OK cause I wanted to did it by myself anyway);

- need to drill wall, two 80 mm canals (but I used window leaf – see below)

- filter is poor.

But in any case I enjoy this thing. I've never lived in place with so good ventilation and it counts, really. I can feel it every day. With this ventilation system it's really much less dust and noise from outside. It's performance may not be good for two adults and two active children is one room, but for one or two adutls it is perfect.

Istalling Mitsubishi Lossnay VL-100EU5-E without drilling

I just did the obvious thing. My old window leaf was KAPUT so I made a new one. To install Lossnay I just removed glass from frame and inserted a wooden panel with two 80 mm holes. Lossnay frame I just screwed to leaf frame. Fits perfect.

Lossnay is installed. To automate!

I use Mini-Monster module for remote control and automation. For this task I also picked some standard case, relay plate from China and 220V AC - 5 V DC USB charging module. Now we need just to put it all in case and connect. Cheap and fast.

One thing: electric motor is inductive load so we need to install some capacitors (around 600 V 0,1 uF for 220 V AC) parallel to load to avoid sparkling in relays.

Now we can control Lossnay from everywhere: turn it on and off, change modes. If we have VPN we can control it even from Ceylon :). We can also use CO2 sensor to turn ventilation ON and OFF automatically, or use motion PIR sensor to turn ON turbo mode when someone is present in the room. It's up to you (and can be done with Mini-Monster)

But it is just a beginnig! Now cabinet is ventilated, but what about bedroom? Come back for next "beaver" episode :)

About indoor air quality and carbon dioxide

CO2 level is the most significant component of indoor air quality. In short, when there is no ventilation, CO2 rises fast and oxygen falls down. When there is a lots of CO2 around, our body feels weak and sleepy. High CO2 levels can be also bad for children.

To measure CO2 level I use MT 8057 sensor.

Facts:

- it gets stuffy from 900-1000 ppm

- gas stove "eats" oxygen with extreme speed. Will open windows while using gas