In our modern semi-dystopia, it seems like most companies add automation features to their products to lock them down and get consumers to buy even more proprietary, locked-down components. The few things that are still user-upgradable are getting fewer and farther between, but there are still a few things that can be modified and improved to our own liking like this control panel for a heat recovery ventilator (HRV).
HRVs are systems that exchange fresh, outside air with stale, inside air while passing them both through a heat exchanger to keep from wasting energy. Many systems run continuously but they aren’t always needed, so some automation is beneficial. This upgrade from [vincentmakes] improves the default display for a Zehnder Comfoair Q350 HRV with a color display as well as adding it in to a home automation system, letting a user control fan speeds remotely as well as alerting the user when it’s time for filter replacements and providing up-to-date information from all the sensors in the HRV.
The project builds on a previous project which adapted an ESP32 to interact with the CAN bus used on these devices. With these upgrades the user can forgo the $300 proprietary upgrade that would be needed to get the same functionality otherwise. It’s also fully open-source so all that’s needed is to flash the firmware, replace the display, and enjoy the fresh air. There’s other modern HVAC equipment that can benefit from new controllers and a bit of automation as well.
Dystopian is not some electronic trinket but the fact that instead of opening a window you have to use some high-tech heat recovery bullshit.
You don’t have to, you can still open the window. But if it’s cold outside and you have to open the window a few times a day, it quickly gets impractical, annoying, uncomfortable and inefficient.
In the summer I like to keep my garden door open the whole day, but during winter I’d really prefer to have such system.
Truly, when I think of our dystopic age, the lack of windows is what really sticks out. I don’t even remember the last time I saw one.
Yeah i think we all like fresh air from a window, if its within a few degrees of an ideal temperature and not raining or unreasonably humid out. In my part of the world this only happens for certain parts of the day maybe a couple dozen days on a good year.
On other days a system like this really helps as part of an energy efficent home thats built much tighter than ones built in the mid 20th century.