Z-Wave roller blinds with Dooya motor, Vera controller and Fibaro shutter module - Part 4

Welcome to part four of my roller blind installation, you can see part one here part two here and part three here.

We've now added a pelmet made out of MDF wood to cover the roller blind tube and brackets. Makes everything look much neater, painted it the same colour as the walls. 

Video of the roller blind in operation with Google Home voice commands.

Vera Z-Wave controller UI7 web GUI and the new blind controls.

Imperihome mobile app for Android and the new blind controls.

I've set the blinds in Vera to automatically close when entering in to either Night or Away modes. As yet I've not created a schedule to automatically open the blind in the morning but you could easily do that also. 

Well that's it for this project, I am currently trying to source curtain track motors with inbuilt Z-Wave radio so perhaps next time I can cover those, if I manage to get some. Or the other thing I'd like to do is a low voltage easy plug in DC 12V / 24V tube motor in another smaller roller blind, for sun screen behind my curtains in the lounge, using a Qubino DC Flush Shutter module. 

Z-Wave roller blinds with Dooya motor, Vera controller and Fibaro shutter module - Part 3

Welcome to part three of my roller blind installation, you can see part one here and part two here.

Today we mounted the roller blind, I still have some touching up to do on the wall and we plan to install a pelmet made of wood, across the top to hide the whole tube / roll. I'll probably paint this pelmet the same colour as the walls.

Here you can see some photos of the ends of the roller blind.

There is no channel in the tube, inside the tube is all smooth to the touch, so the fabric must be stuck on to the tube, rather than the fabric being inserted in to a channel or groove to secure it. 

I recommend you glue the white cap with the pin in to the tube, because when the blind was in operation the white cap wobbled its way out of the tube, as it wasn't a really tight fit. 

As we'd already fitted the blind up and didn't want to take it down again and disturb the fixing screws in the wall, we just used a plastic spacer we made and inserted it against the bracket and the white cap to stop the cap wobbling out of the tube, seems to work well now with no issues. 

Here you can see the motor end of the blind, the two screws are for the mechanical limits. You get a supplied green plastic tool to adjust these. I connected the motor to the mains power and to the wall switch without connecting the Fibaro shutter module first, so I could set the mechanical limits of the motor for upper top position and for lowest down position. 

Test fitting the bracket.

We didn't want to drill up in to the concrete lintel, so instead we mounted the brackets to the sides of the walls inside the window reveal. This meant we had to use plastic blocks behind the bracket to space it out a bit from the wall. 

We also moved the box for the module and cable connectors up, so it will be hidden behind the blind / pelmet. 

Temporary wiring without the Fibaro shutter module to test the motor and setup the mechanical limits on the motor. 

Now wired with the Fibaro shutter module. Hole in the wall where the box was previously located filled in.

Now with the module and cables / connectors pushed back in to the box and the cover screwed on. I used a 47mm deep box and it was only just big enough to fit everything inside of it. The wall still needs fixing with filler and paint. 

Roller blind fitted into the window reveal.

The blind can be operated with the wall switch. Before I fitted the Fibaro module you had to press and then hold the switch up or down whilst the blind went up or down. If you let go the motor stopped. 

After fitting the Fibaro module and running the calibration routine on the module, now you can just press down and release and the blind comes all the way down. Or you can press up and release and the blind goes all the way back to the top. Whilst the blind is moving if you press up or down again the blind will stop in that position. 

We went for a sun screen fabric in grey colour, you can also get full black out fabric from the supplier.

When dark outside the sun screen fabric looks like this. If you want full block you'll need to order the black out fabric. 

In the next part I will do a video of the blind in operation and go over some of the software Vera and Imperihome app.

Part 4 here.

Z-Wave roller blinds with Dooya motor, Vera controller and Fibaro shutter module - Part 2

In part one here I discussed purchasing a motorised roller blind kit for my kitchen patio window. I will be integrating the motor in to my Home Automation controller (Vera) by using a Z-Wave Fibaro roller shutter module.

As its an AC mains powered motor, I had to do some preparation work for the installation of the electric cables and for the wall switch.

Luckily I already had a nearby switch fuse spur, so I decided to take the feed from there.

I wanted to mount the manual wall switch on the wall and also needed to run power up to the top of the window reveal where the roller blind / motor will be.

I had to create a channel in the plaster and install a metal back box. I just took my time and used a stanley knife and a hammer and chisel, to try and keep the dust down, although it was still quite a messy job. I removed the plaster back down to the block work.

I measured out the location of the wall switch first and then drew on the wall where I was to cut and knock out the plaster.

I then proceeded to chase out the wall.

When it came to the back box for the wall switch, my original plan was to fit the Fibaro roller shutter module behind the wall switch, so I put in a deeper 35mm metal back box. 

However later I decided I might not have enough room behind the wall switch for all the cabling and connectors, 35mm was the max depth of back box I could fit in to the block work, so opted for an additional surface mount box in the window reveal instead to house the module and connectors. 

Here you can see the channel inside the window reveal heading up to the motors location. I drilled two holes through the corner of the wall deeper than 50mm to feed the electric cables through.

I fitted the electric cable and clipped it to the block work and then filled in the channel and installed the metal back box for the switch. 

I using a Scolmore Minigrid 3 position retractive wall switch and some Wago connectors for the wiring.

Below you can see the deeper 47mm surface mount box, I now plan to put the roller shutter module into with the wires and connectors. 

Also you can see the electric cables now, the mains feed has been fed up from under the floor, up the channel on the wall, through the metal back box and up to the surface mount box, to feed the power to the module and motor. The second cable only goes from the surface mount box to the metal back box for the wall switch connections. 

I'm not sure about the final position of the surface mount box, it may need to be moved higher up but I wanted to leave enough room to fit the roller blind. 

Final fine filler and sanding to make the walls good again.

And all finished and painted and looking good again.

The actual roller blind kit arrived yesterday. However no mounting brackets could not be found. I contacted the seller and he said the brackets are sent separately in another box, so I am still waiting for those to turn up.

I think I got lucky with FedEx as I didn't have to pay any import tax at the door and just signed for it. So unless they try and invoice me later for import tax, I've not paid any.

And here is the wiring diagram I will be working with.

Well that's it for part two. In part three I will have more photos of the roller blind kit and maybe photos of it installed and a video of it working.

Z-Wave roller blinds with Dooya motor, Vera controller and Fibaro shutter module - Part 1

I recently purchased a motorised roller blind kit for my patio window, after looking at various motors, I decided to purchase the Dooya DM35S tubular motor, S being Standard with no inbuilt RF Radio receiver or remote control, as I plan to use a Fibaro Roller Shutter Z-Wave module.

I have used Dooya DT52S curtain rail motors before see here. I contacted several suppliers on Aliexpress and got some prices in the end I purchased the kit from Scott at Friend Industry Holding Co., Ltd who I have used before.

Scott is extremely helpful with good communication and I could recommend him highly. If you discuss your requirements with Scott he will be able to sort everything out for you. I don't get any commission or anything, but if you do make a purchase be sure to mention you were referred by The Media Center Blog.

Motor details:

1. Motor: DM35S-10/17 is used, strong power and low noise

   a. Mechanic limit switch

   b. Dot-move & light-adjust functions

   c. AC230V and AC120V for choice

My window recess width was 233 CM and the drop was 203 CM. I just gave Scott these measurements and he works out how long the tube should be and for the mounting brackets to fit etc. I wanted the motor on the left hand side and for the blinds to be mounted inside the window recess.

I purchased a full kit including the fabric, which will save me trying to source fabric locally. This includes everything you need, the motor, 50mm diameter tube, any crowns and adaptors and the mounting brackets. You can see one of Scott's listings here on Aliexpress, which shows the fabrics available, my wife choose a dark grey colour. For our size of blind, prices ranged from £165.00 to £178.00, also expect to pay some import taxes at your end.

As the motor is a AC230V motor, I will have to do some work on the wall to mount a wall switch and run an electric cable from a nearby fused spur, up to the wall switch and also connect the cable from the motor. I will just use a Scolmore Minigrid (MD075WH) 3 position retractive switch, same switch I always use for Fibaro shutter modules or the Fibaro Dimmer 2 modules, see here. These Scolmore switches and plates can be purchased from most online electrical wholesalers.

The following pictures are from the listing online, in part two I will take some un-boxing photos of the product, when it arrives !

Dooya DM35S Motor, mounting brackets, 50mm diameter tube and the bottom tension bar.

The Fibaro Roller Shutter module is a module I have used before with my Vera Z-wave home automation controller for curtain rails and I've not had any issues with them. 

"The radio-controlled Roller Shutter 2 works with motorized roller blinds, venetian blinds, awnings and gates. The Roller Shutter 2 is powered by a single-phase AC and provides precise positioning of blinds, awnings or gates so they can be set to the position you choose. The module is also equipped with a power metering feature when used with a FIBARO Home Center."

In part two here when my kits does arrive, I will take some un-boxing photos. 

Z-Wave RFID Keypad for alarm system

I recently purchase a RFID keypad off Amazon and I also bought two new Z-Wave Sensative Strips Door and Window sensors and wanted to create a basic burglar alarm system based on Z-Wave and the Vera home automation controlller. 

UHPPOTE 125KHz Single Door Proximity RFID Card Access Control Keypad Include EM4100 ID Keyfobs

Sensative Strips – Z-Wave Door and Window Sensors

The Sensative Strips claim they have a 10 year battery life time and they are super slim when compared to more traditional Z-Wave door and window sensors.

The round magnet is not used in the final installation but is used to wakeup the device during setup. The other oblong shaped magnet you can see is the one that is installed on the door or window frame along with the strip. When the contacts are broken the sensor is tripped etc.

Here you can see the rear of the strip.

Here is the purchased RFID keypad, hooked up to a 12V power supply for testing. The first thing I did was follow the instructions that came with the keypad to reset the default passcodes and I then assigned / setup four of the supplied keyfobs, it comes with ten fobs in total.

The instructions that come with this RFID keypad and straight forward and fairly easy to follow. There is a constantly flashing red LED light on the front of the keypad when it is powered up, when an assigned keyfob is held up to the keypad or the correct passcode is entered, the light goes green, “Access Granted”. When an unassigned keyfob or incorrect passcode is entered the light goes solid red and the keypad bleeps three times, “Access Denied”.

I bought a power supply off eBay to power the RFID keypad and also to power the Fibaro Universal Binary Sensor which is needed to make the RFID keypad visable and work with the Z-Wave network, more about that later.

Universal 12V 2A Switch Power Supply Source Driver Adapter For Led Strip Light

Specifications:
Input Voltage: 100~240V AC
Output Voltage: 12V
Output Current: 2A

So as I mentioned you also need a Fibaro Universal Binary Sensor, this is used to connect the RFID keypad to the Z-Wave network / controller.

The RFID keypad has two wiring connectors. JP1 and JP2.

Here are the wires on the Fibaro Universal Binary Sensor.

The following is the correct wiring.

Wiring up the power for the keypad and the binary sensor:

KEYPAD	Fibaro Binary Sensor	12v Power Supply
JP1 12V (Red wire)	P (Red wire)	V+
JP1 GND (Black wire)	GND (Blue wire)	V-

Wiring for the keypad / binary sensor functions:

I connected the grey and the blue wires off the keypad to the blue wire on the binary sensor (The second GND wire) which is the blue wire below the ANT one in the diagram above.

KEYPAD	Fibaro Binary Sensor
JP1 BELL (Grey wire)	Second GND (Blue wire)
JP2 COM (Blue wire)

Here you just connect the white wire and the yellow wire together.

KEYPAD	Fibaro Binary Sensor
JP1 BELL (White wire)	IN1 (Yellow wire)

Here you just connect the brown and green wires together.

KEYPAD	Fibaro Binary Sensor
JP2 NC (Brown wire)	IN2 (Green wire)

I just taped the correct wires up together as you can see in the below picture, you might be able to use a small connector block, but remember you need to squeeze the binary sensor and all this wiring in to the back of the RFID keypad when mounted on the wall.

I then included the Fibaro binary sensor in to the Vera controller and changed a parameter for the device and tested it was working but more on that later.

My RFID keypad was to be wall mounted in my little porch area, there is a stud parition wall and the other side of this is my living room. You can see in the next picture, I already had a switched fused spur socket at the bottom of this wall for my outside porch light. So to feed power to the 12V power supply, I took the Live, Neutral and Earth from the back of the fused spur and connected them up to the 12V power supplies AC inputs. Then the power supplies DC outputs (V+ and V-) then connect up to the keypad / binary sensor etc.

I hid the 12V power supply in the stud wall. I couldn’t be bothered to chase out the wall to hide the alarm cable I used to connect the DC from the power supply to the keypad / binary sensor, so I just surfaced mounted the alarm cable along the bottom of the wall and up.

Here you can see the area where the keypad was to be mounted, next to a Z-Wave light switch.

Here is the keypad fitted with the Fibaro binary sensor hidden inside the keypad. I used a bit of double sided sticky pad on the back of the small Fibaro binary sensor and stuck it to the circuit board of the keypad so the two would not be touching each other.

The bell button is pressed when leaving the house to arm the system and when returning home the RFID keyfobs are used or you can use your passcode. I had to cut out a bit of the keypads plastic casing to allow the cable to come in from the side.

Now the actual physical installation is finished I will show you some of the basic setup in the Vera Z-Wave controller. You need to incude your door / window sensors in Vera if they are not already. For the Sensative Strips I used the Vesternet guide here. One thing they don’t mention in the guide is that the Sensative strips by default will not appear in the Vera UI7 Dashboard –> My Modes –> Choose Sensors to arm area, so you can arm or disarm the door sensors with Vera UI7’s default house modes. To do this see this thread here.

You also need to include the Fibaro Universal Binary Sensor in to Vera if you haven’t already. I didn’t take a screen shot of how the universal sensor looks in Vera by default, but you end up with three new devices and I have renamed mine.

“Alarm Keypad” is the master device. “Alarm Keypad Away” and “Alarm Keypad Entry” are the IN1 and IN2 of the binary sensor, these are child devices.

We must make a parameter change for the IN1 device, to make it normally open rather than normally closed.

From the user manual:

Parameter No. 3 - Type of input no. 1:

• Default value: 1 – INPUT_NC (Normal Close) Possible parameter settings:
• 0 – INPUT_NO (Normal Open)
• 1 – INPUT_NC (Normal Close)
• 2 – INPUT_MONOSTABLE
• 3 – INPUT_BISTABLE

So on the master device in my case its called “Alarm Keypad” go to the Device Options area and select the “Add Configuration Settings” button

Then enter Variable = 3. Data Size = 1 byte dec. Current Value = 0. Save the changes and let Vera reload.

When you press the bell button on the RFID keypad the “Alarm Keypad Away” device should go red and be tripped. When you swipe your keyfob or enter the correct passcode the “Alarm Keypad Entry” device should go red and be tripped. We can then use these new devices as triggers in our Vera scenes or PLEG logic to create whatever actions we want to happen for your alarm system.

The main thing you will need to setup is an entry timer delay, says 60 seconds to give you enough time to open the ARMED door and then to be able to swipe your keyfob to cancel the alarm siren from sounding. I wanted to do this in PLEG using the alarm example in the PLEG basics users guide, this uses state variables, however in the latest version of PLEG it seems state variables are broken and not working. So the only work around I could figure out for creating an alarm entry timer was to install the CountDown Timer plug-in for Vera and use the example found here.

In addition I have two native scenes in Vera called “Home” and “Away” I added triggers to these scenes using the new “Alarm Keypad Entry” and “Alarm Keypad Away” devices. I also added some lua code in to these scenes to also change Vera UI7’s default house modes.

Code to change Vera to Home mode:

luup.call_action("urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1","SetHouseMode", {Mode = 1}, 0)

Code to change Vera to Away mode:

luup.call_action("urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1","SetHouseMode", {Mode = 2}, 0)

I also have two futher native scenes in Vera, one called “Burglar Alarm” which is triggered when an armed door sensor is tripped, this is is the scene that starts the 60 second CountDown Timer, for your entry delay. The second scene is called “Burglar Alarm Delayed” its trigger is that the count down timer has completed (i.e. you have NOT deactivated your alarm) and this is the scene that would then sound the siren etc. But if you do within the 60 seconds swipe your keyfob this runs the “Home” Scene and this scene should cancel the count down timer etc therefore stopping the “Burglar Alarm Delayed” scene / siren from being triggered.

So now you can get creative, my alarm scenes also do the following for example. If the alarm is tripped and its night time, all the lights inside and outside of the house are turned on. The lounge curtains are opened and the LAPD flashing police lights are started on the LED strips lights behind my wall mounted TV, I am using a Fibaro RGBW module to control the LED lights in Vera. Also a TTS notification is sent to my mobile phone using Vera Alerts that the alarm has been activated.

When we are coming home and we swipe a keyfob to turn off the alarm, if its night time lights downstairs are automatically turned on for our entrance so we are not walking in to the house in the dark etc.

Conclusion

This is not a dedicated security alarm system, but if you don’t have such an alarm system installed and you want some basic protection on your door or windows and you already have a Z-Wave based home automation controller this could be a good fun project! Its also easy to use for the wife and kids leaving and entering the house, if they are the last ones leaving or the first entering the house.

If you wish to purchase any Z-Wave Euro devices at discounted prices then contact us via our website. www.asmarterhome.co.uk