Remote Temperature Alarm

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DIYWell

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Ok, probably the wrong forum for this but ...

I may have need to monitor the temperature in a house and be alerted if it becomes too cold. There is no wifi or phone line, so the alert would need to be via a text message. There is mains power. It is unlikely the house will be visited for 4 or 5 months except in an emergency if a text is received.

Before I go down the internet rabbit hole, does anyone know of a readily available device?
 
Actually both look interesting, thanks. The next thing I was thinking I'd have to source is a SIM that didn't cost an arm and a leg and come packed with features I'd never use. The first device solves that straight up.
 
Have a look on Fleabay- you can get £30 burglar alarms that text you when a detector is triggered, some have external ports (as well as facility for wireless pirs, door contacts etc) so you can connect anything that closes (or opens) a circuit when activated. Stick a PAYG sim in & you're done
 
DIYWell said:
Ok, probably the wrong forum for this but ...

I may have need to monitor the temperature in a house and be alerted if it becomes too cold. There is no wifi or phone line, so the alert would need to be via a text message. There is mains power. It is unlikely the house will be visited for 4 or 5 months except in an emergency if a text is received.

Before I go down the internet rabbit hole, does anyone know of a readily available device?
Click to expand...
Too cold for what? if it's empty
 
My concern is an aging heating system failing, a pipe bursting, thawing, and a leak going unnoticed for months.

If I get an alarm message warning the house has hit 5C say, then I can call out a heating engineer to investigate.
 
Do you get on with your house neighbours? Well enough for them to host your WiFi enabled kit? If so you have a multitude of devices to choose from. If you can't piggy back on another's t'interweb (and for a contribution to their monthly cost, why wouldn't they?) then your choices are starkly reduced.

Options: 1. The burgular alarm with SMS message sending capabilities (see thread number 4). Attach a simple thermostat to one of the contacts to trigger an 'intrusion' when the temperature goes below its setting (whether that be 12C , 5C, or summat else). Some will even phone your emergency plumber with a pre-recorded message.

Option 2. Build your own system using Arduino or Raspberry Pi. In this way you can have text alerts which state the temperature measured, and you can program it to stop sending constant alerts (ie shut up) by sending a command text to it. This will entail using skills you may not presently posess.

A couple of years ago I built such a system for a friend. She had a lock-up shop and a notoriously unreliable electrical supply feeding 5 such shops. The power would often go out on a Friday night, and she had several food freezers with stock. My system monitored both the electrical supply and the temperature of four freezers, sending an SMS text with all four temps plus ambient if the power was lost (battery backup too). It ran with a pay as you go SIM card, so as long as it sent one message every six months (at 5p each!) she wasn't cut off. I should be able to dig out the drawings and source code if you want to build one similar, except your software would need tweaking to respond to room/loft/outside temperatures if you went that route.

Alternatively if you rigged up a LOUD burgular alarm to a 5C thermostat the neighbours would soon phone you if the temp got too low;)
 
DIYWell said:
My concern is an aging heating system failing, a pipe bursting, thawing, and a leak going unnoticed for months.

If I get an alarm message warning the house has hit 5C say, then I can call out a heating engineer to investigate.
Click to expand...
Remote stat isn’t going to let you know a pipes burst in the loft.
 
Sadly the houses have large gardens so there's no reliable wi-fi I can piggyback.

No pipes in the loft. Can't recall any building I've been in having pipes in the roof space.

Would love to do Option 2. Haven't had a Pi project in awhile, but just don't have the time this year.

You've reminded me I have an old school fire siren in a box somewhere ... that I stripped out of an old school. Also reminds me of the joke about using a tuba to tell the time at night - open the window, play it, and wait for an irate neighbour to bellow "Will you shut up? Don't you know it's 3 in the morning?!"
 
A phone or a mobile hotspot and a £5 bluetooth sensor, and an app such as Smartthings, or ITTT or suchlike
 
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