Smart Automation For A Windmill Villa With Pool

This is my weekend and holiday home, which is a windmill with a villa and an infinity pool.

The technical compartment is relatively distant from the pool, with the only automation being a timer to control the water filtration motor. For everything else, I had to go to the technical house to operate the lights, the cover, or the pool motor. Inside the house and the windmill, I have several Shelly devices like fire sensors, relays to operate lights, dehumidifiers, and temperature and humidity sensors to control some scenarios to operate heaters and dehumidifiers.

I have been creating more complex automation systems with basic sensors connected to Shelly modules to prevent issues that I have detected over time with the pool and also in my house. The first one, for example, involves the south-facing window of the windmill. When there are strong south winds, the window has opened more than once because it has a fragile and very old latch. For this, I installed a Shelly BLU Door Window sensor that notifies me whenever the window opens, and in these cases, I take the necessary action, which is to go home and close it.

At the top of the windmill, I have a conventional rat trap where I installed a reed relay that is activated whenever the trap closes due to a rat entering. This reed relay triggers a Shelly module that sends me a notification that a rat has been caught. A conventional rat trap has been transformed into an IoT trap!

To turn the lights on or off, open or close the cover, or start or stop the motor in the pool, I used to have to go to the technical house, which was not convenient at all. So, I installed several Shelly modules connected to the pool's control panel.

At home, with a Shelly Plus i4, I have scenarios to turn the lights on or off, open or close the cover, and even turn the pool filter motor on or off. I can do this remotely via my phone or with this switch inside the house.

Since the pool is an infinity pool, the water overflows into a gutter. As I have many trees, the gutter often has leaves, and the drain to the compensation tank has frequently been clogged with leaves, causing the water level in the gutter to rise to the point of overflowing, which could empty the pool if I do not turn off the motor or clean the gutter. For this, I installed a float switch in the gutter that activates a Shelly module in the technical house, which in turn stops the pool motor, halting the water circulation and notifying me.

In the compensation tank, I installed several protections related to the water level: A float switch at the top of the tank before the overflow pipe prevents failure of the check valve and the tank from filling with pool water, leading to water loss from the pool. In the summer, as the pool water evaporates, the compensation tank level drops. A second float switch commands two solenoid valves to fill the tank. If for some reason this fails and the level drops to the minimum, a third float switch will completely stop the pool motor.

I also install a temperature probe to know the water temperature.

In the technical house, I installed a capacitive level sensor in the PH- tank that allows me to know if there is still enough liquid to correct the pool's PH.

Additionally, I have more common scenarios to control exterior and interior lights, heaters, and dehumidifiers. I have two Shelly Pro EM50 modules, one connected to solar panels and household consumption. When production exceeds consumption, I turn on dehumidifiers, using all the generated energy. I also have a Shelly RGBW2 with which I control four solenoid valves for four irrigation sectors.

With the Shelly modules, I have all possible failures controlled, as well as all the pool and house controls possible to do remotely, without having to go outside. This allows me to be at ease even when I am far from home, anywhere in the world!