Mini farm & Cold room automation project

Share your Projects!
1

Hey everyone! I’m new to HA (and this community), and I’ve finally decided to ditch the native apps and switch to HA. Thanks to my buddy PL for inspiring me to do so.

Last year, I acquired a farmhouse and started a polyculture project in my “free time.” For my first HA project, I decided to automate my cold room, and I’m curious to know if anyone here has a similar project. If so, do you guys have any recommendations to improve my setup?

I have 2 x Sonoff TH Elite (THR316D), with one sensor inside the cold room and one outside the house.

I’ve created 3 automations:

  1. Warm Up: If the temperature inside the cold room drops below 1.0°C (33.8°F), a ceramic heater (connected to a smart switch) is turned on.
  2. Hold Temperature: If the temperature inside the cold room reaches between 4.0°C (39.2°F) and 5.0°C (41°F), both the heater and the exhaust fan are turned off.
  3. Vent: If the temperature in the cold room is above 6.0°C (42.8°F) and the temperature outside is colder, the THR316D switch is turned on, controlling a 120V fan that pushes cold room air outside using a 4-inch exhaust pipe and pulls fresh air from another 4-inch intake pipe.

One concern I have is the ease of airflow between my intake and exhaust. Since I live in Quebec, Canada, where the outside temperature can drop to -30°C (-22°F) on very cold days in winter, I’m worried that the airflow might cause the place to freeze. Any device proposals to open/close traps on my 4-inch pipes?

And while you’re here, any other proposals for automation on my mini farm? :wink:

Thanks, guys, and enjoy!

2

look at the generic thermostat

1 Like
3

I agree, look at generic thermostat for the main control and a vent damper for slowing the cold air flow.
Generic thermostat - Home Assistant.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802531215873.html.

1 Like
4

@vajdum @Sir_Goodenough Thanks for you recommendation!

I understand the idea behind the generic thermostat for the “heating”, but do you also recommend it for the AC part? Since the AC is driven by the temperature outside of the house, AC must only be triggered when outside temperature is colder… is there a way to have it conditional?

And is there a way to create the generic thermostat that would drive both ac/heating? from what I see, we can only define 1 heating/ac device…

Thanks :slight_smile: