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  My offgrid house has an industrial automation panel.

  [11]A row of electrical devices, mounted on a metal rail. Many wires
  neatly extend from it above and below, disappearing into wire gutters.

  I started building this in February, before covid-19 was impacting us
  here, when lots of mail orders were no big problem, and getting an
  unusual 3D-printed DIN rail bracket for a SSD was just a couple clicks.

  I finished a month later, deep into social isolation and quarentine,
  scrounging around the house for scrap wire, scavenging screws from
  unused stuff and cutting them to size, and hoping I would not end up in
  a "need just one more part that I can't get" situation.

  It got rather elaborate, and working on it was often a welcome
  distraction from the news when I couldn't concentrate on my usual work.
  I'm posting this now because people sometimes tell me they like hearing
  about my offfgrid stuff, and perhaps you could use a distraction too.

  The panel has my house's computer on it, as well as both AC and DC
  power distribution, breakers, and switching. Since the house is
  offgrid, the panel is designed to let every non-essential power drain
  be turned off, from my [12]offgrid fridge to the 20 terabytes of
  [13]offline storage to the [14]inverter and satellite dish, the spring
  pump for my [15]gravity flow water system, and even the power outlet by
  the kitchen sink.

  Saving power is part of why I'm using old-school relays and stuff and
  not IOT devices, the other reason is of course: IOT devices are
  horrible dystopian e-waste. I'm taking the utopian Star Trek approach,
  where I can command "full power to the vacuum cleaner!"

  [16]Two circuit boards, connected by numerous ribbon cables, and
  clearly hand-soldered. The smaller board is suspended above the larger.
  [17]An electrical schematic, of moderate complexity.

  At the core of the panel, next to the cubietruck arm board, is a custom
  IO daughterboard. Designed and built by hand to fit into a DIN mount
  case, it uses every GPIO pin on the cubietruck's main GPIO header.
  Making this board took 40+ hours, and was about half the project. It
  got pretty tight in there.

  This was my first foray into DIN rail mount, and it really is
  industrial lego -- a whole universe of parts that all fit together and
  are immensely flexible. Often priced more than seems reasonable for a
  little bit of plastic and metal, until you look at the spec sheets and
  the ratings. (Total cost for my panel was $400.) It's odd that it's not
  more used outside its niche -- I came of age in the Bay Area,
  surrounded by rack mount equipment, but no DIN mount equipment. Hacking
  the hardware in a rack is unusual, but DIN invites hacking.

  Admittedly, this is a second system kind of project, replacing some
  unsightly shelves full of gear and wires everywhere with something kind
  of overdone. But should be worth it in the long run as new gear gets
  clipped into place and it evolves for changing needs.

  Also, wire gutters, where have you been all my life?

  [18]A cramped utility room with an entire wall covered with electronic
  gear, including the DIN rail, which is surrounded by wire gutters
  [19]Detail of a wire gutter with the cover removed. Numerous large and
  small wires run along it and exit here and there.

  Finally, if you'd like to know what everything on the DIN rail is, from
  left to right: Ground block, 24v DC disconnect, fridge GFI, spare GFI,
  USB hub switch, computer switch, +24v block, -24v block, IO
  daughterboard, 1tb SSD, arm board, modem, 3 USB hubs, 5 relays, AC hot
  block, AC neutral block, DC-DC power converters, humidity sensor.

  [20]Full width of DIN rail.

  [21]Add a comment

  Last edited mid-morning Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

References

  1. https://joeyh.name/ikiwiki.cgi?do=edit&page=blog/entry/DIN
  2. https://joeyh.name/
  3. https://joeyh.name/blog/
  4. https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/
  5. https://joeyh.name/ikiwiki.cgi?do=edit&page=blog/entry/DIN
  6. https://joeyh.name/recentchanges/
  7. http://source.joeyh.branchable.com/?p=source.git;a=history;f=blog/entry/DIN.mdwn;hb=HEAD
  8. https://joeyh.name/ikiwiki.cgi?do=prefs
  9. https://joeyh.name/ikiwiki.cgi?do=branchable
 10. https://joeyh.name/ikiwiki.cgi?do=comment&page=blog/entry/DIN
 11. https://joeyh.name/blog/pics/DIN/dinrail.jpg
 12. https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/fridge_0.1/
 13. https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/usb_drives_with_no_phantom_load/
 14. https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/AIMS_inverter_control_via_GPIO_ports/
 15. https://joeyh.name/blog/entry/hacking_water/
 16. https://joeyh.name/blog/pics/DIN/daughterboard.jpg
 17. https://joeyh.name/blog/pics/DIN/schematic.jpg
 18. https://joeyh.name/blog/pics/DIN/gearwall.jpg
 19. https://joeyh.name/blog/pics/DIN/wiregutter.jpg
 20. https://joeyh.name/blog/pics/DIN/dinrailfull.jpg
 21. https://joeyh.name/ikiwiki.cgi?do=comment&page=blog/entry/DIN

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