Funhouse Door Alert with Email Notification

by John Park

published April 21, 2021, last updated April 21, 2021

posted in Sensors Internet of Things - IOT/ Adafruit IO CircuitPython

Beginner

Project guide

Overview

This embedded content is from a site (www.youtube.com, flickr.com, etc) that does not comply with the Do Not Track (DNT) setting now enabled on your browser.

Clicking through to the embedded content will allow you to be tracked by the embed provider.

Learn more about Adafruit's privacy policy here.

Create a simple door alert system with the Funhouse and Adafruit IO. It'll update your dashboard and send an email whenever a certain door is opened or closed.

Parts

Top-down video of Adafruit Funhouse PCB. The TFT display shows a data readout, and the NeoPixel LEDs glow rainbow colors.

Adafruit FunHouse - WiFi Home Automation Development Board

Home is where the heart is...it's also where we keep all our electronic bits. So why not wire it up with sensors and actuators to turn our house into an electronic wonderland....

guides with product

$34.95

In Stock

Add to Cart

Top view of magnetic contact switch with three screws.

Magnetic contact switch (door sensor)

This sensor is essentially a reed switch, encased in an ABS plastic shell. Normally the reed is 'open' (no connection between the two wires). The other half is a magnet. When...

$3.95

In Stock

Add to Cart

Angled shot of STEMMA JST PH 3-Pin to Male Header Cable - 200mm.

STEMMA JST PH 2mm 3-Pin to Male Header Cable - 200mm

This cable will let you turn a JST PH 3-pin cable port into 3 individual wires with high-quality 0.1" male header plugs on the end. We're carrying these to match up with our...

$1.25

In Stock

Add to Cart

2-Pin Wire Joints connecting two sets of power wires

2-Pin Wire Joints (3-pack)

These are the easiest way possible to connect two wires - no if's, and's, or butt's! Well, actually, these are often referred to as wire butts 'cause you...

$0.95

In Stock

Add to Cart

USB Type A to Type C Cable - approx 1 meter / 3 ft long

As technology changes and adapts, so does Adafruit. This USB Type A to Type C cable will help you with the transition to USB C, even if you're still...

$4.95

In Stock

Add to Cart

5V 2A Switching Power Supply with USB-A Connector

5V 2A Switching Power Supply w/ USB-A Connector

Our 5V 2A USB power adapter is the perfect choice for powering single-board computers like Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, or anything else that's power-hungry!This adapter was...

$7.95

In Stock

Add to Cart

Text editor powered by tinymce.

Adafruit IO Setup

New to Adafruit IO? You can read all about it in this guide. Go ahead and get your account set up, and come back to this page when you're ready.

You'll need to obtain our Adafruit IO Key and Username. Visit your Adafruit IO Profile page and click the VIEW AIO KEY button on the left-sidebar.

A window will pop up with your Adafruit IO key and username. Keep a copy of them in a safe place, you'll need them later.

Setting up Adafruit IO Feeds

You'll create a feed called door to receive the door switch status data sent by the Funhouse.

To create the feed for the door, navigate to the Adafruit IO Feeds Page and click Actions->Create a New Feed. Name the new feed door and then click Create.

If you do not know how to create feeds, head over to the Adafruit IO Basics: Feeds for a quick overview of this process.

Creating the Adafruit IO Dashboard

Next, you"ll create an Adafruit IO Dashboard to display and control our feeds. Navigate to the Adafruit IO Dashboard page and click Actions -> Create a New Dashboard.

Name this dashboard Funhouse Door Alert and click Create. You'll be re-directed to the new Dashboard.

Add a Block

You'll create an Indicator Block to monitor the status of the door sensor.

From the IO Home dashboard, click the gear icon to see the Dashboard Settings and then click on Create New Block to add a new block to the dashboard.

Click the Indicator block. This will take you to the Connect a Feed window.

Pick Block Feed

Select the door feed and then click Next step.

Configure Block

Configure its settings like so:

Set the Block Title to Door Status
On Color is green
Off Color is red
Conditions is set to = 1

This means the block will be on (green) when the Funhouse sends a 1 to the door feed and off (red) when the Funhouse sends a 0 to the door feed.

When you're done, click Create block.

Text editor powered by tinymce.

Email Alerts

Using Adafruit IO, you can create automated email alerts so you receive an email whenever a feed condition is met.

Here are two different ways to do it, one uses Adafruit IO and IFTTT, the other uses Adafruit IO+ (this is a paid service) with its built-in Actions.

Email alerts can take up to 15 minutes to be sent, so don't use this for time critical applications!

Email Alert with AIO and IFTTT

The IFTTT (If This Then That) service can be integrated with AIO quite easily. You'll create an IFTTT applet that watches one of your AIO feeds, and when a certain value appears in the feed, IFTTT will send an email.

First, head to https://ifttt.com/ and create an account or log in if you already have one.

Create Applet

On the IFTTT My Applets page, click the + Create button.

Add a Condition

In the If This box, click the Add button.

Choose Adafruit Service

From the Choose a service page, pick the Adafruit service.

Choose Feed Trigger

On the Choose a trigger page, click on the Monitor a feed on Adafruit IO option. This option allows you to filter the data so only some conditions will trigger the applet.

Configure the Trigger

Fill out the fields of the Monitor a feed on Adafruit IO trigger.

In the example shown here, the Feed being monitored is named door, the Relationship is equal to, and the Value is 0.

This means the trigger will run whenever the door feed has a new piece of data with a value of 0.

Once you've filled this out, click the Create Trigger button.

Add an Action

Now that you have a trigger read, you will pick what the resulting action will be. Click on the Then That box's Add button.

Choose Gmail Service

Filter the services of the Choose a service page by typing "gmail" into the search bar.

Click on the Gmail icon to select it.

Choose Gmail Action

In the Choose an action page choose to either Send an email.

Email Fields

Here you can fill in the details of the email that'll be sent when the applet runs.

You can send the email to any address you like (just please don't spam people!)

You can even get fancy and have the email sent as a text message! For many carriers you can use your cellular number at txt . carrier . net pattern, e.g. [email protected] and you'll receive a text message when the email is triggered.

Once filled in, click the Create action button.

Applet Summary

This page shows a summary of the IFTTT applet flow. You can add elements here if needed, but in this case, click Continue.

Review and Finish

Here you'll see a review of the Applet. If everything looks good, click Finish.

If not, you can click the < Back button in the IFTTT window (not the browser back button).

Email Alert with AIO+

Alert Received

Here's what a typical alert email looks like when the feed triggers the IFTTT applet.

Adafruit IO+ Actions

With a paid Adafruit IO+ subscription, you can use the Actions to send an email to your account email address.

Triggers were renamed to Actions in Adafruit IO.

Actions

On Adafruit IO, click the Actions header, and then click the View all link.

New Action

Create a new action by clicking the + New Action button.

Reactive Action

Click on Reactive Action.

Here, you'll fill out the conditions and action to take. In this example below:

If door Is equal to 0 Then email me door value and time.

Click create and you're done! The next time your feed value equals the conditional number, you'll get an email.

Text editor powered by tinymce.

Code the Funhouse Door Alert

Install CircuitPython

The first think to do is install CircuitPython on your Funhouse. Follow this guide to get it set up with the latest release version.

Shhhh... Secrets

In order for the Funhouse to connect to the internet, you'll need to include a secrets.py file on the board that contains your WiFi access point ssid and password, as well as your AIO key.

Follow this guide page to get your secrets.py file set up.

Text Editor

Adafruit recommends using the Mu editor for using your CircuitPython code with the Funhouse. You can get more info in this guide.

Download the Project Bundle

Your project will use a specific set of CircuitPython libraries and the code.py file. In order to get the libraries you need, click on the Download Project Bundle link below, and uncompress the .zip file.

Next, drag the contents of the uncompressed bundle directory onto you microcontroller board's CIRCUITPY drive, replacing any existing files or directories with the same names, and adding any new ones that are necessary.

Download Project Bundle

Copy Code

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2017 Scott Shawcroft, written for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2021 Melissa LeBlanc-Williams & John Park for Adafruit
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import board
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Direction, Pull
from adafruit_funhouse import FunHouse
from adafruit_debouncer import Debouncer


RED = 0x200000
GREEN = 0x002000

funhouse = FunHouse(default_bg=None)
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)

switch_pin = DigitalInOut(board.A1)
switch_pin.direction = Direction.INPUT
switch_pin.pull = Pull.UP
switch = Debouncer(switch_pin)


def send_io_data(door_value):
    funhouse.peripherals.led = True
    print("Sending data to adafruit IO!")
    funhouse.network.push_to_io("door", door_value)
    funhouse.peripherals.led = False


send_io_data(0)

while True:

    switch.update()
    if switch.rose:
        print("Door is open")
        funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(2000, 0.25)
        funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)
        send_io_data(0)

    if switch.fell:
        print("Door is closed")
        funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(800, 0.25)
        funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(GREEN)
        send_io_data(1)

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2017 Scott Shawcroft, written for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2021 Melissa LeBlanc-Williams & John Park for Adafruit
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import board
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Direction, Pull
from adafruit_funhouse import FunHouse
from adafruit_debouncer import Debouncer


RED = 0x200000
GREEN = 0x002000

funhouse = FunHouse(default_bg=None)
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)

switch_pin = DigitalInOut(board.A1)
switch_pin.direction = Direction.INPUT
switch_pin.pull = Pull.UP
switch = Debouncer(switch_pin)


def send_io_data(door_value):
    funhouse.peripherals.led = True
    print("Sending data to adafruit IO!")
    funhouse.network.push_to_io("door", door_value)
    funhouse.peripherals.led = False


send_io_data(0)

while True:

    switch.update()
    if switch.rose:
        print("Door is open")
        funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(2000, 0.25)
        funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)
        send_io_data(0)

    if switch.fell:
        print("Door is closed")
        funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(800, 0.25)
        funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(GREEN)
        send_io_data(1)

How it Works

The Funhouse Door Alert acts a bit like a simple switch that sends out a REST message when its position is changed. To do this, you first import some libraries.

Libraries

Download File

Copy Code

import board
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Direction, Pull
from adafruit_funhouse import FunHouse
from adafruit_debouncer import Debouncer

import board
from digitalio import DigitalInOut, Direction, Pull
from adafruit_funhouse import FunHouse
from adafruit_debouncer import Debouncer

The board library provides pin definitions. digitalio is used to check the switch.

adafruit_funhouse allows simple access to the Dotstar LEDs, via the peripherals layer, as well as the network layer used to connect to the internet and send REST or MQTT messages (in the case of this project you'll use REST, which is simple and robust).

adafruit_debouncer make it easy to check for switch open and switch close events.

Setup

Next you'll do some setup including setting LED color variables, creating the funhouse object, setting up the door sensor switch on the A1 pin, and creating the debouncer object on that pin.

Download File

Copy Code

RED = 0x200000
GREEN = 0x002000
 
funhouse = FunHouse(default_bg=None)
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)
 
switch_pin = DigitalInOut(board.A1)
switch_pin.direction = Direction.INPUT
switch_pin.pull = Pull.UP
switch = Debouncer(switch_pin)

RED = 0x200000
GREEN = 0x002000
 
funhouse = FunHouse(default_bg=None)
funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)
 
switch_pin = DigitalInOut(board.A1)
switch_pin.direction = Direction.INPUT
switch_pin.pull = Pull.UP
switch = Debouncer(switch_pin)

Send IO Data Function

You'll create a function to send either a 0 or a 1 to the AIO door feed when the switch is opened or closed.

Download File

Copy Code

def send_io_data(door_value):
    funhouse.peripherals.led = True
    print("Sending data to adafruit IO!")
    funhouse.network.push_to_io("door", door_value)
    funhouse.peripherals.led = False

def send_io_data(door_value):
    funhouse.peripherals.led = True
    print("Sending data to adafruit IO!")
    funhouse.network.push_to_io("door", door_value)
    funhouse.peripherals.led = False

Main Loop

The main loop of the program checks the switch pin with the debouncer's switch.update() function.

Two if statement do the rest. If the switch state rises, the door has just opened and the feed is sent a message with the data value 0.

If the switch state falls, the door has just closed and the feed is sent a message with the data value 1.

This configuration of triggering only on a state change is helpful, because it means the board won't be constantly spamming the AIO feed with data!

Download File

Copy Code

switch.update()
    	if switch.rose:
        	print("Door is open")
        	funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(2000, 0.25)
        	funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)
        	send_io_data(0)
 
    	if switch.fell:
        	print("Door is closed")
        	funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(800, 0.25)
        	funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(GREEN)
        	send_io_data(1)

switch.update()
    	if switch.rose:
        	print("Door is open")
        	funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(2000, 0.25)
        	funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(RED)
        	send_io_data(0)
 
    	if switch.fell:
        	print("Door is closed")
        	funhouse.peripherals.play_tone(800, 0.25)
        	funhouse.peripherals.dotstars.fill(GREEN)
        	send_io_data(1)

Text editor powered by tinymce.

Build the Funhouse Door Alert

Door Sensor

The door sensor is a type of switch called a reed switch. It consists of a wired switch and a separate magnet. When the magnet is within about 1/2" of the sensor, the internal switch mechanism is pulled open. When the magnet is further away the switch closes.

Wire the Sensor

If your door sensor has a pair of bare wires, you'll need to join it to a JST-PH 3-pin cable.

Plug each wire of the door switch into the wire joint connector as shown. It doesn't matter which door switch wire is in which side.

Then, plug the black (ground) and white (signal) wires into the other side of the joint connector as shown. You can leave the red wire alone or snip it off, it won't be needed. If you leave it connected, you can secured it to the wiring with a knot to avoid accidental shorts.

Plug the STEMMA connector into the A1 port of the Funhouse.

Here's a design file for a mounting bracket -- you can use it as a template for cutting your own by hand, with a laser cutter or mill, or as a jumping off point for modeling one for 3D printing.

FunHouse-wall-mount.svg