I was researching light meters from Apogee and found the Pulse Pro. I’m using it to automate my flower room along with Home Assistant and a mixture of esp32’s, esp8266’s, IR transmitter and some relays configured through esphome to control anything that I need to.
Pulse made their API available which allows you to integrate and display your Pulse Pros’ data inside software like Home Assistant. My setup calls the API in 20 second intervals and all data is displayed on custom cards in the Home Assistant dashboard. API consumption is measured by number of datapoints retrieved daily. This interval works perfectly with their hobbyist level which is free. The hobbyist level allows 4800 datapoints daily. I use the data from the Pulse Pro to automate my humidifier, lights, fans, dehumidifier, Minisplit A/C, and CO2 tank.
My goal was to automate as much of my room as I can for as cheap as possible
If anyone is using the Pulse Pro and wants to utilize the API to automate their grow I can help you get setup.
The Pulse Pro is the main sensor of the room it measures
💨 CO2
PPFD/PAR & DLI
Spectrometer
Vapor Pressure Deficit
Temperature
Relative Humidity
Light Intensity
Dew Point
That’s why I chose the Pulse Pro you don’t have to buy separate sensors, the only other sensor I have in the room is an Aroya Solus/Teros 12 soil sensor which I plan on integrating into Home Assistant next.
I used a Raspberry pi 4b for my Home Assistant server. You can use an old computer or laptop if you have one laying around or even one of these miniPC
ESP32, ESP8266 and relay modules are available on aliexpress or Amazon. I can post up some pictures of the simple outlet boxes I made using the esp32 and the relay modules. I found junction boxes with mounting plates on Amazon which made mounting the ESP32 and other components much easier. Here are some links to what I used to make them.
The first thing I would do is get yourself setup with Home Assistant server and a Pulse Pro.
Cool, going to have to check that out. Only concern would be the length of warranty as it would suck to have one part of the sensor go out.
Going to give it some reading when I can - thanks for sharing!
Been using the Pulse Pro for a couple of years now. Cool to see how it integrates with other stuff. Their app is more than enough for me, but I have othe automatons.
This is great to know! I run Trolmaster. But would have been hella cheaper to run through the pulse and just use generic relays etc. Maybe I can adapt the pulse for the veg room!! Thanks for sharing.
So I’ve always wanted to set up some automation, but am pretty dumb when it comes to computers. How difficult was it to get everything set up? And past the Pulse since that’s obviously pretty expensive, what’s a ballpark estimate of cost for a full grow tent automation setup?
It all depends on your setup. If you want to automate with Home Assistant you have some options. Tell me more about your setup and I can help you figure out a price.
I love the idea of home assistant and played with it a few times over the years, but never really accomplished much. Right now I’ve got a couple smart strips for scheduling lights and an ac infinity controller running fans and a humidifier, but it would be nice to centralize everything and include watering with a drip setup.
I’ve been plagued with the WiFi disconnect issues which is obnoxious since the only reason I bought the pro was to be able to look at it whenever, wherever I wanted. I got around that by having all the accessories plugged into a smart strip and turning them all off for a few seconds and them all back on to force a reconnect. Either great except sometimes it wouldn’t run the humidifier correctly after an off/on… I’m assuming because it’s a cheap one off of Amazon and not an ac infinity humidifier and I’m running it off one of their uis plugs. I’ve got their big one on preorder and should be here sometime in May, so hopefully no more issues. It was irritating checking the temp/humidity one day at it being at 93%! Luckily it was early veg and not late for that it happened!
I have a Pulse hub with a soil sensor and a temp / humidity sensor. I also have a Pulse One sensor in my veg room. I’m waiting for them to release the smart outlets so that I can use it to takeover fertigation automations. I was unaware that the data could be used to automate through third party apps / products.