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Raspberry Pi is one of the most popular platform for DIY
Home Automation. It provides a complete Linux system,
wireless connectivity, expandability, and low cost, but it
needs help with the I/O. A typical project requires 8 to 16
relays for zone heating and cooling, 6 to 8 relays for
irrigation, 8 relays for lighting. Reading the temperatures
requires up to 8 analog inputs (Raspberry Pi has none). Six
to 8 more analog inputs are needed for reading the soil
humidity. Motion detectors and door and window sensors
require 20 to 30 digital inputs. Off-the-shelf solutions are
available, but the result will resemble a small jungle. The
cost of all the components, not counting the Raspberry Pi,
is over $200.
Mega-IO to the rescue. A
stack of 3 Mega-IO expansion cards provides a compact
and elegant solution, for under $100. Any
I/O pin can be software configured to interrupt the
Raspberry Pi, so you do not have to poll in time critical
security applications. Everything can be controlled from the
browser on your computer, tablet or smart-phone. or you can
wrinte your own interface in C, Python, or
Codesys
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