The HVAC automation system uses Raspberry Pi devices

Sep 10, 2015 03:30 GMT  ·  By

The Cube-Controls team, through Maarten Ectors, has the great pleasure of informing users about a new device called Pi-Cubes, which is an app-enabled HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) control system powered by Snappy Ubuntu Core.

Pi-Cubes has been designed from the ground up to offer a modular HVAC automation system that is capable of supporting up to four thermostats and 24 I/Os, and gives makers the possibility of using different I/O boards for all sorts of Home Automation projects.

Using the Modbus open-source communication protocol, the Pi-Cubes Communication Thermostat device can be easily accessed through the serial port of a Raspberry Pi SBC (Single-Board Computer). Additionally, the Pi-Cubes SDK (Software Development Kit) employs Node-RED powered by Snappy Ubuntu Core.

"Pi-Cubes I/O Modules are easy accessible from Raspberry Pi just using I2C serial communication, which provides wide range of programming options, from Python, Node JS, C/C++ and all kind of existing control frameworks," says Maarten Ectors in the blog article posted on the Canonical website.

The Pi-Cubes system is now available for pre-order

Developers will be able to install the Pi-Cubes SDK in minutes thanks to Canonical's Ubuntu Snappy Core operating system, as well as the Snappy Apps (also known as Snaps), in order to start writing code and deploy their applications on the Pi-Cubes system using Node-RED.

Those interested in creating Home Automation and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) control systems are invited to pre-order their own Pi-Cubes system right now from the project's Kickstarter page, where you'll find all the information you need about the next-generation app-enabled HVAC control system.

We remind everyone that Snappy Ubuntu Core is an open-source operating system designed by Canonical specifically for embedded devices. It uses Snappy apps and can be upgraded atomically and rolled back if needed.