Hello Blynkers !!
Hope you all are doing fine during this pandemic.
I am planning to automate all my lights, fans, AC, and all the outlets in my place. For this i need huge amount of Blynk energy may be i have to buy 28000 energy points twice or more as i have many Styled buttons, timer inputs, gauges, step widgets planned.
My question is does this fall under commercial sector(as there are many devices) ?
After buying the energy and having everything setup, if Blynk stops or blocks the account, i will not be able to access my or use my devices. So i want to make sure before buying energy.
I can also use the local server to get rid of this tension of suspension of account(and also get some free energy ). But i must still use the Blynk app which is the main things they always stress about on BLYNK’s website that using it for large scale is prohibited…
Is there any update on BLYNK 2.0 ??? I guess this is the most awaited moment for Blynkers !!
The free version of Blynk (which is the one you are using, where you buy energy) is limited to 5 devices.
You could set-up your own local server to get around this, but in my opinion there is a better way.
One of the things that gets a bit messy with Blynk is when you are trying to pull-in data from multiple devices and process it on another device (things like taking temperature readings via a dedicated device then using that data to control a heating or cooling system with another device).
This gets messy in Blynk because of the need to use Bridge code, which isn’t very intuitive and can be difficult to get working first time around.
My preference for smart home projects is to go use MQTT messages to obtain data from devices, and to send commands back to devices.
Node-Red can then be used to act as the gateway between your devices and Blynk (either using the cloud server or a local server). In this setup you only really need one device within Blynk, although I find it easier to use two or three devices and this has the advantage of giving more virtual pins to use.
This approach also allows you to use Tasmota to re-flash off the shelf devices like Sonoff switches (and often this can be done without the need to open the devices).
HI Pete, thnx for the insights re MQTT/Node Red, I haven’t explored that yet, have been holding off for Blynk v2 . . . but increasingly that looks like not happening (I guess they’ve been too successful on the commercial side . . .)
Curious about this comment
I’ve currently got 19 active devices across 9 projects in the app (this often increases as I test/experiment with sensors) . . . I wasn’t aware of device limitation as long as you buy energy, have never had an issue.
HI @PeteKnight, wow, haven’t seen that before . . . maybe was planned but never implemented? (I have one project (BME280 data) with six devices) - who knows . . .
I have been looking at MQTT tutorials, starting to get the feel for it, will have to get stuck in I think (I guess when you get comfortable with one ecosystem it’s hard to start from fresh again, but Blynk v1 definitely has stagnated now).
MQTT and Node-Red doesn’t really give you anything different, other than simplicity with taking data from various devices and acting on it; and the ability to interact easily with other systems like Amazon Alexa.
I still use Blynk as my primary interface with my devices (well, actually it’s probably Alexa that I use the most - but Blynk is my GUI for the system).
Node-Red has a web dashboard, which you could use instead, or as well as Blynk. I haven’t looked at it for some time, but when I did I quickly rejected it as being too clunky. For a brief while I tried running the dashboard alongside Blynk and Alexa, but keeping everything synchronised was a nightmare and not worth the effort.
No idea what is happening with Blynk 2.0 or whether it will be compatible with local server, Node-Red etc.
I’m thinking of the same type of project. I’m going to try stacking a 8266, push button shield, relay and a small power supply. Am thinking I’ll need to print a slightly bulging cover, but hoping to fit in existing wall box.
You can use the free version of Blynk provide it’s not for commercial purposes. Anything that makes money is commercial.
As I said, I don’t like Node-Red’s dashboard, which is why I use Blynk in conjunction with Node-Red and MQTT.
One big advantage of this approach is that it makes it easier to switch to a different system instead of Blynk if ever you need/want to. When all of the logic and control for your smart home system is within Node-Red then it’s very simple to use a different front-end/app when needed.
You should also think about what happens when your internet or the Blynk cloud server is down. If you’re relying just on Blynk (no Node-Red or MQTT) then you could find that you have no control over your smart home if you have a problem. Having some sort of internal server, whether tat be Blynk or Node-Red/Mosquitto then you retain control when you can’t contact the outside world.
I have faced this issue a couple of times and few of my devices start to act mad. But for few devices i have manual control to turn on or off the devices but no wireless control because no other MQTT services are present. I will have to start thinking about this seriously…
OUT OF TOPIC
Try to connect to Blynk server only if wifi(router/hotspot) is present else do not try to connect Blynk server?
This will save 10 or 15 sec in between each retries !
@Madhukesh “Early”… hah, it has been like a year already, with nada for updates
Regardless… No reason you can’t have BOTH a low cost RPi3 B+ (more than enough horsepower for Blynk Local Server, and still many other things running at same time) for better control, self applied energy and “no internet” redundancy… AND still contribute to Blynk by simply purchasing a bunch of “unused” (except by cloud) energy on the App.
As for the 5 device limitation (probably per project)… either that hasn’t been initiated yet, or only applies to those using Cloud Server.
). But i must still use the Blynk app which is the main things they always stress about on BLYNK’s website that using it for large scale is prohibited…
…
If this is true many of us will be disappointed.
