Brief: I am looking for horse stable automation that can give me some peace of mind.
I have a large property and we have built a small stable block for my two horses and as well as an outbuilding which is separate from the main house but not too far away – I can see these from my kitchen window. I retired early and now I love riding and looking after my two horses. I want to be able to remotely manage the stable block and outbuilding, including lighting, heating, security and leak detection, etc. Essentially, I want smart equine stables.
Our horses spend the day in the pasture but at night, I bring them into the stables for safety and comfort. With British weather, it’s mainly about making sure they are sheltered from rainstorms and generally kept warm.
It is important for my peace of mind that there is a smoke detector in the outbuilding and stables so that I can be alerted (especially at night) if a potential fire has started so I can quickly remove my horses from any danger.
We have a water supply in the outbuilding where we keep all the horse food. I want a way of detecting leaks in the outbuilding so that if there is water on the floor, we can quickly act to make sure the dry food is not affected as this is very expensive.
As a little bit of extra security, I want to get a notification on my phone every time the door on the outbuilding is opened.
I wake up at 5 am every morning to attend to my horses – it’s usually still dark at this time. I want to have automatic outside lighting that turns on as I walk up to the stables or outbuilding. It would be good if I can also control these lights from my phone. I also want to be able to turn the lights inside the stables and outbuilding on and off from my phone incase I need to do this from the main house.
We installed a 1.5Kw wall mounted electric radiator in the outbuilding to provide quick heating. I want this to turn on automatically so that the temperature is at 20°C in the morning when I go and prepare the feed. I will already be dressed warmly but this helps to take the chill out of the air.
Solution: Using Loxone for smart equine stables.
To achieve a truly smart equine stable Loxone will control and automate various components of the building:
Lighting:
The lighting inside and outside the block is activated by a Motion Sensor Air after sunset. In addition, the lighting can be activated manually via a switch or the Loxone App.
Heating:
The electric radiator is connected to a Smart Socket Air. To ensure that the outbuilding is 20°C for 5 am, when the owner gets there every morning, the radiator will be turned on beforehand to ensure the temperature is reached. The temperature is measured using a Loxone Touch.
Safety & Security:
If any smoke is detected, by a Smoke Detector, the owner will immediately receive a phone call through the Loxone Caller Service. This ensures that the animals can be quickly brought to safety in an emergency. The same will happen in the event of a water leak. Moisture damage to expensive dry food should be avoided at all costs. A Water Sensor immediately detects any water and, again, the owner will receive a phone call.
Normally only the owner himself has access to the stable. If someone else enters either the stable or the outbuilding, the owner wants to know this in order to be able to check who is there. The doors are therefore monitored with Door & Window Contacts and the owner is informed about every opening through a push notification on their mobile phone.
Hardware:
- Miniserver
- Air Base Extension
- Nano IO Air
- Motion Sensor Air
- Outdoor Motion Sensor (or standard 24V Motion Sensor for outdoors)
- Water Sensor Air
- Smoke Detector
- Door & Window Contact Air
- Caller Service
- Touch Air
- Smart Socket Air
Configuration:
Download the sample file:
Smart Stables
Why you and your customer should consider Loxone as a solution to monitor smart equine stables?
You should consider these smart automation features for private stables because it provides a great amount of convenience and peace of mind. Being able to simply control lighting automatically in the stables is fantastic because you will almost always be going into the stables in the morning when it is still dark.
Having smoke detectors in the stables is invaluable as there have been instances where, unfortunately, horses have been inside stables that have caught fire but the stables have been away from the main house and the owners have not noticed until it was too late.
Being able to also have some automatic heating in the outbuilding makes it a bit more comfortable when you are mixing dry feed and water on those cold mornings.
For a considerable amount of convenience and peace of mind, the limited amount of Loxone hardware and installation cost is worth it.