5.8 Next Steps

The variety of home automation projects using capacitive and photocell sensor notifications is expansive. Here are just a few ideas to consider pursuing:

• Place an XBee+photocell-equipped Arduino, powered by a rechargeable battery pack, in your refrigerator or freezer to detect how often and how long the doors are left open. Use this data to calculate energy expended each month as a result of these encounters. If such expenditures are excessive, broadcast emails and/or tweets to cohabitants reminding them of their growing carbon footprint.

• If groping for a light switch is a frustratingly frequent chore, tweak the capacitive sensor configuration to be used to turn on basement or garage lights by touching foil tacked to a wall or to a table-mounted surface.

• Use the variable analog readings of a photocell to measure day-night cycles and sunny-overcast recordings and map these to seasonal gardening data. Did planting certain species of flowers, fruits, or vegetables before a certain time help or hinder their growth? How many days were the plants bathed in full sunlight compared to overcast or inclement skies?

In addition to these suggestions, there is still plenty of data analysis that can be done with the collected bird feeder data. Use a Python graphing library like CairoPlot to help visualize the average duration of and time in between bird visits.[57] How quickly was seed consumed? How much of an effect did weather have on feeding times and durations? Does changing the type of seed alter the duration and frequency of visits?

Consider sharing your tweets with other bird enthusiasts online to expand a social network of others collecting and sharing their bird feeder data. Collectively compare patterns across various regions and geographies to infer population trends, environmental impacts, migration cycles, and other factors to better understand the habits of our feathered friends.