Need feedback for automation/co2 controller product design

Hello everyone,

I am making a CO2/temp/hum controller with internet connectivity and need some feedback from fellow growers.
First of all, would monitoring data (temp/humidity/co2 ppm/relays etc) through your smartphone/computer be a feature you'd want/use ? In addition, would a built in camera on the sensor module that snaps a wideangle still image of the growroom/plants every nth second/minute be something you would want ? (either for regular visual checks of the garden/equipment or even for making timelapse videos).
Would power outlets for a separate humidifier and dehumidifier be desirable ?
Would you want your exhaust fan to be controlled by ON/OFF or would you prefer to use the OFF/LOW/HIGH settings that most have and if so, how/why ?
Is there something that bothers you with your current equipment ? Is there some other feature you would like to have ? Comments/suggestions most welcome !

Big fan of automation too. I use velocity for monitoring. It is a great prog that live streams my grow room direct to my phone. It has an option to take pix every 30 seconds or so (whatever increment you want, actually) and is great for a piece of mind when I am not at home. I recently set up a sub pump in a 30 gallon container with some rainbird irrigation tubes on a digi timer that feeds about 5 times during a 24 hour cycle. Keeps the pots damp, not drenched. I barely ever have to go in there anymore. Just to train and prune that is about it. I would love to have some blumats, though, when I get the extra cash.

As far as monitoring your co2 levels via your phone, you could probably hook up an arduino to a censor and write a script to send you updates via email or whatever. Should not be too difficult. Your exhaust could probs be regulated by a dimmer switch.

I love to timelapse, too. I have a couple vids. Some in my sig if you wanna check em out.

Cool thread. Good questions. Cheers.

Hey Pinworm thanks for the input man. The arduino+esp was used for the prototype, I'm probably designing a pcb for production though but the concept is the same. As for the dimmer, so far i've tried an expensive and a cheap diy and both made the fan noisy in lower rpms so I'm avoiding the dimmer. I have yet to try a variac transformer for dimming the exhaust but their price is too steep ...so I don't know...
I'm also a fan of the irrigation idea and I have a smaller 13gallon container with a pump inside and a solenoid valve outside controlled by my prototype (manual on/off for now)...but didn't think it would be something other growers would be into...its great if you're away for a couple of days though!

Anyhow, Im trying to not get carried away too much and build something not overly complicated, user-friendly, good quality/robust and as low-cost as possible.

One problem with the internet connectivity is whether to go the cloud route or the local server. Local server requires the user to open a port on the router (portforward) and create a dyn-dns/noip account ..and I don't know how easy that would be for the average person/grower. The cloud option on the other hand is a nightmare for me ...

p.s.
liked the horrorshow timelapse ..nice bushy bitches !