Dog House Warmer: Pewitos Calentitos

Pewitos Calentitos is an integral and reasonably cheap solution to warm your dog(s) house. The name in Spanish is something like "Warm Puppies" in an adorable way. The complete project includes a DIY Air electric heater, remotely controlled with their app implementation and the isolation of a dog house. Not all elements are essential, but you will get the best result if you implement all of them.

(This guide is under construction)

As background, Bloom & Jack are my mom's dogs. They used to sleep indoors in the winter, but After a moment, my cat and I had to move here again for a while. The result was that the two (big) dogs feared the cat(See picture), so they had to sleep outdoors.

This project requires basic Arduino knowledge(including coding) and basic electronic abilities. The electric heater is controlled by Arduino and temperature sensors in dog houses. Additionally, have an RTC Arduino compatible, as a clock and a wifi board to send the info to the app. All the electrical systems are supplied by a standard PC power supply(I recycled one from an old PC). The isolation could depend on the house type, but the process should be similar.

There is a to-do list in several sections that will be covered in the future.

IMPORTANT WARNING!: This project includes electrical components within reach of pets. This guide has several pieces of advice to avoid danger, but you must take precautions according to your pet's behavior. I am not responsible for bad implementations or possible accidents due to negligence.

The required supplies are divided into two sections.

Electric Heater

(I will create an Aliexpress Wishlist with the electronic components)

1. Arduino Board or Arduino-compatible board. I use a cheap Arduino-compatible nano, but it could be whatever board that includes I2C protocol (SDA&SDL pins) and Serial communication (RX&TX pins). The last requirement is unnecessary if you use a wifi-integrated board like the esp32 board(see picture layout).
2. Mini Air Heater(Alternative: a Heating Mat or Underfloor Heating Carbon Film). It can be obtained in Aliexpress for $15-20. It is a small, low-consume(70W), and primarily safe option(12V DC)(see picture). This is probably the most specific element in the list because I chose this particular way to heat, but it could depend on your dog's house, behavior, etc. The safest option is to work with low-voltage components because the dogs could bite them. My dogs usually bite their sleeping beds, so the chance of heating them is too dangerous.
3. High Current capacity Cable or Wire. This could be any cable or wire that works safely with the amount of current used by the heater. Since the heater power is 70W and 12V DC voltage, the current that passes through the cable is around 6A, so you DON'T use thin cables. I use the type of wire in the picture that is safe for 12A(two dogs, two heaters). The length depends on how far will be the control module from the dog houses.
4. DC Power Supply. Any PC power supply works. Even an AC/DC converter works too. Still, you will probably need two different converters because they can work with more than one DC(I use 12V and 3.3V, but it depends on your chosen electronic components). Another good reason to select the PC power supply is that it is safest than a regular converter(also includes a fuse), and due to the unpredictable behavior of the dogs, it's better to take all caution.
5. Temperature Sensor. It could be any Arduino-compatible temperature sensor that works on this temperature scale. I use a DS18B20 temperature sensor (see picture).
6. (Optional) 3D printer(or a way to print 3D models). Only necessary if you want it to look neat and pretty. You will be able to arrange the electronic components and fit them perfectly. I supply my 3D models that fit with the specific electronic components I choose, but some of them can work with small variations. You can adapt the models or create new ones if you need them.
7. (Optional) Real-Time Clock module. You only need it to control the functioning with time(in addition to temperature). I use the DS3231 module. (the module could require a clock battery)
8. (Optional) Wifi module. You only need it if you want to check and control the functioning within the app. You don't need to buy it if you use a built-in wifi board(a Bluetooth board can work too, but you can only use it locally). I use the cheap module ESP-01.
9. (Optional) Buzzer. Only necessary if you want a sonorous alert of disconnection or warning alarm.
10. Electronic components. These components can vary but mainly are: Bread Board and Dupont Cables. Due to constant changes and improvements, I don't want a permanent way to connect everything, so this is the best option. Electrical Cable Joint Connector. Used to join several parts of the high current cable. (Optional) LED & resistances. Used to create a led alert. Electric Switch Box. I put all the electronics inside this box because it is made from a fire-proof material.

Isolating

1. Wood Dried Stud 2x1 inch. The door house frame is made from wood. The total length depends on the house size. I use around three mts per house.
2. Corrugated Clear Polycarbonate Plastic Roof Panel or Acrylic Panel. The door s made from any of these two materials. It is preferable to choose acrylic because it is most robust than polycarbonate, but the former is cheaper. I choose this option.
3. Hinges. It must be medium size hinges. It can be regular hinges if you follow the frame structure tips.
4. Small screws. Used to fix the hinges on the door panel.
5. (Optional) Polystyrene. It can be useful to increase isolation on the floor, roof, or walls. I expect to implement this in the future.

(Under Construction)

(Under Construction)