# EcoGen Automation Controller

Custom generator auto-start automation connecting OpenWrt, Shelly relays, EcoFlow and a Cummins Onan generator, with bench-tested startup logic and manual control.

- Role: Control workflow, low-voltage wiring, relay integration, controller setup and bench testing.
- Status: Working prototype
- Status code: working-prototype
- Case page: https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller
- Reviewed: 2026-10-02

## Problem

A backup-power setup needed a custom startup sequence across separate devices, with feedback and manual control built into the workflow.

## Constraints

- Integrate existing generator and battery hardware
- Test the startup sequence on the bench before deployment
- Retain manual control and check feedback before action

## Architecture

- Monitor operating conditions
- Apply controller rules on OpenWrt
- Coordinate Shelly relay outputs
- Check feedback and report state
- Keep manual control available

## Decisions

- Build the control sequence around the actual equipment
- Validate wiring, relay logic and controller setup together
- Use test and dry-run modes before real operation

## Evidence

- Smart Control project record: OpenWrt, Shelly relay hardware, EcoFlow and a Cummins Onan generator
  - Provenance: Public project record. The company's project description documents this scope; it is not independent performance verification.
  - Sources: [https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/](https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/)
- Smart Control project record: low-voltage wiring, relay logic, controller setup and bench validation
  - Provenance: Public project record. The company's project description documents this scope; it is not independent performance verification.
  - Sources: [https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/](https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/)
- Manual control and feedback-first operation are part of the owner's prototype account
  - Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account.
  - Sources: None published.

## Safety and boundaries

- Working prototype; bench validation does not establish long-term field reliability
- Manual control is retained
- No remote endpoints, wiring instructions or hardware identifiers are published

## Stack

- OpenWrt
- Shelly relays
- EcoFlow
- Cummins Onan
- Low-voltage wiring
- Control logic

## Media

![Smart Control generator automation project graphic with a bench photograph of a laptop, relay wiring and test equipment.](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/images/evidence/generator-auto-start-automation.webp)

Original Smart Control project graphic, reproduced from the website's Generator Auto-Start Automation record. The bench photograph documents the setup work; it does not establish long-term field reliability.

## Credits

- None published.

## Public sources

- [Smart Control: Generator Auto-Start Automation project record](https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/)
- [Smart Control: original generator project post on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122181126206874298)

## Related projects

- [smart-control-website](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/smart-control-website)
- [chevrolet-volt-toolkit](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/chevrolet-volt-toolkit)

## Generator auto-start automation

Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller#result](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller#result)

EcoGen brings the control workflow for a backup-power setup into one working prototype. The Smart Control project record documents the hardware integration and bench validation of the startup sequence. The owner can retain manual control while the controller handles routine decisions.

Provenance: First-hand account and public project record. Smart Control documents the equipment, integration work and bench validation. Manual control and feedback behavior are the owner's prototype account.

Sources:
- [https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/](https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/)

## From wiring to startup logic

Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller#workflow](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller#workflow)

The setup combines OpenWrt, Shelly relay hardware, EcoFlow and a Cummins Onan generator. My work covered the low-voltage connections, relay logic and controller configuration, then bench testing before deployment. The control workflow checks feedback and reports its state so a command is not mistaken for a confirmed result.

Provenance: First-hand account and public project record. Smart Control documents the equipment, integration work and bench validation. Manual control and feedback behavior are the owner's prototype account.

Sources:
- [https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/](https://smartcontrolllc.com/projects/)

## Test before operation

Canonical case section: [https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller#boundary](https://oleksii.almalvs.online/work/ecogen-controller#boundary)

Test and dry-run modes support checking the control sequence before real operation. Manual control remains part of the operating model. This case describes a working prototype and documented bench work; it does not establish certification, measured fuel savings or unattended field reliability.

Provenance: First-hand account. Published from Oleksii Mazur's first-hand account.

Sources:
- None published.