Homeowner Uses AI and a Camera to Monitor a Boiler

Summary

A rental-property owner built a monitoring system for a boiler serving three tenant-controlled zones. The Ecobee thermostats can detect problems only after a heat call is followed by a sustained drop in room temperature, which may be too late. The boiler itself displays error codes, but the owner had no remote way to see them. A Tapo camera now points at the boiler, while AI reads the display and the zone-controller lights from exported still frames. The system sends the owner a text message whenever the readings fall outside normal operating parameters. The project is intended to improve the experience for tenants while connecting the appliance to the internet without directly exposing the boiler or other critical infrastructure to the web.