Funny you should ask this now. I've just received my new ISY-994i, Insteon
thermostat, and PowerLinc Modem in the mail 2 days ago. Now working on
programming to accomplish what I want, which is, here in sunny
too-hot-at-the-moment southern California, using inputs from the "flex you
power" alerts that the ISY is capable of reading to tell the thermostat to
turn off the air conditioning when a "reduce use" alert is called. Thus
saving me the per hour double-cost billing now possible thanks to smart
meters.
'Tis my second ISY. The other is in our other home in Mexico, where it's
served ably controlling all sorts of goodies.
So ask away, Chuck. I don't know a lot yet (my use has been relatively
unsophisticated) but I'm learnin'.
---
Scott Gomez
On Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 6:53 AM, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> wrote:
> Sorry for breaking the flurry of on-topic OM-D traffic but I have some
> home automation/security questions for which I know someone here has the
> answers.
>
> I have two (I think modest) goals I'd like to achieve for when I leave
> the house in the winter for warmer climes.
>
> 1) Right now I have a simple set of timers that turn a few lights on and
> off that simulate the activity in the house when it's occupied. Some of
> these timers have a battery backup so they can survive power outages.
> However, by the time I return in the spring, sunset and sunrise are
> radically different than when I left. Also, daylight savings time has
> gone into effect further throwing the timers off. Also, one of the
> lights I'd like to control (but don't now) is operated by a wall switch
> where control is not amenable to a simple plug-in timer.
>
> I think I can solve these lighting problems with fairly simple Insteon,
> Z-Wave (or similar) devices. But I don't know all the ins/outs of these
> things and what's best or worse. Nor do I completely understand the
> need for or how to completely cover communicating over both phases of
> the AC power lines of the house. That leads to a question of should I
> use radio transmission devices only?
>
> Whatever the solution here it probably gets complicated (cost wise) by
> goal #2...
>
> 2) When I leave the house for the winter I have the plumbing winterized
> with anti-freeze by a plumber right after I leave and de-winterized just
> before I return. I also have the town turn my water off outside the
> house just in case my own inside shut-off valve should start leaking.
> The town turns the water off for free but the winterizing/de-winterizing
> costs me $200/year. What I'd like to do is get rid of the precautionary
> anti-freeze requirement for the plumbing. But that requires that I keep
> a close watch on the temperature of the house in the event the furnace
> should fail. Right now I have a simple temperature sensor that turns on
> a red light in the window to warn the neighbors if the temperature drops
> to 40F. But if they don't notice or don't respond the antifreeze in the
> pipes will protect the plumbing. With no anti-freeze in the pipes I
> don't dare count on the neighbors noticing that all is not well with the
> furnace.
>
> If I want to spend lots of money and use a smartphone (not!) I can get
> instant alerts via smartphone on some systems. But I don't want to go
> there. I normally have my internet/cable/phone shut off when I'm gone
> but can leave internet only communications running for about the same
> amount of money that it costs me for winterizing/de-winterizing. That
> allows for a freeze/temperature sensor communicate with me via the net
> but I don't know exactly how to do that at modest cost. A warning
> e-mail would be best but even having to log-on daily for a status check
> would be OK if it's the only way to do it cheaply.
>
> These are the functions I'm after. The questions are how to do it
> cheaply but also reliably. If there's no built-in freeze protection the
> system has to work. Probably best to take the answers to this off-list.
>
> Thanks much,
> Chuck Norcutt
> --
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