larryllix

I think we understand. Your heart and brain are having an argument. I don't use controls everywhere. Mostly in my TV area and MS in the bedrooms so that guests and ourselves getting up in the middle of the night have some light and don't run into doors and walls. Yes it's somewhat expensive but so are all hobbies. My wife likes the back doorbell sound (we don't have a backdoor) when her dryer stops and the text message if she doesn't show up at the dryer within 5 minutes.

Usually and typically the wires wlll be as follows: R = Red (I think 'red Hot') =24vac G = Green (I think 'Grill') =fan only control W1= White (I think 'Warm 1') = first stage of heating W2= Brown? (I think 'Warm 2') =second stage of heating Some thermostats will run off just the two wires R-W1 in a parasitic mode with a battery to carry them over when the contacts are closed and the voltage is (almost) shorted. I am not sure how Insteon controllable units do it These should be compatible with almost any thermostat. I would be looking inside the heater to convert that W2 to a 24vac ground/common to run to your 'stat so you have both 24vac and common. Many times the common is connected to the frame.

What is the voltage across the two wires? If it isn't 24vac you may have taken out a line voltage thermostat and you may get some fire.

Do you have outdoor reset on your system? Most will if they run such a huge thermal mass system as hydronic in slab heating to control overshoot and undershoot. I was thinking you could leave all your stats at a high temperature setting in series with your ISY control outputs. Now with an outdoor temperature, wind, humidity and occupancy sensing and logic you could run a PWM scheme for all your zones and if the things ever locked-on your old thermostats would limit the amount of heat. if the series contacts failed you would need some crude backup scheme to keep the house at a minimum maybe without zones involved. My thermostats have built in "scenes" to accommodate visitors and special occasions etc. I only use two. "everyday" and "away". With the away I have to predict the number of days before I return. When we don't predict properly and come home early it takes about 18-24 hours to warm up the house in the winter from 17c to 22c with the basement slab heating. My complex thermostats run about $2.5k or more for 5 zones so a separate ISY may be worth your while as a dedicated control. Your "play" ISY could be the backup or watchdog or vice versa in the off-heating seasons.

ahhhh ... that sounds like that may be a 9 bit signed integer (0.5 degrees each bit) reading misinterpreted as an unsigned binary value. 2^7-2 You may be able to convert the result by fudging the value if you can run more negative temperature trials

Thanks LeeG. That's what I was looking for! Your event reading skills are invaluable here. (jealous) I haven't spent the time to learn that, which is unlike my usual behaviour.

For the purpose of this illustration I will use the multiple Notifications problem, being a common one for many, but this could apply to any response taken from an event trigger where repeated actions could be an unwanted effect. A common method of avoiding multiple notifications is to have a second disabled program disable the first, and triggering, program for a set amount of time. Program.1 -------------- If water_leak_detected Then run program.2 Else -- Program.2 -------------- If -- Then disable Program1 send notification "we got leaks!" wait 1 hour enable Program.1 Else -- Can anyone see a problem with using only a single program (below) to do this same thing? The program would already be triggered and disabling it would not stop it's progress. Could this be caught in a power failure and lock out as disabled? Program -------------- If water_leak_detected Then disable Program send notification "we got leaks!" wait 1 hour enable Program Else -- Thoughts?

It may not display negative temperatures due to not having a minus sign on the LCD but it may still transmit them to the ISY.

hmm.......This sounds similar to a previous poster's complaint with this version.

I have used non-existent X10 devices as "virtual devices" that can be controlled by MobiLinc. I have the X10 modules so I can also name the pseudodevices with sane labels. Currently I use lots of motion detectors to switch modes except for security items, which are done by Insteon patterns on wall switches and time of day.

"I deleted a test scene, and the device added without issue!" I was thinking you stated "programs" not "scenes" My bad! Thanks!

Strange that a program count limit would affect a device addition though. Am I missing something here?

Correct. You need a module with a relay output contact that your heater can plug or wire into and possibly a controller in the middle like the ISY, especially if you want to do any energy saving schemes.

I have two 2441ZTH units that input as probes to my ISY994i. No 2441TH required. The 2441TH units have hardware contacts on them to control furnaces and A/C. The Z units only have Insteon I/O, which is what ISY likes to eat. If you don't mind the ISY in the middle of your control stream then it will work. There may be a way to connect the 2441ZTH directly to an Appliance module but I haven't tried that. I don't typically use direct Insteon connections in my system. In my one 2441ZTH I can set the "virtual" setpoint contacts in the 2441ZTH. In my other unit I cannot seems to. You can use the Insteon setpoint signal from the 2441ZTH to control programmes or you can set a setpoint in the ISY program and use the analogue Insteon output of the 2441ZTH to make more complex decisions.

The Insteon 2441ZTH is about the cheapest you can get. I have two. For humidity control it would work just fine. Humidity updates on a 1 minute report regularly. Temperatures and other items report only when changes happen. This bugs some users staring at blank data until the next update after install and power failure. I wouldn't use it for serious home heating control with it's quirks and only 0.5 degree C resolution but for humidity, definitely.

You have the latest firmware version. I have never received update notices either. I don't know where one would receive them. Just watch this forum for notices.

This unit looks like it executes a PLC language type code also so it can become fairly self contained. What level does the ISY Network interface interact with it? Does it trigger macro like routines, operate individual devices, both, or other? Is there any feedback to relay positions so other control sources can be detected? Are the relays latching and/or failsafe?

So the network interface is available and the ISY Network Module is necessary. Nice gadget! Thanks

"Anyway, I moved all the HVAC relays I wanted the EZIO8SA to control to a Digital Loggers DIN Relay http://www.digital-loggers.com/din.html (thanks to Xathros for the suggestion), which has been rock solid reliable. " How is this device interfaced with ISY?

I use motion detectors everywhere to detect presence/away. 6 - X10 old units and 3 Insteon units. In the bedrooms they are mounted over the head of the beds (on top of the usual picture) so people sleeping cannot trigger them but upon rising the BR lights go on time-dependant brightnesses. If there is no motion anywhere for four hours we are away. If there is motion in the mudroom and no motion elsewhere for 20 minutes we are away. (our usual exit) Between 11 PM and 8 AM doesn't count = only update to occupied status (just sleeping) If there is motion in the workshop building between 11 PM and 8 AM then flash some lights, text message me and ring the doorbell.

Should be 120 kHz and 131.65 kHz. 120 MHz probably wouldn't travel down a powerline very far.

I have my ISY within a few feet of my main panel, right beside my noisy co-gen inverter, and a plug-in dual-band module within a few feet of the panel in my shop building. The building is coated in metal foil insulation and a steel roof so I know RF doesn't get there well. That works very well for me. I assume the powerline gets the signal there for that zone. I have never bothered with Access Points and never have a problem communicating between the two. My X10 modules have big problems at the far ends of the house, especially when the inverter is running. I have to avoid some receptacles for X10 usage but the Insteon units always work everywhere. I have had a few misses in the last year with Insteon but they always heal with a query.

For critical operations you may want to avoid scenes. Apparently scenes do not get the feedback and comm retires that individual commands do in the Insteon world. That may cause some disastrous unwanted results should a command not "catch" at the remote end and you don't know it. For lighting? Who cares if one light doesn't respond but for critical equipment...? Back to the X10 level. Edit: font adjustment...weird

Regardless of voltage ratings, capacitors have a current limit rating, and this configuration cannot be expected to last long slapping 170vdc directly into any voltage capacitor without a ballast impedance. Upon replacement a good practice would be to have a discharge direction diode parallellel by a few ohm resistor, both in series with the replacement capacitor. The low voltage capacitors usually get away with this huge initial current charge inrush potential as wire leads and foil impedances typically limit currents to less than 100 amperes for microseconds. On a higher voltage application the PCB foil and wire impedances become insignificant to the initial chaarging inrush current. Nice going!!

I was going to install a driveway snow melt system in my new house. After researching this field I discovered I couldn't afford it. I had a smaller system inplace in my porch slab but the concrete guy put the pipes (yes in my absence) too close to the edge and I punctured one with railing installation. Snow melt systems typically need the snow melt sensor to work properly. The snow not only needs to be melted but completely dried up or you have a sheet of ice when the heat shuts off, making things worse. Perhaps in a milder climate zone where only small amounts of snow come to be annoying? I don't know how you could replace a snow-melt sensor with a logically designed timer and not just "over-time" the heat causing more energy consumption or having to visully inspect the result every hour. Good luck with it though.