maidez

I've been away, and had less time to post follow ups than I was hoping, but thanks to everyone that has provided suggestions I originally thought about plugging in the I/O Linc indoors and running the low voltage cabling through the wall, but there isn't really a good spot inside where the I/O Linc wouldn't be in the way or obviously visible, so I prefer to mount it outdoors near the cutoff valve. I've looked at a number of NEMA 3 &4 related enclosures, and they do certainly do come in a variety of sizes (not to mention materials). What I'm not seeing is one that seems designed to have a duplex receptacle mounted inside of it. I was hoping that something like that existed and others here that have used the I/O Linc in an outdoor application have found one that works well for this purpose. I suppose I could mount something like this inside of a larger enclosure, but I was hoping to find something that required a little less 'creativity' on my part for mounting the outlet. The only other items I had found are these, but they are both more expensive and larger than I was hoping for. The Sockit box is an interesting idea, but I'd prefer to have a permanently wired solution rather than using an extension cord for a long term application like this. Stu - I haven't found an in-use outlet cover that fits over the I/O Linc. I'm attaching pictures of two types I have on-hand that don't have clearance at the bottom to fit the I/O Linc, and I literally went through every outdoor outlet cover they had in stock at the local Home Depot, and none of them had clearance. While researching this further, I did find a 'backyard outlet' made by GE that looks like it might work. It seems to have enough vertical clearance for the cover to close completely, even over the bottom of an I/O Linc. It also has knock outs for feeding power from the rear, and it comes with a weather resistant GFI outlet all for $31. The only thing that keeps this from being perfect is what looks like a largish opening intended for extension cord exit that might allow the interior to become a fairly damp environment for the I/O Linc during the rainy season. That said, if nobody has found a more weatherproof box that would also easily accommodate a GFI and I/O Linc, I might just go with this.

I'd like to permanently install an I/O Linc on the exterior of my home for the purpose of controlling an Insteon water shutoff valve. There is no convenient outlet, but fortunately there is an outlet on the interior nearby, and it won't be too much trouble for me to add this new exterior outlet. However, I haven't been able to an in-use outlet cover that will accommodate the extra length of the I/O Linc. It's extends enough below a standard duplex outlet when plugged in, that I just don't think I'm going to find a simple outlet cover that will work. Instead, I've started looking for a weatherproof enclosure that I can mount the outlet to, which will provide enough space for the I/O Linc. I've looked around a bit, and just haven't found a model that jumps out at me as meeting my criteria. I've also looked at the Orbit sprinkler controller housing (in fact I have one for my Rachio controller); while it does have a built-in outlet, it's much bigger than I need to house the I/O Linc. I'm hoping that someone else here has mounted an I/O Linc in an outdoor application and has found a box that works well for this. My criteria - NEMA 3/4 rated weatherproof - Big enough to fit the 2450 I/O Linc, but not take up a ton of extra space (like the irrigation controller housing) - Straightforward way to mount a duplex outlet in a code compliant manner - For bonus points, an easy way to bring in the electricity (either NM cable from the rear, or conduit from below) without drilling my own holes in it. All suggestions appreciated.

Jimbo - thanks, I guess I'll look to rework this when I finally decide to move to 5.0. I've been waiting for it to become official, but maybe I'll end up going to an alpha or beta release if I get impatient. Stu - If I'm understanding you correctly, evaluating whether the light is already on isn't an option, since the light comes on as a controller -> responder relationship to avoid the delays I incurred when having the sensor trigger a program that turns on the light. I've used programs with motion sensors, because the program delay isn't really perceptible, since you're not really sure when the motion detector should fire. With the door sensors, the program delay is very noticeable, and I find myself getting through the door and well into the hallway before the light goes on. Thanks for the suggestions, I guess I know what I have to do, even if I don't really like it.

I use a hidden door sensor to automatically turn on a light in a hallway when a door from the garage is open. Like many others, I've learned to use these sensors as controllers in scenes, rather than as program triggers, because of the unacceptable delay in turning on lights when used in a program. Ideally, the light would only be turned on automatically when it is dark, and would never affect a light that has been turned on manually. I don't believe that there is a way to remove a controller from a scene programmatically (e.g. not have the sensor do anything during daytime hours), so I approximate what I want by scheduling programs that use "Adjust Scene" to set the on level to 100% at night, and 0% during the day. This gets me almost where I need to be, except for the case where someone has decided to turn the light on manually. If the door is opened during the day when the light is already on, the sensor will dutifully trigger the scene, which turns off the lights, because their level had been adjusted to 0% during the daytime housekeeping task. The only thing I can think of to turn this sensor into a no-op during the day is to have a program adjust the scene to the current light level every time the dimmer is adjusted. When the light is turned on or faded up manually during the day, the scene would be adjusted to 100%, and then when the light is turned off manually, or due to a timer program, the scene would be re-adjusted back to 0%. This seems like an awful lot of 'Adjust Scene' usage, and frequently when I find myself jumping through this many programmatic hoops, I learn that I'm missing something obvious. So - is this my only alternative, or is there a more elegant way to have the sensor co-exist with manual operation of the switch while also accounting for the time of day?

Doh! Now I get it. In my mind I was treating a heartbeat off as an actionable event. Now I understand that the absence of a heartbeat related event is the actionable condition. Somehow it didn't sink in after multiple readings of this thread, so thanks for the additional analogy.

The Heartbeat Warning customized content: Subject Heartbeat Notification - ${alert.subject} Body The heartbeat in sensor ${sys.node.#.name} was lost. Value = ${sys.node.#.ST} Details = ${alert.details} In airing this in public, I realize that the 'was lost' statement might not be supported by the evidece, so I've updated the language to state that only a notification was received. That said, the ${alert.subject} always has 'Heartbeat Off', and the 'Action: Off' is always present in the body.

I'm also trying to understand how to use the heartbeat function of the hidden door sensor, and am a bit puzzled by my experience to date. Under the 'Options' for the Heartbeat device, I've set the heartbeat interval to 4 hours. Following the advice (I think) in this thread, I've created the following program: Heartbeat Checks - [ID 0036][Parent 0001] If ( Control 'Laundry Room Door - Opened / Laundry Room Door - Heartbeat' is switched On Or Control 'Laundry Room Door - Opened / Laundry Room Door - Heartbeat' is switched Off ) Then Send Notification to 'Default' content 'Heartbeat Warning' Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') Approximately every 4 hours (more or less matching the heartbeat interval), I receive an email message stating that the heartbeat was lost. A sample message: From: ISY Alerts <alerts@universal-devices.com> Subject: Heartbeat Notification - Heartbeat Checks : Laundry Room Door - Heartbeat Off - Alert The heartbeat in sensor Laundry Room Door - Heartbeat was lost. Value = 0 Details = At: 2016/04/11 3:05:59 AM Program: Heartbeat Checks Device: Laundry Room Door - Heartbeat (3B B 25 4) Action: Off Value: 4 The Action is always 'Off', and the ${alert.subject} is always 'Heartbeat Off - Alert' Since this happens every 4 hours, and I don't really believe that the heartbeat is being lost that frequently (in fact the programs triggered by the device run flawlessly), I think this is 'just how it works'. That said, since I'm only getting a switch off event, and it comes consistently at the same timing as the heartbeat interval, I don't know how this information is actionable. Should I remove the 'is switched Off' from the if clause and assume that the 'is switched On' event indicates that there is a heartbeat problem? I was thinking of triggering on a status change rather than a switch event, but posts earlier in this thread suggest that 'switch' is preferable to 'status' to indicate lost heartbeat. The alternative is to ignore the heartbeat entirely, and let my family warn me when/if connectivity is lost to this device.