Tracking GFCI Circuit (my first program(s))

[ravedog]

Hey everyone,

 

Been getting help (from the forums, and some suggestions from people directly) so I tried my hand at tracking a GFCI circuit here at the house to see if i could wrap my head around this state machine thingie:

 

Order of events:

1. Check if the GFCI popped
2. Notify me at pre-determined intervals (that it's still popped)
3. Send me notification when the GFCI is reset and reset the variables and start looking again.
4. Optional: set a force check var to reset all vars back to zero and check again.

 

GFCI Circuit state determination: To "know" if the GFCI is popped, we have this one GFCI outlet in the garage that (unfortunately) controls quite a few other outlets downstream (yes, it's on my list). Anyway, there is an insteon module plugged into one of the outlets in front yard area and one in the back patio. So I force the ISY to query both modules and if BOTH are not responding, assume that the circuit is popped and start the notification process.

 

The circuit works great. Ever xx minutes it pings me until i get around to resetting the GFCI and then it confirms everything's OK. (well... OK... there was that one time... (actually three) where I forgot to add a wait statement and.... well lets just say my phone caught fire and the ISY became unreachable... YIKES!)

 

I appreciate any feedback or suggestions on how to maybe improve this or "DID I DONE GOOD?"

 

 

 

Here are the programs I used:

 

Garage GFCI Query (run at startup)

If
   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')


Then
        Repeat Every  15 minutes 
           Set 'Front Yard / Front Steps Lights' Query
           Set 'Back Yard / Trellis Lights' Query
           Run Program 'Garage GFCI Check' (If)


Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

Garage GFCI Check

If
        Status  'Back Yard / Trellis Lights' is not Responding
    And Status  'Front Yard / Front Steps Lights' is not Responding


Then
        $sGarage.GFCI.Tripped  = 1
        Run Program 'Garage GFCI Tripped' (Then Path)


Else
        $sGarage.GFCI.Restored  = 1

Garage GFCI Tripped

If
   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')


Then
        Send Notification to 'Prowl Notifications' content 'Prowl.GFCI.Tripped'


Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

Garage GFCI Restored

If
        $sGarage.GFCI.Tripped is 1
    And $sGarage.GFCI.Restored is 1


Then
        Send Notification to 'Prowl Notifications' content 'Prowl.GFCI.Restored'
        $sGarage.GFCI.Tripped  = 0
        $sGarage.GFCI.Restored  = 0


Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

Garage GFCI Force Check

If
        $sGarage.GFCI.ForceCheck is 1


Then
        $sGarage.GFCI.Tripped  = 0
        $sGarage.GFCI.Restored  = 0
        $sGarage.GFCI.ForceCheck  = 0
        Run Program 'Garage GFCI Query' (Then Path)


Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

 

[Teken]

I know you're getting around to the GFCI. But, I have to affirm this really needs to be done to avoid a safety issue / loss of life condition.

 

If the GFCI is very old just replace the bloody thing.

 

If its not because its old but that there is a ground fault somewhere it really needs to be looked into and resolved. 

[ravedog]

Thanks teken, your suggestions are valid and it's going to be done. I was using this as a test to see if I could track modules that went offline for whatever reason. One being we have a backup genny and I wanted to determine if power went out and generator came on to take over. So this was the program I used to check my programming.

 

As for safety issues, the circuit has only popped once because we had a huge rain storm and the outdoor string lights popped the circuit. It worked as it was supposed to. After, I thought I wonder if the were a way to know if it's offline because one of the outlets has a rain bird plugged into it. Had I not known the circuit popped, the sprinklers would never have come on.

 

GFCI's are supposed to be installed on all outdoor outlets (and in a sense they are thru the one parent). If water should ever get into one, they pop to save your life. Which is what they did.

 

As far as replacing, I agree... The house was built in 98 and I guess to save a whopping 180$ they installed one gfci in the garage and hooked up 6 outlets around the house. Lame. It still works fine, it does what it supposed to do, but honestly I'd rather have them as local devices.

 

And yes, it's not the only GFCI. There are others as well that are local.

 

 

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[Teken]

Thanks teken, your suggestions are valid and it's going to be done. I was using this as a test to see if I could track modules that went offline for whatever reason. One being we have a backup genny and I wanted to determine if power went out and generator came on to take over. So this was the program I used to check my programming.

 

As for safety issues, the circuit has only popped once because we had a huge rain storm and the outdoor string lights popped the circuit. It worked as it was supposed to. After, I thought I wonder if the were a way to know if it's offline because one of the outlets has a rain bird plugged into it. Had I not known the circuit popped, the sprinklers would never have come on.

 

GFCI's are supposed to be installed on all outdoor outlets (and in a sense they are thru the one parent). If water should ever get into one, they pop to save your life. Which is what they did.

 

As far as replacing, I agree... The house was built in 98 and I guess to save a whopping 180$ they installed one gfci in the garage and hooked up 6 outlets around the house. Lame. It still works fine, it does what it supposed to do, but honestly I'd rather have them as local devices.

 

And yes, it's not the only GFCI. There are others as well that are local.

 

 

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That was a nice follow up and back ground story, thanks. I think your plans for monitoring the back up generator is sound and do look forward to seeing a program that helps you determine that state.

 

As I too am planning to deploy a 21 KWH NG generator so this very much interests me.

[ravedog]

My parents had installed a generac guardian 20kw and transfer panel and about half the house can run on it. It's brilliant.

 

That's further down the line when I get all the pool stuff robust and idiot proof (which is oxymoronic p, since the idiot is programming it. Lol)

 

 

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[Michel Kohanim]

Hi ravedog,

 

Looks pretty good!

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[ravedog]

Thanks Michel.

 

 

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