smokegrub Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 I have a small vacation home heated with a Rinnai LP Gas Heater (1004FA-III Propane Direct Vent Heater). The heater has a built-in thermostat. I heat the home in the winter to prevent freezing. I have an ISY 994I at the location. My current makeshift solution is to periodically use a Smarthome camera to look at a strategically located thermometer. Works, but is a pain. Is there a device that will continuosly monitor temperature, report to the ISY and. through programming, notify me when a low setpoint is exceeded?
builderb Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 If you're just looking for threshold notification, you could use the kit Smarthome sells that connects to an IOLink. Or you could get fancy with a 1-wire setup. There are several threads here on that topic, and more than one way to go about doing it.
Techman Posted December 18, 2014 Posted December 18, 2014 You could use the wireless Insteon thermostat with a battery eliminator power supply. You could then write a program to have the ISY email you if the temperature and/or humidity reaches a programmed threshold.
smokegrub Posted December 19, 2014 Author Posted December 19, 2014 Thanks, I will continue my research with these ideas in mind.
smokegrub Posted December 19, 2014 Author Posted December 19, 2014 After a bit of research, the Smarthome kit is poorly rated. The Insteon Wireless Thermostat seems like it would work, but a quick read of the manual indicates that programming/setup appears extremely complex for the "simple" task I have in mind, i.e., send me an email if the temp. setpoint is less than 60 degrees. Any additional ideas/suggestions will be appreciated.
Xathros Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) After a bit of research, the Smarthome kit is poorly rated. The Insteon Wireless Thermostat seems like it would work, but a quick read of the manual indicates that programming/setup appears extremely complex for the "simple" task I have in mind, i.e., send me an email if the temp. setpoint is less than 60 degrees. Any additional ideas/suggestions will be appreciated. I don't know what is complex about that at all. If your looking for a plug and play solution, I believe the wireless Insteon stat is the best solution. I have one that I use simply for monitoring the temp upstairs. It's a simple thing to send a notification if the temp is above/below predetermined values. You won't be using any of the stats internal programming. Simply link it to the ISY and use an ISY program to notify if temp drops below your threshold. Of course, if the power and internet are out, then there is no notify. There are some other solutions that just connect to your phone line and have internal battery backup. When triggered, they call out to a few preconfigured phone numbers and play a recorded message to alert you to the situation. These work as long as the phone line does not go down. -Xathros Edited December 19, 2014 by Xathros
stusviews Posted December 19, 2014 Posted December 19, 2014 Insteon thermostats include a mode that sends an On whenever heat (or cool) is called for. Set the thermostat to call for heat at your desired temperature and create a program to send you a message when that occurs, as Xathros recommended.
smokegrub Posted December 20, 2014 Author Posted December 20, 2014 Xathros/Stusviews: You have never steered me wrong so I will be ordering the thermostat and the plug accessory. Thanks.
smokegrub Posted December 31, 2014 Author Posted December 31, 2014 I received the thermomstat, wired in the plug accessory and linked it. Everything went very smoothly and now, using a simple program, i am notofied by email when the thermostat is calling for heat and, thus, indicating that the heating system has failed. Love it! Great advice, as always. I am wrapping up installation of the last hidden door sensor. Everything is working fine except for my Smarthome cameras. They failed following the last firmware update. The replacements, graciously provided by Smarthome, have been nothing but problematic. IR sensors occasionally start flashing and require a reboot. Blocking out times when I want to deactivate motion-activated notification no longer works. Slight changes in lighting result in motion activated alerts. If I reduce the sensitivity someone can occasionally walk directly in front of the camera and no alert is sent. Video quality has degraded somewhat. On MobiLinc I get messages that it can't connect to one of the camera only to have the connection made a few seconds later. None of these issues existed prior to the firmware update.
stusviews Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 Are you using the camera(s) wired or wireless? BTW, motion sensors are most sensitive to left and right motion, least sensitive to toward and away.
smokegrub Posted December 31, 2014 Author Posted December 31, 2014 They are wireless, but the important thing is that they functioned very well before the firmware update. After that...
stusviews Posted December 31, 2014 Posted December 31, 2014 If you made a backup before upgrading (you did, didn't you), then try restoring the earlier version.
smokegrub Posted December 31, 2014 Author Posted December 31, 2014 No, unfortunately. I am going to contact Smarthome and see if they can/will provide the old firmware.
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