Nestor Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 For garage door openers, what advantages, if any, are there to using a scene instead of a program? My current setup is as follows for each of two garage doors: --Ecolink Z wave tilt sensor --IOlinc connected to "activate" button on spare battery powered remote. The OEM wall-mount paddle controllers are within easy reach of my interior garage door, making keypad lincs somewhat redundant, so my primary, ISY-wise control is via Mobilinc and two small ("Then") programs on my iPhone. I haven't had much to do with scenes mainly because, having transferred from a Veralite, most of my devices are Zwave. I wouldn't even have a program, but because not all IOlinc modes are accessible via direct device operation, I made a small program to ensure the relay feedback is always seen as "off" after each operation: If - No Conditions Then Set 'Relay Garage Door North' On Wait 1 second Set 'Relay Garage Door North' Off Else - No Actions Everything worked quite well. The doors opened and closed with a single press of a Mobilin icon, and the Garage Door Icons changed state as expected. Until winter time, that is. I discovered to my chagrin that the Ecolink tilt sensors aren't designed for sub-freezing temperatures, which pretty well rules out their functionality for a good 3 or 4 months out of the year. Note that door control was unaffected, only feedback. I should add that I went with the Ecolinks because at the time, I was steering away from Insteon after I discovered Veralite's lousy state feedback performance with Insteon. My motive behind the original question is that, because I will be replacing the Ecolinks with magnetic limit switches and using the sensor inputs on the IOlincs, I'm compelled to revisit my original configuration. I know most people here use scenes for their garage doors, but because I don't use keypad lincs, I couldn't find a way to work the lone IOlincs into a scene that made sense to me. Maybe that will change now that I have a more "uniform" garage door setup. Suggestions? Link to comment
Teken Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Not sure if this feed back is worth any value but typically a scene is used for the GDO in concert with a KPL. As you're fully aware the majority use it for both status and control. Since it seems you won't have this requirement then I am not sure what value there would be in using a scene? Unless you plan on linking the sensor from the I/O Linc to some other Insteon enabled device like a LED, Lamp Linc, etc. I personally would not count on a software widget to alert me of a On/Off state for the largest door in my home. I would opt to have a hard linked KPL etc for that status and control. Link to comment
Xathros Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 In your situation, I see no need to use a scene. Just add the IOLinc sensor in place of your tilt sensors. Wire the switch so that the IOLinc sensor is On when the door is Open. -Xathros Link to comment
stusviews Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 A scene will continue to function even if the ISY is not available. A program won't. Link to comment
Nestor Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Not sure if this feed back is worth any value but typically a scene is used for the GDO in concert with a KPL. As you're fully aware the majority use it for both status and control. Since it seems you won't have this requirement then I am not sure what value there would be in using a scene? Unless you plan on linking the sensor from the I/O Linc to some other Insteon enabled device like a LED, Lamp Linc, etc. I personally would not count on a software widget to alert me of a On/Off state for the largest door in my home. I would opt to have a hard linked KPL etc for that status and control. For my house design, (four level back split), monitorig and control of my garage doors is only a few steps away, so the KPL didn't seem very useful. I can definitely see where that wouldn't be the case for other people though. As someone who has made his iphone a fifth appendage , (Curse you Steve Jobs!) smartphone integration seemed to make the most sense. Link to comment
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