Monitoring Dryer with 240v Large Plug

[Teken]

I am trying to AVOID going into the power panel! ;P do NOT need to get electrocuted!!

 

The CT's simply *Clamp* on to the two primary feeds no worries about being electrocuted. Assuming the device people are referring to is the HEM device.

 

You're going to have to figure out how to filter the dryer wattage value from the rest of the homes electrical usage if you place them on the primary feeds. If not and you place it on the dryer you're golden and simply need to craft a program to monitor the on-off wattage value(s).

[larryllix]

If mfranzel is not electrically oriented, at all, I would recommend he get an electrician to do this.

Even clamping on a CT to a conductor in a panel full of live connections. I wouldn't recommend he even open the cover himself.

 

Even as experienced workers in this field, doing it every day for decades, we never opened a live panel without insulated gloves and flash glasses, Too many of my co-workers created flashes opening old panels with breakers and wiring falling apart.

[Teken]

I had this huge aszz reply and the forum wiped it out !!!

 

I give up . . .

[larryllix]

I had this huge aszz reply and the forum wiped it out !!!

 

I give up . . .

That happens over at cocoontech all the time. Lately it has started to happen occasionally here too. You select a word and hit backspace and the whole post is empty.

[jerlands]

You're going to have to figure out how to filter the dryer wattage value from the rest of the homes electrical usage if you place them on the primary feeds. If not and you place it on the dryer you're golden and simply need to craft a program to monitor the on-off wattage value(s).

 

I think the idea is since the dryer is (or should be) fed from it's own breaker the clamps go on the 2 feed lines from it and not on the entire panel so only the dryer is monitored (but this requires opening the panel.)  The only other way I see is into the dryer itself and connect where the insulation is removed from the cable?

 

 

Jon...

[jerlands]

UDI is having a sale on Z-Wave Assembly Kit regularly $79.00 now until 5/01 $44.50

 

 

Jon...

[Teken]

I think the idea is since the dryer is (or should be) fed from it's own breaker the clamps go on the 2 feed lines from it and not on the entire panel so only the dryer is monitored (but this requires opening the panel.)  The only other way I see is into the dryer itself and connect where the insulation is removed from the cable?

 

 

Jon...

 

Yeah I should have written out my thoughts a little better above as it wasn't so clear. Using the HEM device he could simply attach the two clip on CT's to the dryer breakers and be done with it. My comments about installing the CT to the two primary feeds of the main panel was to let him understand more programming logic would be needed (IF) he decided to go the other route.

 

Depending upon his environment and lifestyle the program logic could take a few revisions to get it right. Even though I monitor every circuit in my home there was a little trial and error on my part too. As my needs were much more demanding in that I wanted to know every facet of the energy readings so related HA or tasks could be invoked or done.

 

Back in the day having a GDO was for many a novelty in their lives. I thought being able to know the status of all of electronics and appliances was going to be the very same. Fast forward many years later I can't even think about not having this core feature in my home.

 

As most folks know the week ends are normally super busy with errands and chores. Having the ability to notify, monitor, and track every facet of the home has made my family so efficient its just scary. When you have ten loads of laundry to do and limited time knowing when its time to go down stairs to put in the next load is a huge multi tasking time saver!

[jerlands]

Yeah I should have written out my thoughts a little better above as it wasn't so clear. Using the HEM device he could simply attach the two clip on CT's to the dryer breakers and be done with it. My comments about installing the CT to the two primary feeds of the main panel was to let him understand more programming logic would be needed (IF) he decided to go the other route.

 

Depending upon his environment and lifestyle the program logic could take a few revisions to get it right. Even though I monitor every circuit in my home there was a little trial and error on my part too. As my needs were much more demanding in that I wanted to know every facet of the energy readings so related HA or tasks could be invoked or done.

 

Back in the day having a GDO was for many a novelty in their lives. I thought being able to know the status of all of electronics and appliances was going to be the very same. Fast forward many years later I can't even think about not having this core feature in my home.

 

As most folks know the week ends are normally super busy with errands and chores. Having the ability to notify, monitor, and track every facet of the home has made my family so efficient its just scary. When you have ten loads of laundry to do and limited time knowing when its time to go down stairs to put in the next load is a huge multi tasking time saver!

 

There aren't many packaged solutions for home energy monitoring that make it easy for people to incorporate.  I'm sure we'll see more of this in time but I'm a little surprised it's not out there yet.

 

 

Jon...

[Teken]

There aren't many packaged solutions for home energy monitoring that make it easy for people to incorporate.  I'm sure we'll see more of this in time but I'm a little surprised it's not out there yet.

 

 

Jon...

 

Jon,

 

There are quite a few energy monitors out in the market today. There are very few energy management integrated systems though. There are even less energy management devices that integrate tightly with home automation like the 994 Series Controller.

 

Even worse, the industry has been plagued with lots of toy like energy monitors that simply use mythical unicorn software to detect energy signature readings!

 

Whether it be Smappee, Neurio, Sense, etc.

 

All of these devices are toys which offer a really slick front end but offer very limited long term data aggregation, charting, graphing, and God forbid a open API to the public.

 

Never mind the incessant need to be completely cloud dependent on its operations. Brultech has lead the charge in this area for more than 20 years and continues to do so now. I haven't met or worked with another company besides UDI that has been so open to ideas and implementing the very same.

 

The sad reality is energy monitoring / energy management is not sexy. Its not something the average person really thinks about nor is it something a person sees much value in. The bulk of us are just plain consumers and never pay much thought about how to conserve or to at least reduce our impact on the Earth or the resources at hand.

 

As much as I despise fad products like the above: Smappee, Neurio, Sense. 

 

The other side of the coin is even worse and that is from vendors like Aeotec HEM, TED, HOBO, Savant, Schneider Electric, Eaton, etc. As some of the products even though they offer much more in terms of real connectivity are still toy like. While others like Eaton, HOBO, Schneider, have zero interest in integrating with HA or working with the general public to develop their wares.

 

Trust me I know because I spent the last 20 years working with some of these companies in huge multi million dollar projects. None of them were willing to use the massive resources they have at hand to even come close to what Brultech offers, none.

 

I always find it sadly funny and ironic that huge companies with more resources than God. Never see the gold mine and potential for their wares that could be easily be in every home in the free world. But, decide its best to cater to the random industries instead?!?!?

 

Energy Management in the Enterprise area has never really taken off either. Nor has it really been developed to the point where its easy to view the data in meaningful ways.

 

My personal view is Energy Management / Energy Monitoring is still another 10 years out. UDI has spent very little time or resources to update the Energy Module where it has value or practical uses for the average person. When I see the countless Z-Wave people all scrambling to buy, install, and use the same energy data.

 

Does it not say there is a consumer need??

 

I've pretty much given up trying to push UDI in the development of the energy module as they indicate zero demand for said product. My energy and resources have been focused in helping Brultech shore up and fill in the massive holes in the former.

 

Its safe to say in the next 18 months people will see some incredible updates from the Brultech team. Working with such a fantastic company during the last five years has been quite the honor and pleasure. At last count they had incorporated no less than 200 feature requests from me and other like minded folks.

 

I find many people tend to follow - I prefer to lead! 

[jerlands]

My personal view is Energy Management / Energy Monitoring is still another 10 years out.

 

I don't know but with more moving to off grid solutions and Tesla envisioning solar sustenance I'm looking forward to more innovative features near term e.g.,  smart breakers incorporating CT and control that afford easy integration to management and monitoring (packaged smart load center.)  I don't think we're that far out but maybe wishful thinking

 

 

Jon...

[Teken]

I don't know but with more moving to off grid solutions and Tesla envisioning solar sustenance I'm looking forward to more innovative features near term e.g.,  smart breakers incorporating CT and control that afford easy integration to management and monitoring (packaged smart load center.)  I don't think we're that far out but maybe wishful thinking

 

 

Jon...

 

I agree to a certain extent for sure with respect to the smart grid. Its people like Elon Musk at Tesla with his power wall and enterprise level power supplies that will push the market further ahead.

 

Nobody has ever open up and given away their battery patents like he has, ever. His mindset of using all the homes around the world to build out a smart grid and allow load shedding / sharing is not new. But he is the only one who has put his ideas and thoughts into motion.

 

Everyone I've been watching have published endless vaporware . . . 

 

Every year I read about a new battery chemistry that is supposed to offer fast charging, endless DOD, and long service life. More than 25 years have past and not one of these so called break through's have come to market. There is lots of hype in the nano / graphine camp.

 

Again, lots of in the lab trials but none of them have come to market and really at that point its vaporware to the masses. Eaton has a smart load center I have been saving up for quite awhile which does away with lots of home automation protocols like X-10, Insteon, Z-Wave, ZigBee, WiFi, BLE.

 

Nothing beats native at the load center control of your loads and power management. The only problem with them is extremely high costs, single source vendor, and potential of leaving in the dark if they go poof! The smart breakers aren't something you can purchase at Home Depot if you need one either.

 

With respect to my comments about energy management / energy monitoring being ten years out. This is more about where the cost, features, public API, and integration with other 3rd party vendors is at.

 

There are countless vendors and devices all over the spectrum which has been used for eons in the industry trades. Again, the costs and integration to the average home isn't there yet. A perfect example last year was a friend who has been following my Home Automation journey over the years.

 

He asked me to help him plan, build, and configure his brand new multi million dollar home. I told him there were dozens of fine companies from different spectrum's that could do what he needed. With his financial resources he could have installed any of the random items I mentioned here.

 

The real kicker: He didn't install any of the $2500 - 12000.00 systems from the likes of HOBO, Eaton, Schneider, etc 

 

Why?

 

Closed system - No upgrade path - Zero development - Lacking features - No API - etc.

 

Normally industry appliances are purpose built to do one task well. Surprisingly, in the energy monitoring / energy management its like any old school engineer.

 

They have no imagination . . . 

 

The reverse is true no with the wave of *New School* where every one of them have their head in the sand and truly believe the only solution is the cloud! The world needs more guys like Elon Musk who is a new and old school engineer with a vision of tomorrow and open mind of how to do things.

 

Sadly, I can't place all the blame on the engineers at Eaton, Schneider etc. The bulk of the blame goes to senior management and the sales teams. As they have no freaking clue about the world around them and how given a little will gain them a lot.

 

As an aside many years ago one of the companies I worked for had a six million dollar project and one of the listed vendors in this thread had no intention of helping us create more and better charting / graphing. Never mind more alert tracking and notifications etc.

 

When all of the dust settled - I pulled out our 6 million dollar project with the vendor. Its safe to say there were lots of pissed off people and lost jobs in their company.

 

LOL . . .

 

Bottom line work with your customers and keep a open mind! 

[jerlands]

 Eaton has a smart load center I have been saving up for quite awhile which does away with lots of home automation protocols like X-10, Insteon, Z-Wave, ZigBee, WiFi, BLE.

 

I don't think circuit control will eliminate device control but I do think device control is going to go away from RF for a number of reasons.

 

What I'm looking for is a wired solution that's extensible and not confounded by hard to implement interface like BACNet or the like.

 

 

Jon...

[larryllix]

I have never been that impressed with Elon Musk.

His Power Wall hype started a year or so ago and I did some research. Per kWh of storage the Power Wall averages about ten times the cost of other current technologies.

 

Telsa like to give the impression you just plug in the Power Wall into any receptacle in your house and away it goes saving the world. He has a huge following of uneducated yuppies drooling after every word he says.

What you really get, is an under sized battery bank that would never power any household , and a charger to charge a 300-450 volt battery bank.

 

Now you need switching circuits, grid-tie inverter and safety lock-out devices before generating anything back into the grid. Suddenly you have another $15K on top of this expensive battery and charger , for this to even work

 

When you start to compare what this actual box contains:

I have a 6.6 kWh flooded battery bank for less than $380 CAN and the Power Wall offers a 7kW battery bank for $3000 US if you buy 100 units as a distributor. That was the press release price at the time.

 

Here's the real kicker. The maximum load you can put on a Telsa Power Wall is 2kW, enough to run one fridge and a few light bulbs. I assume it will take short overloads while the fridge compressor starts up. My small flooded battery bank will take a 70kW load for a few minutes and not damage it. LioN batteries are very restricted to how fast you can charge them. Huge solar PV banks cannot force charge these things so oversizing would be a requirement of LioN batteries. They explode.

 

This Power Wall was designed to hype the elitists with Telsa cars to attempt to delay charging of the car batteries to when electrical energy is cheaper, after complaints that the Telsa hype was untrue about the economy of the cars.

 

To power a home using Power Wall units would take about 5 or more units and the difference between on peak and off peak rates, you could save with those, would never pay the cost of the energy saved for the rest of any of our lives. Never mind the cost of replacing them every ten years.

 

So far no battery system can ever store energy as cheaply as the grid can produce it. When they crack that barrier things in the energy world will change. The LioN battery technology is a good step towards that but Elon Musk borders on a con man. Very brave and a leader, though.

 

Maybe multi-level marketing schemes will come about with Telsa next.  Currently they have opened a chain of stores handling their jackets, bags, shoes and other Telsa wear paraphernalia across North America. I wonder if Disney is watching?

 

A lot off topic here but that scam the energy uneducated people stuff really annoys me.

[Teken]

I have never been that impressed with Elon Musk.

His Power Wall hype started a year or so ago and I did some research. Per kWh of storage the Power Wall averages about ten times the cost of other current technologies.

 

Telsa like to give the impression you just plug in the Power Wall into any receptacle in your house and away it goes saving the world. He has a huge following of uneducated yuppies drooling after every word he says.

What you really get, is an under sized battery bank that would never power any household , and a charger to charge a 300-450 volt battery bank.

 

Now you need switching circuits, grid-tie inverter and safety lock-out devices before generating anything back into the grid. Suddenly you have another $15K on top of this expensive battery and charger , for this to even work

 

When you start to compare what this actual box contains:

I have a 6.6 kWh flooded battery bank for less than $380 CAN and the Power Wall offers a 7kW battery bank for $3000 US if you buy 100 units as a distributor. That was the press release price at the time.

 

Here's the real kicker. The maximum load you can put on a Telsa Power Wall is 2kW, enough to run one fridge and a few light bulbs. I assume it will take short overloads while the fridge compressor starts up. My small flooded battery bank will take a 70kW load for a few minutes and not damage it. LioN batteries are very restricted to how fast you can charge them. Huge solar PV banks cannot force charge these things so oversizing would be a requirement of LioN batteries. They explode.

 

This Power Wall was designed to hype the elitists with Telsa cars to attempt to delay charging of the car batteries to when electrical energy is cheaper, after complaints that the Telsa hype was untrue about the economy of the cars.

 

To power a home using Power Wall units would take about 5 or more units and the difference between on peak and off peak rates, you could save with those, would never pay the cost of the energy saved for the rest of any of our lives. Never mind the cost of replacing them every ten years.

 

So far no battery system can ever store energy as cheaply as the grid can produce it. When they crack that barrier things in the energy world will change. The LioN battery technology is a good step towards that but Elon Musk borders on a con man. Very brave and a leader, though.

 

Maybe multi-level marketing schemes will come about with Telsa next.  Currently they have opened a chain of stores handling their jackets, bags, shoes and other Telsa wear paraphernalia across North America. I wonder if Disney is watching?

 

Larry,

 

Come on now that is a little harsh LOL!

 

My take is that his company is helping push the whole industry to where at some point it will be reasonable to purchase like any other appliance.

 

Is there more room to improve upon the cost per KWH, yes. Is there more clarification as to the entire out of pocket costs that is required to get a person up and running, yes.

 

What isn't false is his company will continue to lead the charge in making this specific industry from the rich and famous to at some point doable for all.

 

No, a Tesla vehicle is not something a average person can just purchase like a Ford Escort. But it has to start from somewhere and I am happy to say it has started. Anyone who has been in the Solar PV industry long enough knows having huge banks of flooded cells weighing hundreds of pounds vented and sitting on the floor isn't something people like to show off.

 

Tesla has also removed the one model which was supposed to be used as a back up system and has made them a daily use 10 KWH unit. All of this is to be expected as you noted the amount of usable power doesn't pencil out at the lower scale.

 

Again, this is leaps and bound more attainable then the fuel cell technology being used by some of the largest companies in the world from Bloom Energy. I've been watching this company since day one and on the face of it it has legs.

 

The simple reality is the company has no intention of ever making their wares where it can be used in a home at a price point where it makes sense. The CEO comes across as very sincere but the reality is his Bloom Box will never see the light of day in a real home.

 

Its not that he couldn't make it cheap its the simple fact his company has turned their backs on the general public and decided to follow the mantra of *Profit before people*.

 

This is very much like Apple and other companies who truly believe they offer so much value to the masses. Elon Musk is not your typical guy and that is being understated for sure. Not a single soul on this planet has ever created two multi billion dollars companies and succeeded, none.

 

His company is also the first ever to land a single stage use rocket back to the planet after going to space and delivering its pay load.

 

Does his company have lots to do in terms of offering a smart battery pack, yes. But its safe to say he isn't offering vaporware like so many other con men before him. Make no mistake hes there to make money just like every other company out there.

 

But, I would give him my hard earned cash before I did the same to the Bloom Box! 

[apostolakisl]

I have never been that impressed with Elon Musk.

His Power Wall hype started a year or so ago and I did some research. Per kWh of storage the Power Wall averages about ten times the cost of other current technologies.

 

Telsa like to give the impression you just plug in the Power Wall into any receptacle in your house and away it goes saving the world. He has a huge following of uneducated yuppies drooling after every word he says.

What you really get, is an under sized battery bank that would never power any household , and a charger to charge a 300-450 volt battery bank.

 

Now you need switching circuits, grid-tie inverter and safety lock-out devices before generating anything back into the grid. Suddenly you have another $15K on top of this expensive battery and charger , for this to even work

 

When you start to compare what this actual box contains:

I have a 6.6 kWh flooded battery bank for less than $380 CAN and the Power Wall offers a 7kW battery bank for $3000 US if you buy 100 units as a distributor. That was the press release price at the time.

 

Here's the real kicker. The maximum load you can put on a Telsa Power Wall is 2kW, enough to run one fridge and a few light bulbs. I assume it will take short overloads while the fridge compressor starts up. My small flooded battery bank will take a 70kW load for a few minutes and not damage it. LioN batteries are very restricted to how fast you can charge them. Huge solar PV banks cannot force charge these things so oversizing would be a requirement of LioN batteries. They explode.

 

This Power Wall was designed to hype the elitists with Telsa cars to attempt to delay charging of the car batteries to when electrical energy is cheaper, after complaints that the Telsa hype was untrue about the economy of the cars.

 

To power a home using Power Wall units would take about 5 or more units and the difference between on peak and off peak rates, you could save with those, would never pay the cost of the energy saved for the rest of any of our lives. Never mind the cost of replacing them every ten years.

 

So far no battery system can ever store energy as cheaply as the grid can produce it. When they crack that barrier things in the energy world will change. The LioN battery technology is a good step towards that but Elon Musk borders on a con man. Very brave and a leader, though.

 

Maybe multi-level marketing schemes will come about with Telsa next.  Currently they have opened a chain of stores handling their jackets, bags, shoes and other Telsa wear paraphernalia across North America. I wonder if Disney is watching?

 

A lot off topic here but that scam the energy uneducated people stuff really annoys me.

 

And that is how you monitor a drier.      

[chrishick]

Dryer booster fans have some type of sensor to control the booster fan. I've never taken one apart so I'm not sure how it senses dryer function, but I would assume either a sail switch or some type of pressure sensor. Seems there would be some type of sensor that could be installed in the vent duct behind the dryer and wired to an IO linc.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[chrishick]

Looks like this is what is used. A little pricey. I'm not sure if it operates as a set of dry contacts though.

 

FanTech DB 10 N/A Dryer Boost Pressure Switch DB10 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036IA4OA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_5IV8wb9VNCQW6

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[apostolakisl]

Dryer booster fans have some type of sensor to control the booster fan. I've never taken one apart so I'm not sure how it senses dryer function, but I would assume either a sail switch or some type of pressure sensor. Seems there would be some type of sensor that could be installed in the vent duct behind the dryer and wired to an IO linc.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Using the flapper on the vent outside with a magnetic alarm contactor would effectively be a sail switch.  Assuming you have a straight shot out your house behind the drier, you would just need to drill an 1/8 inch hole right through from outside to inside next to the vent and your wire to the alarm contactor would now be inside the house sitting behind the drier where you could connect it to an IO linc.  circuit open=drier running, circuit closed=drier off

[Teken]

Yeah $80.00 is a little pricey but here is a more reasonable sail switches on the mighty EBAY: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/sail-switch

[apostolakisl]

Yeah $80.00 is a little pricey but here is a more reasonable sail switches on the mighty EBAY: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/sail-switch

 

You could attach that to the flapper instead of an alarm contactor.  Again, wire to an IO linc except the logic would be opposite.  Probably you don't even need to drill a hole to get the wire inside.  Odds are you could poke a wooden shishkabob skewer through the same hole the vent goes through right next to it.  Likely it is sealed by some spray foam insulation that the skewer would pass right through.

[Teken]

You could attach that to the flapper instead of an alarm contactor.  Again, wire to an IO linc except the logic would be opposite.  Probably you don't even need to drill a hole to get the wire inside.  Odds are you could poke a wooden shishkabob skewer through the same hole the vent goes through right next to it.  Likely it is sealed by some spray foam insulation that the skewer would pass right through.

 

LMAO Love It . . .

[apostolakisl]

I would still use a magnetic reed switch.  It requires no pressure to activate, is even cheaper yet, and has no risk of obstructing air flow either from preventing the flapper function or from a dedicated sail that could hang up on lint or something.  

[Teken]

I would still use a magnetic reed switch.  It requires no pressure to activate, is even cheaper yet, and has no risk of obstructing air flow either from preventing the flapper function or from a dedicated sail that could hang up on lint or something.  

 

I agree people need to consider the long term use and installation of the final solution in place. Human's by nature are lazy and most people won't bother checking if something is operating correctly until something forces them to.

 

All of this would be a moot point if alert notification was more available from the various hardware vendors. I know in the past several companies going off the top of my head like Samsung, LG, etc were offering smart units which had some kind of HA integration.

 

Given the massive costs for these appliances it just seems like a simple thing to add to a washer / dryer?!?! But then again at this stage of the game I've become more and more adverse to having lots of electronics in my gear.

 

The whole KISS principle is my living mantra moving forward in almost everything I do now. Our reliance on IC's, Software, and Networking, is pushing the envelope of where we should be.

 

I freely admit I love all of my toys - But at some point having Google know I'm washing my underwear is just too much! 

[mwester]

...

Given the massive costs for these appliances it just seems like a simple thing to add to a washer / dryer?!?! But then again at this stage of the game I've become more and more adverse to having lots of electronics in my gear.

 

The whole KISS principle is my living mantra moving forward in almost everything I do now. Our reliance on IC's, Software, and Networking, is pushing the envelope of where we should be.

...

 

I suspect we're on the bleeding edge of automation - like the early days of any new technology, everyone wants an exclusive lock-in on it.  I'm going to be optimistic and state that my crystal ball indicates a high probability of a standardized HA interface for devices such as these -- on the low end, perhaps just dry contacts on a few key items, on the high end perhaps a serial port of some sort.  Your HA "z-wave interface box" or "Insteon interface box" or "cell phone NFC interface box" would just plug in, and of course hobbyists could create their own interfaces.

 

The reason I think this is that once this sort of instrumentation becomes a common consumer expectation, most of the appliance manufacturers will realize that there's no margin in creating their own custom interface.  Many will start by OEM'ing and re-branding common "black boxes" provided by other companies, and end up not wanting to even do tech support for those, hence they'll just provide a connector -- and you go to Best Buy or Walmart and pick up your favorite brand of appliance interface box.

 

Now, anyone wanna bet if Insteon will end up in that race, or if they'll have fallen on their faces in the mud by then??!

[Teken]

I suspect we're on the bleeding edge of automation - like the early days of any new technology, everyone wants an exclusive lock-in on it.  I'm going to be optimistic and state that my crystal ball indicates a high probability of a standardized HA interface for devices such as these -- on the low end, perhaps just dry contacts on a few key items, on the high end perhaps a serial port of some sort.  Your HA "z-wave interface box" or "Insteon interface box" or "cell phone NFC interface box" would just plug in, and of course hobbyists could create their own interfaces.

 

The reason I think this is that once this sort of instrumentation becomes a common consumer expectation, most of the appliance manufacturers will realize that there's no margin in creating their own custom interface.  Many will start by OEM'ing and re-branding common "black boxes" provided by other companies, and end up not wanting to even do tech support for those, hence they'll just provide a connector -- and you go to Best Buy or Walmart and pick up your favorite brand of appliance interface box.

 

Now, anyone wanna bet if Insteon will end up in that race, or if they'll have fallen on their faces in the mud by then??!

 

Nobody has to guess my position about how Smartlabs / Insteon could do a lot better in this area. Having said this I will give them a benefit of the doubt because Joe Dadda and his engineers have come out with a few services / devices which I didn't think would.

 

Now, that has no relations to the fact some of the support, services, and device(s) are half baked. One only needs to look at the following products since release have essentially been left to die. Most companies will try to improve upon an existing product because it reduces R&D and starting from scratch.

 

But, not Smartlabs / Insteon . . .

 

They would rather keep selling a half hobbled product - then abandon it mid stream with out any notice!

 

Products left for dead are in no specific order were / are: Energy Display, iMeter Solo, SmartLinc, Alert Module, iGate Way, Touch Linc, HUB Pro, Synchro Linc, etc.

 

More to your point though regarding plug in modules: Manufactures are generally too stupid to accept such a easy concept because all of them have that whole mental attitude very much like Apple that everything must be under their control. With respect to whether the entire industry ever unifies under one protocol it would be nice but that will never happen.

 

People have too much skin in the game to abandon their current market share. What existing makers should do is offer a bridge standard that is pervasive or abundant.

 

The first thing that comes to mind is WiFi, next as much as I hate it would be BLE.

 

Meaning the first guy out the door like Insteon, Z-Wave, ZigBee, etc that offers native supported in the box hardware support for WiFi / BLE will start to capture more of the new and existing market share. As much as I hate having more RF devices in my home the most natural connectivity is WiFi to an appliance like the Washer / Dryer.

 

The problem with this fantasy I have spinning in my head is you guessed it. Some aszz hat would require it to be connected to the cloud, and there would be no way to talk to the device with out said cloud. The fact all of these really smart people all around the world are pushing the cloud infrastructure pisses me off to no end.

 

Just one day - and I mean one solid 24 hours - I hope to see the entire Internet just shut down  . . . This would highlight to the stupid all around the world that rely so much on the *Happy Cloud* as to why its such a terrible concept. Its safe to say lots of people would lose their Sh^T if that ever happen.

 

I would just sit back and laugh and enjoy the Gong Show . . .

 

Everyday I watch tens of millions of people wondering why its taking so long to print a job, access a file, can't retrieve some random piece of junk mail, to wondering why systems are slow to react.

 

Because all of these people are just stupid in thinking the cloud was the best thing since sliced bread!

 

But oh no'sssssssssssssssssssssss . . . .

 

We have a SLA with a written guarantee of 99.9999999999999999999 up time they say to me!

 

I just sit back and laugh and say you're stupid . . .

 

Enjoy your cloud . . .

 

Ha!