Detecting breaker tripping

[grahamk]

Does anyone know of a way to use zwave to detect a power outage or a breaker tripping on a circuit?

 

I have a circuit that occasionally trips under a rare circumstance. If that happens i need to immediately turn off another device on a different circuit.

 

Because I know people are curious - one circuit has a sprinkler pump on a breaker that can occasionally get overloaded in the right circumstance - I do not feel comfortable upping the amperage of the breaker and the overload is rare - maybe once or twice a year. The other circuit has a booster pump for a sprinkler line that is a long way from the pump. If it runs dry it will burn up the pump. So I need to know if the main sprinkler pump stops running so the booster pump can be turned off.  All of these items are controlled by the ISY. The sprinkler pump via X10 rain8 module (the last remaining X10 device in my setup) and the booster pump via a zwave switch.

 

Possible?

 

Thanks for any pointers.

 

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Instead of trying to detect a breaker trip, which is an indication of a problem, how about fixing to root cause. Sounds like the locked rotor current (LRC) exceeds the circuit capacity. You might want to add a device to "soft start" the pump.

[DennisC]

I agree, the problem should be corrected before it can cause an even bigger problem and possibly some damage. To answer your question, connect something like an Insteon I/O Linc to the circuit. When it looses power the contacts can change state.

[KeviNH]

I would go low-tech, install a water pressure switch on the water line feeding the booster pump.

[grahamk]

The root cause is a rare set of circumstances - that would be that the sprinkler pump is operating, the temperature outside is lower than the temperature inside a greenhouse triggering a fan, and the greenhouse temperature has risen to above 90 degrees, triggering a separate pump that provides a cooling mist inside the greenhouse.  If it runs like this for 45 minutes or so the breaker will trip.  It doesn't happen very often. Adding another circuit would be extremely difficult and expensive.

 

Now that I have written that down, there would be a way to make sure this never happens programmatically. I think I will do that.

 

 

I would go low-tech, install a water pressure switch on the water line feeding the booster pump.

 

Why didn't I think of that! Sometimes low tech is the way to go. Thanks.