Pool water temperature

[cashoefman]

Anyone done anything with pool water temperature measurements in the ISY-99i pro. I was looking at the THWR800 floating pool sensor http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/p ... r-Stations

 

Trying to find a way to get the temperature "available" in the ISY-99i pro so I can use it to display in a web interface without having to use other systems. (I don't want a HS box just so I can connect an RFXCOM to read the THWR800)

[AnthemAVM]

That is a cool idea!

 

Would a weather station post it to the web and with the network interface maybe you could pull it off the web.

[junkycosmos]

oh I am interested in this too

 

current using an older meteo hub nslu (http://wiki.meteohub.de/Main_Page) to serve standard outdoor temps into wunderground as a personal weather station but would be really useful to have the isy able to tap into the data too

 

Boris of Meteo hub is very sharp if anyone was ready to play at his level here

[mitch236]

Of course the best solution would be for Smart Labs to produce a similar product that talks to Insteon networks by way of an access point.

[robandcathy1]

This is a two part question is there a temp sensor for water. I would like to set up the ISY to monitor my pool temp and to be able to turn my pool pump and heater on automatically. Part two is such a senson exists for insteon is it workable on the ISY

[Michel Kohanim]

robandcathy,

 

Part 1 depends on part 2 and the answer to part 2 is that I have not seen any such device. I heard some rumors of INSTEON temperature sensors but I am not sure in what shape/form they come (i.e. whether or not they are waterproof).

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[kclark]

Actually, I think the best solution would be for ISY to interface with RFXCOM. http://rfxcom.com/ That would give us access to virtually ALL the Oregon Scientific devices as well as x10 motion and door sensors and power monitors.

 

I would think that ISY could interface with their LAN based receiver. Bert, the unit's designer, gives exceptional support (just like ISY!).

 

Of course the best solution would be for Smart Labs to produce a similar product that talks to Insteon networks by way of an access point.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello kclark,

 

Long ago we did consider RFXCOM devices but the prices were simply too high. Do you have Bert's contact information?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[kclark]

Considering the cost of Insteon devices and the ISY (Well worth it ) and what RFXCOM brings to the mix I think it's at a reasonable price point. And who knows, more volume for them could mean lower prices for us.

 

Contact info sent by PM.

 

Hello kclark,

 

Long ago we did consider RFXCOM devices but the prices were simply too high. Do you have Bert's contact information?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Ken

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Ken,

 

Thanks so very much. I'll contact them shortly.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[cashoefman]

Any updates on this from the ISY side or has anyone found a way yet?

 

Cas

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Cas,

 

I made contact but never heard back.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi,

 

We were just contacted by RFXCOM (pointing to this topic)!

 

We'll see what we can do.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[junkycosmos]

Just checking in here to see if there might any new progress on hooking up isy to a RxCom for Oregon scientic data ?

 

thanks

J

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello junkycosmos,

 

We did get a hold of them and we do have plans to support their products. Currently, we are 100% focused on ELK integration.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[jongig]

This is what I've been using and it gives many other options.

[robandcathy1]

what is the price point of this setup? I simply want to monitor my pool temp and weather the pool water is low or not? I dont want to spend a fortune doing or countless hours setting it up, it looks nice but expensive to!

[jongig]

what is the price point of this setup? I simply want to monitor my pool temp and weather the pool water is low or not? I dont want to spend a fortune doing or countless hours setting it up, it looks nice but expensive to!

 

controlbyweb.com. I'm using the x-300 which has a very nice web interface. I control it mostly with my iPhone. It works good with my solar system because it's complicated. It's very easy to set up and it made sense which most stuff these days don't. I have a hard time with insteon for instance.

[robandcathy1]

This looks like just what I need, but price is a bit high, I only need 2 temp sensors maybe 3, does it interface with the ISY well? as far as setting up scenes, and vairables. eg if pool heater does not warm up the turn off then back on? etc. Thank You Rob

[jongig]

This looks like just what I need, but price is a bit high, I only need 2 temp sensors maybe 3, does it interface with the ISY well? as far as setting up scenes, and vairables. eg if pool heater does not warm up the turn off then back on? etc. Thank You Rob

 

 

It only offers temperature variables. It will turn on at a certain temperature one of the 3 relays or off.

 

It is not connected to my Insteon system.

[chadodes]

Do you have a budget? I could build you a system.

if you are handy with electronics and programming you could attempt to build it yourself, this is how I would:

 

The device would be based off an Arduino Uno with a network shield.

 

It would have a webpage you would set settings on.

when the temperature met what you wanted.. it would send commands to the ISY via the ISY's REST interface.

 

Temperature probes are under $30 each.

 

The device could also be called remotely and return back values.

 

Optional items it could have is level of light / UV and contact closure (float switch?).

[Hurting2Ride]

A lot of the integrations I see requested could be solved by adding Z-wave since a lot of these products already exist in Z-wave flavors. Any thought to that happening?

[apostolakisl]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the cai webcontrol. It has a one-wire bus on it for temp and waterproof one-wire sensors only cost a few dollars on ebay. The cai board costs $40 with shipping. You will need an internet connection (cat5) whereever you locate the cai board, or you would need a wifi bridge. io_guy wrote a .net program that syncs the cai to the isy and it can be downloaded from this forum.

 

You can also program the cai to turn your pool heater on/off (or anything else) all by itself. In addition to the one-wire bus that can give you 8 temp readings, it has 8 digital inputs, 3 analog inputs, and 8 digital outputs. It also can be used to control x10. It has a built-in PLC language programming interface which is very good at i/o control. The ISY can post variable values (8 of them) to the CAI so there is ability for ISY to alter the CAI's behavior provided you write it into the PLC code. The ISY would also keep track of the status of the CAI using that .net interface application, but the CAI would be capable of keeping the pool running properly if something happened to the link with ISY.

 

Assuming you were going to control the heater, pumps, or whatever using relays, you would also need a relay board that can be controlled with ttl level outputs. These can be had on ebay for about $20. Search for "pic relay". These are the same type of relay board that work with arduino. If you get a relay board, to make your life easier, make sure it is the kind that 5 volt inputs turns the relay "on". Some of them work backwards where 5v is "off" and 0 is "on". You can use these, and cai has a "state-inverted" setting for those situations, but I still find it trips me up.

[Hurting2Ride]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the cai webcontrol.

 

After looking over various options to get temp readings around the house as well as having sensors that can grab the pool temp, level, etc. I actually decided on the CAI board. It's sitting here in front of me and my sensors should be showing up in a day or two. I'm hoping this works well - seems a number of people on various forums have used it, mostly with success, so I'm looking forward to getting it in place.

 

However, the reason I bring up z-wave is because of the pre-built components & applications. For example, see this pool pump:

http://www.smarthome.com/25109/Intermatic-PE653RC-MultiWave-Z-wave-Pool-Spa-Home-Control/p.aspx

It

• [*:2zhcsxy6]1) controls the pump, including variable speed [*:2zhcsxy6]2) controls the heater [*:2zhcsxy6]3) has a separate control for the cleaner or another component which would be really handy if you have a solar diverter [*:2zhcsxy6]4) controls the pool light [*:2zhcsxy6]5) reports the water temp [*:2zhcsxy6]6) has a freeze sensor for those that live in cold climates [*:2zhcsxy6]7) has a remote.

 

Can you do all of that with Insteon and various add-on components(i.e. WebControl)? Sure. But it will require about 5 different Insteon devices, will cost you about the same and require a whole lot more tinkering. IMO Z-wave is something to consider when discussing possible new, supported integrations.

[apostolakisl]

1) controls the pump, including variable speed

2) controls the heater

3) has a separate control for the cleaner or another component which would be really handy if you have a solar diverter

4) controls the pool light

5) reports the water temp

6) has a freeze sensor for those that live in cold climates

7) has a remote.

 

 

1) CAI will certainly turn the pump on/off. Variable speed may not be possible depending on how that is controlled. If it is a situation where you close one relay and get low speed and close a different one and you get high speed, then you will be able to do it. (2 outputs used)

 

2) CAI has 8 outputs, so I think you should be able to do this too (3 outputs used) (on/off, probably not the actual temp)

 

3) Ditto (4 outputs used)

 

4) Ditto (5 outputs used)

 

5) It definitely does that. You can have it send emails at certian intervals or at specific temps. You can also have it monitor air temp.

 

6) PLC code can send you an email when it is getting cold, or flash the pool light, and certainly you could set it to put the pump no high

 

7) Buy the iphone app for it and you have a remote. Or set up some programs in your isy to turn a kpl into a remote for it. Or just log into the gui from any computer.

 

So you still have 3 outputs left to do other stuff.

 

Also, pool level could be read by buying a pressure transducer from digikey for about $12 and hooking it into one of the analog inputs. Freescale makes them.

 

You can get the plc code to do a lot of stuff if you can get used to it. Also, using the sync program from io_guy you can write programs in ISY to respond to conditions. Or, you could consider using the x10 feature sending commands to ISY that way.

 

EDIT: I just realized you can use cai to set the temp. If you use one of the 8 variables as the set point, then have the plc code turn on the heater when the temp drops below that value and turn it off when it gets above it. The variable value can be changed by a REST command