X10 Community Forum
💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Woodie on October 06, 2019, 01:32:49 PM
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Howdy,
Very new to X10. I have a home that had some existing switches controlled by an ISY 994i. Everything is working without issue.
I need a solution to either monitor that two light bulbs are working (right ext to one another) or monitor temperature. It is a box that has a pipe that cannot freeze. It delivers water to the house from a well.
The bulbs supply the necessary warmth to keep this from happening.
Is there an X10 solution that could be added to my ISY 9941 or is there something that can connect via WiFi for home automation.
Looking for the most affordable. Either temperature monitor of something that can confirm both bulbs are operating.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
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Do you have the A10/X10 options module. That adds features to handling X10? Not 100% necessay but adds some nice features and is $9.99
You may also want to ask in the UDI Forums. https://forum.universal-devices.com/
Their Wiki also has a section on X10. https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
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Is there an X10 solution that could be added to my ISY 9941 or is there something that can connect via WiFi for home automation.
Looking for the most affordable. Either temperature monitor of something that can confirm both bulbs are operating.
I did not find a freeze detector that could be adapted to X10 via the "I/O Link" interface from Smarthome, or the "Powerflash" module from X10. But found this Honeywell WiFi detector.
If me, I would get rid of the lightbulb heat source, since lightbulbs tend to burn out. Can you use "Heat Tape" in place of the lightbulbs? It would last a lot longer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33SuV7akl9Y
https://www.amazon.com/Lyric-Wi-Fi-Water-Freeze-Detector/dp/B01HBZQYYC
There is a way to interface to the ISY, but more complicated.
I use this method to tell me when the clothes dryer is done.
The success of this will depend on what the wattage of the bulbs are.
You need a "split core current amp" feeding a X10 Powerflash module. The "hot" side of the cord feeding the bulbs is monitored by the current transformer (in other words, you DO NOT monitor both the hot and the neutral) . When the lights are on they induce a voltage in the current amp and the Powerflash sends an "HCUC" (house code unit code ) ON signal. If/when a light bulb fails the current amps output will drop by half, which hopefully will be low enough that the Powerflash will send an OFF signal. This will take some experimentation. Both bulbs should be monitored and the Power flash should send an OFF if one bulb burns out. Hitting that "sweet spot" may be a problem. You could use this on heat tape also, which would be more reliable since when it fails the output of the transformer will drop out, guaranteeing the power flash will send an OFF.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10A-SCT-013-010-Non-invasive-AC-current-sensor-Split-Core-Current-Transformer/281387763372?hash=item41840486ac:g:AQwAAOSwX6VTx0E~
https://www.x10.com/x10-pro/interfaces.html
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Mamac Systems also make a current sensor. I know the fixed range CT-800 can trigger either a Powerflash or Insteon 2450 I/OLinc
They also have models that have an adjustable trip point. The specification sheet is available.
http://www.mamacsys.com/ct_800_805_810_815_features.html
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Thank you, Brian and Dave.
The Honeywell looks like the easiest solution to the monitoring. I will likely take that path vs trying to build it into my existing system.
Really appreciate all the feedback.
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I have a similar situation to you. I have a shop that is unheated and a hose bib that supplies water to my animals. On the inside of the shop, the bib is under a sink and there is a light bulb to keep the water supply from freezing. But, the bulb burns out periodically (maybe once a year). I turn it on when it gets cold enough in fall and off in the spring so it's burning away for up to 6 months. I used to have a single 60W but it was too much heat and burned out more often. I swapped to an appliance 40W which did better but still burned out eventually.
I had intended on installing some kind of monitor setup to determine if the temperature was too low and alert me to it. While that would have worked, it would not keep the heat on if the bulb failed. The next best option would have been to install a reptile tank heater (think ceramic bulb that produces no visible light). The problem with that for me was that it produced no light so I couldn't visually see that it was working if I looked under the cabinet.
So, my solution in the end was simple. I installed a bulb y-adapter and have 2 25W appliance bulbs plugged in. It's very unlikely both will fail at once. If one fails, the other provides enough heat to keep things working ok. 2 bulbs doesn't over heat the enclosure. And I have a visual indication that things are 100%, 50%, 0% working. No monitoring remotely, but it's reliable enough that I can go a week or two without worrying about it in a worst case scenario which I could not guarantee with a temperature monitor or ceramic heater situation.