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[Kramer Chins]

I was wondering if there was a mod that could be done to let you know if the power goes out or if a certain breaker trips? I was thinking something along the lines of a "Stand Alone" DS7000, a DS10A and something like a UM506. ( I might not have all the right modules) But some how have the DS10A hooked up to some sort of Low Voltage device, and when that device looses power it will trigger the DS7000 sound the alarm and make a phone call to let you know power was lost.

  Now my reason behind this......

 Some of you know we raise Chinchillas and a lot of my HA is set up around them. They have to be kept in a cool climate (below 75), and with these HOT days power outage or a tripped breaker could wipe out our heard. That's around 100 chins at an avg cost of around $150 and up each (that would be a HUGE lose!) And after the wind storms last Sept and no power for 5 days (  Thank God for generators), and waking up at 3:30 am the other morning with no power, got me thinking......  What if we were at work and the power went out? We would never know till we got home and could be too late! I know this isn't a sure fire fix, but it's a little safty net till we can install a whole house back-up generator. I mean we trust our DS7000 to protect our house when we're gone, and to notify us if there's a fire........

  So I just wondered if this could be done ??

[-Bill- (of wgjohns.com)]

Detecting the power failure might not be the biggest issue here.  In fact, that part could be fairly simple.

The big issue is how does the notification work, and does that require AC power to function correctly?

If you need to trigger the DS7000, all you need is to hack a DS10A with a relay so that the relay is powered by a "wall-wart" and the relay contacts make the DS10A happy when the relay is energized.  Power failure would then reset the relay contacts to their un-powered position and trigger the DS10A.

[Tuicemen]

Kramer Chins
If you have a UPS you could have Windows trigger AlertDialer to call you!
I beleive X10Dispatcher has this built into it as well!
No Modifications needed!
 

[HA Dave]

-Bill- (of wgjohns.com) and Tuicemen... BOTH great ideas!

But temperature isn't directly related to electrical power (at least not where Kramer Chins lives). A baseball through a window would overwhelm most any AC unit around here... TODAY (Kramer Chins lives down the road from here). A normal AC breakdown could do the same... and with no power outage involved. Whereas... in winter months... a power failure in an area with so many little warm bodies... temperatures could remain bareable for sometime.

The UPS and PC sending a email or Text message in the event of a power outage is a good idea. But I think monitoring temperature should be the goal.

[Tuicemen]

Yes Dave,  I think Kramer Chins should be watching temperature as well and triggering on it. Many places suffer short term brown outs which would trigger unneeded alerts!
I have modded a DS10A with an old thermostat in place of the magnets, but if one was to use an newer one with cool/heat settings it would be most useful.
One could have it trigger a DS7000 or a macro in AHP. Triggering a DS7000 would be best as it will still dial out using battery power.
The thermostat could be located in the proper room. 

[HA Dave]

...I have modded a DS10A with an old thermostat in place of the magnets, but if one was to use an newer one with cool/heat settings it would be most useful........ Triggering a DS7000 would be best as it will still dial out using battery power.

I wasn't sure what the DS7000 would do on battery power. I was thinking of doing a test here... but hadn't yet. I did do a search... and found some pricey temperature alert systems. I think the DS7000 has some real advantages... with PRICE being a major one.

• If [TWO] DS10A's were modified (it would just mean removing the magnetic switches) and wired to a thermostat. That could warn of Hot/Cold temperature hazards.
• And maybe another [DS10A] modified using Knightriders Smoke Detector Modification. I am pretty sure those little critters don't like smoke and fire.
• As well as a power outage DS10A mod... Like -Bill- (of wgjohns.com) suggested. A great early heads-up.

The DS10A's could trigger a DS7000 phone warning... as well as AHP/OnAlert email alert/warning. Extra saftey... at no additional cost. And an email alert following the DS7000 phone call could be the deciding factor on weather to stay at work (power outage on a cool day) or call 911 (fire alarm).

[Kramer Chins]

Thanks Guys !!!

 A lot of good ideas! Also came up with some issues i hadn't thought of....

We use Magic Jack for our home phone,  So if the power was to go out, there would be NO computer to run the Magic Jack, so in turn we wouldn't get any phone calls to alert us. So I see a UPS in the future (Thanks Tuiceman) Also in the works of doing the thermostat mod to help monitor the temps in the room.

  Already have the Smoke/Fire Alarm mod installed throughout the house.

How hard would -Bill- (of wgjohns.com) mod be to do?? Would like to give it a try! 

[HA Dave]

...We use Magic Jack for our home phone,  So if the power was to go out, there would be NO computer to run the Magic Jack, so in turn we wouldn't get any phone calls to alert us. So I see a UPS in the future (Thanks Tuiceman)

How hard would -Bill- (of wgjohns.com) mod be to do?? Would like to give it a try! 

New information. When setting up the UPS... remember the modem and router will need to use the backup power as well.

If you have a UPS you could have Windows trigger AlertDialer to call you! I believe X10Dispatcher has this built into it as well! No Modifications needed!

Since you don't have a "landline" you would be just as well off with a single notification directly from the PC (no signal collisions to worry about). Just like Tuicemen already posted.