Can Power Interruption be Sensed?

[ted lassagne]

We have power outages now and then.  I
would like to be able to reset my lights
after one of these, rather than leave the
house dark.  Does the Smart Macro facility
allow me to trigger on a power outage
(restored) condition?  Is there some clever
hookup that can provide indication of an
outage and restoration?

[bruce]

not sure if this will work, but may be
worth a try.

Set up an appliance module (for example)
that you have on all the time (lets call it
A16).  have a macro that checks A16 every
15 minutes to see if it is on. If A16 is
on, do nothing.

If it is off (the power has failed), so run
your after power failure macro to turn all
of your things back on, then turn A16 on.

Cheers,
Bruce

[steven r]

Ted:

This is something several of us would like
to see! There have been several suggestions
for external hardware solutions. None seem
to have addressed the importance of a delay
after power is restored. It is important
that any restore not be fooled by a brief
power on flicker for just a few seconds.
Some of the suggestions have involved
leaving the CM15A connected to the computer
and having the computer send a signal when
power is restored. This solution will not
work for those of us that protect our
computers with UPS systems.

I believe that this can be done with
software in the CM15A itself but haven't
received any comment as to the feasibility
of it from X10.

*See the topic "P16" under general topics
for more comments on this subject.*

[steven r]

Bruce:

Good idea if the appliance module could be
polled and reset to off after a power
failure. Unfortunately for this application
all the appliance modules I've ever used
return to their previous power status when
power returns. (OFF if they were OFF or ON
if they were ON.)  Maybe your idea could be
applied with a poleable lamp module as they
default to off after a power outage. I’d
prefer a solution they didn’t rely on the
CM15A running a looping macro to check for
power, when I believe it is possible for
the CM15A to be programmed to detect power
restoration. Thanks for the input, however!

[Noam]

There were several threads about this a
while back. X10 hasn't responded yet with an
answer. It would seem possible to write a
macro to turn the lights back on, if only we
had a way to trigger the macro after a power
failure. I spent a few hours working on
modifying a mini-controller. I got close,
but I wsan't there yet. I wasn't able to get
it to trigger if power was off for less than
about 3 seconds or so (a quick flicker). I'm
not giving up yet, just have other projects
to work on at the moment.

[steve r]

I have tyhe PAM01 appliance modules.  They
are not listed in the AHPro software so I
have to pick another module.  The PAM01
appliance module does not reset when power is
lost but seems to have a latching relay that
maintains last condition.  So I suppose my
applicance modules would provide no
assistance in determining that a power loss
occurred.  It worth noting that the order
came form the X10.com folks ...the same ones
supplying my AHPro software... seems maybe an
update to their module listing is in order ?
Is that something the user can do ??

[steven r]

Steve R

I wondered how long it would be till we
ended up posting on the same topic. Must
confuse others at first glance to see
a "Steven R" posting a reply to "Steve R".
(Yes we are two different people.)

It's actually preferable for most
applications to have the module remember
its state. It just won't allow Bruce's idea
to work for detection.

[Noam]

I just posted on another thread, but I'll
add my two cents here too.
Do flags reset themselves when you unplug
the CM15A and plug it back in? If so, then
you just need to set a scheduled macro to
run at whatever interval you choose (every
ten minutes, 30 mins, etc), to check the
status of that flag (which would normally be
set to on). if it sees the flag off, then
turn on whatever lights should be on, then
set the flag to on.

[Tuicemen]

I've posted a couple of files on
http://forums.accessx10.com/ that will allow
the CM15A to reset after a power outage but
you need your computer on all the time and
set to reboot after a power outage. But for
those that have their PCs on a UPS how about
this: use a Powerflash security interface
with a wallwart for the trigger when power
returns it sends a x10 comand to trigger a
macro? (Allmost anything can trigger this.)
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php?
productid=138&cat=40&page=1
Just a thought.

[steven r]

"...use a Powerflash security interface
with a wallwart for the trigger..."

I don't recall. Can the Powerflash be set
as a 1 shot event even if if it stays
triggered?

If so, you may have hit on an acceptable
solution. It would be nice if there was a
delay. I fear the signal might not make it
while power was returning to everything.

I still believe that the feature could be
added to the CM15A, however.

[Steve RF]

To: Steven R.  Now we know we are not talking
to ourselves, I have modified my name a tiny
bit...   now back to the main post to place a
message looking for a good "free" home
layout/drawing program so I can keep track of
all the modules etc..  tks, Steve

[Tuicemen]

I don't know anything about the Powerflash
Security Interface other than what's posted
in the link. I don't have one but you could
have a delay in you macro before it started
to fire off commands. I'm sure AHP can have
this feature and download it to the CM15A. I
don't have my PC on a UPS so the other
options work for me.

[Noam]

The problem with a delay in the macro is
that if the CM15A doesn't boot up fast
enough to detect the signal from the
PowerFlash that activates the macro, it
doesn't do any good.

[Tuicemen]

ahh I understand!
I guess you'd need a timed trigger(2min
after power)for the PowerFlash. Anyone have
a PowerFlash?

[donald mcmow]

How about if somebody hooked up a timer
(ie: 555) circuit to a small relay that is
hooked up to the PowerFlash module. I would
imagine that when power is restored the
timer would pause long enough for the rest
of the system (computer/CM15A/Powerflash
module) to boot-up and stabilize and then
it would trigger the relay which would send
a signal to the PowerFlash and continue up
the line to the CM15A and AHP to update
things. Can any of you ELECTRONICS WIZZARDS
setup something like this for us non-
wizzrds.