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Posts from the ‘Smart Home’ Category

6
Sep

Insteon communication issues

Looks like I have some issues with Insteon communication. The mControl log is recording error such as:

!!! PowerLinc possible data loss: 0x02 not found at beginning of data
!!! PowerLinc communication error - NAK received (B)
!!! PowerLinc possible data loss: 0x02 not found at beginning of data

And the device summary shows a lot of “reachable=false, hops=3″ which is not good. If I change where the Insteom PLM is plugged in then I get somewhat better results. Looks like I need to:

  1. couple the phases with a SignaLinc hardwired phase coupler;
  2. a filter out any noise from my computer UPS with a 10A FilterLinc.

Hopefully this will do the trick. I have ordered the equipment and will update you on how I resolve this issue…

3
Sep

Installing mControl v3

So the Dell Zino I ordered was delivered yesterday and finished installing all the Insteon devices. After much debate I decided to install Windows 7… Well I did not like how it turned out and today I installed Microsoft Windows Web Server 2008 R2 64-bit. Much better, because most of the time the Zino will be setting in a corner headless, and I will use Remote Desktop for configuration and installing updates.

Now it is time to set up mControl. Setup is quite easy, but here are the steps I took for you review:

  1. install Windows Web Server 2008 R2;
  2. install Dell device drivers;
  3. apply all patches and updates (there were lots and this took a LONG time with multiple reboots!);
  4. download and install FireFox;
  5. download and extract Insteon Modem Driver, install via Device Manager;
  6. enable remote desktop login;
  7. download and install .Net Framework 4.0;
  8. add the IIS 7 role to your server;
  9. add .Net Framework 3.5.1 Features feature;
  10. run from command-line “%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\aspnet_regiis.exe -i”;
  11. shake your head that you still have to run aspnet_regiis.exe after all these years (and that you still forget!);
  12. install mControl;
  13. run mControl Service Manager and make sure that the Insteon setting are “SERIAL” and the COM Port is right (mine was COM3);
  14. run mControl Editor and add each device to mControl;
  15. if the Editor displays the error “Could Not Load Type ‘System.ServiceModel.Activation.HttpModule’” then run from command-line “%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\aspnet_regiis.exe -iru”;
  16. install the iPad app (another very easy thing to do) and play.

I am still waiting for my Serial to IP Converter and Thermostat to come in. For the serial server I have decided to go with a NPort 5250A which will have 1 port for RS232 and 1 port for RS485. The RS232 port will be connected to my DSC security system. The RS485 port will be connected to my ION6200 power meters.

For the thermostat, I have decided to purchase the Proliphix IMT550w Network Thermostat. mControl does not currently support this thermostat (but they will soon). It was very hard finding the right thermostat for my American Standard HVAC system, because it is a dual fuel system with a 2-stage heat pump and a 2-stage, variable speed gas furnace. I did an exhaustive search for about 2 weeks!

Now it is time to enjoy the long weekend, stay tuned…

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30
Aug

mControl Device Drivers

I just finished having a meeting with Ted and Roger from Embedded Automation on how to write device drivers for mControl. It was great that they took some time out of their busy day to meet with me at the SFU Surrey Campus. Now that I have a handle on this I am looking to create a number of drivers that can:

  1. talk to RS485/Modbus devices, in this case my power meters;
  2. receive consumption data from the AcquiLite about water and natural gas usage;
  3. update my ambient display, Elements of Consumption.

These devices that I will be adding to mControl will allow me to start monitoring my energy consumption more closely. I will using a new service in mControl v3 to capture and store data in a database. That data will be analyzed by machine learning algorithms to find patterns of usage and to identify what appliances were used. If you are interested in learning more about this project feel free to contact me. Soon I will announce a way for anyone that uses mControl v3 to participate…

29
Aug

Rewiring, Phase 1

I spend a good part of the day reorganizing my wiring cabinet (phase 1 of 2). Looks much better now… For the last couple of months it was looking like an apocalyptic mess after I pulled all the wire out; loose wires hung everywhere! Here is the after picture.

26
Aug

Insteon equipment is here

Well, I just received my shipment of Insteon devices. Now I have to plan out where to install them. I only ordered a small sample to  install around the house, these include on/off switches, dimmer switches, iMeters, and modem. Next week I plan to set up mControl as my home automation system to communicate/control the Insteon devices. I am still waiting for my Dell Zino to be delivered. Version 3 of mControl will be out soon, but in the mean time I will be using the Beta 2 version. I will have a post on how the mControl install when, so stay tuned…

25
Aug

Installing electricity, water and gas meters

So here is a summary of the meters I have installed at my house.

Around the middle of 2009 I had 2 electrical meters installed at my home. Both where PowerLogic ION6200 meters. These meters are class 0.5 revenue meters so that means they are not cheap. One meter measures consumption of the main buswork coming into the house at 200A. The second meter measured consumption from the heat pump (40A). These meters communicate using the MODBUS protocol using a RS485 serial connection.

At the beginning of this year I installed 2 water meters and 2 natural gas meters. The meter installed on the water main coming into the house is a DLJ Contact Head meter from watermeters.com. I installed a second meter to measure hot water consumption, an Elster S130. One thing to note, both meters measure in US gallons consumed. This is too large of a measurement for my house (~2400 sq ft). I should have bought meters that measure in letres (1 US gallon = 3.785 litres).

For natural gas I have one meter measuring the main gas line coming into the house (Elster AC-250, measured in cubic-decimeters). I have the other meter measuring gas consumed by the forced air furnace (Elster BK-G4, measured in cubic-feet). Having these 2 meters measure in different units presents QA (quality assurance) challenge. I have to convert the units of measure from one of the meters so that both meters have the same units and the conversion function has to be correct, too.

The water and natural gas meters are pulse meters, meaning that an electronic pulse is send down a wire for every gallon that is consumed. This meant that I need to buy a data logger that can count and measure consumption rates. After much searching I decided to go with the Obvius AcquiLite to do this. I also use the AcquiLite to convert the units of measure from imperial to metric. Stay tuned, I will post more details (and pictures) on how I am collecting data from these meters…

I have created page that graphs out this consumption data on my research website called My Smart Home: Consumption Report. Check it out.

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