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Posts tagged ‘Home Improvement’

31
Aug

A Smarter Smart Home: Case Studies of Ambient Intelligence

This week I learnt that I (and co-author Lyn Bartram and Fred Popowich) will have a paper appearing in a future issue of IEEE Pervasive Computing (vol 12, no 1). Here is the paper abstract:

Research has shown that small changes in behaviour in how we use our homes can result in substantial energy and water savings. Home automation and the integration of computational intelligence capabilities in the “smart home” are often cited as promising advances in the design and renovation of efficient buildings. However, the design and implementation of such technologies are largely based on energy use simulations, smart automation of the building systems and components for optimal performance rather than on effectively supporting how people use their homes. Additional factors including system complexity and awkward automation can discourage acceptance of smart home technologies. In this paper we propose that technological support for sustainable home use lies in more subtle and contextually appropriate interventions that integrate more informative models of occupant behaviour, provide hybrid levels of automated control, and use ambient sensing for localized decisions. We discuss several cases from our experience in designing sustainable home systems and describe two current design cases for ambient intelligence in home control.

Keywords: Smart Home, Ambient Intelligence; Adaptive Lighting; Circadian Rhythms; Adaptive HVAC.

You can find a PDF of the paper at http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MPRV.2012.58

Keep your eyes peeled as there are a number of other submissions that I am either waiting on review or in the midst of writing. Write on…

15
Sep

Proliphix IMT550w thermostat installed

Today I finally installed my Proliphix IMT550w Network Thermostat. As you may have read in my earlier post, it was hard to find the right thermostat for my American Standard HVAC system, and it took me over 2 week to do an exhaustive search to find the IMT550. To review, I have a dual fuel system with a 2-stage heat pump and a 2-stage, variable speed gas furnace.

I spent the last couple of weeks figuring out how my HVAC system is wired. This took some time because there where a different amount of terminals with different labels (e.g. my system labels W2 as X2, and not needed). The colouring of the wires was also different. I cautiously documented the current wiring scheme and the new wiring scheme with my new IMT550w installed. I then talked to Proliphix Support and they worked with me to come up with the right wiring scheme. Proliphix has one of the best support departments. Mark, from Proliphix Support, was knowledgeable and responded quickly to all my emails–what more could I ask for. For those of you who are interested in seeing the before and after diagram of my HVAC wiring take a look at my HVAC Wiring Scheme document.

What I like about the IMT550w is:

  1. I can read and change setting from my browser, making it easier to set up schedules;
  2. I can install additional indoor temperature sensors, providing more comfort and energy efficiency;
  3. the temperature sensors that go with the thermostat (need to order separately) are more accurate than the ACONT802;
  4. the thermostat firmware can be updated with new functionality.
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10
Sep

Security system working with mControl via NPort

So yesterday and today I spent time installing the NPort 5250A Serial to IP Server and hooking it up to my DSC security system. After the hardware was setup, I enabled the “DSC PS” driver in mControl Service Manager and configured it with the right IP address and port. Then I added a new device in mControl Editor. Once done, I was able to arm/disarm the security system without issue. What I like about mControl is that once the hard work of installing the hardware is done, there is no struggle on the automation software side; only add or change some settings/configurations  and it just works! Next task is to get the NPort to talk RS485 to my ION6200 power meters and write the corresponding mControl driver.

In the next couple of weeks I will be posting more information on:

  • how to create a meter enclosure for your smart/revenue meter;
  • how to start writing mControl drivers;
  • a project page on how to create you own Arduino power meter reader (the APMR project), that uses a real-time clock (RTC) and RS485/MODBUS.

One thing to note is that I am trying to get the “DSC PS” driver in mControl modified. My security system has 4 partitions and the driver, in its current form,  only support 2.

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8
Sep

Insteon phase coupler installed

So I installed the SignaLinc hardwired phase coupler  and the 10A FilterLinc today and it looks like all the communication issues I was having are gone. I am still getting hop counts of 3 on some devices, but I think that may go away once I install more Insteon hardware.

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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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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.

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