Home Automation

If I were to build/buy an home automation system, I would use?

  • An off the shelf commercial system

    Votes: 9 20.9%
  • A PLC controlled system that I developed

    Votes: 22 51.2%
  • A combination of commercial modules connected to a plc

    Votes: 11 25.6%
  • Adopt the neighbors kid to go from room to room turning on lights and setting the heat ect...

    Votes: 6 14.0%

  • Total voters
    43
  • Poll closed .

djbillyd007

Member
Join Date
Mar 2005
Location
Sevierville TN
Posts
83
I know this is a little of topic here. But, I have seen simular post and have been researching home automation systems. I am trying to look @ the pro's and cons of a PLC based system, as apposed to a commercial system. I am also using this to learn how to do a poll here. I would appreciate any comments as I am going to try to do some automation in my home. I will probably go the PLC route. I happen to have alot of DL305 stuff sitting around from my last plant closing.
 
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sorry i had to be the one with the silly vote!!

i myself am doing the same thing..i have a lot of old modicon stuff kicking around..(Enough to drive a small size plant!!) so for me its a PLC system hands down..plc stuff=0 software =0 the only cost is going to be sensors and stuff..but i have done some building automation to so i know where to get the stuff fairly cheap...for someone just starting out a ready made system might be the way to go (based on just software alone)

...
 
No choice for relay logic?

My dad built a solar house in Arizona and specifically used relay logic, with commercial thermostats where possible, a single loop on/off controller with a thermocouple for the heat resevoir that gets hotter and needs a wider scale range than a residential thermostat can cover.

His reason was simple: anyone familiar with HVAC or furnace controls can read relay logic.

And at some point, he'll need to sell the place. And he didn't want something so proprietary that it would take a specialist to figure out and even limit the market for potential buyers.

Dan
 
The question i would immediatly ask my self is what type of control do i want over say lights...Just on/off in the simple case of ladder logic or do i want to be able to dimm the lights?
AM i going to use standard switches or some fancy looking ones?
What happens if the PLC goes down ????
I would tend towards a dedicated system, in Oz i would recommend to look at the Clipsal C-bus system. Great looking switches for starters. In fact you could have every light in the house in this system on dimmers and from a switch set the mood around the house....

I once thought as most of us do and PLC was my option, but not until i had investigated the option of the aformentioned system. It can be distributed technology where a single failure does not crah the entire system.
 
A poll, neat, how col is that!

At age 54, I may build a house soon, and will wire it myself, naturally, but would think of automation. Some remote 3-way switches for outside lights, or an attic fan at most. Provided I don't go DC!

But I have been thinking about electric heat, and that kind of kills the DC idea.

If using a plc, I would probably go with a 9030 and some remote racks.

GE and others used to have low voltage relay control, with multiple switch locations. If it only would have worked well. Okay for offices for a long time, but 40 years later, parts have to be tracked down and ordered special. How long will X-10 etc be available???

regards.....kc
 
Currently using AB proc 7 slot rack. It controls the gas fired air handler and soon (when installed ) heat pump. Keeps the first floor within .4 of a degree, Dont have the VAV's installed for the other areas of the house yet. Needing more time then I currently have to do it. It also watches my pressure on the filters So I know when they need changed accuratly, also watches my water useage and the hot water heater (gas fired). Out of all that I can calculate my gas consumption and estimate my bill before it arrives.

I also watch the temps in all rooms of the house, Which will allow individual room control once I get the VAV's installed. The room temps come from a ONE-WIRE BUS system.
The Water heater, air handler , 2 outside temps , and a back-up TC on the first floor to ensure my reading are all thermocouples.
The reason for 2 outside are 1 is hidden from sun induced heat and the second isn't. That allows me to know the temp as well as how it feels. It also lets me know cloudy/sunny, rain , sun-rise/set.

It all ties to pv550 and rsviewme screens on a pc to monitor all that. Some items are logged in the plc.

Currrently looking for a decent and reasonable window opener/closer.

If and when I build my house I also found dimmers that turn on/off with a pulse and dimm when the pulse is held. They also have a "softstart" so the pulse doesn't slam them to full bright , alot easier on morning eyes. I have also found normal looking switches that are momentary for inputs to the plc to control the dimmers.

Sorry for going on but there is much more in planning.

These are just some ideas for the control of a home.


Drewcrew6
 
CaseyK said:
A poll, neat, how col is that!

At age 54, I may build a house soon, and will wire it myself, naturally, but would think of automation. Some remote 3-way switches for outside lights, or an attic fan at most. Provided I don't go DC!

But I have been thinking about electric heat, and that kind of kills the DC idea.

If using a plc, I would probably go with a 9030 and some remote racks.

GE and others used to have low voltage relay control, with multiple switch locations. If it only would have worked well. Okay for offices for a long time, but 40 years later, parts have to be tracked down and ordered special. How long will X-10 etc be available???

regards.....kc

Douglas makes a good adressable low voltage switching system..as for the GE i come across old ones and have had no problem getting replacement switches,etc for them..
 
When we built our house, I was working too much to wire it myself. So, with the general contractors permission, I took responsibility for one wall. The wall between my dining room and the living room. This wall has my aquarium. It is wired and plumbed, and controlled by a SCL 100. The lights are timed on and off, and the water level is maintained. I used a standard heater, and it does fine. I drain the tank to the flower garden in front of my dining room. The cabinate maker finnished a cabinate below the tank to match the kitchen.


If I were to try to automate my house, I would use a PLC, simply because I am comfortable with PLC's. Still, its hard to beat a simple light switch. One thing I did make sure of was that I had a 2" conduit running from the main breaker box both up to the attic, and down to the crawl space. Wiring for a surround sound system in the Master bedroom, and the living room/den would be a must, along with Cat 5 to each bedroom.
 
Lol, looks like we are all in agreement, so far. Off the shelf stuff rates right up there with adopting the neighborhood kid. I am just now in the planning stages of this thing. Right now the idea is to start with some simple lighting. Then on to some appliance control. Then play with some HVAC ideas I have. Then i want to control some valves and lighting on my pond and landscaping. I have alot of what I need. I will have to get alot of relays and maybe some I/O. What I haven't decided is what to use as far as software on the PC. I thought about trying my hand @ VB. To start I will just keep the 305 tied to my PC and set timing and such with directsoft. Keep up with the suggestions my mind is going a mile a minute on this thing.
 
DREWCREW6,
I would really like to hear some more details about your project. I am getting ready for something like it myself. I am shopping for a panelview1000 right now.....
 
It all started when I drove a nail into an upstairs water pipe (honest!). So while the insurance guys had the living room ceiling down, I thought it the ideal time to install some "universal" wiring, as the room is central and connects to all the others. Big fat speaker leads, multipurpose multicores, phone wires, high quality scarts. A "spare" cupboard directly above this room was ideal for the slc500 and I'm using a Red Lion colour hmi. Hardware in, now the fun begins! I found an ir remote kit for the lights, which has a multiway pnp o/p receiver board, that connects to the slc. The new ceiling now has an octagon of recessed lights, each of which is individually dimmable (32 steps) from groups of six of the pnp o/p's of the slc, which control home-made d-a converters. I was going to use 8 (much tidier), but the total sweep time in single scan increments was too long. The next thing to go will be the old central heating controller. There's a solar water system on the roof, so control of that will be included soon. The latest arrival is a 1kW wind genny and a Trace (they really are the business) inverter/charger, so that's a few more inputs used. So many wires, but good fun!
 
Steve Kemp said:
It all started when I drove a nail into an upstairs water pipe (honest!). So while the insurance guys had the living room ceiling down, I thought it the ideal time to install some "universal" wiring, as the room is central and connects to all the others. Big fat speaker leads, multipurpose multicores, phone wires, high quality scarts. A "spare" cupboard directly above this room was ideal for the slc500 and I'm using a Red Lion colour hmi. Hardware in, now the fun begins! I found an ir remote kit for the lights, which has a multiway pnp o/p receiver board, that connects to the slc. The new ceiling now has an octagon of recessed lights, each of which is individually dimmable (32 steps) from groups of six of the pnp o/p's of the slc, which control home-made d-a converters. I was going to use 8 (much tidier), but the total sweep time in single scan increments was too long. The next thing to go will be the old central heating controller. There's a solar water system on the roof, so control of that will be included soon. The latest arrival is a 1kW wind genny and a Trace (they really are the business) inverter/charger, so that's a few more inputs used. So many wires, but good fun!

Sounds like a lot of fun. HVAC would be at the top of my list. That way I could let the wall mounted thermostat ease the angst of my wife, and the SLC control the temp. ;) Where did you get the info for the roof mounted solar unit? Do you like it? Down here in lower AL we have plenty solar heat, just nobody taking advantage of it.

 
BOWRIDER what do you want to hear more about specifically.

The ONE_WIRE bus convertor is from www.midondesign.com . They now sell the TEMP08 I have the older TEMP05. That "talks" to a basic card and places the strings into the proc. Out of the strings I extract the actual temp and "node" .

Originally I was looking for a larger pv but scrapped that idea due to how cheap older pc's are. I figured when I need that type of control a small lcd to an older pc will do more then what I need.

Let me know what you would like more detail on.




I found an ir remote kit for the lights, which has a multiway pnp o/p receiver board, that connects to the slc. The new ceiling now has an octagon of recessed lights, each of which is individually dimmable (32 steps) from groups of six of the pnp o/p's of the slc, which control home-made d-a converters.
Steve can you give more details on that. I would like to know the manu. on those and details on the d/a converters of how you did everthing .



DREWCREW6
 
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Quote: "Where did you get the info for the roof mounted solar unit? Do you like it? Down here in lower AL we have plenty solar heat, just nobody taking advantage of it."

It was already installed when we bought the house; it's made by a local outfit called "Sunuser" (original, huh?). Must be fifteen years old, now. Five panels (not the evacuated type) and much more than all the hot water we can use. It's south facing, so it gets the sun even on a clear winter's day -excellent. I've seen only one other in about a 40-50 mile rad, don't know why. I looked at using peltier devices to generate electricity from the excess water heat, but they're not cheap and there's never enough time to play with all these things. I think it'll be the spiralling cost of fuel, not the environmental impact that'll (finally) kick-start more people into using all that free power. We'll see...

Drewcrew6: Yes; I'll see what I can put together. The kit is from these guys: http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/engine.php the rest is counters in the plc. I'll do a decent drawing for the d/a's and the ramp gen; the latter is a design that I've used for many phase-angle type projects for many years.
 
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Steve Kemp said:
It all started when I drove a nail into an upstairs water pipe (honest!). So while the insurance guys had the living room ceiling down,...

I'm going to have to remember that one when I start tying to figure out how to pay for an upgrade on my home... 🍺
 

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