Chuck:
One other consideration will likely be insurance requirements. My insurance
typically requires someone visit the house regularly during extended absences.
Your company may require such visits, in which case you may be able to have
friends/neighbours check the furnace etc, as a backup to your other "systems".
In cold weather such human backups would be wise.
Some thoughts re timers: are the more sophisticated ones (whether in-wall
switches or plug in) already programmed for time changes? Some work with
photo-sensitive cells. If they work properly, they would adjust for changing
daylight hours.
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: Chuck Norcutt [mailto:chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 9:53 AM
To: Olympus mail list
Subject: [OM] [OT] Home automation/security questions
Sorry for breaking the flurry of on-topic OM-D traffic but I have some home
automation/security questions for which I know someone here has the answers.
I have two (I think modest) goals I'd like to achieve for when I leave the
house in the winter for warmer climes.
1) Right now I have a simple set of timers that turn a few lights on and off
that simulate the activity in the house when it's occupied. Some of these
timers have a battery backup so they can survive power outages.
However, by the time I return in the spring, sunset and sunrise are radically
different than when I left. Also, daylight savings time has gone into effect
further throwing the timers off. Also, one of the lights I'd like to control
(but don't now) is operated by a wall switch where control is not amenable to a
simple plug-in timer.
I think I can solve these lighting problems with fairly simple Insteon, Z-Wave
(or similar) devices. But I don't know all the ins/outs of these things and
what's best or worse. Nor do I completely understand the need for or how to
completely cover communicating over both phases of the AC power lines of the
house. That leads to a question of should I use radio transmission devices
only?
Whatever the solution here it probably gets complicated (cost wise) by goal
#2...
2) When I leave the house for the winter I have the plumbing winterized with
anti-freeze by a plumber right after I leave and de-winterized just before I
return. I also have the town turn my water off outside the house just in case
my own inside shut-off valve should start leaking.
The town turns the water off for free but the winterizing/de-winterizing costs
me $200/year. What I'd like to do is get rid of the precautionary anti-freeze
requirement for the plumbing. But that requires that I keep a close watch on
the temperature of the house in the event the furnace should fail. Right now I
have a simple temperature sensor that turns on a red light in the window to
warn the neighbors if the temperature drops to 40F. But if they don't notice
or don't respond the antifreeze in the pipes will protect the plumbing. With
no anti-freeze in the pipes I don't dare count on the neighbors noticing that
all is not well with the furnace.
If I want to spend lots of money and use a smartphone (not!) I can get instant
alerts via smartphone on some systems. But I don't want to go there. I
normally have my internet/cable/phone shut off when I'm gone but can leave
internet only communications running for about the same amount of money that it
costs me for winterizing/de-winterizing. That allows for a freeze/temperature
sensor communicate with me via the net but I don't know exactly how to do that
at modest cost. A warning e-mail would be best but even having to log-on daily
for a status check would be OK if it's the only way to do it cheaply.
These are the functions I'm after. The questions are how to do it cheaply but
also reliably. If there's no built-in freeze protection the system has to
work. Probably best to take the answers to this off-list.
Thanks much,
Chuck Norcutt
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