Rob asked me to let him know a little about my HA setup, and I was going to send it to him in an email but thought I would post here instead.
I built my house 12 years ago. I did some research and selected the OmniPro2 mostly because I liked the integration of security with automation. I worked with my electrician and pre-wired the house with cat5 running to most light switch boxes for ALC lighting and 4-button scene switches plus a bunch more for my lan. I also ran cat5 to most rooms for control of the hifi system and speaker wire for ceiling speakers. Cat5 to several outside spots for cameras as well, though I have not yet installed any. I ran 2 coax cables to each television location.
A security company installed and wired the door and window sensors and motion and smoke detectors. They provide monitoring.
Every wire is a homerun to my wiring closet (ALC branches will daisy chain but I still ran them home individually for reliability). Everything terminates in either punhdown blocks, patch panels (rj45 or coax) or screw terminals.
I have two ALC daughter boards on the OP2 board. I installed an expansion board in the garage with 16 units and 16 outputs and 8 relays.
I have 78 hardwired ALC units in the house. Most control ceiling recessed cans, there are a few outlets and a bathroom fan. I have 12 HAI thermostats, don't remember the model offhand but they are backlit (the original ones I installed were not). There are 4 HVAC units in the house with damper-controlled zones, one has 5 zones, one has 4, one has 2 and one is not zoned. I have 42 zones set up, most are perimeter but some are internal for automation purposes (open closet door, light comes on). 6 are motion detectors and one is a smoke. I have the hifi2 system 16x8 currently using 8 zones and 3 sources.
Enough of the setup. Here's some of the stuff I'm doing with it.
The scene buttons never worked well, then stopped working altogether. It was a godsend when HAI released the IP interface and snaplink and Haiku came along, and I use Haiku all the time. I rely heavily on user buttons in the OP2, triggering various actions in the house.
When I arm the system into away mode, it triggers all lights off, turns on the back hallway light for 2 minutes so I don't bump into something, and sets HVAC temps appropriately. At sunset, if in away mode, a series of lights begin to cycle to make it look like someone is home and moving about. These cycles will start mid-stream if away mode is activated after sunset.
At certain times during the day, when hot water would be in demand throughout the house, an ALC switch turns on a pump that circulates water from the hot water tanks in a closed system. The pump can also be triggered on demand. Within 2 minutes of pump on, hot water is instantly available at any tap in the house. The pump will not turn on if the house is in away mode, and if the house goes into away mode while the pump is on it turns off.
When security changes from away to home, HVAC downstairs sets to comfortable temps. When I activate a user button called "Cigar Deck" the system arms into day mode, bypasses the kitchen door, turns on the hifi2 outside zone and if it's after sunset turns on the lights on the deck and the outside flood lights so I can enjoy a cigar. It also sets a flag called "cigar deck on" in case I activated "Cigar Deck" before sunset, then at sunset if the cigar flag is on it turns on the aformentioned lights.
When I'm ready for bed, a "bedtime" user button restores the kitchen door, turns off all lights and then lights a path going upstairs to the bedroom as well as bathroom lights. It also adjusts downstairs and upstairs HVAC to reflect the move. Once settled in bed, the user button "goodnight" turns off all lights in the house, turns off hifi2 zones and sets security to night mode.
In the morning, at 6:30, if the system is in night mode it changes into day mode (so I won't set off the motions) and the bathroom lights turn on. If at 6:30 the system is in away mode, meaning I'm not home, those changes don't happen.
Other user buttons do things like turn certain kitchen lights to a dim mode, or to a bright mode, or off. One button bypasses the front and back doors for 2 minutes so I can leave the house in day mode if I don't want to arm to away.
All of these functions can be controlled via Haiku from anywhere in the world. Haiku also has a proximity setting that will geofence my house. I use it to automatically turn on outside and some inside lights when I enter the geofence after dark, timed for 5 minutes in case I just drove by the house and didn't stop.
Now, with the HS3 and Rob's HAI plugin, I get a whole raft of new options. Actions in HS3 can trigger actions in the OP2 and vice versa. Z-wave is letting me add controllable switches and sensors where I neglected to run ALC wiring, and so far it's working far better than X10 ever did. Examples being adding dimmer controls to my ceiling fans, scene buttons that actually work, temperature sensors for my freezer in the garage. I'll rig a z-wave doorbell and put a motion detector on the front porch. Next will come a dedicated PC for the HS3 software to move it from where it now resides and shares space with boatloads of other programs. When Rob gets user codes working I'll send my phone a text message when anyone other than me arms or disarms the system.
I have an Amazon Echo that has the HS3 skill loaded but the skill doesn't work...hopefully HomeSeer will continue to work on it. In the meantime, I use the Echo to trigger events using IFTTT that in turn trigger events in the HS3 via the IFTTT plugin. I can set it up to voice activate any event on the HS3 and therefore any action on the OP2.
Current projects I'm working on are garage door controls (via an output and relay in the expansion board in the garage with a z-wave tilt switch on the door), the ability to set an alarm state programatically (again with a relay to toggle a zone between secure and not secure) for a panic button, and continued expanding of the z-wave network. I'm learning HS3Touch Designer and running the android client on $50 7-inch Kindle Fire tablets which I will wall-mount.
I made the decision to integrate the HS3 because I see the writing on the wall for the OP2. Leviton has all but stopped supporting it. The Haiku developers are trying to phase out that app and replace it with Space which I don't care for. ALC is an extremely dependable solution but jeez a simple dimmer switch now costs $160.
Sorry for being so verbose. Thanks to all (esp Pete) for the help I've gotten to make it this far. Rob, keep up the good work.
I built my house 12 years ago. I did some research and selected the OmniPro2 mostly because I liked the integration of security with automation. I worked with my electrician and pre-wired the house with cat5 running to most light switch boxes for ALC lighting and 4-button scene switches plus a bunch more for my lan. I also ran cat5 to most rooms for control of the hifi system and speaker wire for ceiling speakers. Cat5 to several outside spots for cameras as well, though I have not yet installed any. I ran 2 coax cables to each television location.
A security company installed and wired the door and window sensors and motion and smoke detectors. They provide monitoring.
Every wire is a homerun to my wiring closet (ALC branches will daisy chain but I still ran them home individually for reliability). Everything terminates in either punhdown blocks, patch panels (rj45 or coax) or screw terminals.
I have two ALC daughter boards on the OP2 board. I installed an expansion board in the garage with 16 units and 16 outputs and 8 relays.
I have 78 hardwired ALC units in the house. Most control ceiling recessed cans, there are a few outlets and a bathroom fan. I have 12 HAI thermostats, don't remember the model offhand but they are backlit (the original ones I installed were not). There are 4 HVAC units in the house with damper-controlled zones, one has 5 zones, one has 4, one has 2 and one is not zoned. I have 42 zones set up, most are perimeter but some are internal for automation purposes (open closet door, light comes on). 6 are motion detectors and one is a smoke. I have the hifi2 system 16x8 currently using 8 zones and 3 sources.
Enough of the setup. Here's some of the stuff I'm doing with it.
The scene buttons never worked well, then stopped working altogether. It was a godsend when HAI released the IP interface and snaplink and Haiku came along, and I use Haiku all the time. I rely heavily on user buttons in the OP2, triggering various actions in the house.
When I arm the system into away mode, it triggers all lights off, turns on the back hallway light for 2 minutes so I don't bump into something, and sets HVAC temps appropriately. At sunset, if in away mode, a series of lights begin to cycle to make it look like someone is home and moving about. These cycles will start mid-stream if away mode is activated after sunset.
At certain times during the day, when hot water would be in demand throughout the house, an ALC switch turns on a pump that circulates water from the hot water tanks in a closed system. The pump can also be triggered on demand. Within 2 minutes of pump on, hot water is instantly available at any tap in the house. The pump will not turn on if the house is in away mode, and if the house goes into away mode while the pump is on it turns off.
When security changes from away to home, HVAC downstairs sets to comfortable temps. When I activate a user button called "Cigar Deck" the system arms into day mode, bypasses the kitchen door, turns on the hifi2 outside zone and if it's after sunset turns on the lights on the deck and the outside flood lights so I can enjoy a cigar. It also sets a flag called "cigar deck on" in case I activated "Cigar Deck" before sunset, then at sunset if the cigar flag is on it turns on the aformentioned lights.
When I'm ready for bed, a "bedtime" user button restores the kitchen door, turns off all lights and then lights a path going upstairs to the bedroom as well as bathroom lights. It also adjusts downstairs and upstairs HVAC to reflect the move. Once settled in bed, the user button "goodnight" turns off all lights in the house, turns off hifi2 zones and sets security to night mode.
In the morning, at 6:30, if the system is in night mode it changes into day mode (so I won't set off the motions) and the bathroom lights turn on. If at 6:30 the system is in away mode, meaning I'm not home, those changes don't happen.
Other user buttons do things like turn certain kitchen lights to a dim mode, or to a bright mode, or off. One button bypasses the front and back doors for 2 minutes so I can leave the house in day mode if I don't want to arm to away.
All of these functions can be controlled via Haiku from anywhere in the world. Haiku also has a proximity setting that will geofence my house. I use it to automatically turn on outside and some inside lights when I enter the geofence after dark, timed for 5 minutes in case I just drove by the house and didn't stop.
Now, with the HS3 and Rob's HAI plugin, I get a whole raft of new options. Actions in HS3 can trigger actions in the OP2 and vice versa. Z-wave is letting me add controllable switches and sensors where I neglected to run ALC wiring, and so far it's working far better than X10 ever did. Examples being adding dimmer controls to my ceiling fans, scene buttons that actually work, temperature sensors for my freezer in the garage. I'll rig a z-wave doorbell and put a motion detector on the front porch. Next will come a dedicated PC for the HS3 software to move it from where it now resides and shares space with boatloads of other programs. When Rob gets user codes working I'll send my phone a text message when anyone other than me arms or disarms the system.
I have an Amazon Echo that has the HS3 skill loaded but the skill doesn't work...hopefully HomeSeer will continue to work on it. In the meantime, I use the Echo to trigger events using IFTTT that in turn trigger events in the HS3 via the IFTTT plugin. I can set it up to voice activate any event on the HS3 and therefore any action on the OP2.
Current projects I'm working on are garage door controls (via an output and relay in the expansion board in the garage with a z-wave tilt switch on the door), the ability to set an alarm state programatically (again with a relay to toggle a zone between secure and not secure) for a panic button, and continued expanding of the z-wave network. I'm learning HS3Touch Designer and running the android client on $50 7-inch Kindle Fire tablets which I will wall-mount.
I made the decision to integrate the HS3 because I see the writing on the wall for the OP2. Leviton has all but stopped supporting it. The Haiku developers are trying to phase out that app and replace it with Space which I don't care for. ALC is an extremely dependable solution but jeez a simple dimmer switch now costs $160.
Sorry for being so verbose. Thanks to all (esp Pete) for the help I've gotten to make it this far. Rob, keep up the good work.
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