Comments on: Automating the Home, Failed http://www.contactandcoil.com/automation/home-automation/automating-the-home-failed/ Nearly In Control Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:49:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Scott Whitlock http://www.contactandcoil.com/automation/home-automation/automating-the-home-failed/comment-page-1/#comment-433 Scott Whitlock Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:07:40 +0000 http://www.contactandcoil.com/?p=35#comment-433 @Laurens: True that. Ultimately we need to get to the point where stuff like this just works ;) @Laurens: True that. Ultimately we need to get to the point where stuff like this just works ;)

]]> By: Laurens V http://www.contactandcoil.com/automation/home-automation/automating-the-home-failed/comment-page-1/#comment-432 Laurens V Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:58:04 +0000 http://www.contactandcoil.com/?p=35#comment-432 My experience with most contractors and distributors involved in the area of home anything has sounded much like your experience. I have hot water radiator heating in my house and the main controller on the boiler is on the fritz. I know, I tested all the inputs and power supply and tested the ignition signal to the main and pilots. I went to discuss the module with tech support to see if it was obsolete (it's about 20 years old, so I wanted to make sure before I tried to order another) and they wouldn't give me the time of day - I had to go through the distributors. The distributors wouldn't sell me the module because I need to be a licensed gas fitter (despite this being purely an electrical component). I eventually managed to find someone that didn't care and was willing to source the part and ship it direct to me. I now wait for the module police to find me. Every home need of mine seems to attract this form of experience. I'd love to automate my entire house to rid myself of these various sources of frustration, but then I am definitely on-call for each and every thing that goes wrong in the house. I went through this same thought process when it came to installing a main controller for my inlaw's greenhouses - custom PLC with code written and maintained by me, or an off-the-shelf, poorly documented "all-in-one" solution with greenhouse "logic" already built in. I went with the latter option and now have time for other things at the farm - like repairing a failed limit switch that could have wiped a crop, or rebuilding a vintage snowmobile. Sometimes there is a tradeoff for the frustration :) Cheers! My experience with most contractors and distributors involved in the area of home anything has sounded much like your experience. I have hot water radiator heating in my house and the main controller on the boiler is on the fritz. I know, I tested all the inputs and power supply and tested the ignition signal to the main and pilots. I went to discuss the module with tech support to see if it was obsolete (it’s about 20 years old, so I wanted to make sure before I tried to order another) and they wouldn’t give me the time of day – I had to go through the distributors. The distributors wouldn’t sell me the module because I need to be a licensed gas fitter (despite this being purely an electrical component). I eventually managed to find someone that didn’t care and was willing to source the part and ship it direct to me. I now wait for the module police to find me. Every home need of mine seems to attract this form of experience. I’d love to automate my entire house to rid myself of these various sources of frustration, but then I am definitely on-call for each and every thing that goes wrong in the house. I went through this same thought process when it came to installing a main controller for my inlaw’s greenhouses – custom PLC with code written and maintained by me, or an off-the-shelf, poorly documented “all-in-one” solution with greenhouse “logic” already built in. I went with the latter option and now have time for other things at the farm – like repairing a failed limit switch that could have wiped a crop, or rebuilding a vintage snowmobile. Sometimes there is a tradeoff for the frustration :)

Cheers!

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