MonsterIT Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 adding a pool to an existing home with c4 , what kind of control you guys recommend to install to integrate with control 4? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Pentair thedriverslab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsterIT Posted March 29, 2017 Author Share Posted March 29, 2017 Pentair But any specific model or it doesn't matter? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istreich Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 Agree with Pentair. Although limited out the box integration with Control4. and need to add an expensive Pentair interface for minimal benefits. I believe a new driver has been developed and released for more deeper integration but I have no personal experience with it. Honestly, most users end up controlling their pool through the Intellitouch app on their phone, tablet or computer. I have both and never use the Control4 interface... and I was convinced I would :-) Happy to provide more details if you want. Both on Control4 integration and overall Pentair controls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d1amund Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Pentair pool control is limited (read: verified to "work") to the i9+3 system. There are some bugs present in the system mostly relating to spa control becoming disabled from recollection. Use any other Pentair system...don't expect any support. Personally I'd stick with Jandy iAquaLink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 The Control4 driver works fine with the newer Pentair panels also (i10). Same bugs but they are relatively minor (document elsewhere in these forums - search Pentair). The new (paid for) driver looks good but my dealer has tried to get a key for it a couple of times with no success (strange as he had no problems getting keys for all the other drivers I use). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SY3 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 It also depends on what your pool builder is willing/able to install equipment wise. Some pool builders only deal with Hayward and others with Pentair. C4 does have native drivers for both systems. Can't speak to either since I don't have a pool (yet). The module interface to control the pool through Control4 is super expensive. The i9 unit just by itself is over $1500 and that doesn't include everything you need to tie it into C4. I would check with your builder to see what they offer. Make sure you let them know that you want to tie it into your C4 system even if you don't do it at build. That's what I'm doing. My pool builder is upgrading my load center so in the future, if I decide to get the i9 unit, I can install it easily. Who knows, may be he's just making it sound that way. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Exactly what controls are available? Can you also control your salt water chlorine generator, if you have one, from the apps or C4? I hope things have changed but whenever I revisit this the cost of automating your pool system is (a) ridiculously expensive, and (b) limited in its functionality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jragan Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Exactly what controls are available? Can you also control your salt water chlorine generator, if you have one, from the apps or C4? I hope things have changed but whenever I revisit this the cost of automating your pool system is (a) ridiculously expensive, and ( limited in its functionality. If it's a completely new setup, and it's using Jandy equipment, you can add the iaqualink as a DIY for 350. Through the Iaqualink app (and webpage) you have full control over everything the Jandy brain can control. There is a newer free driver written by control4 to work with Iaqualink and the new pool UI/proxy that provides toggles for controlling the auxiliaries, colored lights, pool vs spa and heat and temperature setting (with display of current status for everything). I've had the older and newer Iaqualink systems, both on wireless, and both worked great without issue both through the app and control4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Can iAqualink get readings from and control a Jandy Aquapure 1400? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istreich Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 First the automation brand is dictated by your equipment. If you have a Pentair pump, go with Pentair automation. Vice-versa for Jandy, Hayward... If you have not chosen your equipment yet, there are forums dedicated to this and you will find plenty passionate folks defending one brand vs the other. Main criteria are around reliability over time, performance (especially for variable pumps) and costs/operating costs/TCO. Honestly, the automation is secondary to those considerations. Now that you have picked your equipment brand, and therefore the control tool, you have to decide: - exact automation modules as there are several options depending on number of modules to control for example, equipment... Happy to help you navigate Pentair options and pick the right size/cost. As someone mentioned above, those systems can get expensive for limited value. It took me some efforts to make sense of the various options available. And there is a good chance your pool builder will "oversell" you with a module that has more ports than you need. - whether you want to add a Control4 control too. If you do, you will most likely need to add another unit (for ex Pentair i-link that costs about $500 and that looks like from the 19th century!) that will physically (serial) connect your equipment to your Control4 controller. Then do some basic programing. Even if it can be done (which I am not sure), don't expect to replace the native pool automation system by Control4. At least not for Pentair. The native Control4 (Pentair) driver is very simple and limited. I have added a couple of screenshots. At best you can turn pump on/off (but no scheduling or variable speed control), control lights, jets, cleaner. Possibly temperature/heater but depends on system... No salt generator control nor alarm reporting or history tracking. Can't comment on spa as only have a pool. At the end of the day, I never use the Control4 pool control menu even though I was convinced I would. The only reason I would see is wider integration such as a "swim" action that will for example turn on the lights around pool, music on and pool lights... Or any form of integrated programming. But honestly, it is easier and faster to open the (pretty good) Pentair Easytouch app separately. Up to you but best option is to invest in native manufacturer control module and stick to it. Jandy iAquaLink and Pentair Intellitouch are good, powerful and user friendly systems. Both of them "can" be integrated with Control4 and you can always do it later. The Pentair interface (See below) os archaic and basic. Jandy seems to be better and more recent but I can't comment it. Don't think Hayward offers Control4 integration and I can't comment on their native system. But Pentair and Jandy are most commonly used systems By the way, it is worth noting that the entry level Pentair Easytouch does not offer Control4 integration down the road. Only Intellitouch systems do. And there is a significant price difference between the 2 with some additional differences. Easytouch is more entry level integrated system - Intellitouch "more" open and with more expansion. But navigation interface on phone, tablet or PC identical... https://pentairpool.com/en/products/automation. It can be confusing on the site but it is clear once you understand your needs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I also tend to use the Pentair app (which can control everything) much more than C4. But I do find the C4 integration very useful for two things in particular: 1. Changing run times and turning heaters on / off when different modes are activated (e.g. I have a holiday mode, winter mode and summer mode). 2. Linking in Alexa controls so that I can turn on bubbles / jets / cannons by voice command while sitting in the jacuzzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 And using the native C4 driver, the spa controls are identical to the pool controls. One just gets an extra (spa) tab as well as the pool and extras tab. The biggest bug in the driver is that whenever the controller is rebooted (for any reason) the director forgets you have a spa and you need to go into composer and check the "Has spa" check box again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolldog Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 On 3/30/2017 at 2:21 PM, jragan said: If it's a completely new setup, and it's using Jandy equipment, you can add the iaqualink as a DIY for 350. Through the Iaqualink app (and webpage) you have full control over everything the Jandy brain can control. There is a newer free driver written by control4 to work with Iaqualink and the new pool UI/proxy that provides toggles for controlling the auxiliaries, colored lights, pool vs spa and heat and temperature setting (with display of current status for everything). I've had the older and newer Iaqualink systems, both on wireless, and both worked great without issue both through the app and control4. Where can one get this C4 driver for iAqualink? Mine was recently setup, but before it was integrated with C4, I used the panel to control everything. With RGB lights set for Acc 1, the only way to change the color of the lights is to power cycle them. The dealer who integrated the iAqualink system into my C4 system has it setup where I can operate the pump (on/off) for the waterfalls, but if I try changing the colors of the lights, they only turn off and don't turn back on unless I go to the panel. I would really like to be able to control my RGB pool lighting by picking a color, but as of right now all they do is turn off. I'm assuming my dealer doesn't have much experience integrating the Jandy iAqualink system with the C4 and is probably using the wrong driver. If you could point me in the direction of the driver needed to fully integrate the C4 and iAqualink, I'll bring this to their attention. I get tired of standing by the control panel and turning the lights on/off until I get to the color I want. I would really appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedriverslab Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 Pentair is coming out with a new pool control called the IntelliCenter. It is IP controlled. There is a FREE driver that will be available for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 4 hours ago, thedriverslab said: Pentair is coming out with a new pool control called the IntelliCenter. It is IP controlled. There is a FREE driver that will be available for it. That sounds really great! Will there be more functionality on this than with the current drivers? Any idea when the IntelliCenter will be available? thedriverslab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedriverslab Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 1 hour ago, South Africa C4 user said: That sounds really great! Will there be more functionality on this than with the current drivers? Any idea when the IntelliCenter will be available? Yes, the new driver will have additional functionality as there are more parameters to pull compared to the current system. We will be adding additional features to our current driver, unfortunately we need to finish our development cycle before we can go back to our current driver. As for when it will be available, we will have to wait and see as it is Pentairs call. South Africa C4 user 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SY3 Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Wish there was a driver for the Pentair ScreenLogic system. The i9/i10 are over kill for most pools. We went with ScreenLogic since it gives me all the control I need from their app. Would like to have that in my C4 app but I'm not paying $2k for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istreich Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 It would be interesting to see what Intellicenter brings. I agree that right now, ScreenLogic is really all your need. I have connected my Intellitouch i7 to Control4. It is expensive to do for a sub-par experience. Those pool companies are very much behind in terms of software development. They use Serial/9.6 protocols to communicate and the data is very limited. ScreenLogic is "unexpectedly ok" based on old those techs are. I look forward to this new Intellicenter and even more what the driverslab can create for us Control4 users. In the meantime, don't waste your money on trying to interface the legacy Intellitouch with Control4. And if you can't wait for Intellicenter, go the cheaper Easytouch - it is all you need with ScreenLogic. It will save you a lot of money that can be spent with our great remote dealers on this forum!!! thedriverslab and SY3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedriverslab Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 1 hour ago, sally said: Wish there was a driver for the Pentair ScreenLogic system. The i9/i10 are over kill for most pools. We went with ScreenLogic since it gives me all the control I need from their app. Would like to have that in my C4 app but I'm not paying $2k for it. Sally: I have asked our business dev team to reach out to Pentair regarding a driver for the ScreenLogin. SY3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedriverslab Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 16 minutes ago, istreich said: It would be interesting to see what Intellicenter brings. I agree that right now, ScreenLogic is really all your need. I have connected my Intellitouch i7 to Control4. It is expensive to do for a sub-par experience. Those pool companies are very much behind in terms of software development. They use Serial/9.6 protocols to communicate and the data is very limited. ScreenLogic is "unexpectedly ok" based on old those techs are. I look forward to this new Intellicenter and even more what the driverslab can create for us Control4 users. In the meantime, don't waste your money on trying to interface the legacy Intellitouch with Control4. And if you can't wait for Intellicenter, go the cheaper Easytouch - it is all you need with ScreenLogic. It will save you a lot of money that can be spent with our great remote dealers on this forum!!! istreich: I agree, the old serial protocols are old! The new IntelliCenter will be IP and we have integrated pretty much every option available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedriverslab Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 If you creat a dealer/user account at homeation.com we will let you know as soon as it is available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istreich Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Cool. Look forward to it. I will create an account to be kept in the loop. For Screenlogic, I may be incorrect. But this is the same of the app that runs on iPhone and laptops. But it is based on both Easytouch and Intellitouch. In other terms, there is no standalone Screenlogic. I suspect Sally is referring to Easytouch (as opposed to Intellitouch). And I know one of the main differences between Intelli and Easy is the lack of third party access for Easy while Intelli allows it including with Control4. But by all means, try to see if Pentair would relax that and allow a Control4 driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SY3 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 52 minutes ago, thedriverslab said: Sally: I have asked our business dev team to reach out to Pentair regarding a driver for the ScreenLogin. That would be awesome. I'm guessing there isn't a lot of demand but the EasyTouch system with ScreenLogic2 is pretty much all you really need unless you have a $200K+ pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedriverslab Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Hi sally & istreich, We have spoken with Pentair and at this time they are looking to finish the development and bring to market the new IntelliCenter before developing any new product drivers. If things change as they get closer to launch I will let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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