wappinghigh Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 ^ This is where Home Automation smarts would become critical. I envisage Control4 co-ordinationg the lot.So critical gear like the C4 controller running the brains of the system, mesh and computer networks etc would need to be on a UPS.Other non critical stuff (say maybe the fridge and some lights) that need to be on during the outage would be on the gas gen or solar (if it's day and sun is out)..with the ability to switch say the solar off grid the instant the grid went down..Of course there would need to be feed back to re-charge the GPS if the outage was prolongedNon critical stuff like washing machines or dishwashers could just switch off and be left off..All wired up and line monitored and co-ordinated by Control4 with an App so the customer could see whats going on and select which stuff is critical etc.. (case in point say how long to run the fridge and when to shut this down.)I don't see why all this could not be set up in a Control4 home using simple Zigbee wireless GPO's and the like, but it all needs to be co-ordinated. And that is where Control4 should step in...Each pice of gear responsible for the shut down also needs to have a Control4 2 way driver . So the UPS and the Gas Gen. need drivers. To give feedback as to what is going on via email or push notify and maybe even to take instructions like settings and what to do in the shutdown..Some UPS's like some APC's have drivers..but do any of the Gas gen's?In any case an all "worked out" total solution using Control4 would be perfect, but is their one>?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 seems like a lot of expense and trouble to switch all that.just get a big natural gas generator and put the whole thing on it with a SER switch and forget it. mine switches over in less than 10 seconds (really about 6) and runs everything. house, pool, A/Cs, ovens. everything. just have C4 and network gear on UPS.(Cummins 45kw with Asco 185 SE 400A switch) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenKane71 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 The reason you do not see the solution you are referring to is: There is a tremendous amount of engineering required to manage an electrical system, as well as a large life safety component. There would need to be a huge waiting market for this solution to merit the investment (i.e. Lighting Control which still took C4 many years to venture into). Then you consider the fact the most dealers for Control4 have specialized in "Limited Energy" installations and you see that this is not a natural channel for them. Lastly, the electrical system is really more of a mechanical system and Automation is really a misnomer. You can trigger events; and you could switch gear, but other than that there really is no automation here. I would look into TPS, and Surgex to handle your Protection Solutions, and to manage power t your critical components. Then manage the Kohler Generator with it's proprietary software. Once you have done this, the tech who installs your Generator can help you decide which systems will have backup power and which systems will require battery. Then the shutdown procedure script can be written in C4 once you determine your trigger and which components require it... Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 #threaddredge Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 I'm surprised there has been no mention of the Tesla powerwall yet. Put that (when it ships ) between a generator and Solar and home and you have what you are looking for. I would think that this engineering and high current systems would all need to be more mechanicaly or system on chip than software based. As someone observed a software based backfeed control would add an element of life safety risk to a linesman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 7 minutes ago, SMHarman said: I'm surprised there has been no mention of the Tesla powerwall yet. Put that (when it ships ) between a generator and Solar and home and you have what you are looking for. I would think that this engineering and high current systems would all need to be more mechanicaly or system on chip than software based. As someone observed a software based backfeed control would add an element of life safety risk to a linesman. this is a 2013 thread....didn't exist then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMHarman Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 this is a 2013 thread....didn't exist then Ah zombie apocalypse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 6 hours ago, SMHarman said: Ah zombie apocalypse. Zombies and Wap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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