How to detect a power outage/failure?

[Otto-mation]

HI folks, Happy New Year!

We had a power outage last night and hence my outside lights were not on as expected, when I woke up in the morning.

I had Power Failure Recovery enabled and set to 12 hours, which was more than enough but didn't seem to turn the outside lights back on.

So my question - does anyone know how we can create an event in Homeseer that can detect a power outage, and then execute the necessary "recovery" tasks to set devices as they should be for that time of day.
In my case, turn the coach lamps etc. back on.

I was thinking about keeping a specific Z-wave unit always on, then if the power goes out, and is restored, that unit would now be off, I could detect that in Homeseer and go from there.

Does anyone have anything more elegant or simple?



Current Date/Time: 1/11/2017 5:42:36 PM
HomeSeer Version: HS3 ZEE S2 Edition 3.0.0.297
Linux version: Linux HomeTrollerZeeS2 3.18.11-v7+ #781 SMP PREEMPT Tue Apr 21 18:07:59 BST 2015 armv7l GNU/Linux System Uptime: 45 Days 5 Hours 32 Minutes 48 Seconds
IP Address: 192.168.15.10
Number of Devices: 74
Number of Events: 78
Available Threads: 399

Enabled Plug-Ins
3.0.0.5: CM15A
3.0.0.68: HSTouch Server
3.0.1.87: Z-Wave

[bphillips]

My HS Server and all other networking/HA/security devices are on an APC UPS that connects to my HS Server. If power is lost (and confirmed by the security system going into AC LOSS mode), then HS sends out notifications to everyone in the home that power is out and the amount of time remaining on the battery. This is great for us because the UPS will power the HS server, surveillance DVR, router, modem, ethernet switches, and some sonos amps (to warn about the power loss and other notifications) for over an hour and shut them all down before the battery drains.

HS also sends an "out" message to our electrical company (Entergy New Orleans), and then when Entergy sends back a message the message is relayed to everyone in the house (telling us what the issue is and how long it will be until it's fixed).

The plugins I use for this are BLUPS for the UPS and SMS Gateway for communicating with the power company.

Regarding power failure recovery, I haven't had any issues with devices/events not being run when HS starts back up. However, you do have to make sure to select "Include in power fail recovery" for each one of your devices and events.

[Pete]

@Brandon, what device do you utilize for your SMS gateway?

[Otto-mation]

My HS Server and all other networking/HA/security devices are on an APC UPS that connects to my HS Server. If power is lost (and confirmed by the security system going into AC LOSS mode), then HS sends out notifications to everyone in the home that power is out and the amount of time remaining on the battery. This is great for us because the UPS will power the HS server, surveillance DVR, router, modem, ethernet switches, and some sonos amps (to warn about the power loss and other notifications) for over an hour and shut them all down before the battery drains.

HS also sends an "out" message to our electrical company (Entergy New Orleans), and then when Entergy sends back a message the message is relayed to everyone in the house (telling us what the issue is and how long it will be until it's fixed).

The plugins I use for this are BLUPS for the UPS and SMS Gateway for communicating with the power company.

Regarding power failure recovery, I haven't had any issues with devices/events not being run when HS starts back up. However, you do have to make sure to select "Include in power fail recovery" for each one of your devices and events.

What a great, thorough reply! Huge thanks for taking the time to share all of that wisdom.
First of all, your thoroughness pointed me to my own problem - I noticed that you mentioned that both events *and* devices needed to have power fail recovery enabled. I only had it in the events. With your tip, i checked and sure enough, my key devices didn't have that enabled - fixed!
I am also going to investigate your suggestion of having the UPS connected into my Zee. I never even thought of that, but it's a great idea. My Zee shares an UPS with my cable modem so it's entirely doable. Just need to get the correct plug-in and cable. I'm excited by the use cases that you also shared, and look forward to implementing similar ones. Again, much thanks for the in-depth, and broad reply.