homeseer and stargate

[kilroys]

Hi Guys
Can you run the RCS t-stat on both homeseer and stargate at the same time?

Thanks
Charles

[mattdb]

Did you ever find this out?

[Uncle Michael]

I have SG control the T-stats and use the SG plug-in to link to HS. That seems to provide complete control. Is there something else? What functionality do you want to achieve?

[mattdb]

Well I am also using the plugin but it doesnt talk to the thermostats

[buvens]

I have never seen my RCS 485 Stargate connected thermostat Show up in Homeseer.
My guess is the gentleman passed away that did all the great work on the plugin before that was included.
Possible I have missed something.

[Uncle Michael]

I'm still confused. What is the functionality that you are missing?

I agree that HS cannot control the T-stats directly through the SG plug-in, but I haven't noticed that creates any problem. What is it that you want to do that you cannot do unless both SG and HS have direct control of the T-stat?

[buvens]

I was just thinking, it would be nice using HS touch if you could see the current temperature and then you could make changes if you wanted.

You are right in the fact that Stargate does a nice job with the Thermostat.

I just never saw where the Thermostat was any part of the plugin.

Like I said earlier, I sure could have over looked something though.

[Mountainman]

You should be able to use HS Touch with the HS RCS plug-in to make changes, but I don't know about getting the data to/from Stargate once it's in HS. I am planning to use HS Touch with the plug-in someday myself. However, I haven't been able to pursue that until the bugs with the plug-in are fixed (hold/run status reported wrong, heat/cool setpoints performed wrong, no verification that commands are making it to the RCS box, etc.) I have been working with Rich on these problems recently (have 2 help desk tickets on these) and he is making nice progress. Hopefully the plug-in will be in good shape soon.

[buvens]

I understand. I have updated the HS to the latest version and now I can't get the TED config to show up any more. Guess I need to open a ticket on that for suggestions as no one else seems to have my problem or at least havent responded with Ideas.
I like the Stargate because in probably 15 years it just sits there and runs with no problem no matter if the computer is up or not.
Only hardware prob I have had is with the analog chip blowing but my temp leads go underground several hundred feet and static spikes probably fries it.
The HS plug in adds some neat functionality to it being able to see ad control things without getting into te stargate to make changes.

[Mountainman]

I agree completely with your architecture preference. I think the best configuration is a microcontroller box separate from HS that can do some independent control of a device or devices. HS then communicates with the microcontroller box and can do everything it can and more. That way the devices can keep some functionality if the communication/control stops due to failure, maintenance, or any other reason. The RCS thermostats are a perfect example of this. Z-wave devices that can be commanded by either of two independent controllers is another example.

[Uncle Michael]

You should be able to use HS Touch with the HS RCS plug-in to make changes, but I don't know about getting the data to/from Stargate once it's in HS. I am planning to use HS Touch with the plug-in someday myself. However, I haven't been able to pursue that until the bugs with the plug-in are fixed (hold/run status reported wrong, heat/cool setpoints performed wrong, no verification that commands are making it to the RCS box, etc.) I have been working with Rich on these problems recently (have 2 help desk tickets on these) and he is making nice progress. Hopefully the plug-in will be in good shape soon.

Ahh, now I think I'm beginning to see the issue. There are some capabilities of HS that would be nice to use for T-stat control, but it is desirable to maintain the stability of the SG interface to them.

I suspect, if reliability is a key feature, having two computers independently trying to control the same T-stat is not a very likely solution, especially if one of them doesn't work reliably all by itself.

If the HS plug-in were working reliably, then it would be worth considering using it as the primary interface to the T-stat to give HS control and use variable(s) and/or flags to transmit HVAC info to SG. But, because HVAC control seems pretty important, I am strongly of the opinion that it should remain on SG.

I've been using shared flags and variables to keep HS aware of my T-stat settings with good success, and I would think that could be extended to allow HS to signal to SG any desired change to T-stat settings. For instance, if you have a SG event that increments the heat set point, then you could trigger that event from HS by using a flag as the trigger. Have a button press cause HS to set the flag, have the SG event clear the flag, change the set point, and put the new set point into a shared variable. (Alternatively, you could do all that in a Then Macro and call the macro directly from HS as well as from SG events.)

I know it seems like lots of extra data exchange, but computers do that fast, and it keeps basic control of HVAC on SG, where the interface is integral (since RCS designed and built both the T-stat and the SG guts) and, in my experience, extremely reliable.

[Mountainman]

I suspect, if reliability is a key feature, having two computers independently trying to control the same T-stat is not a very likely solution, especially if one of them doesn't work reliably all by itself.

Yes, I certainly wouldn't try that. I'm mainly thinking that if HomeSeer goes beserk, I can at least walk over to the thermostat and fix the settings. The current plug-in turned on my AC once when it was 45 degrees outside and I was 2000 miles away...not happy about that. Others have had similar problems controlling the setpoints. So, I gave up on using it until it's fixed which I hope will be shortly.

I was mainly thinking of Z-wave with multiple controllers. If the HS interface goes out for some reason, you can still use a secondary handheld remote controller to turn on/off groups of lights, for example.

[Mark S.]

Because the edge definitely goes to Stargate when it comes to reliability, I chose to keep primary thermostat control with Stargate.

However I wanted control and all information available on my touchscreens. I developed this scheme for Main Lobby integration, but it should be easy to modify to work for HS Touch. It's been working very well.

I am only waiting for a certain comfort level with HS Touch, HS 2.3 and the Media Player plugin before I do a HS Touch version.

Mark