Bryant Evolution / Carrier Infinity Plugin

[Mikey]

I am replacing my HVAC and the contractor has a deal for me! The Bryant Evolution variable system. Problem: I currently use the Honeywell Z-wave tstat and would have to change the the Bryant to get full use of the system. I have lots of stuff in HS3 that uses the Tstat. I need to be able to read the state of the temp, set point, fan, mode. I need to be able to set set point, fan, mode. My understanding from the posts is that reading works, but setting does not. Does it look like you will be able to control the tstat soon? If not I might pass on the variable and buy the two speed solution.

Thanks!

I faced that exact dilemma earlier this year, and ended up ditching some really nice HA functionality for the full capabilities that the Carrier Infinity Greenspeed system offered.

FWIW, the thinking was that it seemed better to get the full Greenspeed capabilities (e.g. variable speed compressor control, zoning, etc.) and take the entire lifespan of the HVAC system (i.e. 15-20 years?) to tie into my HA system. As solid as HS3 is today, I can not imagine it running in Year 15. So I could not stomach constraining my HVAC system choices to what HA capabilities exist today, especially if I would miss out on long-term energy savings.

I guess it's not a matter of if the plugin (or something like it) will allow you the ability to change your stat settings, but when. There's a lot of good work with Infinitude (https://github.com/nebulous/infinitude), so perhaps a clearer path for the plugin would be to talk to it...?

In any case, good luck with your decision! Any upgrade to HVAC will give you some real benefits - even if it does carry some short-term "loss" of fuller HA capabilities.

[mikedr]

It's disappointing that thermostat manufacturers are going this route with non-standard control approaches.

FWIW, at our Arizona house we have a 21 SEER AC unit (actually two!) with two-stage AC (and two-stage furnace). The savings are ephemeral in this type of climate, because once it hits 100-110 outside (I.e., nearly the whole summer), the second stage kicks on and stays on during the day.

I do have them controlled with the z-wave Honeywell thermostat without issue.

[Mikey]

It's disappointing that thermostat manufacturers are going this route with non-standard control approaches.

FWIW, at our Arizona house we have a 21 SEER AC unit (actually two!) with two-stage AC (and two-stage furnace). The savings are ephemeral in this type of climate, because once it hits 100-110 outside (I.e., nearly the whole summer), the second stage kicks on and stays on during the day.

I do have them controlled with the z-wave Honeywell thermostat without issue.

Definitely appreciate the frustration...Central Texas has been no picnic over the last few summers in particular.

It's entirely one thing if the manufacturers make systems that are too complex for third-party stat control, but the real issue that I've found is when - to make this post pertinent to this thread - manufacturers lock out their customers from their own systems.

The plug-in author's method of using the Homeseer as a proxy between the stat and homebase is very innovative. Not requiring a SAM (or some DIY hack running Infinitude, for example) reflects how incorporating these complex systems really should be set up: leave the stat manage the heavy duty stuff, but relay its various statuses to, and have its states be updated by, the HA server.

[jackallweiss]

Thanks for the input

Thanks for all the input. Like most of you, I use the HA to do things like turn off the system when doors or windows are left open, or setback if the alarm system shows the house is empty. I hate to lose that functionality. However, to get the most benefit out of the new system I an resigned to using the Evolution system for now, and hopefully a solution for basic control of the thermostats will happen in the next year or sooner.

[waynehead99]

Aside from the lack of HS control... you will be very happy with the system. I have actually saved a bit of money overall from my previous system it replaced and we are more comfortable in the house now than we have ever been. We don't have a zoned system, and with the old one the upstairs would roast. This one we keep the fan on a constant low setting 24/7 and it keeps things even and doesn't use hardly anything for electricity with these new motors.

I would recommend getting the outside temp probe as well. It does cause the unit to react differently depending on the outside conditions. If its really cold out and you are ramping up in the morning, it pushes a little extra heat and does change how the humidifier (if you have one) is used. Makes a difference.

Aside from playing with the tstat... I have probably legitimately touched the tstat 3 times in the last year. Once you have it tuned... you can let it be. The only thing I want from HS is to be able to shut the thing off if windows are open for more than 2 minutes... and really thats just to keep the wife happy .

[waynehead99]

Has anyone here looked at infinitude? It appears it interfaces with the heater using a raspberry Pi. Looks like it controls and you can send it http commands to do the control. Might be a workaround for now.

[Mikey]

Has anyone here looked at infinitude? It appears it interfaces with the heater using a raspberry Pi. Looks like it controls and you can send it http commands to do the control. Might be a workaround for now.

I mentioned it in an earlier post, so I have at least looked at the solution. I haven't seen any implementation on this Board for Homeseer-based HA, however.

Ultimately, I think Infinitude is a sort of "hybrid" between the plugin discussed in this topic and using a SAM, i.e. the ~$100 in Pi hardware is much less than the SAM's, but more than interfacing with the stat with this plugin with monies already spent (on HS hardware).

If/when I get a bit more time, I may eventually tinker with Infinitude. But for the moment, I am personally more interested in tracking this plugin.

[waynehead99]

I mentioned it in an earlier post, so I have at least looked at the solution. I haven't seen any implementation on this Board for Homeseer-based HA, however.

Ultimately, I think Infinitude is a sort of "hybrid" between the plugin discussed in this topic and using a SAM, i.e. the ~$100 in Pi hardware is much less than the SAM's, but more than interfacing with the stat with this plugin with monies already spent (on HS hardware).

If/when I get a bit more time, I may eventually tinker with Infinitude. But for the moment, I am personally more interested in tracking this plugin.

Agreed. I want the plugin as well as its cleaner and easier. In the meantime I do have control of my heater now after last night of setting this up and sending http commands thru events. It's kludgy, and I am still trying to work out the kinks, but was very excited when I saw my temp change thru HS

Not trying to distract from this plugin as I am willin to pay for it once it's complete, just giving options to use in the meantime.

[madmellow]

OutStanding & a request

David,

Bravo...nice job. Followed your instructions and it works! My Carrier Infinity Thermostat is showing up in HS3. (The AUTO icon was missing from HS, but that was simple to fix).

I have a multi-zone system and, of course, only the main zone shows up (I saw that mentioned in one of the threads). Any chance that you'd be willing to share the VS Project file with me so I can try to figure that out? I've written one PI for personal use, so I'm somewhat familiar with where to look.

Alternatively, if you believe that enhanced logging with a multi-zone system would tell you what you need then I'll be glad to capture and post that for you.

Thanks again,
Rick

[madmellow]

No Mode Status update

I've also noticed that the Mode Status is not updating. I'm not surprised in that Carrier took 6 months to figure out what HeatPump Heating looked like on their website.

The Enhanced log doesn't seem to help much with the information being sent from the thermostat -- nothing about the message contents, only receipt and post to Carrier.

[madmellow]

A bit more digging and I found the XML messages containing the status update. (BTW -- turning logging on and off with CONFIG doesn't seem to work).

I've attached an excerpt from the Enhanced Logging which includes the status updates with config while running in HeatPump mode and while off. These are for a two-zone system. I can only guess at what Air Conditioning looks like.

Let me know what else I can help... (again, if you'll share the VS Project I promise to be gentle and provide you with recommendations.)

[waynehead99]

I have created this thread:

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=180116

It is my attempt at control of the heater (I am not a coder, so it might be a complete mess, but it works).

I have complete control over the heater in HS using infinitude. I am sharing this in hopes that it helps the plugin developer add control of the system.

In the meantime, for those that have a Pi laying around (all you need), this is an alternative.

[dlover]

Evolution Thermostat

Really excited about this thread. I just got a new furnace (ie Bryant Evolution) and had to give up my Nest. The biggest thing I miss about the Nest is the ability to talk to my Nest Protect Smoke Detectors and use them to detect presence. Lack of presence automatically put the thermostat in "Away" mode. With this plugin, I'm hoping to be able to recreate that with events.

But first is to get this installed. I found the zip file and copied the contents into my Homeseer directory. The plugin now shows up in my list of plugins. I can enable it, but nothing is happening. At all. Am I missing something? I should say that I'm using Linux. Would that be a problem? Any other ideas?

[drule]

Really excited about this thread. I just got a new furnace (ie Bryant Evolution) and had to give up my Nest. The biggest thing I miss about the Nest is the ability to talk to my Nest Protect Smoke Detectors and use them to detect presence. Lack of presence automatically put the thermostat in "Away" mode. With this plugin, I'm hoping to be able to recreate that with events.

But first is to get this installed. I found the zip file and copied the contents into my Homeseer directory. The plugin now shows up in my list of plugins. I can enable it, but nothing is happening. At all. Am I missing something? I should say that I'm using Linux. Would that be a problem? Any other ideas?

I'm working on this again now. My development environment is Linux, so no that won't be a problem. Have you configured your thermostat to use Homeseer as a proxy?

[dlover]

I'm working on this again now. My development environment is Linux, so no that won't be a problem. Have you configured your thermostat to use Homeseer as a proxy?

No, I've not done that. Literally, just copied the files from your ZIP over to my directory. Is there a list of instructions of other things I need to do?