Fall-back strategies

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  • chris_j_hunter
    Automated Home Legend
    • Dec 2007
    • 1713

    Fall-back strategies

    am very tempted to go pure Idratek - ie: forego normal wiring & switches, and save the cost ... fully automatic, 'though with buttons (four-button modules, probably) for override of auto-functions, located in a convenient place, not by the door ... and am trying to think it through, particularly from a fail-safe point of view ... eg: should some lights & equipment fail-on - yes, obviously, but how to arrange it ? ... and should we bifurcate the Idratek set-up in some way, physically & in Cortex ?

    (doing a self-build, there's no wiring, yet, apart from a temporary set-up, for power-tools, etc ... )
    Our self-build - going further with HA...
  • Gumby
    Moderator
    • May 2004
    • 437

    #2
    What an interesting question. Of course, one of the things you have to think about is what a fall-back is for. Perhaps it would be better to think about the failures you want to protect against.

    For example, I have an IPS with battery backup in case of a circuit trip on circuit feeding the IPS, since if the whole house loses mains it becomes irrelevant. Similarly the cortex PC is on a UPS. I also have an MPD and wall-wart available as a manual backup in case of IPS component failure. I have a spare PCD device in case of component failure and I have a spare Cortex platform partially configured (should do more with that really). I have a small stock of spare modules for critical modules (ie DRB and PIR). The boiler is wired through a changeover switch so that it can resort to a normal thermostat. As well as the Cortex scheme I have Reflex programming which allows button units to default to manual switching. Probably my biggest exposure is loss of functionality when I am experimenting with the network such that I disallow the Reflex fallback

    I guess I have some side lights using X-10 plug-ins, which means they can be restored to manual quite easily. And finally I have a camping stove and lantern

    All of this is done with no visible "normal" fallback switching. Having said that, because this was a retrofit, the normal mains wiring is in place and you could remove the automation altogether and go back to a last century system.

    I don't think you should split your network, I think that will cause more issues than the risks you are trying to guard against. If equipment needs to fail-on then I would assess whether it should be included in the Cortex network at all - since it implies that you would rarely be switching it off.
    ----------------------
    www.gumbrell.com

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    • chris_j_hunter
      Automated Home Legend
      • Dec 2007
      • 1713

      #3
      thanks - sounds like you're very well set-up ... hadn't thought of having some spares (!), and the change-over switch idea is a very good one ... we do have the IPS ... the point about mains failure is bang-on, too (it being somewhat over-riding) ...

      guess I was thinking of fridges & freezers (which have to go off for cleaning etc, and having Idratek smartly manage that seemed a good idea), and lights (ie: to save fumbling in the dark, plus if some did fail-on it would be a good indicator), and maybe some motors, too (eg: whole house ventilation fans, heating pumps) ...

      we're be running cables before too long, hopefully, and were intending running double or triple runs (of screened Cat-5) everywhere, partly for future-proofing (bandwidth), and partly for redundancy (so, for example, when a failure occurs - software, hardware, me experimenting - not all the lights in a room go-out) ... that's in addition, of course, to all the unscreened Cat-5 that'll be going-in for other purposes ...

      NB: the screened' being for the benefit of the intercom aspect of Idratek - assuming it is really necessary ...
      Our self-build - going further with HA...

      Comment

      • Kevin
        Moderator
        • Jan 2004
        • 558

        #4
        Originally posted by chris_j_hunter View Post
        am very tempted to go pure Idratek - ie: forego normal wiring & switches, and save the cost ...
        Bear in mind too any issues with resale of the property. You would have to leave the Idranet stuff installed and fully operational at a Reflex level. Most likely a prospective buyer wouldn't consider a Cortex PC and even with Reflex they might be wary that they couldn't adapt the system themselves.

        K

        Comment

        • chris_j_hunter
          Automated Home Legend
          • Dec 2007
          • 1713

          #5
          >resale -

          aye, definitely as issue ! But, we're already way-out on a limb ... ie: our self-build is already pretty unique ... plus, the world is going hi-tech ... plus, if the time comes to sell, only one buyer is needed ! Hmm ... my view is don't be risk-averse, be confident, go for it ... Idratek has a future !

          Chris
          Our self-build - going further with HA...

          Comment

          • Karam
            Automated Home Legend
            • Mar 2005
            • 863

            #6
            Originally posted by Kevin View Post
            You would have to leave the Idranet stuff installed and fully operational at a Reflex level. Most likely a prospective buyer wouldn't consider a Cortex PC and even with Reflex they might be wary that they couldn't adapt the system themselves.
            K
            A Cortex PC is just a controller and should be thought of and treated as such - just like many other embedded PC controllers (and I don't just mean Linux or Windows CE based) even though the illusion is sometimes helped by a different enclosure.

            If treated as such, set up correctly at the start and dedicated to the task then there is no reason to limit the system to Reflex operation. Anecdotally one of our oldest running installations (over 7 years now) happens to be in a home with occupants who are far from technically inclined. I'm pretty sure that their Cortex is still running on an old Windows98 system. They have rarely interacted with the software itself other than occasionally and in the earlier years to adjust the heating profiles in their multi-zone structure. The only issues we've been requested to deal with so far turned out to be mechanical failure of a couple of zone valves.

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