HVAC Control?

marcusadolfsson · Post by **marcusadolfsson** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:45 pm

How would I control a HVAC system with House Bot? Are there any plug-ins available for thurmostat control etc?

Post by **ScottBot** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 4:17 pm

There are no Plugins specifically for thermostat controls. It would be nice to see something that provides a nice UI for setting the times and temps, but there's nothing like that now.

You should probably be able to use one of the standard X10 controllable thermostats (like this one http://smarthome.com/3045B.html) and the X10 Controller Device, plus some VB Scripts to get it to work.

marcusadolfsson · Post by **marcusadolfsson** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:14 pm

Thanks for the quick reply. I would more likely use an RS-232 device such as http://smarthome.com/3001A.html . I am not too comfortable with X10 controlling the thermostat (woulnd't want to wake up with the heat cranked to 100 degrees

Can you point me in some direction how to write a plug-in that would interface over the serial port?

marcusadolfsson · Post by **marcusadolfsson** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:45 pm

I checked out the SDK... It is a little over my knowledge at this time (I know PHP/SQL inside out though).

What would it take to get you to write a module for a RS-232 thermostat? If you have the time for it I can probably purchase one for you.

Post by **ScottBot** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:34 pm

HouseBot comes with a 'Generic Serial' plugin set for controlling RS232 attached devices. I didn't see the protocol online at SmartHome to get a feel whether the Generic Serial plugin could even be used for that thermostat. If it could, it would be possible to control the device with Tasks or VB Scripts.

The best solution would be to have a Plugin specifically written to interface to the thermostat. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, so I won't even try and hint at the suggestion of doing the plugin myself.