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What's the scope of integration that Crestron has with Home Appliances? we have a client that aside from the usual stuff (lighting, shades, climate, audio and video) he wants to integrate as much of the home appliances as well, he mentioned:
* Coffeemakers
* Fridges
* Roombas
* Laundry Machines
* ....
Is this even possible? maybe this can be done using an IoT hub (like the Hubitat) as an interface?
What is your experience with these kind of requests?
Thanks.
|
It all depends on the appliance. Your typical appliance ( and the ones from your list ) are really only able to integrate with Crestron by controlling the power to them. You may be able to hack together additional control by soldering relays, etc...
I would highly recommend NOT integrating with any of this. For the coffee maker what happens if the burner stays on too long and the pot is empty? What happens if you cut power to the fridge and all of the food spoils or the freezer leaks? What happens if you cut power to the washing machine or dryer and the clothes get ruined?
I have had many customers over the years want to do a lot of things, but most of them really don't make sense and can open you up to a huge amount of liability.
-andy
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Agreed with your pointe below, but the Roomba would be neat. I don’t know what the Roomba API allows, but imagine being able to dispatch your Roomba to a specific room from a touch panel.
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of
Andy Ross via groups.io
Sent: Friday, June 4, 2021 07:27
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [crestron] Home appliances integration with Crestron? #crestron
?
It all depends on the appliance. Your typical appliance ( and the ones from your list ) are really only able to integrate with Crestron by controlling the power to them. You may be able to hack together additional control by soldering relays,
etc...
I would highly recommend NOT integrating with any of this. For the coffee maker what happens if the burner stays on too long and the pot is empty? What happens if you cut power to the fridge and all of the food spoils or the freezer leaks? What happens if you
cut power to the washing machine or dryer and the clothes get ruined?
I have had many customers over the years want to do a lot of things, but most of them really don't make sense and can open you up to a huge amount of liability.
-andy
|
I can throw some light on this.? However, the first question for
your client is what are the use cases for each appliance.? The
typical use case for a coffee maker is I want the coffee maker to
be triggered to start brewing when my alarm clock goes off so by
the time I get myself out of bed, hit the bathroom, etc. the
coffee is ready.? If this is the case the only command you need
for the coffee maker is one to start brewing.? If the customer
likes their coffee maker then this might be accomplished by
plugging the coffee maker into a smart switch.? Another
alternative to making a dumb coffee maker smart is to use a
SwitchBot.? If you want to find a smart one that can be integrated
with a smart home platform then you are probably looking at using
IFTTT or Home Connect through IFTTT for integration.?
As I said in the start the first thing to understand is what the
use cases are for each appliance.? I don't know what the use case
would be for connecting a fridge to Crestron.? The last thing you
would ever want to do is to shut the fridge off and have all the
food spoil.
I have done quite a bit with integrating robotic vacuums to a
Crestron system.? The best one for integration (though I have
other complaints about the product line) are Roombas.? The only
way to integrate Roombas is again through IFTTT.? The Roomba IFTTT
channel supports both triggers to start a robot and events that
let you know when a robot is done.? The triggers work well but the
events leave something to be desired.? However, you can make it
work.? I personally trigger a vacuum to run once each week when my
wife and I leave the house.? When the vacuum finishes a robotic
mop runs.? When the mop finishes we get a notification reminding
us to change the mop pad and empty the vacuum.
The only use case I have found valuable for dishwashers, clothes
washers, and clothes dryers is a notification when the appliance
finishes its cycle.? I use energy monitoring to determine this and
then simply send notifications to smart phones and tablets.
Most of the code for integrating with the above is on my GitHub.?
For IFTTT integration I use my IFTTT module to send triggers.?
However, direct integration with IFTTT events requires a port
forward on the router; which is a bad idea.? So, I included code
in my Hubitat integration library to utilize the Hubitat to
receive event notifications from IFTTT and then pass them to a
Crestron processor.? A little messy but it works very well and
eliminates the port forward.? I have a SwitchBot driver on my
GitHub and drivers for Shelly devices that can be used for energy
monitoring.? There is also a driver I use for a Kasa energy
monitoring smart plug but I haven't tested it with the latest
version of the Kasa smart plug.?
Hope this helps
Jay
On 6/4/2021 7:58 AM, David Chramcow
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
What's the scope of integration that Crestron has with Home
Appliances? we have a client that aside from the usual stuff
(lighting, shades, climate, audio and video) he wants to integrate
as much of the home appliances as well, he mentioned:
* Coffeemakers
* Fridges
* Roombas
* Laundry Machines
* ....
Is this even possible? maybe this can be done using an IoT hub
(like the Hubitat) as an interface?
What is your experience with these kind of requests?
Thanks.
|
A bit like Jay's comment.? One thing I tend to notice is that in the end many clients actually just wanted to see if an appliance is: on/off, started/finished, has been running for x minutes. This feature set can usually be very easily realised by monitoring the appliances energy?usage through an energy management?system,?or even a simple CT coil into an analog?input. Then the user interfaces can come alive with useful?information (don't?over do it though) and the client starts to feel like the home is actually?connected to the system and vice versa.
Regards Tony Howard ? ?T???|???B???|???T? ? |??tony@...??|??+39 333 5971791?
I can throw some light on this.? However, the first question for
your client is what are the use cases for each appliance.? The
typical use case for a coffee maker is I want the coffee maker to
be triggered to start brewing when my alarm clock goes off so by
the time I get myself out of bed, hit the bathroom, etc. the
coffee is ready.? If this is the case the only command you need
for the coffee maker is one to start brewing.? If the customer
likes their coffee maker then this might be accomplished by
plugging the coffee maker into a smart switch.? Another
alternative to making a dumb coffee maker smart is to use a
SwitchBot.? If you want to find a smart one that can be integrated
with a smart home platform then you are probably looking at using
IFTTT or Home Connect through IFTTT for integration.?
As I said in the start the first thing to understand is what the
use cases are for each appliance.? I don't know what the use case
would be for connecting a fridge to Crestron.? The last thing you
would ever want to do is to shut the fridge off and have all the
food spoil.
I have done quite a bit with integrating robotic vacuums to a
Crestron system.? The best one for integration (though I have
other complaints about the product line) are Roombas.? The only
way to integrate Roombas is again through IFTTT.? The Roomba IFTTT
channel supports both triggers to start a robot and events that
let you know when a robot is done.? The triggers work well but the
events leave something to be desired.? However, you can make it
work.? I personally trigger a vacuum to run once each week when my
wife and I leave the house.? When the vacuum finishes a robotic
mop runs.? When the mop finishes we get a notification reminding
us to change the mop pad and empty the vacuum.
The only use case I have found valuable for dishwashers, clothes
washers, and clothes dryers is a notification when the appliance
finishes its cycle.? I use energy monitoring to determine this and
then simply send notifications to smart phones and tablets.
Most of the code for integrating with the above is on my GitHub.?
For IFTTT integration I use my IFTTT module to send triggers.?
However, direct integration with IFTTT events requires a port
forward on the router; which is a bad idea.? So, I included code
in my Hubitat integration library to utilize the Hubitat to
receive event notifications from IFTTT and then pass them to a
Crestron processor.? A little messy but it works very well and
eliminates the port forward.? I have a SwitchBot driver on my
GitHub and drivers for Shelly devices that can be used for energy
monitoring.? There is also a driver I use for a Kasa energy
monitoring smart plug but I haven't tested it with the latest
version of the Kasa smart plug.?
Hope this helps
Jay
On 6/4/2021 7:58 AM, David Chramcow
wrote:
What's the scope of integration that Crestron has with Home
Appliances? we have a client that aside from the usual stuff
(lighting, shades, climate, audio and video) he wants to integrate
as much of the home appliances as well, he mentioned:
* Coffeemakers
* Fridges
* Roombas
* Laundry Machines
* ....
Is this even possible? maybe this can be done using an IoT hub
(like the Hubitat) as an interface?
What is your experience with these kind of requests?
Thanks.
|
Let me just add one other thing.? Using energy monitors to tell
you when an appliance is done is not as simple as it would at
first seem.? First of all, appliances all use some power 24x7.? On
top of that, a cleaning cycle is broken down into smaller sections
that each use a different amount of power.? A clothes washer is a
good example.? It fills the tub, agitates the clothes.? spins to
remove water from the clothes, etc.? In between these sections of
the cleaning cycle are gaps where power usage drops to the same
level as the machine uses while idle.? If the homeowner wants the
notification to be as close as possible to the time when the cycle
ends you need to look at energy usage as a pattern and only send a
notification when the measured power use matches that pattern.?
The simplest major appliance I've found to setup notifications
for is a clothes dryer.? The clothes and dishwashers are more
complicated.
Jay
On 6/4/2021 10:20 AM, Tony Howard
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
A bit like Jay's comment.?
One thing I tend to notice is
that in the end many clients actually just wanted to see if an
appliance is: on/off, started/finished, has been running for x
minutes. This feature set can usually be very easily realised
by monitoring the appliances energy?usage through an energy
management?system,?or even a simple CT coil into an
analog?input. Then the user interfaces can come alive with
useful?information (don't?over do it though) and the client
starts to feel like the home is actually?connected to the
system and vice versa.
Regards
Tony Howard
?
?T???|???B???|???T?
?
|??tony@...??|??+39 333 5971791?
I can throw some light on this.? However, the first
question for your client is what are the use cases for
each appliance.? The typical use case for a coffee maker
is I want the coffee maker to be triggered to start
brewing when my alarm clock goes off so by the time I get
myself out of bed, hit the bathroom, etc. the coffee is
ready.? If this is the case the only command you need for
the coffee maker is one to start brewing.? If the customer
likes their coffee maker then this might be accomplished
by plugging the coffee maker into a smart switch.? Another
alternative to making a dumb coffee maker smart is to use
a SwitchBot.? If you want to find a smart one that can be
integrated with a smart home platform then you are
probably looking at using IFTTT or Home Connect through
IFTTT for integration.?
As I said in the start the first thing to understand is
what the use cases are for each appliance.? I don't know
what the use case would be for connecting a fridge to
Crestron.? The last thing you would ever want to do is to
shut the fridge off and have all the food spoil.
I have done quite a bit with integrating robotic vacuums
to a Crestron system.? The best one for integration
(though I have other complaints about the product line)
are Roombas.? The only way to integrate Roombas is again
through IFTTT.? The Roomba IFTTT channel supports both
triggers to start a robot and events that let you know
when a robot is done.? The triggers work well but the
events leave something to be desired.? However, you can
make it work.? I personally trigger a vacuum to run once
each week when my wife and I leave the house.? When the
vacuum finishes a robotic mop runs.? When the mop finishes
we get a notification reminding us to change the mop pad
and empty the vacuum.
The only use case I have found valuable for dishwashers,
clothes washers, and clothes dryers is a notification when
the appliance finishes its cycle.? I use energy monitoring
to determine this and then simply send notifications to
smart phones and tablets.
Most of the code for integrating with the above is on my
GitHub.? For IFTTT integration I use my IFTTT module to
send triggers.? However, direct integration with IFTTT
events requires a port forward on the router; which is a
bad idea.? So, I included code in my Hubitat integration
library to utilize the Hubitat to receive event
notifications from IFTTT and then pass them to a Crestron
processor.? A little messy but it works very well and
eliminates the port forward.? I have a SwitchBot driver on
my GitHub and drivers for Shelly devices that can be used
for energy monitoring.? There is also a driver I use for a
Kasa energy monitoring smart plug but I haven't tested it
with the latest version of the Kasa smart plug.?
Hope this helps
Jay
On 6/4/2021 7:58 AM, David Chramcow wrote:
What's the scope of integration
that Crestron has with Home Appliances? we have a client
that aside from the usual stuff (lighting, shades,
climate, audio and video) he wants to integrate as much of
the home appliances as well, he mentioned:
* Coffeemakers
* Fridges
* Roombas
* Laundry Machines
* ....
Is this even possible? maybe this can be done using an IoT
hub (like the Hubitat) as an interface?
What is your experience with these kind of requests?
Thanks.
|
We?re using a Miele dishwasher and washing machine at home. Up to now, they are notifying via app that they are finished which is useful. It has a REST API to interface with 3d party systems – I didn?t find the time yet to integrate them into my Crestron system, but it?s on the list. ? Cheers, Thorsten ? ? Let me just add one other thing.? Using energy monitors to tell you when an appliance is done is not as simple as it would at first seem.? First of all, appliances all use some power 24x7.? On top of that, a cleaning cycle is broken down into smaller sections that each use a different amount of power.? A clothes washer is a good example.? It fills the tub, agitates the clothes.? spins to remove water from the clothes, etc.? In between these sections of the cleaning cycle are gaps where power usage drops to the same level as the machine uses while idle.? If the homeowner wants the notification to be as close as possible to the time when the cycle ends you need to look at energy usage as a pattern and only send a notification when the measured power use matches that pattern.? The simplest major appliance I've found to setup notifications for is a clothes dryer.? The clothes and dishwashers are more complicated. Jay
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 6/4/2021 10:20 AM, Tony Howard wrote: A bit like Jay's comment.? One thing I tend to notice is that in the end many clients actually just wanted to see if an appliance is: on/off, started/finished, has been running for x minutes. This feature set can usually be very easily realised by monitoring the appliances energy?usage through an energy management?system,?or even a simple CT coil into an analog?input. Then the user interfaces can come alive with useful?information (don't?over do it though) and the client starts to feel like the home is actually?connected to the system and vice versa. ?T???|???B???|???T? |??tony@...??|??+39 333 5971791? ? ? I can throw some light on this.? However, the first question for your client is what are the use cases for each appliance.? The typical use case for a coffee maker is I want the coffee maker to be triggered to start brewing when my alarm clock goes off so by the time I get myself out of bed, hit the bathroom, etc. the coffee is ready.? If this is the case the only command you need for the coffee maker is one to start brewing.? If the customer likes their coffee maker then this might be accomplished by plugging the coffee maker into a smart switch.? Another alternative to making a dumb coffee maker smart is to use a SwitchBot.? If you want to find a smart one that can be integrated with a smart home platform then you are probably looking at using IFTTT or Home Connect through IFTTT for integration.? As I said in the start the first thing to understand is what the use cases are for each appliance.? I don't know what the use case would be for connecting a fridge to Crestron.? The last thing you would ever want to do is to shut the fridge off and have all the food spoil. I have done quite a bit with integrating robotic vacuums to a Crestron system.? The best one for integration (though I have other complaints about the product line) are Roombas.? The only way to integrate Roombas is again through IFTTT.? The Roomba IFTTT channel supports both triggers to start a robot and events that let you know when a robot is done.? The triggers work well but the events leave something to be desired.? However, you can make it work.? I personally trigger a vacuum to run once each week when my wife and I leave the house.? When the vacuum finishes a robotic mop runs.? When the mop finishes we get a notification reminding us to change the mop pad and empty the vacuum. The only use case I have found valuable for dishwashers, clothes washers, and clothes dryers is a notification when the appliance finishes its cycle.? I use energy monitoring to determine this and then simply send notifications to smart phones and tablets. Most of the code for integrating with the above is on my GitHub.? For IFTTT integration I use my IFTTT module to send triggers.? However, direct integration with IFTTT events requires a port forward on the router; which is a bad idea.? So, I included code in my Hubitat integration library to utilize the Hubitat to receive event notifications from IFTTT and then pass them to a Crestron processor.? A little messy but it works very well and eliminates the port forward.? I have a SwitchBot driver on my GitHub and drivers for Shelly devices that can be used for energy monitoring.? There is also a driver I use for a Kasa energy monitoring smart plug but I haven't tested it with the latest version of the Kasa smart plug.? Hope this helps Jay On 6/4/2021 7:58 AM, David Chramcow wrote: What's the scope of integration that Crestron has with Home Appliances? we have a client that aside from the usual stuff (lighting, shades, climate, audio and video) he wants to integrate as much of the home appliances as well, he mentioned:
* Coffeemakers
* Fridges
* Roombas
* Laundry Machines
* ....
Is this even possible? maybe this can be done using an IoT hub (like the Hubitat) as an interface?
What is your experience with these kind of requests?
Thanks.
|
As I'm reading this, I can't help but think of "Wall-E"
|
I can't help but think of our local volunteer FD that went on a run a couple of decades ago while the coffee machine was on only to return to a burned down fire station.
|
"I can't help but think of our local volunteer FD that went on a run a couple of decades ago while the coffee machine was on only to return to a burned down fire station."
There's an irony there - just not quite seeing it :)
-s
|
We just purchased a washer and dryer combo and both devices are on the network sending notifications. I'm sure there is a way to integrate with Alexa and have it, send notifications back the the system.
|
Getting washer and dryer status into the system is something I'm very interested in myself.? We are moving from a house with a washer and dryer that?for the past 21 years have been faithfully sending us a text?when they are done and flashing the lights if we are watching TV or listening to music.? Now we are moving to a house with "smart" appliances and it seems like way more work to integrate them the obvious way rather than just add a relay in parallel with the buzzer like I did to monitor the?old washer and dryer.? I've never had to worry about an update breaking things or having to cycle power to the washer to get it back online and those are some of the worries I have about maintaining a "smart" connection rather than a "dumb" relay.? ?
Let us know how you do with integrating them.??
Best of luck, Thyce
We just purchased a washer and dryer combo and both devices are on the network sending notifications. I'm sure there is a way to integrate with Alexa and have it, send notifications back the the system.
|
I'm still at the point where I don't see the allure of most of these smart appliances.? I see value in something like a refrigerator or freezer being able to tell me that the temperature has gone above a threshold.? But I don't see any value in the washer or drying being able to alert me on my smartphone.? We don't let either of those run when we aren't in the house and they both make beeping or buzzing noises that let us know when they're done.? I've heard too many horror stories over the years about someone who left their dryer going and came home to their house burned to the ground.
I get the whole "the customer is paying me to do XYZ" thing though.
Geoff
Getting washer and dryer status into the system is something I'm very interested in myself.? We are moving from a house with a washer and dryer that?for the past 21 years have been faithfully sending us a text?when they are done and flashing the lights if we are watching TV or listening to music.? Now we are moving to a house with "smart" appliances and it seems like way more work to integrate them the obvious way rather than just add a relay in parallel with the buzzer like I did to monitor the?old washer and dryer.? I've never had to worry about an update breaking things or having to cycle power to the washer to get it back online and those are some of the worries I have about maintaining a "smart" connection rather than a "dumb" relay.? ?
Let us know how you do with integrating them.??
Best of luck, Thyce We just purchased a washer and dryer combo and both devices are on the network sending notifications. I'm sure there is a way to integrate with Alexa and have it, send notifications back the the system.
|
On the other hand I'm a big fan of having my washer, dryer, and
dishwasher send my wife and I notifications when they finish their
cycles.? My washer and dryer also beep when done.? However, I
might be in my shop with the door closed to keep sawdust out of
the rest of the house, working in the garage, or working outside.?
In those locations I would never hear the beeping.?
I simply use energy monitors on the circuits for these
appliances.? I monitor the energy use in the Crestron processor
and send Pushover notifications to my wife and my smart phones.? I
also send announcements to the Amazon Echos in the house.?
It is a bit of a challenge to do this with energy monitoring.?
The dryer is easy as it uses quite a bit of energy just to spin
the drum.? The washer and dishwasher use varying amounts of energy
as the go through the various portion of a cleaning cycle.?
However, if you study the data you can come up with a pattern and
program the crestron system to look for that pattern.? It works
well and doesn't invalidate the warranty on an expensive appliance
by adding relays to the circuitry.? The downside of the technique
is that if the appliance gets replaced you probably have to modify
your code.
I'm using a TP-Link energy monitoring smart plug for the clothes
washer and a Shelly EM for the dryer and dishwasher as the energy
monitors.
I also have similar notifications setup when the mail gets
delivered to our mailbox at the street :-)
Hope this helps
Jay
On 8/1/2021 5:21 PM, Geoffrey Reynolds
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I'm still at the point where I don't see the allure of most
of these smart appliances.? I see value in something like a
refrigerator or freezer being able to tell me that the
temperature has gone above a threshold.? But I don't see any
value in the washer or drying being able to alert me on my
smartphone.? We don't let either of those run when we aren't
in the house and they both make beeping or buzzing noises that
let us know when they're done.? I've heard too many horror
stories over the years about someone who left their dryer
going and came home to their house burned to the ground.
I get the whole "the customer is paying me to do XYZ" thing
though.
Geoff
Getting washer and dryer
status into the system is something I'm
very interested in myself.? We are moving from a
house with a washer and dryer that?for the past 21 years
have been faithfully sending us a text?when they
are done and flashing
the lights if we are watching TV or listening
to music.? Now we are
moving to a house with "smart" appliances and it
seems like way more work to integrate them the
obvious way rather than just add a relay in parallel
with the buzzer like I did to monitor the?old washer and
dryer.? I've never had to worry about an update
breaking things or having to cycle power to the
washer to get it back online and those
are some of the worries I have about maintaining a
"smart" connection rather than a "dumb" relay.? ?
Let
us know how you do with
integrating
them.??
Best
of luck,
Thyce
We just
purchased a washer and dryer combo and both
devices are on the network sending notifications.
I'm sure there is a way to integrate with Alexa
and have it, send notifications back the the
system.
|
Well, it?s as always depending on the use-case and the environment. Most people try to get their dryer and washing machine out of way to avoid seeing and hearing them – this includes beepers signaling they?re ready. A lot of people find it convenient if they get notified when the machines are done. This can be a text message or just a flag on a wall panel or even some immediate response like flashing lights (although I wouldn?t like that, personally). One use case is the daughter waiting for her favorite trouser to be done – with a status flag on a wall panel you know when it?s ready without having to walk into the basement (and find it?s 10 minutes to go). ? We also have enough trust in our machines to let them run without being at home. I don?t see the point in having a washing machine when i?m only allowed to use when i?m at home. If something goes wrong, hopefully the smoke and/or water detectors will notify me. ? ? Cheers, Thorsten ? ? I'm still at the point where I don't see the allure of most of these smart appliances.? I see value in something like a refrigerator or freezer being able to tell me that the temperature has gone above a threshold.? But I don't see any value in the washer or drying being able to alert me on my smartphone.? We don't let either of those run when we aren't in the house and they both make beeping or buzzing noises that let us know when they're done.? I've heard too many horror stories over the years about someone who left their dryer going and came home to their house burned to the ground. I get the whole "the customer is paying me to do XYZ" thing though. ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Sun, Aug 1, 2021 at 4:31 PM Thyce : < thyce.colyn@...> wrote: Getting washer and dryer status into the system is something I'm very interested in myself.? We are moving from a house with a washer and dryer that?for the past 21 years have been faithfully sending us a text?when they are done and flashing the lights if we are watching TV or listening to music.? Now we are moving to a house with "smart" appliances and it seems like way more work to integrate them the obvious way rather than just add a relay in parallel with the buzzer like I did to monitor the?old washer and dryer.? I've never had to worry about an update breaking things or having to cycle power to the washer to get it back online and those are some of the worries I have about maintaining a "smart" connection rather than a "dumb" relay.? ? Let us know how you do with integrating them.?? ? We just purchased a washer and dryer combo and both devices are on the network sending notifications. I'm sure there is a way to integrate with Alexa and have it, send notifications back the the system.
|
In my house I monitor my "dumb" washer and dryer. For the washer it has a light that comes on when it is done- I just use a photocell light sensor taped over that. And the dryer is gas fired so I use an old Crestron ST-CS since it is below the 10 amps max. Works perfect for telling me things are done.??
|
I am trying using bsh home connect system with crestron home connect demo program from application market.
I get the connection of crestron with home connect cloud but, using the link in help file to find the appliance ID in home connect portal, I can’t get any appliance listed.
for sure my customer can manage appliance using home connect app so they are registered in the customer account.
someone try that? Thanks
|
PD