Vent-Miser(R) Timer Controller Vent

Community Playground General Discussions
1

I saw these at my local Sams Club. I think they were about $12, (subsidized by the local utility company).

[url=http://www.amazon.com/Vent-Miser-91668-Programmable-Saving-6-Inches/dp/B000MWTI9K]http://www.amazon.com/Vent-Miser-91668-Programmable-Saving-6-Inches/dp/B000MWTI9K[/url]

I would love to have Z-Wave versions of this to open and close vents based on various Z-Wave temperature sensors around the house!

2

Z-wave, unfortunately, lacks so many things comparing to its direct competitors… sigh…

But if these guys make a version controllable by something: IR, RF, wired interface, or a simple relay - it will be potentially integrable into Vera ecosystem.

3

About to take the plung, it looks like a Vent-Miser with just a Zwave module http://econetcontrols.com/EV100.php

4

Please report back your findings with this. The Z-Wave controller module looks like it could be adapted for other things as well as vent control.

Though I’ve not heard of these guys before, they have several very interesting products. Their door/window/motion/temp/illumination sensors look very interesting as well.

5

I’m quite interested in a zwave vent register also. I’ve got a split level home with one heat/cool zone. The upstairs and downstairs often are quite different in temperature. I currently handle this two ways; running the HVAC fan, and manually opening/closing the vent registers. For example when cooling, upstairs vents are open and downstairs vents are closed; when heating, upstairs vents are closed and downstairs vents are open. Both of these strategies help equalize the temperature. The problem with moving the vents manually is in the spring and fall in SE MN there are often weeks where heating and cooling are used in the same week! Automated vent registers would make this much easier, the whole purpose of home automation.

The EV100 looks perfect. However the price point is a bit high for my application (I have 13 vent registers, so ~$1300). I wonder if this problem could be fixed by making my own automated vent registers with the Springfield Vent-Miser from amazon posted above (I need the 12x2 model, around $5 ea). The question is, how to control this with Vera? I can think of a couple possibilities:

  1. Find a generic zwave ‘module’ that could be incorporated into the vent miser, effectively making my own EV100.
  2. Find an I/O module with 13 outputs for the small DC motor in the vent miser, and run a wire to each vent register. The wiring could be accomplished without too much work in my case since I have drop ceilings in the basement.

Anyone have ideas for me??

Thanks,
John

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

6

I know i am late to the game but i bet this could work perfectly with an Aurdino board and some simple custom code. Audrino pro mini is $10