I have lots of home automation gear that would not work with Echo right now. Zwave switches controlling various things, some smart bulbs that are not supported (yet) running Zigbee, motion sensors, etc. The key difference is that with Smartthings I can manage a much more complicated set of activities. In this case, when there is motion on the back patio, turn on the lights (ideally the pool lights to), or when I press a button (or issue a voice command) dim them all to a preset level, change the mode of the pool lights and the waterfall light, and start Sonos playing my favorite station. All that might come to Echo in time but it is not there right now. Alexa can only handle pretty simple binary tasks - turn it on, turn it off and simple group of one or many things. Depending on how big your house is and how good your wifi network is, having access to Z-wave and Zigbee give you better coverage and more flexibility, along with access to low unit costs for devices. That said, wifi is looking better and better and I have already built that coverage out fore the whole property which means the mesh networks may not be as important in time.
Thank you for the explanation. I understand. There is a app or software called josh. It gives a more flexible commands including multiple, as you said that Alexa cannot handle now. This josh thing is somehow will be integrated into the Alexa module. If you havenāt heard or seen this josh thing, google it and there is a video. So what you you recommend for cameras and door sensors. I canāt make up my mind wired, not wired. I want something that can give me a streaming video 24/7. I know Arlo canāt do that. I am leaning towards Sylvania lightify but man expensive. It comes with 6 foot, 56.90 (I indeed 15 feet) so I will need two of them. also an expansion kit another $32.59 and that runs on zig bee which is where my smart things hub will come into play. Also of course Alexa compatible. Thanks again for the explanation and let me know what cameras you have and what you would or would not recommend. I think I am going to use the smart things door sensors.
Ok so reading the info above, it seems like Pentair is starting to solve some of the integration challenges and has at least made some headway with Alexa but switching from the Jandy iAqualink to Pentair Intellitouch just for the possibility of easier ST integration seems an expensive proposition (@ $2-3k). Iād pay the price if I could see a clear roadmap but sensing from the dialog above that this isnāt exactly clear. Reading elsewhere, I see that Jandy has done some integration with some other home automation platforms. Do we know if they have an API that simply needs to be licensed or what the specific challenges are? Iāve posed some of these questions to their support team and will post back any reply but if anyone has additional information, that would be great. Thanks
I have a pentair too. I would like to be able to integrate with ST or Alexa. The standalone app lets me turn in the pool light and my waterfall and bubbler. Would just be nice to have all my automation in one app.
I just ran across this list looking to see if anyone else was working on this. We recently moved into a house with a pool and older Aqualink RS system controlling the pumps, spa, waterfall etc. The sap-side controller broke and would cost $500 to replace, plus the reviews say they only last a few years. I considered the iAqualink but that would require a $1300 upgrade to the controller plus the $500 for the iAqualink. So, I decided I needed another project.
Iāve revers-engineered the protocol wired between the main controller and the All Button Panel ā ours is in the kitchen. Iāve hooked up a small SBC + wifi to the interface and can now control Pool, spa, lights, waterfall etc. from a little Android app. Iām working on the SmartThings integration now. Itās kind of a side project so I donāt think Iāll get it all done before I close the pool for the winter. The plan is to build a simulator and start beta testing the device this spring.
It should work in any Pentair Aqualink system and wonāt need the iAqualink or RS-232 interface. Just wire it in to the same bus as the standard panel controllers. Existing controllers still work. Anyone interested in helping test it in the spring?
Iām working on panels for lights, temp, thermostat, etc. Any other ideas are welcome.
Hi @roberta559
Thanks for sharing. Curious, does Alexa speak natively to the pool equipment or do you have to add the additional voice handoff. Eg Alexa, whatās my pool temperature?
Orā¦Alexa, tell Pentair to tell me the pool temperature?
Thanks.
You have to add the Alexa skill, Alexa, tell Pentair to tell me the pool
temperature?
Has anyone had any success yet with adding the iAqualink system to ST?
Iām working on a device that interfaces directly with the Polaris/Jandy Aqualink Main Controller. It should work with or without iAqualink. My system is older and doesnāt have iAqualink. Iām looking for some people who arenāt afraid to wire my board up to their controller to help integration test it on various version of the Aqualink RS8 series. Especially with the iAqualink.
Here are some screenshots of the Device Handler I wrote so that ST can control my device which interfaces with the Aqualink Controller.
PM me if you are interested.
TRIglm,
Sounds interesting. You stated āsap-side controller brokeā in your original postā¦you probably meant āspaā, and yeah, if you had one of the physical button controllers next to the spa, they are known to break. My original Aqualink RS system had the Jandy PDA wireless remote (not Wi-Fi), but it eventually started acting flaky a few years ago and I took the plunge on upgrading the controller board to iAqualink. It was only ~$750 for the whole kit that has the control board and Wi-Fi radio. I needed the new control board anyway, since I wanted to upgrade to a variable speed main pump and the old control board doesnāt have the firmware to manage that.
You mention āyour boardāā¦something like a Raspberry or? Just curious. Does the All Button panel communicate via RS232 or RS485 (like some of the other Jandy devices)?
This looks interestingā¦youāve got most of the items in your handler screenshot that I have (pool, spa, waterfall, lights).
Iām curious.
Mike
Mike,
Sorry about the yipo, I did mean Spa Side. Wow, $750 isnāt bad esp if you needed the new controller anyway. I havenāt seen any that low, plus the ROI wasnāt there on the variable speed pump, running them for a few hours a night to keeps everything fresh. But that can depend on conditions. Plus it didnāt look like there was any ST integration with the iAqualink. Itās RS485. Which means youāll be able to put the SBC down with the pump or behind an All Button Panel (may be enough room in the panel, or in the wall) for better WiFi reception.
Itās still in the early development and testing phase, but everything can be seen and controlled through ST. Filter on/off, Spa On/Off heat, reads air and water temperature. All the AUX ports work, but the labels are currently hard-coded to my setup. It needs push updates from the SBC to ST so you wonāt have to keep pressing āRefreshā to update the display. Because the kids can still press buttons on the All Button Panel. Even though I mostly use ST now. Still lots to do.
Are you an engineer/maker/tinkerer? Are you curious enough to help test this on a later model controller?
The controller plus Wi-Fi is a kitā¦iq20-rsā¦and the price hasnāt changedā¦hereās an example (I think I bought it from these guysā¦or maybe it was my variable speed pumpā¦or both) http://www.sunplay.com/zodiac-iaqualink-interface-kit-iq20-rs .
I originally had the v1 Wi-Fi radio, which totally sucked. It was 802.11b (yup, I said B) and the range was horrible. I talked to Jandy tech support and finally convinced them to send me the v2, which runs great.
I wondered about the refresh and parallel use of All Button. I donāt have the All Button, but do use the iAqualink link web and phone app via Wi-Fiā¦but it boils down to the same thing (RS-485 communication.).
I also installed Jandyās sprinkler control board, just for fun. I use it for my pool fill valve, but plan to migrate my sprinkler system to it alsoā¦as soon as I run a 125ā line from the pool equipment to the nearest valve to tap into the wiring. Doh.
Yeah, Iām an engineer/maker/tinkererā¦although at some point I morphed into a Program Manager, so my real HW/SW days are behind me, other than tinkering at home.
Sure, Iām game. One minor wrinkle (I think): how are you interfacing the SBC? My pool equipment is at the far back end of my yard, with no hardwire lines to it, other than power. Thus the reason why Iām wireless. I guess the SBC could be configured and then left to run by itself. But if something went wrong, Iād have to take a laptop or tablet out to the equipment to interface with it.
Great. As long as you have wifi access it should be fine. Itāll just plug in to the PCB in the Power Center along with your iAqualink adapter. The board should be ready to test in late November to start testing in the warmer part of the country.
Cool, keep me posted.
Hey Mike i was about to do the same thing as you i have the same setup but looks like now amazon dot is the way to go just ordered one for 50 bucks. then can connect it to ST then should have full control, and now iāll have alexa and google home at my house lol
This stuff takes crazy amounts of time to implement and maintain. My Pentair system is currently wounded as some functions donāt function at all while others are intermittent. At this point I have too many other projects so Iām in a maintenance mode where Iām just trying to keep what I have operational for now but I am still watching! Thank you guys for forging into territory making breakthroughs benefiting all of us who want these devices to cooperate and make our lives a little more convenient.
The pool pump, heater, and salt chlorination are generally controlled by the pool controller and once set, there isnāt much to do with them so automation doesnāt get your much in my view.
The one exception for me was control of the pool lights - I wanted to be able to control them from inside my house so for that I disconnected them from the pool controller and put in a simple Zwave switch to turn them on/off. But even here, this does bring some difficulties ā if you have color lights and want to change the colors you have to go through an extra effort. My lights (Hayward Colorlogic) can be color-adjusted by a series of on/off actions on the switch so I can remotely change them using the Zwave switch. I tried using SmartThings to do the proper on/off timings, but the unpredictable lag made this unreliable.
If I were to do it over again, Iād have put in a better pool controller which includes automatic control of the light color and remote from a SmartPhone. Perhaps a Hayward OmniLogic and Hayward Universal Colorlogic lights (advertised as a Nest partner, but Iām not exactly sure what the Nest aspect gets you). As a caution - if using Hayward, watch out on the lights model, only some of them are ātrulyā networked to the controller (i.e, the Universal ColorLogic LPCUN, LSCUN, and LACUN models include network control of color, while the LPCUS, LSCUS, and LACUS models donāt).
Finally, on the lighting, donāt believe your pool installer if he says 1 color light will work for anything but a boutique pool. It really wonāt. We put in only 1 and have never really been happy with it (I"m now retrofitting by adding some 1.5" ColorLogic 320 lights, but its not a simple task to do).
it looks really easy iāll let you know my dot arrives tomorrow Iāve got the same system was you mike
Anyone have luck with the Hayward Ominlogic system integration?
Sounds like I have the same pool controller setup you do. I moved my light functions to separate zwave dimmers but sure would like to have access to spa/temp controls as shown in your device. Iām relatively well versed in electrical/electronics. Iām willing to participate in testing, contribute financially, and/or expend some effort in other ways to get this rolling.