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I should have all the LV run this weekend, what a job! When done I have run less than 5k feet of wire, you guys that do 20 and 30K I have to hand it to you, that is a big job. The only thing that I can think of that I've forgotten is power for motorized blinds and motorized skylights. I...

I'm 1/2 done with pulling wire and have been careful not over tension or kink them. I'm looking at the massive bundle and just have to wonder what problems are lurking in there. Before the sheetrock goes in do you test each conductor? Is there a fast way? Do you bring your "system" fully up...

My automation room is downstairs. All of my upstairs wiring comes from the attic. I have two large carlon conduits that carry all of those wires through a hallway wall. Is there an easy way to protect the plastic conduit from nails and screws?

I thought I was all done with my planning before the big wire pull this weekend and next. I've discovered in the install stuff for the smokes that they tell you to run all wires for smokes in separate conduit. Is that per the IRC? I can't seem to find a reference on this point and I've seen...

I have a friend who is looking at upgrading his Networx based system to an M1. It appears that all of his wireless stuff will work just fine. What about the EOL resistors? They are spec'ed at different values. Are they close enough? I read a thread from a year ago that said Elk was...

My architect asked the question today and I had no answer and the search didn't help. I'm wondering if experience has shown the switches and keypads to be kid proof. I'll end up having SA UPB switches, Caddx keypads and various other HA interfaces, but no touch screens. Any people here with...

Can somebody recommend a 4 wire smoke detector with sounder? These are required by code (all smokes must sound when one goes off). My electrician says he can only source 110V smokes, but I'd like to tie them into my Caddx system using 24 or 12V. Any pointers would be appreciated. Chuck

I'm going to be going to ISC later in March and am wondering if anyone is planning on heading down? I'm not sure what my schedule will be put I'd be interested in say hello to any CT'ers . Chuck

I basically have my whole system designed and mostly bench tested. The only thing left is voice announcements. I floated the voice/tone announcements by the wife and got the 'are you kidding me' look. Need to keep the WAF high and I don't want to make it complicated... 1) Do you like having...

I would like to know the position of the chimney flue for two reasons: 1) Remind that it be closed in winter time. 2) Warn if open before whole house fan comes on. I'm wondering if there is a clean way to sense the flue position. Of course the problem is heat, I suspect that most of the...

When mounting sensors for temperature, solar and wind where do you place them for the most accurate results? I'm drawn to the roof of course but it seems like in summer it is going to read very high temperatures. How about solar? Do you just have to aim it up? How about wind? Just on the...

I'm about a month away from needing to get everything in and I'm working on getting all of my PIR's. I would like to place a few around the interior for security/automation purposes. I've looked at many houses (and images online) and note that invariably they are hung up high in a corner...

I have about 30 UPB switches that I'm will need to program. I'm wondering if there is an easy way to do this without dealing with the breaker box. I'm thinking that I could cut the end off of an extension cord and have a simple light bulb fixture. I could wire them and the switch to be...

I live in Seattle and in the summer we have a few weeks of warm weather but nothing extreme. Most people don't have AC, including me. People use open windows, celing fans, attic fans, skylight ventilation to cool things down during the 3 weeks of hot days. Our house has one zone of that has a...

Somthing I have not been able to get my hands around is the handling of the telephone in the automation system. We have a dinner time ritual of not answering the phone and I'd really like to 'enforce' this with automation... I have the following: 1) HVPro with telephone connection (CID +...

I would like to have temperature sensors in various rooms in our house, bedrooms + living spaces. I have easy access to most of the spaces so wiring is not an issue. I have two big questions: 1) Where in the room should they be placed? 2) How do I make them as unobtrusive as possible? For...

I am in the late planning stages of setting up my automation system for the new house The HVPro has a can with holes all around it and have planned for a large 48 inch ChannelVision enclosure. There will be cans with my backup power (elk) and security system. Should I use the large...

A dumb switch consumes 0 current while sitting there... how much do our smart switches draw? On my SA switch datasheets I don't see anything that talks about current draw. Does anyone know the draw for any of the common technologies? UPB, X10, ZWave, Insteon etc? Wouldn't that be ironic if...

I am building a house and will have a workshop setup that will have a bunch of power tools. I would really like to prevent my kids from using them (I'm lucky I have all of my fingers....). My thought is that I will setup a keypad for the alarm system (or perhaps just one of those garage door...

I live in the Seattle area (unincorporated King County) and am looking for a local resource to review my automation/security plans prior to me beginning wiring/installation. I am most concerned about assuring that I meet all local electrical and fire code (e.g. between floor conduit fire...