Ultimate Jandy Pool/Spa Interface

JonW

Senior Member
I changed home automation systems this last year and moved to the HAI OmniPro II line. While the HAI panels have pretty good 3rd party support of devices, one of the areas that frustrated me was its lack of serial interfacing to non-native supported devices. For what I wanted to do with my Jandy Pool/Spa system, the built-in 128 text messages just was not going to cut it. I really wanted a way to read and set temperatures as well as control of the individual devices connected to the system. With a lot of text messages, I could have achieved the device control, but never the temperature control as there just are not enough text slots available. There was also no place to really display and control the temperatures in an intuitive manner. After much research and code testing, I came to the conclusion that the best way for me to get temperature data into and out of the HAI system was to emulate the Zwave thermostats. I then added all the pool devices as emulated Zwave "units". My custom interface/emulator gateway is a small black box device that sits between the Jandy serial interface and the HAI serial interface. The HAI system thinks that it is controlling and getting feedback from Zwave devices. This allows a two-way real-time method of not only controlling the pool system, but for getting feedback and keeping devices (HAI "units") as well as thermostats up to date with the correct system status. This also then lets you use automation rules within the HAI to do things like making an announcement when the spa temperature is ready.

You can adjust pool & spa temperatures by going to the appropriate HAI thermostat and changing the setpoint. You can then turn heating on or off from the thermostat control as well as see the current pool/spa temperatures. Within the pool and spa "Rooms" that are in the "units" setup, you can control individual pool/spa accessories or even enable/disable the heat from there. Turning the pool or spa heat on/off from the "units" control also turns the thermostat on/off as well. The bi-directional control works from all HAI supported interfaces (web, iphone, snaplink, keypad, etc.). There is absolutely no code in the HAI system involved. All that is necessary to set it up within HAI is to create the thermostats & units and assign their appropriate Zwave ID's.

Does anyone see a potential market for a plug & play device like this? I do have the capability to manufacture and sell the device if there is a demand. While I did do this integration on the HAI system, I see no reason it wouldn't work for the ELK (or other) systems as well. I do not personally use Zwave, so I didn't have to worry about any existing Zwave module compatibility, but it would not be difficult for me to add a 3rd serial port to the device to allow pass-thru of Zwave data to the standard Zwave serial interface.

Here are some sample screens for the Snap-Link control:

Snap_Link_Jandy1.JPG
Snap_Link_Jandy2.JPG
 
Yes, there is a market for me. I have the same issue. HAI claims pool control, however it is as you defined. Other examples are TED, Sprinkler Systems, Slim Server etc. All are not ideal and should be true integration modules.

My preference would be a Pool screen with status and control. However, that is just not available.

I really like what you have done. I was thinking of buying an HAI water temp prob for temp readings because it just makes sense to have temperature in one place. I was going to use a flag for temperature. Then use a button to turn on Spa Heat.

Does your system provide updated status?

Hope it becomes available.
 
Does your system provide updated status?
Yes it provides ALL status updates. Anything that changes in the Jandy system changes immediately in the HAI system. This includes device on/off, setpoints & current temperatures.
 
If there is no interest, then I will not likely make any for resale. My current unit was done with a micro proto-board and hand soldering. I'll check out what the BOM will cost if I make a small batch though.

I have to say that after using my pool/spa through the HAI system this way, I like the HAI controls better than the Jandy controls!
 
I changed home automation systems this last year and moved to the HAI OmniPro II line. While the HAI panels have pretty good 3rd party support of devices, one of the areas that frustrated me was its lack of serial interfacing to non-native supported devices. For what I wanted to do with my Jandy Pool/Spa system, the built-in 128 text messages just was not going to cut it. I really wanted a way to read and set temperatures as well as control of the individual devices connected to the system. With a lot of text messages, I could have achieved the device control, but never the temperature control as there just are not enough text slots available. There was also no place to really display and control the temperatures in an intuitive manner. After much research and code testing, I came to the conclusion that the best way for me to get temperature data into and out of the HAI system was to emulate the Zwave thermostats. I then added all the pool devices as emulated Zwave "units". My custom interface/emulator gateway is a small black box device that sits between the Jandy serial interface and the HAI serial interface. The HAI system thinks that it is controlling and getting feedback from Zwave devices. This allows a two-way real-time method of not only controlling the pool system, but for getting feedback and keeping devices (HAI "units") as well as thermostats up to date with the correct system status. This also then lets you use automation rules within the HAI to do things like making an announcement when the spa temperature is ready.

You can adjust pool & spa temperatures by going to the appropriate HAI thermostat and changing the setpoint. You can then turn heating on or off from the thermostat control as well as see the current pool/spa temperatures. Within the pool and spa "Rooms" that are in the "units" setup, you can control individual pool/spa accessories or even enable/disable the heat from there. Turning the pool or spa heat on/off from the "units" control also turns the thermostat on/off as well. The bi-directional control works from all HAI supported interfaces (web, iphone, snaplink, keypad, etc.). There is absolutely no code in the HAI system involved. All that is necessary to set it up within HAI is to create the thermostats & units and assign their appropriate Zwave ID's.

Does anyone see a potential market for a plug & play device like this? I do have the capability to manufacture and sell the device if there is a demand. While I did do this integration on the HAI system, I see no reason it wouldn't work for the ELK (or other) systems as well. I do not personally use Zwave, so I didn't have to worry about any existing Zwave module compatibility, but it would not be difficult for me to add a 3rd serial port to the device to allow pass-thru of Zwave data to the standard Zwave serial interface.

Here are some sample screens for the Snap-Link control:

View attachment 3427
View attachment 3428
Hi Jon,

I'm setting up HAI/Jandy for a customer right now and running across all the issues you describe. Worst part is I have another customer who also wants Jandy control from his HAI system. That means re-typing all the same text and automation. I would definately be interested in a commercial product. I have lots of IT and automation experience and would be willing to lend a hand to get this product to market.
 
If there is no interest, then I will not likely make any for resale. My current unit was done with a micro proto-board and hand soldering. I'll check out what the BOM will cost if I make a small batch though.

I have to say that after using my pool/spa through the HAI system this way, I like the HAI controls better than the Jandy controls!

Hey JonW,

Just checking in. Have you decided to move on from this? HAIs integration here is certainly far from ideal.
 
No, I won't be doing anything at this time. However, I have another project I'm working on that will use similar hardware, so I may eventually put a few of these together. It will be several months before I'll be looking at doing it though. In the event I decide not to do a hardware device, I may also just give out a software app that performs the same functions. It's how I prototyped it before I did the micro.
 
Hey Jon....I would REALLY like to have this. I have a client that I sold on HAI and hes going with a Jandy. Well I was not aware of this so I did some reasearch and came across your thread. This is exactly what I need, i cant have a clunky system operating its just not professional. I know I should have done more homework, but Im learning when HAI says it "does" something there are sometimes compromises. Im going to have to revamp some aspects of the system on the fly I think!

If you can please email me [email protected] please I would like to discuss this solution you have come up with and would be willing to pay you for the work. I can do the circuit board work Im 90% sure and the would need help with the coding. Even if you could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks
Randy
 
As stated above, I may be able to do some work on this in January/February and see if it is feasible to produce. I won't be doing any "one-off" units at this time.
 
Installed this a few months ago. Works well with Jandy. I would really like integration with HAI. IF anyone else is interested, go to their Forum and Chime in.

http://www.autelis.com/homeautomation/pool-spa.html

If there is an HAI guy in this forum, work with this guy. Getting integration with these 2 technologies is a plus on both sides.
 
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