57
votes
Alarms on Doors that have Access to a Pool
Not the answer you are looking for, but:
Loud Alarms are What You Really NEED
Assuming that the premise is a sound one, that people need to be warned of unexpected/unauthorized entrance to the pool ...
49
votes
Alarms on Doors that have Access to a Pool
Ask your insurer and defense lawyer
Lawyering on whether this rule is really a mandate is probably a waste of time. It's a "best practice" and one easily implemented. Which will create civil and ...
21
votes
Alarms on Doors that have Access to a Pool
Based on your link, I'm assuming you live in Florida. The relevant statutes are 515.29 Residential swimming pool barrier requirements and 515.27 Residential swimming pool safety feature options; ...
- 311
19
votes
Accepted
What type of outlet has a button and small hole in the middle?
It looks a lot like a GoControl W015Z-1 Z-wave smart receptacle. See here
- 3,345
18
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
10Base-5 (thicknet) and 10Base-2 (thinnet) physical layers are bus topology, if you want ethernet on a bus topology. At 10 Mbit and 100 Mbit top speeds, of course.
Might be a bit hard to find hardware ...
- 166k
11
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
So far as I'm aware there isn't any off-the-shelf Ethernet solution that uses twisted pair wiring and allows bus (as opposed to point-to-point) topology.
That said, if you can tolerate the latency, ...
- 23.5k
10
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
Solutions exist for both automotive Ethernet and industrial Ethernet applications.
The automotive PHY standard for multi-drop on a single twisted pair is 10BASE-T1S.
Industrial Ethernet fakes a multi-...
- 101
9
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
If you are really into Ethernet with the TCP/IP protocol you could consider the possibility to deploy some "power line Ethernet adapters". These can link together several local network ...
- 62.8k
8
votes
Are patch panels essential to a home network closet?
Short answer, you definitely want the patch panel, especially if you ran shielded cable. (If you did not run shielded cable, you probably don't want a shielded patch panel.)
Male terminations are ...
- 24.5k
8
votes
Accepted
Inserting probe into pressurized water pipe
The usual way is to use a T with the middle outlet being vertical:
With a proper fitting, you screw this hollow adapter in. Ecnerwal says in a comment it is called a "thermowell".
Fill ...
- 8,294
8
votes
Is there a way to remotely control gas valve?
Yes, there are electronically controlled gas valves.
A better idea might be to install a "grill timer". It's like a kitchen timer that you twist to set the time, but instead of ringing a ...
- 20.4k
7
votes
Are patch panels essential to a home network closet?
Couple of benefits of patch panels.
They make the install neater. You could have the entire bundle of cables going to each room just terminated and hanging lose until it is needed. Or you can ...
- 4,366
7
votes
Accepted
My eq-3 Bluetooth Radiator Thermostat CC-RT-BLE is just showing "UPD". How can I "unbrick" it?
The official statement is that if you have no calor BT app that is currently paired, you are lost and should return the device to the dealer as broken.
However, there is a way out - the following ...
- 201
7
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
Home automation is very low bandwidth, excluding anything that does video streams like doorbells or security cameras.
As such, ethernet is overkill AND you may have a lot of home automation sensors in ...
- 9,015
6
votes
Accepted
How can I control lights on a 3-way circuit with a timer?
How about a light switch with a motion sensor? They make ones that are occupancy detectors (detecting motion and then turning on), and vacancy sensors (detecting absence of motion and then turning off)...
- 6,198
6
votes
Automatic water pump for water tank
A simplification of @spicetraders answer:
Pump up switch
You can do this with a "pump up float switch", which operates at line voltage and thus avoids the need for a relay, separate power supply, ...
- 28.7k
6
votes
How bad is it for my A/C unit if I cut the power while it's working?
You will need to protect against short cycling the air conditioner
When you turn an air conditioner compressor off, the pressure in the system does not equalize instantly -- instead, it takes a few ...
- 78k
6
votes
Is a distribution panel necessary when pre-wiring for internet and cable TV?
Can't speak as much to the TV part, though an awful lot of TVs now work with internet connections. But as far as the internet connection, my recommendation is to wire up CAT 5e (or better) everywhere. ...
5
votes
Accepted
Connecting multiple hubs to a single Z-Wave device
As per Z-Wave specification, no. A Z-Wave node (device) can only be paired to one hub (the designated 'primary' controller). 'Secondary' controllers added to the primary controller will lose their z-...
- 178
5
votes
How can I reduce the force required to operate double-hung windows?
The wooden framed double hung sash design dates from a time when no elderly person was ever left alone long enough to open or close a window. Families were large and any oldster who wanted a window ...
- 13.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Identifying these light switches
These are really old HAI switches (from before Leviton bought them) which use the ALC protocol over separate signaling wires.
I finally found someone who could tell me that the original switches were ...
- 2,547
5
votes
Accepted
Do washing-machines provide a AC connector which is live when the machine is working?
No, they don't generally have such an outlet.
Perhaps you are looking for an Automatic Washing Machine Shutoff Valve? These devices sense when the washing machine is using electricity and open the ...
- 1,539
5
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
There are a bunch of different ways to do this: 1 8 wire ethernet cable can be split into two logical 4 wire ethernet cables.
You can also use single pair ethernet.
But the easiest thing is to ...
- 4,913
5
votes
Ethernet bus topology for home automation?
The other consideration is find a better cable source - 8 wire/4 pair stranded cat6 UTP is not too expensive at around $170 USD/1000 foot box. If you can locate your patch panel centrally that helps ...
- 9,015
4
votes
Are patch panels essential to a home network closet?
My own opinion on the pros and cons of a patch panel:
Pros:
Cleaner look
Easier to locate a specific room's connection
Easier to deal with non-connected rooms (think of a 5 port switch in a 10 room ...
- 42.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Automation of electric machines
Yes, you have a couple different options in today's market. The cheapest would be a plug in timer that has to be manually set. As long as your schedule stays consistent, then this is a good option as ...
- 3,634
4
votes
Are patch panels essential to a home network closet?
Personally, I find little use or benefit to a patch panel in a home install.
If using the correct connectors (ones rated for solid wires, or more typically for both solid and stranded wires, rather ...
- 166k
4
votes
Can I save energy costs by turning off the refrigerator for 1-2 hours every day?
Modern fridges only use $70 a year. So 2 hours a day, that a fridge is not opened, is less than penny a day.
- 337
4
votes
What is the proper way to power an in wall monitor for a new construction home?
Your current plan is no good -- first off, 400.8 point 1 forbids the use of cords as a replacement for permanent wiring (stuffing a cord down a conduit certainly counts, and is also prohibited ...
- 78k
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