Anyone turn their pellet stove on with their Smartphone using Iris? $100 off cupon good till 2/16

[Don2222]

Hello

All parts and accessories can be purchased from Lowes!

The basic service is free!

• Basic control of your Iris devices
• Email, text or voice call alerts to the account holder if your alarm is triggered

The Tstat is millivolt and has the swing setting for pellet stoves!

Anyone use this?

I just picked up the Smart Kit for starters and got the $100 dollars off! See attachment below.
Cupon
http://www.lowes.com/cd_iris_239939199_

 

[velvetfoot]

The entire home automation field makes my head spin.

 

[OverlookEGR]

that's a cool idea.
I've been playing around with getting my home more automated/WIFI up to date....right now, i have a decent network, a network drive to store media, and a network camera. I've been thinking about putting a second camera in and pointing it toward my stove so i can check in on it every now and then from work. It would do a lot to ease my mind for those times when i'm away and my brain thinks something up to worry about.

$100 off is a good cut in price, but i still don't think i can hack $200 right now. I've been running my stove on room temp and pretty much just leave it set at the same place all the time.

 

[Don2222]

Great idea on having a camera on the stove! I got this kit for my shed so when I come home from a job, I will have a nice cozy shed with the lights, pellet stove and cable TV on and the door unlocked. Too bad it cannot open a beer from the beer fridge!

 

[millerized]

Understand that none of these networked items are very secure. Meaning that if provoked into doing so and for whatever reason, these items can be relatively easily hacked and changes made to their programming without your consent.
Want someone else controlling your heat, your locks or utilities without your consent? "Someone" decides you are using too much heat, too much electricity, they change it FOR you and you are left with the bill.
Until they're encrypted (and not the generic 'encryption' they sometimes boast) there is a possibility you might experience some difficulties.
Not saying they don't work, but they CAN be controlled by someone other than you (just like your credit card). If you're OK with that, take that chance.

 

[Arti]

Sort of reminds me of the software that had software/hardware locks on it. When the company disappears you have a nice paper weight.
Relying on something that uses a third party, Cloud, Google Drive etc is off limits for me. Some how 2 of my pictures from my cell phone ended up on a cloud server and I have yet to figure out how to erase them, Just wiring schematics but it is really irritating that they are out there.
So in this instance no thanks, other than that it appears to look like a nice product They just decided to make it into a cash cow * $10 a month to get the full use of a product*. good for them not so good for me.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Sort of reminds me of the software that had software/hardware locks on it. When the company disappears you have a nice paper weight.
Relying on something that uses a third party, Cloud, Google Drive etc is off limits for me. Some how 2 of my pictures from my cell phone ended up on a cloud server and I have yet to figure out how to erase them, Just wiring schematics but it is really irritating that they are out there.
So in this instance no thanks, other than that it appears to look like a nice product They just decided to make it into a cash cow * $10 a month to get the full use of a product*. good for them not so good for me.

Use the same file name for those items only make the file be something you don't have to be concerned with.

 

[Skier76]

I'm running my stove off a Radio Thermostat CT-50. It's a great way to change the temp when we're away from home...or just in a different room. By changing a setting on my stove, I can turn the stove on remotely if we're away from the house for a day or so. Nothing beats coming home to a warm house. I have the same t-stat on our HVAC system as well. I've been nerding it up with automation for awhile; a few IP cameras and a lighting system with wifi bulbs. With anything hooked up to the interwebs: change the default username and create a strong password. Most of the problems people run into are due to the not changing the default username and password. It's like leaving your car unlocked and running in the parkinglot.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

We were busy today so I only managed to get one AC plug in outlet control working from a web button.
I put it on a light on my work bench in the shed. Now I can turn it on or off from the web and the web page shows how many watts it draws. I used an LED screw in light and it only draws 4 watts!
I did not need the range extender to reach the shed.
So I am impressed so far!

See pics below
Click to Enlarge:

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Our pellet stoves are just about the only thing in our home that is not automated, and this is the second home we have equipped as such. Lighting, security, HVAC, music all talk to each other and all work well as a general rule. We do have manual override on all if necessary, but can't remember when that was needed. Generator is manual start but only because it is not needed that often, and I didn't want to spend the extra money because it's ot needed when we're home and I have two buddies who live on opposite sides who could start it if necessary. As for those who worry about someone "hacking" your home and taking over, the odds are remarkably low unless you are a high profile or extremely wealthy person. There is just no incentive to do so given the level of skill and work required, and the average bozo who would break into a normal home just won't have the skill.

BTW, we would automate our pellet stoves except my little Whit doesn't even have an ignitor, and our MVAE has that blasted proprietary Quad stat I'm always complaining about, which won't talk to anything except the stove and the Quad dealer's software. If I could figure out their protocol I might be able to automate it, but nada thus far. If anyone has ideas on that, I'm all ears. Iris is a nice system for automating the odd light switch or appliance, and is worth a look for that. We bought my inlaws a Wemo switch for their roof heater cable and I have been impressed with it for a few lights and such.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
Got the T-Stat hooked up this morning and downloaded the smartphone app. So I had to optimize the network to add the t-stat using the iPhone app. It shows the inside temp of 49 deg and outside temp of 30 deg. So I turned it to heat only and set the temp to 70 degs. The schedule is off. It is on presence which seems to be a manual type mode. There is also a hold mode to interrupt a schedule probably. So I hit the ON button and I will see if the inside temp rises on the way home to the shop.
See screen shots

 

[SidecarFlip]

Waste of time IMO. My stove is never shut off except to clean it.

 

[Brian L]

I still have my stove hooked up to my belkin wemo wall switch for local and remote on/off control. Works great and using ifttt.com i am able to connect to my honeywell wifi thermostat warms to trigger on or off as well as tweet, text or or anything else i can imagine to trigger the stove. I also have it logging to google docs so u can see how long i have been running the stove throughout the year.

 

[velvetfoot]

Nice picture of the shed.

 

[OverlookEGR]

I like the cloud concept, but I agree most homeowner grade cloud type services are not secure. My company uses a file sharing service to aid in distributing files to clients, etc. and it's much more expensive, but it is also much more secure.

Granted, nothing can be totally secure if it is connected to the Internet. I saw something on Facebook that could be applied to the Internet as well "if it's private, DONT POST IT ON FACEBOOK"

 

[Skier76]

Again, it comes down to being prudent about using strong passwords and changing the default user names and passwords. Also, use good security encription on your router. While it is possible that these systems could be compromised, I feel hackers have bigger fish to fry; messing with a bunch of cloud based thermostats isn't really going to get the perpetrator much media attention....or anything tangible.

I think many stoves down the road will have wifi built in. You'll be able to set the temp, adjust the feed rate, fan speed and pellet type all from the app. As it is now, having to go to my stove to push buttons to change settings seems a bit old school. ; )

I'm a bit of an automation nerd myself. I have a few wifi t-stats, IP cameras, temp sensors and lighting controls. With two places to manage, having the ability to do it remotely is a huge help.

 

[OverlookEGR]

Again, it comes down to being prudent about using strong passwords and changing the default user names and passwords. Also, use good security encription on your router. While it is possible that these systems could be compromised, I feel hackers have bigger fish to fry; messing with a bunch of cloud based thermostats isn't really going to get the perpetrator much media attention....or anything tangible.

I think many stoves down the road will have wifi built in. You'll be able to set the temp, adjust the feed rate, fan speed and pellet type all from the app. As it is now, having to go to my stove to push buttons to change settings seems a bit old school. ; )

I'm a bit of an automation nerd myself. I have a few wifi t-stats, IP cameras, temp sensors and lighting controls. With two places to manage, having the ability to do it remotely is a huge help.

A wifi enabled stove would be SWEET!
Sign me up! Then you could collect all the diagnostic data without a special tool. (As long as the manufacturer would enable it)

You could log into a web page and view all the vital stat in real time. Also you could log the fuel consumption data automatically and pull in the weather data from your area.

Like I said. SWEET!!

 

[Brian L]

Ya i really wish i could control the fire level but on off is good enough for now. Security is not really a concern in my eyes. I really don't care if someone turns my heat in. I get notified it went on snd i can shut it off and change my password.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I get notified it went on snd i can shut it off and change my password.

Provided the interloper hasn't totally taken control and turned that notification function completely off.

 

[Brian L]

Its a possibility but i have seperate notification services for stove on an md high temp so at some point i find out. Worse case scenario is i have a warm house.

 

[Don2222]

Thanks for your comments

I did have quite a configuration problem that took some time to figure out since this setup is all new to me.

The problem was this:
The iris hub was setup in the basement in the boiler room which is approximately 50 feet from the shed.
This was not too much of a distance for the smart plug to work because I could turn the shed workbench lamp on and off no problem.

It was too far a distance for the Iris T-Stat to work which made it tricky to figure out at first!

Luckily I had run 3 cat 5e wires up to the livingroom which is on the side of the house next to the shed.
So I moved the iris hub up to the livingroom next to my verizon mini cell tower and ShaZam it works!

Therefore the location of the Iris hub is quite important.

So now I am doing some full testing and it seems to be working just fine since the iris hub is approx 20 feet from the T-Stat ! ! !

See pic 1 - Tstat control

I like how it charts the temperature!

I had the Tstat inside to pair it with the hub and add it to my list of active devices so that is why the temp went way down when I took it out to the shed! LOL

I just turned on the Quad in the shed with the Iphone so the temp is on the rise, so now we will get some real data. Cool Stuff!

See Pic 2

Click pics to enlarge

 

[Don2222]

Hello
Had a little trouble getting the range extender setup for Z-wave devices, and since the T-stat is a z-wave device and winked out in the snow storm it is needed. The range extender initially had one bar and said Low Signal. There is a special pairing procedure that iris support girl is very patient and will help go thru it. Then the range extender properly read 5 bars and ok!
The max range is 65 feet for the iris hub and another 65 feet with the range extender but it is radio wave and somewhat line of site so care must be taken to locate the hub and extender in prime locations.

So it is working much better.
See pic

 

[SidecarFlip]

My opinion is we are becoming too dependent on electronic convenience. The, when it carps out (and it will) you are scratching your butt trying to figure out what to do....

 

[begreen]

Not really. When and if it fails it just fails. They you deal, just like before you had the tech. In winter I can start our car in the park and ride lot 10 minutes before I get to it on the bus so that it is warmed up. If I crap out and fail to remember to start the car in advance it simply means I have a cold car to start off with.

 

[SidecarFlip]

You must be lots younger than I am. I'm all about being hands on and have little faith or confidence in Chinese made electronic components (like the computer I'm sending this post through).