How-To
Updated December 4, 2006 09:00 PDST
This is the first in a series of articles that will
demonstrate the DIY aspects of Z-Wave products and technology.
Let us know what you think of the article by sending your
comments to the editor: catherine@zwaveworld.com.
Please note: If you are not comfortable with
measuring voltage (required in Step 5), you should find
an experienced electrician to do it for you.
How to: Automate Your Laundry Room
By David Powell
Home automation is not just for tech-geeks. There can be
benefits for the entire family. Take, for example, my laundry
room. My wife came to me and asked if I could make the lights
come on automatically when she entered the room so she would
not have to do a balancing trick with the laundry basket
on her knee. Now, I have to admit that I do not do any laundry.
In fact my wife refuses to let me touch the laundry. So
when she asked me to automate her personal space I was very
excited. To solve the problem. I simply added a motion detector
to my Elk alarm system and now when motion is detected I
have the Elk turn on the light using an Elk Z-Wave controller.
Let's start with the products you'll need. Keep in mind
that many of the system components covered here will let
you automate multiple rooms, not just your laundry room.
So the cost of automating additional rooms will be minimal.
Click
here for a matrix of all the products that I will be
using along with their pricing.
Hardware Installation
|
|
|
Figure
1: Choosing
the mounting location.
|
Step 1:
Install the Elk M1 alarm system. Elk has done a nice job
making the installation of its M1 security system simple.
But there is something that will make the installation 10
times smoother. Free (!) video tutorials, compliments of
Set-Net. I highly recommend that you visit Interscience
International and view all the available videos before
even taking the unit out of the box. Why? The videos will
take you through everything from connecting the peripheral
device to powering up the unit for the first time. After
you have watched the videos, choose the location and install
the system. I fastened mine to the concrete wall inside
my laundry room using a hammer drill and masonry screws
(see Figure 1). Just be sure that you will be able to easily
run the cable from the room you are automating all the way
back unobtrusively to the panel.
 |
|
Figure
2: Mounting the Elk Z-Wave Controller.
|
Step 2:
Add the Elk Z-Wave Controller. After you have the M1
mounted, locate and mount the Z-Wave module (see Figure
2). The module is an RF device and comes encased in a somewhat
large plastic housing. One of the biggest mistakes people
make when installing the module is to remove the circuit
board from the plastic enclosure and mount it inside the
same metal enclosure as the M1. Please, don't do that. It
will reduce your signal strength considerably and cause
you many headaches later on. I mounted mine about eight
inches above the Elk enclosure but you may want to consider
mounting it in a more central part of the home, Z-Wave is
a mesh network so each device (light switch, etc.) acts
as a repeater. So as long as you are about 75 feet from
your first device and there are no device greater than 100
feet away from another device then you should be OK. Again,
just make sure that you can run wires from the Z-Wave module
to the M1 without killing your WAF (wife appreciation factor).
Step 3:
Enough with the boring stuff. Let's start connecting some
wires (see Figure 3). It's time to connect the Z-Wave module
to the M1. If you watched the videos in step 1 you should
have learned about the data bus and data bus connection
terminals. The Z-Wave module uses the RS-485 data bus on
the Elk to both supply power and send/receive the communications
signal. I will outline the connections between the module
and the M1 now and at the end of this tutorial will show
you a wiring diagram of the entire setup.
 |
|
Figure 3: Wiring
the Z-Wave controller.
|
|
Z-Wave
Module
|
Elk
M1
|
|
+12v
A
B
Neg
|
+VKB
Data A
Data B
Neg
|
|
Step 4:
Now install the motion sensor. I picked the wired Honeywell
(IS-215T) for a few reasons. The main reason is that it
offers adjustable sensitivity. This means that you can have
it trigger in three to five steps or almost instantly (two
to four steps) as we would want for our application. To
set the sensitivity you will need to change two DIP switches
labeled one and two. One should be in the ON (up) position
and two should be in the OFF (down) position for maximum
sensitivity. Before you mount the motion sensor in its final
location you are going to need to do some experimenting.
Cut a piece of 22 gauge 4 conductor wire which will reach
from the Elk M1 to the estimated location and then wire
just the power (+12v and Neg) so that the motion sensors
LED is illuminated. The connection at the M1 will be made
at the J16 terminal on pins 15 and 16 (see Figures 4 and
5).
TIP: Cut the piece of wire long enough so that you
can reuse it for your final run.
|
Honeywell
Motion Sensor
|
Elk
M1
|
|
+12v
Neg
Signal(Sig)
Signal(Sig)
|
Pin 16(+12v)
Pin 15(Neg)
Z1
Neg
|
|
Now you can locate the sensor in the most effective location
(see Figure 6). I found that the best location in my laundry
room was just above the door and facing the washer and dryer
while slightly tilted down at the floor. You will need to
play with the location while taking notice of the LED motion
indicator. When the LED is out, no motion is detected. While
the LED is lit motion is detected. Later on you will find
out that motion does not always need to be present for the
lights to remain on. You can use a timer to fine-tune the
actions of the motion sensor.
|
|
|
|
Figure 4: Locating
the J16 bus connections.
|
Figure 5: PIR and
Z-Wave to Elk Wiring diagram.
|
Once you have found the perfect location for your motion
detector, route the wire in its permanent location. Remove
the cover and circuit board. Drive some small screws through
the holes provided in the plastic casing to secure the casing.
Then make the connections as documented in Figure 5.
Step 5:
This next step is straightforward but take extreme caution
when working with any electricity.
Please note: If you are not comfortable with measuring
voltage then you should find an experienced electrician
to do it for you.
To complete this task I recommend that you get the following
tools
First you'll need to shut off the power to the existing
light switch.
TIP: Turn the lights on first so that when you switch
the power off at the breaker panel you can have a visual
indication that you shut the correct source off.
 |
|
Figure 6: Locating
the PIR mounting position.
|
Then power up your flashlight and start removing the cover
plate with your flat head screwdriver. After the cover is
removed you should follow the instructions of your voltage
detector and ensure that there is no power inside of the
electrical box. If there is no power then you can proceed
and take the existing light switch out of the electrical
box. Follow the installation
instructions (PDF) for the relay switch you purchased.
The connections should be as simple as connecting all of
the white wires together. Then you will need to distinguish
between the load and the source wires. Both load and source
wires are typically black. Use your volt meter to determine
which set of wires provide 120Vac by measuring the voltage
across the black and white pairs of wires.
Now that you know which wire is hot (source) and which
is not (load) you can finish making the connections. According
to the documentation of my light switch the blue wire from
the switch is connected to the load (black) wire and the
black wire of the switch is connected to the power source
(also black). Make sure you read the installation instructions
carefully as installation procedures may vary.
 |
|
Figure 7: Z-Wave
dimmer switch.
|
Step 6:
Now that you have your switch installed and power restored
(see Figure 7), you should be able to control you lights
manually. So now it's time to have some real fun. You need
to follow the ZTH100
Instructions (PDF) on page 8 (add module to group).
The process is as simple as putting your handheld remote
control into learning mode and pressing the button on the
light switch.
Step 7:
Copy your handheld master controller to the Elk Z-wave module.
On page five of the Elk
Z-Wave Installation Manual you will find detailed instructions
about how to copy the data from your handheld controller
to the Elk Z-Wave controller. Then on page six, the instructions
explain how to test your work by pressing a few keys on
the alarm keypad.
Step 8:
This final step is a fun one. Before you start this step
you should have watched all of the videos from step 1 and
you should read the Elk
Installation and Programming Manual especially Section
4 "PC Programming and Automation Capabilities."
Teaching you how to program the Elk is beyond the scope
of the tutorial, however, I will teach you about the rules
that I am using.
The motion sensor is connected to an alarm zone and that
zone is monitored by the Elk system. By establishing rule
(1) you simply tell the Elk to turn the laundry room light
on as soon as motion is detected.
(1) WHENEVER Laundry Motion [Zn1] BECOMES NOT SECURE
THEN TURN Laundry Room [1 (A1)] ON, FADE RATE = 0
Rule (2) is where the real intelligence comes in to play.
It basically says that whenever motion is not detected then
start a countdown timer. The Elk can control 205 outputs.
Output numbers one through 16 come on the main board and
all other outputs require an expander. However, you only
need an expander if you want to control a device. The outputs
offer a feature that lets you turn them on for a specified
duration. In order to program the rules of an output the
output does not actually have to exist. In other words,
I do not have to have an output expander and 100+ actual
outputs to use the logic of the outputs. So outputs one
through16 actually exist on the main board and outputs 17
through 205 are virtual outputs, which do not exist unless
an expander is added. I chose to use the number 100 to start
using virtual outputs. This leaves me with room to add 17
through 99 in the future if I find a need to control some
devices. There are a few other important notes to make.
"Outputs one and two trip when any alarm is activated"
and "Outputs five and six are not available from the
main board." You should avoid using outputs one through
16 as virtual outputs.
(2) WHENEVER Laundry Motion [Zn1] BECOMES SECURE THEN
TURN Output 100 ON FOR 1 MIN, 25 SECS, RESTART TIMER IF
RUNNING
Rule (3) simply states that when output 100 is turned off
then shut the lights off also. This rule works with rule
(2). Rule (2) initially turns the output on and keeps the
output on as long as motion is still being detected. After
one minute and 25 seconds of no activity the output is shut
off and rule (3) is executed turning the lights off.
(3) WHENEVER Output 100 STATE IS TURNED OFF THEN TURN
Laundry Room [1 (A1)]OFF, FADE RATE = 0
Using a motion sensor to automate your living space is
inexpensive and can be easy to do, but it is not the only
device available for detection. Other transducers can be
used such as a pressure
sensitive mat, or photoelectric
invisible beam sensor. Depending on the size and layout
of your room you may need more than one motion detector
or a combination of motion sensors and other devices.
The good news is that once you buy all of the basic components
such as the Elk M1 and Z-Wave devices it's very affordable
to add additional sensors and lighting devices as needed.
In my home I used wired motion sensors, but you could just
as easily used wireless devices that are compatible with
the Elk system. Keep in mind also that Z-Wave motion detectors
also exist and could offer you additional flexibility.
Check ZWaveWorld.com for future "How-to" articles
on automating your home.
A frequent contributor to cocoontech.com, David Powell
holds a B.A. in computers and information science from University
of Maryland. He started his home automation project with
a HomeSeer to automate his Z-Wave lighting and has since
grown his system into 25+ Z-Wave devices controlled by the
CQC software. He holds a Home Automation license, which
qualifies him to install Z-Wave devices in residential structures.
