Heater Control based on Temperature and Light Status

Hi All,

I'm at a loss to work out how to accomplish the following for the downstairs bathroom that the kids use.

1. Turn the heater on only if the lights are also turned on
2. Turn the heater on only if the temperature is below a certain value

If I can integrate this into the following logic would be fantastic.

{ Implement using timers }

once GetLightingState("D/S BATH LIGHT") = ON then
TimerStart(1); { light has gone on }

once TimerTime(1) = 120 then
SetLightingState("D/S BATH EXHAUST", ON); { switch on fan }

once GetLightingState("D/S BATH LIGHT") = OFF then
begin { light has gone off }
if TimerTime(1) > 360 then // If the light has been on for over 1 minute
delay(60); // set a delay of 2 minute fan on time
SetLightingState("D/S BATH EXHAUST", OFF); { switch off fan }
TimerStop(1); // Turn off the timer
end;

 

Presuming you are using a C-Bus temperature sensor, you could do this without using a PAC or C-Touch logic, as all C-Bus output units incorporate one level of logic.
- configure the output (assume relay) channel controlling the heater to use MIN logic, and include the groups (L1,L2) associated with the two lights as well as a third group (T), responding to temperature. Keep the main group (H) if you want to disable the heater completely via another C-Bus switch - this comes to a total of 4 groups controlling the heater.
- set the relay threshold to 0 so that this will all work even if the lighting groups (L1 and or L2), are dimmed.
- configure the C-Bus temperature sensor as a heater control with appropriate setpoints to control the temperature sensor group (T). If using some other sensor and PAC or C-Touch logic, you can still use the C-Bus output unit logic and turn on the temperature sensor group (T) when below the minimum temperature.

If the lighting is controlled with timers, this will automatically affect the heater. You could also implement a heater master switch as a timer to control the main group (H).

 

Hi, appreciate the response. I'll need a day or two to digest the info and try it out.
Cheers
Paul

 

Hi,
I'm a little confused by the explanation, however have curently configured the following.

Groups:
D/S Bath Light
D/S Bath Heat
D/S Bath Temp

I don't see any reference to MIN logic on the relay unit however under the logic tab have configured the above groups to ch 5 (Heater Output), assume this is correct?

What else would I need to do, you mentioned controlling the output via a timer.

Regards,
Paul

 

ok, I'll try to translate.

I don't use Toolkit much - I have a habit of configuring units using text strings va a PC Interface and terminal program so some of the terminology I use may differ from Toolkit.

For the Heater Output channel (5), add a tick in each box below the channel number in each row corresponding to your D/S Bath Light, D/S Bath Heat and D/S Bath Temp entries. Bath Temp should be zero when temperature is above the operating point, and any value greater than zero when the heater should be operating. It looks like you are only using one group for lighting (I had assumed two lighting groups in the previous explanation). This makes it a bit simpler.

I see in Toolkit MIN logic is called 'AND' (as opposed to 'OR') - this is probably easier to understand for on / off control like you require.

In the 'TURN ON' tab, set the slider for the Heater Output channel to zero, or any value equal to or greater than the lowest (disable) level of D/S Bath Temp.

I would suggest that the easiest way to implement a timer would be to configure the control that turns on the heater group to be a timer.

It should all work.

 

Hi,
Sorry for the seemingly simple questions. I think if I can get this nailed it will be easier to work out other things I need to program.

So, looking at the relay unit, under the logic tab I have added the 3 groups noted above under ch 5 using AND logic. Under the "Turn On" tab, Ch 5 (all channels) are set to 0%.

For the temp sensor (5031TS), mode is set to Heating and 24 deg C. Controlled Group is configured to D/S Bath Temp. All other options are set to "Unused".

So, looking at the logic now, if D/S Bath Light and D/S Bath Fan is on but the Temp sensor is at 0, then the result should be zero. In the "Turn On" tab, if the result is zero, this should enable ch 5?

Currently this is not working, do I need to implement a timer to make it happen?

Regs,
Paul

 

If D/S Bath Light and D/S Bath Fan is on but the Temp sensor is at 0, then the result should be zero. correct - this implies that the heater channel is off (ch 5 disabled). I think you have teh relay unit configured correctly.

The 5031TS uses "ON" and "OFF" commands on C-Bus to control the "Controlled Group" (D/S Bath Temp), so when the sensor measures a temperature lower than setpoint minus the margin, it will issue a command to turn "ON" your D/S Bath Temp group. This is the condition to turn on the heater (ch 5 enabled).

It appears that you haven't configured the temp sensor correctly as you are seeing the "Controlled Group" (D/S Bath Temp) level set to 0 when you expect the heater should be operational.

To test, set the setpoint temperature to a value higher than the measured temperature plus the margin (margin is normally about 2 degrees) - under this condition, the controlled group should be "ON".

 

That worked a treat, appreciate the assistance. Once I looked at the logs it was easier to fault find. Basically there was no issue, just had to set the temps correctly in order to test the functionality.

Cheers,
Paul