Printable View
can one program the system to see if the garage doors are open and if they are close them with the VCRX?
Have a client and he seems to leave the door open often and asked if we could close them on a goodnight button press from a keypad.
We will be using a VCRX to control the opening/closing from the visor remote already, didn't know if we could check to see if open and if so, close them.
Thanks
You can't program that directly, but I can think of a couple of ways to accomplish that.
1) 3rd party automation software (e.g. CQC)
2) Use a low voltage relay hooked up to a garage door sensor. Have the relay closed only when the garage door is open. Then, use another output on the VCRX to also control the garage door opener, and have that run through the relay. That way, if the garage door is open, the relay is closed, and the goodnight command will close the circuit on the garage door opener, closing the garage door. Conversely, if the garage door is already closed, then the relay will be open, and the circuit will not close on the garage door opener.
The only issue with #2 is that you will need a fair amount of stuff in the garage - a LV power supply, garage door sensor, a relay, and two sets of wires from the VCRX to the opener...
We Have an RTI system installed in the house now, so maybe use that to check the state of the CCI? then issue the command based on that state.
Thanks rapamatic for your help
We've done this by programming 1 of the CCO's to close on your "goodnight" scene, wire that through a limit switch on the door. Wire that back into an unused input (CCI) on the VCRX set to close the door. The Scene will go off every night, if the door is open the signal will pass through the limit switch, trigger the programmed CCO for that door and close it. If the door is closed it won't be received and the door will stay closed. If you have more available inputs you could use the same switch to trigger a lamp or virtual load so they would get some kind of visual feed back in the app or a keypad. I think the VCRX is still not "visible" itself in the app unless they changed it recently (otherwise you could see the input indicator on the VCRX).Quote:
Originally Posted by Glackowitz
This isn't fool proof though, if something is blocking the sensor (or other reason) it will re-open and they may not know (no visual feedback).
FWIW, we threw a LRF2 ceiling sensor in the circuit also, so anytime there was no motion for a given time it would try to close as well.
Also have used similar CCO/CCI wiring to trigger the Alarm input from a keypad. For some reason you cannot just program a keypad button to do that. So our work around for a customer that wanted a "panic" button was to do virtually the same thing, jumper across the CCO to CCI (alarm) and program accordingly.
We have a similar thread that may also help with this situation:
https://forums.lutron.com/showthread...e-Door-Control
This thread also has some sample project files.
I cannot post a link here but I have a description and control schematic in pdf if you'd like a copy, send me a message with yourAttachment 245 info
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I need a little help. I'm trying to monitor and control my two garage doors with my VCRX. For a while now, I've had Output 1 triggering Garage Door 1 and Output 2 triggering Garage Door 2. That works fine.
Today I decided to add monitoring, I tried to follow this thread and the thread referenced in post #5 above. But, I might have messed up.
For limit switches, I bought two of these Potter-Amseco reed switches. https://www.amazon.com/Potter-Amseco.../dp/B000GUSNQW
I bought them based on yet another thread in this forum: (https://forums.lutron.com/showthread...or-Lock-signal)
Although it is not immediately apparent, these reed switches are normally open switches.
I followed the wiring diagram from post #6 above and the programming set forth in the thread referenced in post 5.
Things on the phantom buttons I have programmed to monitor and open/close the doors aren't quite right. If I use the buttons themselves everything seems to work: The buttons are "on" (illuminated) when the doors are closed and "off" (dark) when I trigger the doors to open. If instead of using the phantom button, I use the garage door opener remote (or the wall switch) the phantom buttons will go from "on" (illuminated") to "off" when the remote or wall switch is used to open the door. However, when I use the remote or wall switch to close the door, the phantom button never goes back to the "on" state. I have to manually change the state.
Is this because I used the wrong kind of limit switch (normally open instead of normally closed)? The diagram above seems to be calling for a normally closed switch. If so, can I simply change the programming in the RA2 software or do I need to swap out the limit switches? I guess a third possibility is that something else is amiss.
Thanks in advance for your help.
No problem, we're here to help. Let's see if I cannot get you working smoothly. For this example it should be understood we are doing door monitoring only, and we're using 2 garage doors. Door Opening and Closing is handled via pulsed output of CCO1 (door1) and CCO2 (door2), as you stated this is working fine and we're not going to touch it.Quote:
Originally Posted by SHPLights
Let's just start from scratch and disregard the different threads you're pulling info from. They were written by 2 different people. There are multiple ways we can do this and this is just my idea.
OK so to use your Closed Loop, Normally Open door contact as a door monitoring switch you have to realize the VCRX has no idea what you are doing and we have to tell it how to respond to the inputs and outputs (CCI & CCO). (By the way, this isn't a bad way to do it. You ideally want to monitor the door in a closed position rather than an upper limit. This way if it's not 100% physically closed the system will think its open. In case you stopped the door 1/2 way or something.)
In the Design Tab you should have:
1) At least 1 Main Repeater
2) VCRX
3) Some sort of Tabletop or Wall Keypad (no pico's, they don't have status)
4) Something to turn on to actually monitor. I recommend a Virtual Switch For each Garage door we wish to monitor (Virtual Switch only exists in the programming, counts against your total device count and will error on activation and program transfer. Set them up and program them as if they did exist)
In the Program Tab, program the VCRX
1) Select the VCRX and the 1st Input in the left pane and button label it "Door1 Open", if you are doing 2 doors label the second input "Door2 Open" ~~~or something relevant to you
2) With the top input still selected (Door1 Open), for "Input Reacts on" Select "Maintained". (Do the same for Door2 if applicable)
3) For "Input Action" Select "Open" (because we are using the Normally open, closed loop alarm door contact) [if you have an NC contact/switch select "Close"] (Do the same for Door2 if applicable)
4) Now for this to do anything we need to program it to (pretend) turn on a light. So we are using a virtual switch in this case Call it "Garage Door1" and place it in the garage or equipment room. With the top input still selected, choose the virtual switch in the appropriate selected room and set it to "On". (Do the same for Door2 if applicable)
Now when the garage door is opened the closed loop (normally open) alarm switch opens and the Virtual Switch turns "On". When the door closes, the switch closes and the Virtual Switch is off. This virtual switch is what we are actually monitoring. We need the input to do something that corresponded to a scene so we can get a status light to show up on a keypad.
In the Program tab, program the monitoring button(s).
1) Select a button on a keypad you want to use as a monitor(or create a virtual one if you only want to operate from your tablet or smartphone). Label it "Door1 Open".(Do the same for Door2 if applicable)
2) Choose the virtual switch your created as "Garage Door 1" in the appropriate selected room and set it to "On". (Do the same for Door2 if applicable)
3) Button Type: Set it to Scene. If you actually press this button it will turn on the virtual switch and status LED even though the door may be physically closed. It's just following directions. It may get out of wack and you'll have to cycle the door to get it back on track. (Sorry it's not fool proof)Save and transfer that to your system. Again it will error on un-activated switches and transfer will fail to those devices because they don't exist physically, but it will work.
So what you have then is a "look-but-don't-touch" monitoring button(s) to look at for status and another button programmed to cycle the door via the CCO(s). If the status (scene) light is on, the door should be open. Don't press it, push the button you chose to operate the door.
I can think of a few other ways to do this, but his is likely the most simple and reliable if you can keep from touching the monitored buttons.
Preferably I like a more positive action of just setting a timer say at 8pm to pulse an unused CCO wired through(in series) a normally closed (when door is physically open) switch. Send that back to an unused input programmed to pulse the output the door is actually wired to. So at 8pm signal pulses out of CCO4 through limit switch, if the door is open(switch closed), and hits a CCI programmed to pulse CCO1 the door button is actually connected to. If the door is already closed the signal never passes through the limit switch. Take it a step further and set it to happen every hour you want or sooner. 8pm, try again at 9pm, 10pm, etc...
Remember operating a door blindly can be dangerous and could cause damage and injury. Make sure to test all you safety's regularly.
Sorry, my edit time had expired I forgot to mention the switch wiring.
Simply Wire the two wires from the reed switch to input Terminal "1" and "C" respectively. Color or polarity should matter for this. If you are doing 2 door, wire the other to input terminal "2" and share the "C" (common) terminal.
Wow, Paul! Thanks. I'm going to try this.Quote:
Originally Posted by paulhanks
Right now, I've currently got it wired and programmed a little differently. (In mine, I guess I'm using Outputs 3 and 4 like the virtual monitoring switch you suggest. But that also changes the wiring. Right now the NO wire from each reed switch is wired to a VCRX Input (1 and 2) BUT Commons on the reed switches are wired to Outputs 3 and 4.) I'm going to change to what you recommend.
One question. I was fooling around with the input programming before I saw this and it seems that under "Select input action to program" I can program what the input does BOTH on Open and on Close. In your scenario I know I should select Open and have it turn on the Virtual Switch. But, do I also program what the input does on Close (e.g. to turn the switch off?)
FYI - I programmed some software to monitor this - I used Indigo, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it running. Its a simple paradigm - it monitors the RR2 system, and I setup monitors for garage door opens and closes. Indigo can perform conditional logic, unlike RR2 or the RadioRA software.
Good question. Yes. I missed that in the steps above. When you chose "Input Action to Program" you should select "Open" to and select the virtual Switch(s) to turn "On". Then Select "Close" and adjust the same switch to "Off". You could also add other dimmers, switches and/or VCRX outputs to either action or both.Quote:
Originally Posted by SHPLights
UPDATE: Eurika! It works. My problem was definitely the wiring. (I assume that because I had the reed switches physically wired through VCRX Outputs, it was screwing with things.)
For others out there I followed Paul's programming with a couple of modifications. Here's what I did:
The two reed switches (for Door 1 and Door 2) are wired to Inputs 1 and 2 respectively. The Commons for both switches are in the shared Common port (#4).
I did NOT create virtual switches as Paul suggests. Instead, under the Programming tab for the VCRX for Input Action to Program, I programmed Input 1 to close Output 3 when open and to open Output 3 when closed. (I did the same for Input 2 with respect to Output 4). I did it this because I know I am not going to use Output 3 or 4 and it seemed less messy. (If I ever decide to use Outputs 3 or 4, I'll move the programming of the inputs over to virtual switches as Paul suggests.)
Under the Design Tab, I created a virtual 5 button keypad. Button 1 is labeled "Dr1 is Open" and is programmed to Output 3 when closed. Button 2 right below it, is labeled "Open/Close" and pulses Output 1 - which is wired to Door 1. I left Button 3 blank in order to create a visual "break". Buttons 4 and 5 are programmed the same as 1 and 2 but for Door 2.
Now when Door 1 (or 2) is opened -- whether by the virtual keypad button, the physical button on the wall or a remote in the car, the circuit for the reed switch is opened. This act closes Output 3 (or 4) and lights up the LED on the Button 1 or 4 (the "Dr1 is Open" and "Door 2 is Open" buttons) on the virtual keypad. Actually, since my Keypad is a virtual one, an LED doesn't come on. Instead the button becomes outlined in blue. But, the idea is the same.
When Door 1 (or 2) is closed - by whatever means - the monitoring LED/Outlining is turned off when the door is fully closed.
I've told my wife not to push the "Dr# is Open" monitoring buttons (1 and 4) but only use the "Open/Close" buttons.
At the end of the day, it's slightly clunky but i think I understand why I cannot combine buttons 1 and 2 (and 4 and 5). On the other hand, I do have a Leviton OmniPro system and I believe I can program some good conditional programming (e.g. trigger the open/close buttons at 11 pm IF the "Dr# is Open" buttons are on.)
Big thanks to Paul for your help.
BTW: This means that you can definitely use the reed switches I listed in my post (which another poster recommended). They're well made and relatively inexpensive ($24 for two).
Good luck
Wow thanks guys. Was looking for a way to do this for a bit. I have an older lift master so I can just tap into the NO contact on garage door button. Though if lutron ever does add home kit to RR2 then myQ just released a home kit compatible door opener device that would work great if tied into RR2.
You could mess around with the door monitor button also pulsing the the output for the door. It should work, but since the pulse doesn't distinctly open or close and there are other ways to open/close the door (in this case you should use path or toggle button type) it could get out of sync. Cycling the door should correct it, but you may end up running your door more often and get frustrated.Quote:
Originally Posted by SHPLights
I may indeed fool around with it. Some threads on this topic seem to say that the system should only get out of sync if the door stops halfway or something. I suppose it depends on exactly what the button push does. If I've got both the monitoring CCO and the pulse CCO together on the same virtual button and pushing that button not only pulses the door but also changes the state of the CCO (regardless of what the CCI is telling it) -- then it would easily get out of sync.Quote:
Originally Posted by paulhanks
I sure wish Lutron would make this easier for us poor slobs and create a special button. It seems such an obvious feature. (I half wonder whether the reason they haven't done so is because of perceived liability issues relating to remotely opening/closing doors.)
Bingo. Safety/liability is a big deal. No way to check if you are damaging something or harming someone. They have a better safe and sorry mentality. Typically when RA dimmers fail, they fail and turn lights ON. Why? You can sleep with the lights on, but escaping in the dark is a lot more dangerous. I used to joke the only thing that might rival Lutron's number of engineers is their number of lawyers...Quote:
Originally Posted by SHPLights