Even I first started with a hub and a light bulb, there were a few key home automation capabilities which I count as the driving forces motivating through my early as I began to make my home "Smart(er)" one bulb or switch at a time. Many have been completed since then, the most recent being the purchase and integration of water leak sensors for areas most likely to flood, as well as the water main shutoff valve a leak would trigger to immediately close.
One of my last few of these high priority automation requirements which are still not yet completed is the installation of Z-Wave/Zigbee based HVAC floor vent enabling a far more robust set of capabilites. Those do exist, I've seen them work by opening and closing vents, thus enabling a far more granular level of environmental control of each separate room.
Every vent in my house would be sporting one, had it not been for one minor detail. The guy who built my house decided against using the normal 4X6ish inch vent covers in favor of a very non standard, skinnier version. Because I was apparently the sole victim of this disgusting inhuman building style, the only two companies I knew were still manufacturing smart vents were very clear that the vent size I needed was never going to be supplied by them.
I eventually accepted it and put that project on the back burner until such time I am able to source what I need. I was wondering disappointed but got over it. A month or so ago, I stumbled upon a possible work around which would be actually be fully funtional.
The idea is based on a hack which I read about in these very forums which showed how to hotwire a legacy Driveway Alert unit and upgrade it with Z-Wave capabilities. Other than a pathetic horn, this system had nothing else in the form of tools. Both the driveway alarm and Z-Wave contact sensor used needed to be certain brands and models.
Does anyone know if this type of workaround has ever been attempted with a Z-wave sensor setup to trigger an inline electric HVAC duct baffle to open and close? I've thrown an image in for your reference.
This is a project that I’ve looked into for our office—our recording studio/editing rooms are right next to a room with wall-to-wall windows on one side, which means heat gets transferred very differently when HVAC is running depending on the season.
Is that the on/off-open/closed, 120v/24v AC duct controller? I had intended to use one of those to simply control airflow to those rooms, depending on different air situations, and it would have been as simple as wiring up a z-wave outlet with an AC adapter to those.
There are also the duct boosters that I’ve looked into, and those could work on the same principle as above, but may arguably be safer in some professional’s opinions since they’re not theoretically putting more pressure on the backend of your HVAC system.
Thank you @adamkempenich! Duct Boosters, never heard of them. The smart vents seems like a big deal to setup because of the possible back preasure so not something I would attempt casually. I'm in Florida so if I break the AC the WAF might never recover. But I only have two rooms that don't get enough air and are warmer than the rest of the house. One or more of these on a smart outlet might do the trick. I'd just need to tap into one of the junction boxes to add an outlet, splice a booster into the duct, plug in, pair, and knock out a simple rule. Thank you for teaching me someting today.
This is pretty much a myth for smart vents, I had Keen vents on every outlet in my last home, as well as a static differential pressure sensor properly installed on the HVAC system.
Guess what, closing all the vents while the system was running didn't exceed the static rating on the Furnace...
These vents just bypass that much airflow, even when fully closed...
You still need to monitor static pressure though. Reduced airflow can cause your heat exchanger to overheat and crack, which can flood your home with CO. In the summer, your a-coil can ice up.
Absolutely. I get so tired of this trope from the HVAC service and repair companies. It's a viral propaganda piece with no basis in fact.
None of these vents shut down the airflow 100%, so it's more akin to adjusting the static baffle most of us have in the ducts anyway, even if there was a legitimate concern about back pressure. There isn't.
