Vantare's 120VAC Power Management System

[davidbrady]

I decided that this system could do well with a jolt of good ole Wanderlodge ingenuity! I got my hands on a piece of software that runs one Windows XP that's used to program the Powerlink AS PIM. The software is called Panelcomm. My plan is to buy a replacement PIM to have as a spare and to configure it via Panelcomm so that it's a direct drop-in replacement for my existing PIM. I'll also purchase a set of spare 15/20/30A Powerlink AS circuit breakers. This will pretty much cover me in case of failure.

The missing link is support and replacements for the 4 single board micro-controllers that interface the upstairs user switches to the PIM. Their function is extraordinarily simple. They periodically poll the momentary user switches for input events, they then send commands to the PIM to enable or disable one or more of the motorized circuit breakers, and lastly they drive the multi-color LEDs at the user switch panel. I'm still investigating my plan of action, but I'd very much like to have touch pad (Ipad or Android) control of my breakers. Since the source code running on the micro-controllers isn't available, and asking the manufacturer to tool up for a run of programmed PIC16C57's may cost upwards of $10,000, I'm going to experiment with either an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or Crestron control option, or maybe something else entirely.

The goal here is to provide remote circuit breaker control and power management support to myself and to my fellow Vantare owners, with the ultimate goal of expanding its control and offering touch pad control and remote online control. (recall the-internet-of-things)!

Sounds fun?