NOTICE
My involvement with xPL has come to an end. Automation has moved on considerably over the past few years, and it is now possible to buy a stand-alone controller off the shelf for a reasonable price, without having to spend hours writing your own code.
This website is being maintained as a record of my xPL development work up until 2011.
I have released the full source code of all my xPL projects into the public domain. You can download the archive from here.
Mal
Z-Wave finally seems to be picking up steam in Europe. With the development of open-source Z-Wave capable software such as LinuxMCE, it appears that a free, open-source Z-Wave solution for xPL could become a reality.
If development goes to plan, I hope to have the new version ready in early 2009.
Fixes a bug in the core code related to xPL filters which could block messages and prevent configuration. The problem affects xPLRFX, xPLW800 and xPLZWave. Updates for all three are now available.
Fixes a bug where duplicate HomeEasy messages were not being filtered out
xPLRFX has been updated to fix a number of issues:
- xPLRFX will retry if connections to the network or to the RFXCOM receiver or transmitter fail.
- Digimax Thermostats now send "temperature", "setpoint" and "output" type sensor.basic messages.
- Added support for the HomeEasy HE105 Heating Controller protocol. Requires RFXCOM transmitter version 0x11 or higher.
- Configuration program allows settings to be transferred from one device to another, to help deal with address changes.
- Added support for the Oregon GR101 scales, THGR328N Outdoor Temp-Hygro meter and OWL Wireless Energy Monitor.
- Oregon BWR102 Scales now report the 100's column.
- Can disable the sending of date/time messages by the Oregon RTGR328N.
- xPLRFX now responds to sensor.request messages containing request=current.
- X10.basic and Homeeasy.basic commands are acknowledged with x10.confirm and homeeasy.confirm messages respectively.
Digimax users: after updating, delete all your existing Digimax configurations. Also note that the "heating" and "cooling" sensor.basic input messages have been replaced with a single "demand" sensor.basic output
Mark McCall of UKHA interviews myself and Ian Lowe about the xPL Project. We discuss how the Home Automation Protocol came about, how it aims to be the "glue" in your smart home setup and the variety of hardware that can talk to each other through the systems hub.
xPLRFX has been updated to fix an issue that caused the last two bits of HomeEasy device addresses to be lost when sending commands. The addresses now match those reported by the RFXCOM receiver program.
Note that the nature of this fix means that any HomeEasy devices that were paired with the RFXCOM transmitter will need to be paired again. Pleae unpair them (put the device into program mode and send a homeeasy.basic message with command=off) before installing the updated xPLRFX.
This version also contains a fix for problems with the Oregon BWR102 scales.
Development of xPLZWave has now come to an end. Although Z-Wave appears to have growing support in the USA, in the UK the situation is very different. The lack of devices makes Z-Wave a non-starter for my own Home Automation needs, and also makes it impossible for me to test new features in xPLZWave. With all this in mind, I have reluctantly decided to cease development of xPLZWave, and concentrate my efforts on other Home Automation systems.
In case anyone is interested in developing xPLZWave, I have made the complete source code available here.
Using an RFXCOM transmitter and xPLRFX, all Byron HomeEasy devices can now be controlled from a PC, allowing them to be integrated with other home automation systems. Unlike X10 RF and Domia Lite, the HomeEasy dimmers support the direct setting of dim levels. This makes them a superior solution for control by PC, and allows the creation of scenes - a feature normally found only on far more expensive systems.
The RFXCOM and W800RF32 services have been updated to fix an issue where the current values of sensors was not being saved out when the programs exited.
The service configuration programs now allow a sensor to be marked as "cummulative", which means a running total will be recorded, rather than the specific value returned by the sensor.
The sending of the "all_lights_off X10 message has been corrected to "all_units_off".
xPLRFX
xPLW800
