Module Series:

This page lets you easily create multiple events for modules.

For example: You want the outside lights to turn on at sunset and turn off at sunrise throughout the year. Simply select Sunset-Sunrise on the Series Event Type spin button, press MAKE, review the calculated times and press ACCEPT. That's it. Read on for more details. For examples using series events, read the section Examples.

The series calculations can be controlled by five spin buttons:

Start Month selects the month to start the calculations from. Any changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. Range is 1-12 (January - December). This control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the configuration file.

No. Months selects the length in month of the series calculation period. A selection of 12 will perform a full year's worth of calculations. If Start Month plus No. Months goes past December, the calculations will roll over into the next year. For example: if Start Month is 12 and No. Months is 2 then the calculations are performed for the range of December 1 to January 31. Any changes to the No. Months value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. Range is 1-12. This control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the configuration file.

Dawn Offset is used to compensate the calculated dawn (sunrise) time. Any changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. This control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the configuration file. The range is ñ30 minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be subtracted from the rise time, thus activating a module earlier than sunrise. If the offset is positive, then the module is activated later than the actual sunrise. This offset is used for both, the single event sunrise calculation and the series event sunrise calculations. See the Settings page for details on how sunrise time is defined.

Dusk Offset is used to compensate the calculated dusk (sunset) time. Any changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. This control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the configuration file. The range is ñ30 minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be subtracted from the sunset time, thus activating a module earlier than sunset. If the offset is positive, then the module is activated later than the actual sunset. This offset is used for both, the single event sunrise calculation and the series event sunrise calculations. See the Settings page for details on how sunrise time is defined.

Series Event Type selects the type of repeated events you want to create. The following types are available: ON-time OFF-time
1. Sunset - Sunrise
2. Sunset - Repeat
3. Repeat - Sunset
4. Sunrise - Repeat
5. Repeat - Sunrise
6. Sunrise - Sunset'

The left half determines the type for the ON-time event, and the right side determines the OFF-time event. So, type 1 would turn on a module at sunset and turn it off at sunrise. The "Repeat" will simply repeat the settings of the particular timer of the current event.

For example: You want to turn on a module at sunset and turn it off at 10:00pm using the Live-In Special setting. On the Define page, enable both ON and OFF timers, set the OFF time to 10:00pm, ignore the ON time. On the Special page check only the OFF-time Live-In box. Go to the Series page, select Sunset - Repeat and click on Make, then Accept. You're done.

The Adjust for DST check box allows for Daylight Savings Time compensation. If you do not manually change the interface time at the DST change-over dates, then do not check the Adjust for DST box. This allows for operation of the lights at the proper dusk and dawn times. This also allows you to pre-program the modules correctly if you are planning to be away from your residence when the DST changes. If you adjust the interface time later to reflect the DST change, you must recreate and upload the events to adjust for the change.

If you adjust the interface time manually every time the DST changes, then check the Adjust for DST box. However, be aware that you should change the interface time at exactly the official time DST changes or some modules will not operate at the programmed time.

Note: If you are also using ActiveHome to access the interface, then be aware that ActiveHome changes the interface time automatically to whatever the computer time is set, without letting you know. This may interfere with the proper dusk/dawn time settings pre-programmed into the interface if you use both programs.

The Make button starts the series calculations. This may take a few seconds depending on the speed of your system. During calculations, progress is displayed next to the Make button. At the end of the calculation, all the selected events are displayed in the multi-line entry field. See Table 2 below. You can inspect the calculated values before they actually get converted into events. Accept will add all the events starting with the currently selected event. All existing events at and above the current event will be over-written.

Cancel will discard all calculations and retain the existing events.

Details on Series Calculations

Below is a partial list of calculated values as determined by the default Dawn/Dusk Series Computation Sets (Start Month = 1, Stop Month = 12, Day Step = 3). These values are only calculated and are not visible within HOUSE/290. Note the interval of days (Day Step = 3) for each calculation. Too large of a value for Day Step may affect time resolution. You will have to experiment with this value in your geographical area. Date Dawn Dusk (in minutes)

01-01 441 1062
01-04 441 1064
01-07 441 1067
01-10 441 1070
01-13 440 1073
01-16 439 1076
01-19 438 1079
01-22 436 1083
01-25 434 1086
01-28 432 1089
01-31 430 1093
02-03 427 1096
02-06 424 1100
02-09 421 1103
02-12 417 1107
02-15 414 1110
02-18 410 1114
02-21 406 1117
ú
ú
ú
11-18 408 1057
11-21 412 1055
11-24 415 1054
11-27 418 1052
11-30 421 1051
12-03 424 1051
12-06 426 1051
12-09 429 1051
12-12 431 1051
12-15 434 1052
12-18 436 1053
12-21 437 1054
12-24 439 1056
12-27 440 1058
12-30 441 1060
12-31 441 1061

Table 1. Calculated Data.

Below is a partial list of selected values as determined by the default Dawn/Dusk Event Selection Sets (Minute Steps = 10, Dawn Offset = 0, Dusk Offset = 0). These are the values that will show up on the multi-line entry field and you can inspect before accepting them. Note that some time values are more than 10 minutes as specified by Minute Steps. This comes from the data calculated as in Table 1. You may redo the calculation by reducing the value of Day Step, however be aware that it may not result in better accuracy. No Date Dawn Dusk
1 01-01 07:21 17:42
2 01-13 07:20 17:53
3 01-22 07:16 18:03
4 01-31 07:10 18:13
5 02-09 07:01 18:23
6 02-18 06:50 18:34
ú
ú
ú
37 11-21 06:52 17:35
38 12-03 07:04 17:31
39 12-15 07:14 17:32
40 12-31 07:21 17:41
A total of 39 events will be
added starting with event 1.
Select "Accept" or "Cancel"
to continue...

Table 2. Selected Data.

Below is a partial list of the actual events, showing time and date ranges as taken from Table 2 above. Note that an event date range goes from the listed date to one day before the next listed day. Certain dates will always be present in this list (if they fall within the selected date range) as they are important for proper operation of the interface:

January 1, December 31, the last day of the selected date range and Daylight Savings Time start and end dates (if applicable). Ev. On Off Date Range
1 17:42 07:21 01-01 to 01-12
2 17:53 07:20 01-13 to 01-21
3 18:03 07:16 01-22 to 01-30
4 18:13 07:10 01-31 to 02-08
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ú
ú
37 17:35 06:52 11-21 to 12-02
38 17:31 07:04 12-03 to 12-14
39 17:32 07:14 12-15 to 12-31


Table 3. Selected Events.

When calculating series events you must observe the limit of 128 timer events with only one on and off command that the interface memory can hold. This number is drastically reduced if you have other modules. Before the data is uploaded, HOUSE/290 will tell you how many of the interface timers are used. If it is over 128 you cannot upload the data.