Proliphix's Internet-enabled thermostat
By Peter Rojas 
posted Aug 20th 2004 3:07PM
posted Aug 20th 2004 3:07PM
Somehow we're not at all surprised by this: an Internet-enabled thermostat from Proliphix with an Ethernet port
(which means you'll have to run some cable through the walls until they add WiFi) and a built-in web server that can
serve up its own webpages and be controlled remotely from pretty much any browser. They claim it's the first of its
kind, but it wouldn't be at all shocking to hear that someone else has one of these out).
[Thanks, Nick]
This should support an ethernet bridge - so no need to wire.
We have a two year old Aprilaire system that lets you control multiple thermostats over a TCPIP connection using a central controller. It's pretty cool, with alarms and email capabilitiy. However, the individual thermostats are on a proprietary wiring system, not on ethernet. Only the controller is.
I decided to go with an OmniPro II home controller system, which does this exact same thing, along with more options. I can control my system through a Window Media Center Edition interface on my tv, or with a wall keypad, or a www interface, or a wireless remote anywhere in my house. Pretty cool.
I have been using these thermostats for about two years now and have over 200 in operation. If you are interested in purchasing one, you can email me at ryan.hoger@tecmungo.com or visit our website www.tecmungo.com/controls
I decided to go with an OmniPro II home controller system, which does this exact same thing, along with more options. I can control my system through a Window Media Center Edition interface on my tv, or with a wall keypad, or a www interface, or a wireless remote anywhere in my house. Pretty cool.
i forget the name of the company... but i've been controlling themostats with x10 for years. each as pie. and yeah, it's sorta wireless because you don't have to run new wires. there was already a wire running to your thermostat and to your ac unit.
first of its kind, yeah right.
Some people claim this isn't new. But think about it. It needs an ethernet wire, usually pretty easy, but other than that, it's a standard thermostat. I can train a straight HVAC guy to install these. It takes an act of god to get a HVAC guy to touch a 'home automation' product. You probably don't even have to run power to it. You can just grab 24 volts off the R leg.
Three years ago I tried to add a Honeywell product to my HVAC system in our vacation home we were building. It had a built in web server and could control the AC/Furnace as well as our security system. There were only two problems. Only Honeywell dealers who went to 'training' on the system could install it. And no installers in the Chicago-land area had done this. That and the $3000 price tag. I decided to use the phone link they had instead. Good thing I pulled Cat5 to all the Thermosats though! Hope this one can handle more than one zone.
I'm not so sure I want WiFi support -- too great a range, for no good purpose. I'd much rather have Bluetooth and pick it up from one of the other cpus elsewhere in the house. And why does it have to include a server? I'd much rather it was only a client that communicated only with an external "overlord" control program via a socket connection that could reside entirely within a NAT-hidden DHCP subnet, invisible to the outside world.
I don't find this very exciting at all. I have been using Aurora Multimedia's WACI+ control system to control all kinds of devices via it's built in web server and event manager. Thermostats are nothing new. I can also control television sets, projector lifts, cameras and lots more using standard HTML pages or Macromedia Flash.
The new version they are coming out with also does video streaming. Watch a DVD from the player in the living room, on every TV in your housem using your existing wired or wireless network! This is the ultimate piece of remote control gear in my opinion.
http://www.auroramultimedia.com
You can achive the same thing with an X10 enabled thermostat and a little bit of Java code. This product sounds great but id like to see it come with an API so that it could be intregated in to other systems easily.
I got a very prompt replay from Walter Dray, the president of Proliphix who said that they were looking at introducing these in early to mid October 2004 and are expected to run between $300 - $400. He also mentioned that there is a programming interface that runs directly over IP to talk to the UDP application.
The whole point of Ethernet is security. For the pain of some cable work, I get the peace of mind that my neighbors can't drop my AC to 50 degrees on the hottest day of the year when I'm away. The kinds of things that cost me money in the form of an energy bill are not worth the years of risk from wireless exploits. I want to mount the thing on the wall and forget it. Same goes for X11. In my mind, that's just as bad because it can be so easily abused. Kudos to Proliphix, they are right on target.
I've been waiting for this too long .....
FYI, the Proliphix web-enabled thermostat is available from smarthome.com, right now:
http://www.smarthome.com/3053.html
regarding discussion of wireless for proliphix -- don't think it will be possible since device is powered through the ethernet cable
The API is now available on their website, and it allows querying the unit for status. No support for changing values yet, but a great start!
http://www.proliphix.com/files/PDP_API_GET_R1%205.pdf
JUST got mine installed and registered. Waiting for account creation to be able to log into it (which WILL be good, since I can't figure out how to program it at the wall)! I hate doing anyway.
Will keep you posted! Any "hacks" to make it more useful or interesting? I like the API documentation. Nice first step!