Automatic shutters are not only convenient, but also improve comfort of living and lower
operating costs of the building. Well planned control of shutters has an positive impact on
several aspects of the use of intelligent building:
- Increases the safety of the residents and the building.
- Improves the microclimate. Properly working shutters helps maintaining microclimate
favorable for humans. - Decreases total operating cost of the building. In the summer shutters prevent the
building from overheating, allowing to reduce costs for air conditioning of rooms. In
winter, shutters insulate a building and reduce heat loss. Heat loss through windows
and walls are the most serious causes of loss of the heat.
In this tutorial we will present how to control the shutters in a intelligent building using
DOMIQ and LCN devices. By reading this manual, you will find out how to:
- Create shutters control structure.
- Define events to control shutters.
- Use timers to control shutters.
- Control shutters using DOMIQ/Display and DOMIQ/Remote.
- Integrate shutters control with SATEL alarm system.
Examples presented in this manual focus on the single-family residental buildings. However
procedures presented in this manual can be successfully implemented in the larger
buildings, where large number of shutters are used.
Before reading this manual, we recommend you to read the manual about creating the visualizations
«DOMIQ Display EN«. The manual can be downloaded from our web site: www.domiq.pl, section Support/Documentation.
1. Shutters Control Structure #
Defining a structure is an important part of the creating a shutters control system. Structure helps to define the control events. Structure can be freely modified and adapted to a particular installation. Example of the structure is shown below:
2. DOMIQ/Base Configuration #
2.1. Events to Control the Shutters #
Events should be defined according to the planned structure of the shutters control system,
following from the bottom to the top of the structure. With this approach it is easier
to define master control buttons, for example button to control the shutters in whole
room/floor/building. In the examples presented in this manual we use LCN-R8H module
(block of 8 relays) to control the shutters.
2.1.1. Single Shutter #
To control a single shutter you have to define three events: shutter up, shutter down, shutter
stop.
Shutter up
- Choose the Events tab.
- Add a new event (click on the Add button on the right bottom corner of the screen).
- In the Channel type channel name. Naming is arbitrary, but is recommended to use the
names that contain the names of floors, rooms and windows, e.g. C.shutters.
kitchen.window1 or C.shutters.floor1.bedroom.window1 etc. - In the Match type: up, down or stop, depending on action that you want to perform. In
this example: up. - In the Commands field define LCN reaction. Shutters are controlled using two relays.
The first turns on or off shutter motor. The second determines the direction of the motor.
To define the reaction of the LCN:- Click on the Add LCN button. In the window that appears, choose Relays tab and
select relays, that you want to switch. On the left side of the window enter the address of the LCN module. By default in LCN, the shutters raising is realized by switching pairs of relays to the values 1 and 0.
- Click on the Add LCN button. In the window that appears, choose Relays tab and
Shutter down
The definition of this event is very similar to the definition of the upward movement. The only differences are:
- In the Match field type: down.
- In the Commands change the action executed in LCN. You need to switch to opposite the value of the relay, that determines direction of the shutter motor. In this example: relay No. 2 in the LCN module with the address 36.
Shutter stop
This definition is very similar to the previous two. The only differences are:
- In the Match field type: stop.
- In the Commands change the action executed in LCN. Switch to 0 the relay, that turns
on/off the shutter motor.
Repeat whole procedure for the remaining shutters.Repeat whole procedure for the remaining shutters.
2.1.2. Group of Shutters #
Before defining the events to control a group of shutters (e.g. all the shutters in the room/floor/building), all modules responsible for controlling a particular group of shutters should be assigned to one group in the LCN system. This approach allows to minimize the number of data packets send over LCN bus. It is also recomended to assign particular actions of the shutter to the single LCN key using HIT, MAKE, BRAKE commands.
Definition of events to control a group of shutters is similar to the creation of events for single
shutter. You also need to define three events: shutters up, shutters down, shutters stop.
Shutters up
- Choose the Events tab and add a new event.
- In the Channel type name of the channel responsible for control of the group of shutters.
- In the Match type: up.
- In the Commands click on the Add LCN button. In the window that appears, choose Send keys tab. Next enter the number of the LCN group, choose table and command, and then select keys to be send. In this example: key No. 4 from Table D is send to LCN group No. 6 with HIT command.
Shutters down
The definition of this event is very similar to the definition of the upward movement. The only differences are:
- In the Match field type: down.
- In the Commands change the action executed in LCN according to the LCN-Pro settings. In this example the only difference is a change from HIT to MAKE.
Shutters stop
The definition of this event is similar to the previous two. The only differences are:
- In the Match field type: stop.
- In the Commands change the action executed in LCN according to the LCN-Pro settings. In this example the only difference is a change from MAKE to BRAKE.
The example presented in this section shows the definition of the events to control all the shutters on particular floor. Creation of events to control the shutters in the individual room or entire building is done almost identically. You only need to assign the LCN modules to the appropriate group and send keys to it.
2.2. Control of Shutters with DOMIQ/Display #
To control shutters using DOMIQ/Display touch panel is necessary to define elements of
visualization. The number of these elements is dependent on the number of shutters you
want to control. It is recommended to place control buttons on a separate layer (to not unduly
darken the visualization screen) and create a button on the parent page, which will
control displaying of the layer. Before creating the control buttons, upload to Base memory
the set of themes for the shutters (Resources tab).
You can download presented themes from our website www.domiq.pl, from the subpage with description of this manual.
2.2.1. Creating Visualization #
To define visualization structure and control buttons follow presented procedure:
- Choose the Display tab.
- Add a new Screen (if there is no visualization structure yet), give it a name and select a
background. - Add a new Layer and give it a name, e.g. Shutters.
- Add a Button, click on it and select the name of newly-added layer from To layer list.
In the Label type a description of the button, for example Shutters.
«Up/stop» control button - Add a new Light element. Click on it and set its features:
- Layer – select newly-added layer.
- Channel – enter the relay channel, which is responsible for the power of the shutters.
- The general syntax is as follows: LCN.relay.<segment>.<module>.<relay>. In this case: LCN.relay.0.36.1.
- In the On field enter the name of the event, which will be executed when the button
is pressed. The general syntax is as follows: <Channel>=<Match>. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control events. Example: shutters.groundfloor.room1.window1=up. - In the Off field enter the name of the event, which will be executed when the button
is pressed again. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control
events. Example: shutters.groundfloor.room1.window1=stop. - From the Theme list select the name of the newly-added theme.
- Set the Control to on/off.
«Down/stop» control button
- Add another Light element. It is important to place it right next to the previous one (in order to display the button correctly). Click on it and set its features:
- Layer – select newly-added layer.
- Channel – enter the relay channel, which is responsible for the power of the shutters. In this case: LCN.relay.0.36.1.
- In the On field enter the name of event, which will be executed when the button is pressed. In Channel and Match enter the names used to define control events. Example: shutters.groundfloor.room1.window1=down.
- In the Off field enter the name of event, which will be executed when the button is
pressed again. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control events. Example: shutters.groundfloor.room1.window1=stop. - From the Theme list select the name of the newly-added theme.
- Set Control to on/off.
In the effect you will get:
For the remaining shutters repeat steps 5 and 6. Remember to change the names of the events and channels. Example of the final result shows the picture below:
2.2.2. Group Control of Shutters #
To create buttons to control a group of shutters please follow procedure presented below. This example presents the definition of buttons to control all shutters on the floor.
- In order to display the state of the button correctly, you need to define logical rules.
Choose Logic tab and enter source code based on the code shown below:
— variables declaration– - shutters_groundfloor = use ‘VAR.shutters_groundfloor’
shutter1 = use ‘LCN.relay.0.36.1’
shutter 2 = use ‘LCN.relay.0.36.3’
shutter 3 = use ‘LCN.relay.0.36.5’
shutter 4 = use ‘LCN.relay.0.36.7’
function shutters()
if shutter1.value==1 or shutter2.value==1 or shutter3.value==1 or
shutter4.value==1 then
shutters_groundfloor:set(1)
else shutters_groundfloor:set(0)
end
end
shutter1.onchange = shutters
shutter2.onchange = shutters
shutter3.onchange = shutters
shutter4.onchange = shutters
A few words of explanation to the presented source code: - In variable declaration part four variables was declared: shutter1 to shutter4. Variables store the current state of relays responsible for the power of the shutters. In case, you need to control a larger number of shutters, just declare more variables. Function shutters checks relays and depending on their current state sets the value of shutter_groundfloor variable. Last four lines of code calls shutters function if any relay changed its state.
- «Up/stop» control button
Add a new Light element. Click on it and set its features:- Layer – select layer created in section 2.2.1.
- Channel – enter the name of the VAR-type variable created in Logic. In this example:
VAR.shutters_groundfloor. - In the On field enter the name of the event, which will be executed when the button
is pressed. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control
events. Example: shutters.groundfloor=up. - In the Off field enter the name of the event, which will be executed when the button
is pressed again. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control
events. Example: shutters.groundfloor=stop. - From the Theme list select the name of the newly-added theme.
- Set the Control to on/off.
- «Down/stop» control button
Add another Light element and place it right next to previous one. Click on it and set its features:- Layer – select layer created in section 2.2.1.
- Channel – enter the name of the VAR-type variable created in Logic. In this example:
VAR.shutters_groundfloor. - In the On field enter the name of the event, which will be executed when the button
is pressed. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control events. Example: shutters.groundfloor=down. - In the Off field enter the name of event, which will be executed when the button is
pressed again. In the Channel and Match enter the names used to define control events. Example: shutters.groundfloor=stop. - From the Theme list select the name of the newly-added theme.
- Set Control to on/off.
2.3. Control of Shutters using Timers #
DOMIQ/Base module allows to define unlimited number of timers. The definition of a timer event consist of the caldendar date/time when the event should be triggered, an additional condition and the sequence of commands that are executed each time when the timer event is triggered. You can also include events (created in the Events tab) in the commands sequence. Using timer events to control the shutters is a very convenient solution. Thanks to the available functionality, Base module will raise/lower the shutters according to the programmed schedule. You can read more about timers in the DOMIQ/Base User Manual. You can download this manual from our web site: www.domiq.pl, section Support/Documentation.
2.3.1. Raising the Shutters at the Programmed Time #
In this section we present the procedure of defining a timer for automatic raising of the shutters in whole building, for each day of the week at the fixed time (weekdays at 7AM, weekend at 8.30AM).
- Choose the Timers tab.
- Click on the Add button, to create a new timer.
- Set the calendar date and time when the timer event should be triggered by providing
one or more of the following fields:- Month: the calendar month, range from 1 to 12
- Day: the calendar day of month, range from 1 to 31
- Hour: hour, range from 0 to 23, in this example: 7
- Minute: minute, range from 0 to 59
- Second: second, range from 0 to 59
- Day of week: day of week, range from 1 to 7, where 1 is Sunday, 2 is Monday, and so
on. In this example: 2,3,4,5,6.
Each of the fields above may contain 0, 1 or more values. Multiple values are separated using a comma.
- In the Commands click on the Add Channel button. In the window that appears, in the Name field enter the content of the Channel field of the event which was assigned to raise the shutters in whole building. In this example: C.shutters.building. In the Value type: up.
- Add another timer and fill the following fields:
- Hour: 8
- Minute: 30
- Second: 0
- Day of week: 1,7
- Repeat step 4.
2.3.2. Lowering the Shutters at the Programmed Time #
DOMIQ/Base module allows to lower the shutters automatically after sunset. Base module
calculates hour of sunrise and sunset automatically. Entering sunset in the Hour field
sets the time of the event to the hour of sunset on a particular day. Sunrise works almost
the same way, but triggers the event at the sunrise hour.
After sunset, it is still bright for some time, so blinds will be lowered with a delay. To define
such a timer event please follow these steps:
- Click on the Add button to add new timer.
- In the Hour field type sunset, in the Minute enter the delay, after which the shutters will be lowered. In presented example: 45.
Entering the delay with «-» is interpreted as «before». - In the Commands click on the Add channel button. In the window that appears, in the Name field enter the content of the Channel field of the event which was assigned to lower the shutters in whole building. In this example: C.shutters.building. In the Value type: down.
2.4. Control of Shutters using DOMIQ/Remote #
To control the shutters using DOMIQ/Remote application you need to define menu structure
and add control buttons. The menu structure and the control buttons are defined in
the Remote tab in the DOMIQ/Base configurator.
2.4.1. Menu Structure #
Typical and recommended menu structure is presended in the picture below:
2.4.2. Control Buttons #
To create a control button follow these steps:
- Add a new Shutter and double-click on it.
- In the window that appears:
- In the Label field type a description of the button.
- Enter the address of the LCN module.
- From the Type list select Relay (no positioning).
- From the Motor list select the relays that you want to control. The following options are available: 1, 2, 1+2, 3, 4, 3+4 and 1-4. Options 1, 2, 3, 4 controls single pair of relays. 1+2 and 3+4 controls two pairs of relays. 1-4 option controls all the relays in the module. It allows to create button to control a few shutters simultaneously. In this case select: 1.
Repeat whole procedure for the remaining shutters. Remember to change Motor number or/and the module address.
2.4.3. Timers #
DOMIQ/Remote allows to define timers. Below is an example of creating a timer event to raise shutters at a programmed time, on selected days of the week. To define timer please follow procedure presented below:
- Add a Time element to the existing menu structure.
- Double-click on it and set its features:
- In the Label field type a short description, for example : Raising the shutters.
- in the Hour Channel enter a name of variable which will store the hour when timer is to be triggered. General syntax is as follows: MEM., e.g. MEM.hour. MEM-type variable is a non-volatile variable, so its value is stored even after power failure or system restart.
- in the Minute Channel enter a name of variable which will store the minute when
timer should be triggered. General syntax is as follows: MEM., e.g. MEM.minute.
- Add a Select element.
- Double-click on it and set its features:
- In the Label field type a short description, for example : Days.
- in the Channel enter a name of variable which will store the days of the week when
timer is to be triggered. General syntax is as follows: MEM., e.g. MEM.days. - By checking Multiple box, you can select multiple days, when timer is to be
triggered. - If you check Mandatory box, it will be impossible to uncheck all of the days in the
application menu. You will need to select at least one day in which the event will be
triggered. - Fill the table acording to the presented example:
- The result on the iPhone is presented in the pictures below:
- Click on the Save button and then select the Timers tab.
- Add a new timer.
- In Hour, Minute, Weekday fields enter the names of MEM-type variables defined in
the Remote tab. - In the Commands click on the Add channel button. In the window that appears, in the Name field enter the content of the Channel field of the event which was assigned to raise the shutters in whole building. In this example:
C.shutters.building. In the Value type: up. - It may happen that you have defined two events that cause the same action: one defined directly in the Timers tab, the other in the Remote application. In order to prevent, that the events will not interfere with each other, you need to create additional condition. If there is no such situation in your case, you can skip steps 9 to 12.
- Select the Remote tab and add a new section to the main page.
- Add a Toggle to the new section. Double-click on it and set its features:
- In the Label field type a short description, e.g. Remote Timers.
- In the Channel enter a name of MEM-type variable (you can use any name, don’t
use space), for example: MEM.remote_timers.
- Select Timers tab, and type in the Condition field of the event defined in the Remote application: MEM.<name>==’on’.
- With this condition, timers defined on the iPhone will be triggered only when Remote Timers toggle is switched on.
- Add similar condition to the other timer event, but change «on» to «off».
2.5. Integration with SATEL IDS System #
Before reading this section, we recommend you to read the tutorial about integrating SATEL
intrusion detection system with DOMIQ devices. You can download the tutorial from our web site: www.domiq.pl, section Support/Tutorials.
DOMIQ devices allow to integrate shutters control with SATEL system. In this section you will learn how to:
- Control the shutters in case of an alarm.
- Program automatic raise of the shutters, when someone opens a window.
2.5.1. Controlling the Shutters in Case of an Alarm #
DOMIQ system allows to program an action, which will executed in case of an alarm. In this example: raising the shutters in whole building. To define such action follow the procedure presented below:
- Choos Events tab and add a new event.
- In the Channel field type: E.IDS.alarm.%d+.
- In the Match field enter: 1.
- In the Commands click on the Add channel button. In the window that appears, in
the Name field enter the content of the Channel field of the event which was assigned
to raise the shutters in whole building. In this example: C.shutters.building. In the Value type: up.
2.5.2. Automatic Raising of the Shutters in Case of Opening a Window #
To implement this functionality it is necessary, that the windows are equiped with reed relays
connected to the alarm control panel. Working principle is very simple: if the shutter is lowered and someone opens the window, the shutter will be automatically raised. To achieve such functionality, please follow these steps:
- Choose the Events tab and add a new event.
- In the Channel field type: E.IDS.input.<input_number>, where <input_number> means the address of the reed relay in SATEL alarm system. Example: E.IDS.input.1
- In the Match field enter: 1.
- In the Commands click on the Add channel button. In the window that appears, in
the Name field enter the content of the Channel field of the event which was assigned to raise the shutter on a particular window. In this example: C.shutters.room1.window1. In the Value type: up. - In the Commands click on the Add channel button. In the window that appears, in the Name field enter the content of the Channel field of the event which was assigned to raise the shutter on a particular window. In this example: C.shutters.room1.window1. In the Value type: up.
You can repeat this procedure for the remaining windows in the building.
