Good enough to get me going; thanks for the timely response.
ConstantGraph now supports custom SmartThings capabilities combined with the ability to scale the data to convert to a different data type. Create a custom capability from the Data menu. Learn more about data types here: Constant Graph
I already mailed you… But what is the pricing structure going to look like in the future?
And can this calculate kwh usage from just watt reporting?
Hi @goosetapo - I responded to your mail…
With the numbers of users on the site growing, I’ll need to start looking at charging to cover the running costs. There may be paid subscriptions for users with a particularly large number of devices or locations (more than the normal limits). Another possibility will be a monthly donation (of your own choosing) for the top tier, thereby keeping it as affordable as possible. If this isn’t enough to cover the cost of running the site, I’ll have to look at other options (any suggestions welcome!)
Yes you can calculate kWh from Watts by using the “sum” aggregation in the advanced graph configuration settings. More information on aggregation types is here: Constant Graph.
After using the site briefly, one suggestion related to costs I have is regarding channels. I have no idea how the server costs scale with storage, but I was originally expecting to have to “select” which device data (“channels”) to monitor. Instead everything seems to be included, with a method to exclude individual channels. For me, I only care about ~5% of my channels, but it is rather tedious to individually go through to exclude those I don’t care about – so I left everything included.
If I knew there was some “# of channels” threshold to stay at a lower tier, I would go through that exercise. It just strikes me as inefficient to to capture all this data which I’ll never use. (It might also be nice to have a way to select multiple channels at once to “delete”).
Cheers
@georgeh - it’s a fair point about being able to select which channels are imported. Prior to integrating to SmartThings, ConstantGraph was (and still is) integrated to the Ezlo platform. The Ezlo architecture is completely different from ST and allows selection of channels via a separate mobile app. That was my original intention with ST but they never allowed me to make the app public. My observation with Ezlo is that most people just selected every channel regardless of whether they wanted to see that data or not - just in case they did in the future. That said, I think it’s probably still a worthwhile feature from a usability perspective, so I’ll take a look over the next few weeks.
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I have recently noticed a bug in the site that may cause the app to run really slowly or look unresponsive, after using it for the first time in a while. To ensure the fix works, could I ask that you all click the reload button on your browser to reload the site. Thanks! Apologies to anyone who may have experienced the problem.
Hello, a very interesting project. I am interested in monitoring and analyzing readings from temperature and humidity sensors. I wonder if those are already supported? If so, I would have three other questions:
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I read your help section about ST token. Can you explain a bit more how does this token actually work in the sense that how does data move? I know that a sensor sends e.g. temperature data every now and then to my ST hub and that at some point that data is probably moved to the ST cloud. From where does your system retrieve the data, from the cloud or the hub? And how often does it do that, every time new data comes up or at specific intervals?
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Does all this cause any extra strain to the users home network (irrespective of its protocols) or internet connection?
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You mentioned that you are still considering various options about how to finance the service in the future. Knowing that many companies sell their customers data it would be good to hear a bit about your current policy and future plans concerning third parties. If data is sent one way or another to your system, can we trust that it will stay only there there and not be given to third parties and that there parties won’t be able to even see the data? Moreover, it would be great to know how you have thought to address the European and/or UK GDPR. I understand that at this point you are still building the system and hence not all these features may not be in place. But it would be good and important to be transparent about this. The data could contain some sensitive elements, after all.
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@Roller - thank you for your interest in ConstantGraph.
Temperature and humidity are both supported out of the box. A recent feature was added to enable support of pretty much any device via a custom device setting. To address your other questions directly…
- The token is a mechanism that is provided by SmartThings to enable access to data via their published API. The API gives access to the data via the SmartThings cloud. The API calls used by ConstantGraph return information about every time a device changes. On top of that, if a device hasn’t changed for a set period of time, a further request is made to check that the device is still active.
- Data is moved from your hub to the cloud regardless of any API requests, so there is no additional load on your hub.
- We will not sell your data! The data is protected by the same secure database platform trusted by the likes of eBay and Forbes. The site does use Google Analytics for the purposes of tracking web site usage patterns but this is completely separate from your device data which is not sent to any other company. GDPR relates to the collection and usage of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as your email address. It provides for certain rights such as being able to see your data and the right to have your data deleted.
Hopefully this has answered your questions, but please let me know if you want any further detail.
Thank you for the clear answer! It is great to hear that also other types of data including temp and hum are supported.
1&2: If I understood correctly, all communications between your system and the user take place with the ST cloud and it does not cause any extra strain to users system. But what about the “still active?” check, does it cause something like that? I mean if your system asks this relatively rarely, it probably won’t cause any trouble. But (correct me if I’m wrong) if it asks it e.g. every minute, it already causes more traffic also in the users internal network, as I suppose the cloud needs to ask the hub and the hub needs to contact the sensor. Normally the temp sensors only send data once every 5 mins or so.
3: I was assuming that you are not in the business of gathering and selling data, thanks for confirming it. It is just that these kinds of things are very pertinent themes nowadays and it is good to be transparent aboute them. Also, I believe GDPR applies here as you are able to store email and probably also IP address. And the latest, if there are any payments involved, the identity of your customers will be revealed to you. In that sense I would make a friendly request to have some more information of your privacy policy and company or person (with whom are your users exchanging information?) to be included on your site.
On the more general level a question about ST token and access to all devices. Already some sensor data can be perceived as sensitive, by revealing e.g. when someone is at home and when not. But what about much more sensitive devices, such as cameras or microphones? Are their recordings also “data” that this token “all devices” gives access to?
And please do not misunderstand me for asking these. I DO believe that you don’t have any malicious intent. It is just that if people are to use these services beyond the “developers”, your average Joe needs to know and understand what they give their permission for.
Edit: added words “to be included on your site” as it was not a request to discuss it in this thread.
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Hi @Roller.
All API calls go back to the ST cloud. It’s not possible for ConstantGraph to load your hub in any way.
Your questions are all very important and something I have been meaning to address more fully. To that end, I have now added a usage policy to the web site available here: Constant Graph. As stated in the policy there is no processing of audio or video data by ConstantGraph.
Please do ask for any further clarifications, as I do want to make sure that everyone is comfortable with the service.
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Thank you again for your rapid and clear responses! Wow, I’m very impressed that you also managed to make and publish such a nice policy text so quickly. There you provide a lot of important information that definitely makes it easier for potential users to try your service. Very nice indeed!
The only shortcoming still is the lack of company/personal name, but don’t worry, I understand that you are still in the development/piloting phase and have been probably focusing on the technical things. Whenever you are ready for that, it makes it more comfortable for customers to know with whom they work with. But as said, there is still time for that.
Nice work, really.
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@Roller Thanks for the positive feedback!
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Hi
This is really great. It’s a super project. I have one query. Is it possible to graph actual values instead of hourly averages? I have one lux sensor that is a bit insensitive and only updates when the value changes which is not that frequent. The hourly average is then not such an accurate representation because of limited data points.
Thanks.
Toggle on the advanced settings in the upper right when creating the chart
Then click the blue bubble to change the aggregation
Change aggregation to none
Hi @ro76 thanks for the great feedback. It is possible to graph actual values…
There is a menu in the top right of the Graph Time Series Data page and the second item (with 3 sliders on the icon) enables the advanced menu option.
When you have selected the advanced menu options, you get extra buttons at the bottom of the screen to control the aggregation period and graph types etc. Click on the blue button and change the Aggregation Period to None (Raw Data).
If you are on the lowest subscription that will give you 1 minute accuracy. On the highest subscription that will give you 1 second accuracy.
Hope that helps.
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@Automated_House Wow.You beat me too it and with pictures too. Great thanks 
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Thanks for that! All sorted now. I have an automation with a heated airer for drying laundry that uses a temp and humidity sensor to switch off the power when the laundry is dry. I now have nice graphs of time, temp and humidity. I just now need a power meter on the socket to complete.
i decided to give this a go, in the hope the subscription won’t be too expensive in the near future.
One feature i’d like is to be able to differentiate between providing kwh and consuming kwh. I also have solar panels that are being reported as being consumed kwh.
as for suggestions, accepting crypto would be grea for donations, but i like that you are trying the best to keep the cost low.