Native ST ecobee 3 intergration?

[Yustos]

Hello,

I am aware of the ecobee 3 app created by Yves Racine, but when is ST going to offer natice integration for this very popular and best seller thermostat? It is one of the best thermostats on the market, ST has it’s picture on its website and vice versa, ST already supports the older ecobee thermostats, I would think that if Yves Racine was able to whip up an app so quickly, why aren’t the ST folks holding back on this? Thanks!

[sidjohn1]

This has already been covered

Hello @santiagodraco , If you can read my code, you’ll realize that it is far more advanced than the stock ecobee device. It basically exposes all ecobee features to ST and it’s probably more robust than the stock one too. EDIT: My code is now available for download at my store: http://www.maisonsecomatiq.com/#!store/tc3yr There are many mechanisms that I’ve put into my code to make sure that any issues with the ST-ecobee cloud-to-cloud integration (there are some connection issues sometimes either on the ST or the ecobee sides) will raise errors/exceptions to the ST end user so that she/he can take some appropriate actions when needed. In fact, ST and/or ecobee should probably buy my code instead of developping another one and focus on other devices that are not already availabl…

[kurtsanders]

I sent @yvesracine a PayPal donation for his outstanding Ecobee APP, support and new features incorporation.

I am not looking forward to a native APP from ST in this area, since the integration that @yvesracine created is working so well. I’d rather see ST dedicate their limited resources to areas that are missing or buggy, like the mobile APP.

Just my 2 cents!

[yvesracine]

@Yustos, just to let you know, I’ve worked for more than a year on the ecobee integration (including the required testing and improvements over several months)…
.
Just to put this work in perspective, there is about 10 000 lines of code (just the device handler is close to 3200 lines of code). According to my calculations, there is about 1500 hours of development/testing work on My Ecobee Device and related smartapps…

That’s why I’m really happy when people contribute the best they can afford with donations…I’ve given a lot of support over the past months (as you can see in my threads), and I cannot do it w/o contributions from you all. And, BTW, my WAF is pretty low right now!

Please support the community developers

And thanks to all of you who already donated!

[Yustos]

Thanks @yvesracine for making this app available to all! I haven’t tried it yet, because I just ordered the ecobee 3 from Amazon last night, and I will receive it tomorrow! I will give your app a shot and contribute to paypal

[yvesracine]

@Yustos, according to my github’s traffic chart, there are hundreds of ST/ecobee users who use My Ecobee Device every day, so you are definitvely not alone!

BTW, the current stock ecobee device has some limitations that make it difficult to use when people have many thermostats at home, see thread below:

Routine command affects more than one Ecobee tstat

Looking for help in resolving an issue with Smartthings Routines and Ecobee thermostats. I tried support, but have not received a reply for more than a week. I have 3 ecobee thermostats. I use Routines to automatically run and set temperature on two of them (based on modes that reflect various occupancy scenarios). However, when a routine executes it sets the programmed cooling point to all three thermostats. Even though only one is selected for each routine. I thought maybe the issue is on the Ecobee side, and so I tried to set the hold temp on one (using Ecobee app). Only that one got affected. So I believe the issue is with Smartthings… Can anyone shed a light on why this could be happening and how it can be fixed? Thanks!

Regards.

[Yustos]

Hello @yvesracine I just downloaded your ecobee 3 app. I now see it under my smart apps “MyEcobeelnit” when I click on it, I see “About”, “Paypal donation” , “more information” I click next and I log in…etc. But I don’t see where I can actually use the app to control the thermostat settings? I must be missing something?

[yvesracine]

Hi @Yustos, please follow the readme file in order to set up My Ecobee device:

yracine/device-type.myecobee/blob/master/README.md

There is even a video (with the old UI, but the navigation flow is basically the same) that explains
the whole process (see step 4).

Under the ST app new UI, you should see My Ecobee Device under Things. You need to press the second icon at the bottom (home), and then the Things link (mid screen).

Bye for now.

[Yustos]

Thanks @yvesracine , I think I am technically challenged
I reached a point where I can find “ecobee3RemoteSensorInit” under “Market Place” then "My Apps"
but I don’t see where I can log in and when prompted, I cant see my ecobee thermostat.

I must be missing something

[Yustos]

Actually, I just got it! Now I can click on “Ecobee Thermostat” and I see the temperature, and an arrow up to increase the temperature and an arrow down to decrease it. and below a “resume program” and a “refresh” button. Is there anything else that should be there? am I supposed to be able to see the temerature in the room where the sensor is? I dont see it

[yvesracine]

@Yustos,

As specified in the readme file (step 8a), for the ecobee3’s remote sensors, you’d need to execute the ecobee3RemoteSensorInit smartapp in order to expose them to ST.

My ecobee Device is a generic ecobee thermostat handler for all ecobee thermostat models (Smart-02, Smart-Si, EMS, ecobee3); the previous versions of the ecobee thermostats don’t have any remote sensors.

For the ecobee3’s remote sensors, please refer to the following instructions:

https://github.com/yracine/device-type.myecobee/blob/master/smartapps/readme.ecobee3RemoteSensor

Regards.

[Yustos]

Thanks @yvesracine, I appreciate your clarification:)

[dignifiedb (Matt B)]

I posted in another forum topic, but thought I would post here as well, as this seems to have been updated more recently:

First off, thank you so much for taking the time to create the coding for both the Ecobee3 Thermostat and remote sensors. I have a quick question, the remote sensors are still showing “motion” in the app, even though there has been no motion for almost an hour. Is there a way to modify this, so they display a more accurate motion reading (my other motion sensors revert to “no motion” after a couple minutes & I’m hoping that the same can be done with my three remote Ecobee sensors)?

Thanks,
-Matt

[yvesracine]

Hello @dignifiedb,

You may want to look into this thread first:

Ecobee 3 Remote Sensors into ST

Just in case anybody else sees this issue. I talked to ecobee support and there is currently a problem where these sensors do not report occupancy to the web app or mobile app, but if you look on the thermostat they are working. I am assuming that if they dont work on the web app they wont work on the remote sensor st app. Ecobee knows of the issue and is working on root cause / fix. Basically this does not impact all customers but it does impact some, like me!

As specified earlier in the above thread: ecobee motion sensors don’t allow real-time events.

Also, on the ST side,there are some rate limiting and max execution time constraints to take into account which is why the polling interval cannot be lower than 10 minutes.

You can refer to ecobee API documentation:

https://www.ecobee.com/home/developer/api/documentation/v1/objects/RemoteSensor.shtml

Which states (about motion occupancy):

The remote sensor data will only show computed occupancy, as does the thermostat. Definition - For a given sensor, computed occupancy means a sensor is occupied if any motion was detected in the past 30 minutes.

So, I’m sorry but there are limitations in the way the remote sensors were designed, and they will never be like any ST motion sensors (unless ecobee makes some serious changes on their side).

But, you may want to contact ecobee support if your remote sensors are still reporting occupancy after an hour…Please check at your physical thermostat first.

Regards.

[corvetteii (adam)]

Is anyone having problems with losing Authentication all the time? I have installed the Ecobee init & remote sensor init in the hopes that I can use my new Keen smart vents to create zones BUT my Ecobee3 & the sensors will not stay connected to Smartthings! I will GLADLY send a donation to @yvesracine for any assistance but I wondered if anyone else is having these problems? The Ecobee3 thermostat will stay connected cloud-to-cloud for a few hours sometimes but always looses authentication. The remote sensors only connect once, right after authentication and that’s the last time they report. Thanks guys!

[yvesracine]

Hello @corvetteii,

As specified under the known issues at the ST community wiki, you’d need to contact ST support if
you have any recurring connection issues…

My code reports them, but does not have any control over them.

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=My_Ecobee_Device

And, My ecobee device is not alone in this situation, refer to

Stock Ecobee device

Having to authorize Ecobee 2-3 times a day

I connected an Ecobee Smart Si thermostat to my setup last December. It had been working flawlessly until I bought a second last month and set it up as well. The thermostats are in different locations (obviously using 2 different hubs). I’m using the smart labs app for Ecobee that Smartthings developed. Everything appeared to be working fine. But I then noticed that my thermostats started losing their link to the Ecobee website. I would have to go through the process of relinking (authorizing them) 2-3 times a day. I’ve since de-registered the second Ecobee and tried to get my setup back to where it was before I added the second. But no luck. I’m still having to re-authorize the remaining thermostat through the Ecobee app 2-3 times a day (even though it worked prior to adding the …

TCP Hub

SmartThings losing connection to TCP hub

Lately, My SmartThings hub has been losing connection to my TCP hub, which controls my lights. It’s happened several times in the last week, and overnight the last 2 nights. It might have been happening more than I was aware of, because the lights weren’t dimming reliably due to another bug (http://community.smartthings.com/t/scheduler-quits-after-some-minutes-hours-or-days ), for which I recently implemented a workaround. The only way I have found to reconnect (temporarily) to the TCP hub is: On my cell phone app, I go to SmartThings Labs -> Tcp Bulbs. On the Connect your TCP Lights to SmartThings page, my username and password are already entered. I click Next, then Done. It seems to work for 1-4 days after this.

EDIT: Make also sure to have the latest version at the github for MyEcobeeDevice, ecobee3RemoteSensorInit and MyEcobeeInit.

Regards.

[corvetteii (adam)]

Ok, I’ll contact ST. Thanks.

[jacisme]

I just setup yvesracine’s MyEcobeeDevice, ecobee3RemoteSensorInit and MyEcobeeInit a few days ago and I’m having the exact same problem now. I’ve received 92 disconnect notifications in the last 4 hours. Yvesracine, I know you say this is a Smarthings/Ecobee problem, but is there anything else you can do? This seems extreme and I can’t imagine ST/Ecobee moving fast enough to prevent us all from uninstalling (this can’t just be me receiving this many notifications, can it?). Please let me know if you have any other suggestions, and thank you so much for all of your app development thus far.

Thanks,
Jake

[yvesracine]

@jacisme,

The best way to deal with those connection issues is to report them to ST, and hopefully, they will address them
when they realize that there are a lot of ST users out there who are experiencing them.

I did report some connection issues myself quite a long time ago (linked to the security certificate amongs others), and here what ST support responded at that time:

Chris Porter (SmartThings)
Jun 30, 6:02 PM

Hi Yves,

Thanks for letting us know what you are seeing. My developers have been aware of this happening for a little while now also, and have worked on it. I will let them know your thoughts about it being the security timestamp being outdated.

I don’t have an ETA around implementing a revision to the code, but developers do currently know it is not working consistently for users, and are addressing it.

Thanks for the heads up, and the suggestions.

-Chris P.
SmartThings Support

In the meantime, I’ve observed that these issues come and go. In a specific week, they will be a peak of connection issues, and then few days after, the connection issues will disappear, and they will be no issues for more than a month.

I suspect the ST platform (and sometimes also the ecobee servers) to be the root cause of those connection issues. This could be some connection pool management issues at ST or others.

In brief, as I said in the community wiki and many times in other threads, I don’t have any control on those connection issues in my code.

However, I’ve implemented some defensive coding to notify the ST users of any connection issues. That’s the best I can do on my end.

And, if you read carefully other threads (like the one I posted in my previous post), ST has connection issues with other devices as well (ex. TCP hub).

P.S. What make ecobee more susceptible to losing its connection is the fact the ecobee is the only cloud provider (that I know) that asks to refresh its authorization token every hour. My code has the required algorithm to do it, but if there are connection issues at the same time, you’ll then need to manually reauthorize ST to reestablish the connection with ecobee.

Bye for now.

[jacisme]

Thanks yvesracine. Your thinking that it goes in waves and might go away entirely by itself is very helpful. I had already read through the other threads mentioned (I know I’m not the first one to bring this up!) and didn’t really see a clear path other than message ST. I did message ST already, and their automated response said they’re dealing with a “sizeable backlog of requests.” I guess I’ll wait a little bit longer and just stop using the ST platform altogether in a bit if it doesn’t resolve. I’m only getting started in the home automation game so I can easily switch to something else if I have to.

Thanks!
Jake