[OBSOLETE] Thermostat Mode Director

Hi there,
I have a CT100 thermostat that I would like to control with an AccuWeather temp. I have it set to change modes and send me an alert. I get the alerts, but my thermostat does nothing. I don’t see a place in director to assign my ct100 as the thermostat to control, although it’s the only thermostat I have in the system so I assumed that’s why it never asked.
Is there something else I need to do to get this to work? May is a very volatile time for temps and I would love to have the thermostat change modes without my intervention.
Thanks!

Can you post a picture of which app you are using?

The other screens allow you to select a thermostat to control, but they force you to fill out other fields that don’t apply to just the mode/temp. this one is missing that selection.

Ah, that’s because those fields are required for the app to work…If I remember correctly, a door sensor is also required or else the app won’t work

It’s odd because I get notifications that it changed my thermostat’s mode, but obviously nothing happened. OK, if that’s the case, I will try another app like Schedule TstatZones and see if I can accomplish there.

You can try mine, is based on @slagle Mode Director app with some added functions and everything optional…

[OBSOLETE] zStat Manager

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I’m going to check this out, thanks.

For Tim - thanks for the great app. A couple things:

first, I noticed that when picking a contact sensor it says “low temperature” in the box under “if these doors/windows are open turn off the thermostat regardless of outdoor temperature”. Am I missing something or is this supposed to just say “Which sensors?” or the like?

secondly, I think you should add the ability to add more temp sensors for detecting indoor temp and average them for a better overall idea of the house temp, kind of like (I assume) an ecobee 3 would do.

third and last, I think you should add the ability to either disable the app or adjust the range of the high and low temperature by +/- X degrees if nobody is home by checking motion sensors’ activity ("motion detected within previous X minutes), or by checking a presence sensor or geofencing possibly so the temp can get back to normal as you get close to the house. I don’t use modes (home away work etc.) so that feature doesn’t give me the control I’d like. Maybe you could even give the option to change the “boost” button to either boost or simply prepare the house for when someone is coming home but doesn’t use a booster.

Great app though and I appreciate the work you’ve put in.

Hi,

There is already a smartapp that can do all this, and much more (i.e.,alternative cooling, zoned heating/cooling, smart vent control, fan control based on temp differential between indoor sensors, etc).

It’s called ScheduleTstatZones, and it’s been available for more than 2 years now:

The code is stable and a lot of users love it!
Regards

I’ll keep it in mind if I ever expand my system. I am however interested in a double tap app that works reliably if you’re looking for a new app idea - double tapping a light switch to get it to trigger other lights to turn on/off. Smartthings’ version as well as a community made “double duty” are just way too unreliable.

So I’ve set my app to cool the house once it hits 72 degrees yet the thermostat read up to 74.5 today. Does my programmed swing temperature affect this? Does the scheduling programmed on the thermostat itself override this app?

I know I need to update the app with my latest comments, but here it is…

What does your Main page says?

In my example below, when the average of the remote sensors reaches 76, my thermostat changes to cool and sets the temperature on the tjermostats to 75 (cool)

This is the Ambiance page…

Here is the cooling setting. If average temperature reaches 76, then the mode changes to cool and the app sets a cooling set point (on the thermostat) of 75 …

Not sure what you mean by programmed temperature? Local schedule within the thermostat itself? If that’s the case, then yes, the two will conflict and potentially overwrite each other. The smart app is driven by ambient temperature, whereas a scheduler is based on time.

Yes schedule programed on the unit instead of an app. Swing temp is when you set a target temp and allow it to vary by +/- X degrees. My swing is only set to 1.5 degrees so thats not the issue, I need to check the schedule because it IS set and may be the culprit. EDIT: Its only set to max out at 72 degrees with a +/- of 1.5 so it shouldn’t be the reason for the temp getting up to 74.5 degrees.

Even if my thermostat schedule overwrote the app, wouldn’t the app recorrect it after the temp was set by the schedule? It sets it once at XX:XX o’clock and thats it, they wouldn’t fight back and forth about it.


EDIT: i wasn’t using your app but I’ll give it a try.

Oops, I’ve got the threads mixed up… Sorry… I’ll let Yeves troubleshoot his app. Let me know if you have any questions here, or on the other thread…

He’s not using my app, he’s using Tim’s old Thermostat Director app in the marketplace.

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@NotSoSmart , if that’s the case, than the app you are using doesn’t help maintain the temperatures in your home. It is only meant to ensure that the thermostat is set to the right mode based on the ambiance. So if you set your temperature to 100 degrees and you set up to change the mode to cooling when the temperature exceeds 72 degrees, all it does, is to set your thermostat to cooling but your home will be cooling to maintain 100 degrees. I think, based on your use case, what you want is an app that changes the mode and sets the temperature.

try this:

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Hello,

I am very new to ST and smart apps and haven’t sucessfully installed an app from the GitHub. So really, I looked at what is offered on the ST app and found Thermostat Director do what I need. However, it is not working and I would need help please!!! :slight_smile:

I need the AC or Heating to go off when windows are opened. My roommate is terrible with that and will leave everything opened while the AC is running (the electricity bill is included in the rent, that’s probably why…). Same… will leave the AC at max for 24h/7d even if no one is home for days… So I would need to set up a routine that will turn on the setpoints (heating or cooling) once one of our phones gets home, and turn off the AC/Heating when both our phones are gone.

Now, I thought I set this up properly because I receive notifications on my phone. However the AC or heating is not kicking. I looked at the Ecobee 3 and it says off regardless and the set point is completely different on the Ecobee itself and I don’t think the smartapp overide the Ecobee 3 settings despite receiving notifications that he does. I see different posts people describing the same issues and they finally installed another app from the GitHub…
I tried to troubleshoot what is going on, but really I have no clue.
Is there some sort of documentation of how do I need to set up Thermostat Director and my Ecobee3 to make it work?? Please help it is very frustrating and would definitely lower my energy bill…

Thank you :slight_smile:

Madonie,

Thermostat Manager is a good alternative to Thermostat Mode Director:

To Install Thermostat Manager Smart App:

  1. Login to the SmartThings IDE.
  2. Click on My SmartApps.
  3. Click the New SmartApp button.
  4. Select the From Code tab.
  5. Copy all of the code from the thermostat-manager.groovy file into the box.
  6. Click Create.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Click Publish and choose For Me.

Thank you I appreciate your detailed post. I was able to install it :blush:
I have a few questions:

Here is what I selected:
Thermostat: Ecobee 3
Cooling Threshold: 75
Heating Threshold: 64
Maintain Auto Fan Mode: On
Allow Manual Thermostat off to overwrite Thermostat Manager: On
Debug Logging: On
Smart Home Monitor Based SetPoint Enforcement:

  • Disarmed Status:
    • Cooling SetPoint: 86 (same as Ecobee but in Farenheit instead of Celcius)
    • Heating SetPoint: 54
  • Armed (stay) status:
    • Cooling SetPoint: 75 (same as Ecobee but in Farenheit instead of Celcius)
    • Heating SetPoint: 64
  • Armed (Away) Status:
    • Cooling SetPoint: 86 (same as Ecobee but in Farenheit instead of Celcius)
    • Heating SetPoint: 54
      Energy Saver: Contact Sensors: Balcony, windows, .etc.

Questions:

  1. Will the app overwrite my Ecobee settings? The issue I had with previous app is that the Ecobee settings were not overwritten depending if I was home or away I was receiving notification that it did but nothing was happening. Called Ecobee, they couldn’t figure it out why The Mode was always on the Sleep Mode…ugh :-/
  2. I believe the Smart Home Monitor is to detect when I am home, away since I set this up into ST routines depending of the presence of my SmartPhone. However, I don’t see a Sleep Mode. Instead two unarmed/away which to me is the same thing… Did I set this up correctly?
  3. My Ecobee is in Celsius (sorry Fahrenheit are still not making any sense to me…) Do I need to change it back or it won’t matter?

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. I am eager to learn and make this Smart Thermostat some use for its money!!!