I don’t know if this is the right place for this, but i didn’t see any where else. I bought a Smartthings hub and a connected thermostat (Trane). I can change the temp and fan and see the current temp, but that is about it. My questions are:
Can I create rules to trigger an action? Do I need to write scripts for this? For example, turn the thermostat to 80 at 6pm.
Can I get a notification? How? For example, text me if the temp hits 60 degrees.
The thermostat is programmable, but I was hoping I could program that through an app or website. It seems archaic to have to program my smart connected thermostat using a few buttons on the thermostat itself. Is that possible? Preferably not using the programmable feature of the thermostat (like make 70 at 6am, make 65 at 9am, make 60 degrees when away mode set, etc).
I am a developer and can program, but was hoping I didn’t need to for simple things like this. I didn’t see any existing app that really did this stuff.
1) Can I create rules to trigger an action? Do I need to write scripts for this? For example, turn the thermostat to 80 at 6pm.
Right now you can do this with a combination of Apps. Use “Scheduled Mode Changes” in the Mode Magic section to establish when you want things to change (i.e. change mode to “Night” at 6pm). Then use “Make It So” in the Convenience section to set the thermostat to your desired temperature when the mode changes to “Night”. You may have to make a few instances of the apps for all of your desired changes (i.e. one for night, one for day, one for away).
SmartThings has said that there will be a section added to the dashboard for Comfort, which I assume will cover temperature. I find setting actions via the dashboard is much easier than Apps, so when that happens there will probably be much more straight forward to achieve this.
2) Can I get a notification? How? For example, text me if the temp hits 60 degrees.
In the dashboard, under “Damage & Danger” you can set notifications for extreme temperatures (user defined). I use this to do exactly what you describe: hot and cold notifications for my son’s room and hot notifications for my network closet. You can choose push notifications and/or SMS.
3) The thermostat is programmable, but I was hoping I could program that through an app or website. It seems archaic to have to program my smart connected thermostat using a few buttons on the thermostat itself. Is that possible? Preferably not using the programmable feature of the thermostat (like make 70 at 6am, make 65 at 9am, make 60 degrees when away mode set, etc)
Completely agree. I have the programmable function of my Thermostat disabled and do it all through SmartThings (and Vera before that).
I guess I am confused. I see don’t heir website a screen called Dashboard, but I don’t see it in the app. I am using Android. Is that not supported?
I see a screen that lets me setup a location, one with my thermostat, and one that lets me set home, away, etc and install smart apps. I don’t see a screen labeled Dashboard like in the pictures and I don’t see “Damage & Danger”. Under apps I see categories like “Health & Wellness” and Mode Magic.
You mean there is another OS out there other than iOS… I don’t think the Dashboard has been rolled out to Andriod yet, so scratch any mention of it.
I don’t know if the Apps categories are the same between devices, but you should be able find the “Make It So” and “Scheduled Mode Changes” apps for scheduling.
For notifications, find the “It’s Too Cold” app (in Convenience section on iOS). This will give you notifications if the temp drops below a certain level. It is fairly easy to create “It’s Too Hot” app by logging into ide.smartthings.com, creating a custom app, copy over the “It’s Too Cold” app and changing the “<” to “>”
Yeah- the Android app is extremely disappointing. It should be simple to have an event trigger something else. It seems like a lot of work to do simple things. Home automation is to make your life easier. If I have to spend hours setting up small things it isn’t worth it. Maybe I need to look at other hubs.