[OBSOLETE] Thermostat Mode Director

SBDOBRESCU · May 18, 2017, 12:23pm

@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.

Elfege_Leylavergne · November 15, 2017, 4:43am

try this:

github.com

elfege/SmartThingsPublic/blob/master/smartapps/elfege/a-i-thermostat-manager.src/a-i-thermostat-manager.groovy

definition(
    name: "A.I. Thermostat Manager",
    namespace: "elfege",
    author: "ELFEGE",

    description: """This A.I. will manage a thermostat using inputs from different sources and help you save energy:
    - contact sensors
    - switches (for fans or windows mostly)
    - alternate thermostat 
    - bed sensor
    - motion sensors
    - humidity (computes a humidity threshold and then adjust your setpoint accordingly)
    - temperature matrix (all temps are pre-set, app will learn with user's inputs)


    """,

    category: "Green Living",
    iconUrl: "https://www.philonyc.com/assets/penrose.jpg",
    iconX2Url: "https://www.philonyc.com/assets/penrose.jpg",

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Madonie · January 23, 2018, 9:59pm

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!!!

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

jmarkwell · February 5, 2018, 4:09pm

Madonie,

Thermostat Manager is a good alternative to Thermostat Mode Director:

github.com

jmarkwell/thermostat-manager/blob/master/smartapps/jmarkwell/thermostat-manager.src/thermostat-manager.groovy

/**
 *  Thermostat Manager
 *  Build 2018030603
 *
 *  Copyright 2018 Jordan Markwell
 *
 *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except
 *  in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at:
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed
 *  on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License
 *  for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
 *
 *  ChangeLog:
 *      
 *      20180306
 *          01: Added temperature threshold recommendations for Celsius.
 *          02: Correction to iconX2Url.

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To Install Thermostat Manager Smart App:

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

Madonie · February 9, 2018, 9:55pm

Thank you I appreciate your detailed post. I was able to install it
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:

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 :-/
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?
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!!!

Madonie · February 12, 2018, 9:43pm

Hi,

So I was able to test it out over the weekend. It does overwrite the settings which I am happy about. HOWEVER, the option to shut down the AC if the windows/doors are open doesn’t work.
Which it is a big disappointment because my heater started even if I my balcony door was big opened. Here is attached the screenshots of the “energy Saver” settings.
Can someone please advise why this option is not working for me?

jmarkwell · March 6, 2018, 8:46pm

Madonie,

I think it depends on what settings you mean. I developed this app for a Zen Thermostat but as mentioned it should work for any thermostat. One of the problems with Thermostat Mode Director was that it would put thermostats into an, “auto” mode if it reached the temperature that you set. Thermostats interpret this mode differently and in my opinion this was an unnecessary and potentially problematic step. My app does not do this. If you’re talking about another kind of setting, please let me know which one specifically and I’ll look into it.
The Smart Home Monitor modes mentioned in the app refer to the modes of the Smart Home Monitor app provided by Smartthings and not to any sort of Ecobee mode. The Smart Home Monitor only has three modes: off (unarmed), stay (armed but occupied), away (armed and unoccupied). It looks like you set it up right. Although I wonder if you may have confused the “Armed (stay)” settings with the “Disarmed” settings. Disarmed is the no-alarm status that your system will most likely be in when you are home during the day. “Armed (stay)” is something you might use to arm the alarm while you are gone if you have pets in the house. Of course that’s all completely up to you and you can disable SHM based enforcement if you like as well. These settings are for people who want to use different setpoints based on your SHM status. You can also use traditional mode based enforcement if you like. To use modes, just setup 2 or more instances of Thermostat Manager that use the restrictions you want. If you want an equivalent of a, “sleep mode”, the simplest way would be to use an extremely high cooling setpoint and an extremely low heating setpoint (you can also use values of zero: “0”). If you do this, the thermostat modes will not be changed.
Thermostat Manager will use whichever temperature measurement that your thermostat uses. The examples given on the tips page are just Fahrenheit examples.

jmarkwell · March 6, 2018, 9:03pm

Madonie,

I am very interested to make sure that this portion of the program works correctly since it did not in Thermostat Mode Director. I can tell you that at my house, the system works perfectly.

I would like to ask you to do a couple of things. First, make sure that all of your contacts (doors/windows) are closed. Next, enable notifications in Thermostat Manager. Click save and then go and open one of your contacts. Let me know if you get a notification and if your thermostat gets paused. Afterwards close your door and let me know if it comes back on. If it doesn’t work, try raising the, “minutes” to “2” minutes. Try it again and let me know if that makes any difference. If it doesn’t work, I’ll work with you until we get it working right. Feel free to contact me directly if you like.

Note that if a contact is already open when you enable Energy Saver, it won’t pause the thermostat until all of the contacts are reported as closed, and then one of them is opened again. Afterwards it should work as you expect (this is by design).

BTW, I have updated the app with examples in Celsius as well as Fahrenheit. This is only an aesthetic change, but if you like, you can repeat the installation process (edit) to update the app. Let me know if you need any help.

nexxman · April 8, 2018, 5:15am

Thermostat Mode Director is not working well for me at all. The app is inconsistent. When door is open it will turn off heat but will not turn on. This only works one time. After that app does not operate. I have to uninstall then reinstall app, each time it works once and thats it. I have a Honeywell wifi therm.

Dave_G · July 2, 2018, 3:59pm

Hi,
I am new to SmartThings… but getting dangerous… I am looking for a simple solution, well somewhat… and came across you Smartapp… and I think based on my reading will work… I too noticed that I think Thermostat Mode Director is not working…
I have vacation rental property, I want to monitor 5 sensors. if one of them is open for 5 minutes, I want the AC to shutoff and remain off until all sensors are closed, and then put the thermostat back into cool mode.

I don’t want to control temperature (at this time) just conserve energy…from someone leaving a door open and the AC just running.

I am ordering my second sensor right now to test even further.
I am controlling a Honeywell 9000

Am I correct in that I think your Smartapp will deliver the results I am after ?

Thank you !

yvesracine · July 2, 2018, 4:14pm

Hi,

There is a simple smartapp that just does what you’re looking for at my github:

Turning off your thermostat(s) ( or setting your thermostats to eco or away if supported) when Window or Door contacts are open and restoring your thermostat mode when they are closed. The smartapp can work with any ST connected thermostat (ecobee, Nest, Honeywell, z-wave, zigbee, etc) as long as they support the ST standard Capabilities.

See the WindowOrDoorOpen! smartapp.

Regards.

Dave_G · July 2, 2018, 4:21pm

Thank you Ives !
I will load up the SmartApp and see what happens… it looks promising… I see the limit of 6 sensors, so that will be fine…
Best regards

yvesracine · July 2, 2018, 4:24pm

The limit is 6 open contact sensors simultaneously , and 30 overall… BTW, I’d recommend to use the eco or away settings if your thermostat supports it as if ST has an outage, your thermostat can be off for a while. In some parts of the US (when humidity is high), this could lead to some damage due to mold…Or pipe bursting in the winter…

Dave_G · July 2, 2018, 4:32pm

Thank you for that advice… and that is very valid. I will have to research to see if mine can do that… high humidity is a concern. good to know I can add more sensors, but track on 6… will update on my results when I get my 2nd sensor…

yvesracine · July 2, 2018, 4:34pm

FYI, the ecobee and Nest thermostats have the above features (away/eco) if yours doesn’t have it… I’ve developed some custom DTHs for both smart thermostats if you need a smarter one later on.

Regards

jmarkwell · July 2, 2018, 6:26pm

Dave,

Yes, Thermostat Manager will work fine for this purpose. You can disable the temperature and mode monitoring from the app preferences if you like. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

msazone · September 9, 2018, 5:21pm

Today I just realize my Thermostat Mode Director does not work with Monoprice window/door sensor. If I open the monoprice sensor, Thermostat Mode Director does not trigger to set off my ecobee. When a monoprice sensor is opened, it stops everything even I open a samsung contact sensor. I have to close the monoprice sensor then it can run again for the samsung contact sensor. Does anyone experience the same issue? Thank you.

Sue · April 25, 2019, 6:50pm

Thank you I have followed your instructions and published the smartapp ‘for me’. How do I get this to appear in the Smartthings app (not classic)

johnconstantelo · April 25, 2019, 7:19pm

I believe you have to install it via the Classic app and then it will show up in the new app. You should be able to then configure it via the new app too. It’s been a while for me, but I believe that’s how.

jmarkwell · April 25, 2019, 8:08pm

Sue, I believe johnconstantelo is correct. You will have to install using the classic app first and then you will be able to use it in the new app.

[OBSOLETE] Thermostat Mode Director

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