@yvesracine
First off, thanks for this. I installed it a while ago, but since I don’t actually have an installed Tstat yet, it has just been sitting there. Now, I’m getting more serious about it.
I have a couple questions. Sorry if this has all been stated already…
Updates / New Versions
When a new version comes out, can I just update the code/republish and everything is OK, or will I need to reconfigure everything?
Rooms, Zones & Schedules
When it comes to the logic of setting this up with rooms, zones and schedules, does it matter whether or not I have all of the rooms and zones mapped out or whether I know exactly how or when I will want schedules to fire from the beginning, or can I modify that over time, and everything will still work OK?
The reason I ask this is, at present, I don’t have any zones, and I’m not exactly sure how I want it to be scheduled, or how many different schedules I may eventually want. Well…I only have one real zone (one Tstat and no smartvents or anything like that). I know it says I can add them later, but what I’m wondering is, if I think I will have zones later (via SmartVents), should I configure them into the system at the start, or just completely leave them out until I actually get SmartVents? Also, if I think I will have x-number of rooms at some point, should I configure it to have them now, or just wait until I actually have them in the physical mix? Same for schedules…can I just start out with a single schedule now, and then add schedules as I go along, or do I need to know what all I will want down the road and plan that out in the app now?
Seasonal Schedule Changes?
Is it possible to set up a situation in which it will automatically change over from one set of schedules to another based on seasonal changes, or will I need to manage that manually?
The reason I’m wondering this is that I live in an area that basically has about 8 noticeable seasons. Not only is there the generally well-defined set of seasons we normally know as Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, but also transitional seasons between them; specifically, periods during which the temp fluctuates wildly when the HVAC system could easily be in heat and cool and change between them multiple times per day (managing this manually is undesirable, because we sometimes forget it in cool mode or heat mode, and it gets crazy in one direction or another).
In general (unless specified otherwise), you will not lose your previous settings when you upgrade by
updating the code and re-publish.
However, as specified in a post earlier, I made some changes recently that was affecting all boolean input parameters (to use bool instead of boolean) in order to be compatible with iOS devices.
In that particular case only, you’d need to review your settings.
I recommend to start with your existing needs and then add the rooms/zones/schedules after when you’ll be getting the smart vents. The reason is that your use cases may change till then.
To add new rooms/zones/schedules, you just need to increase the number of rooms/zones/schedules in the general settings page (1st page), and then press on Room/Zone/Schedule setup to configure each new Room/Zone/Schedule.
You will need to change them manually. But, don’t forget that for each schedule, you can define ‘cooling’ and ‘heating’ setpoints which should allow you to take into account basic seasonal changes.
Also, in your specific case, you may want to set your thermostat to ‘auto’ (your thermostat needs to support it though) based on outdoor thresholds…
This technique may help you reduce the number of schedules to be configured.
Wow…thank you, very much…for the quick such well matched responses.
My current Tstat does not have an Auto mode available. Unfortunately, the model used to have auto in a previous generation, but after complaints about how auto mode was somehow causing problems with some people’s home automation setups, the maker (Centralite) disabled auto mode in this model.
So, I will be looking for a new Tstat. I was excited about having the opportunity to get this one for so cheap recently on Amazon, but I am finding out now that it may not have been worth it. Besides not having auto mode, it also does not report in on its own. So, I never know what state it is in unless I go to the Tstat and look at it, or have an app send it a refresh command.
Anyway, again, thank you, very, very much for your quick response.
I should be able to start setting this thing up this week, and look forward to reading all of the use cases, etc. If I have more questions, is this the place for it, or would you prefer PMs or e-mail through your site or what?
You can PM me. However, as I’m busy with my full time job and my family , I may have to charge you a consulting fee if the use cases described at the ST community wiki are not enough and you have custom requirements.
I hope that you’ll understand my position.
Regards.
Sounds good. Yes, I definitely understand, and will be using your donate link soon.
@yvesracine
EDIT: Sorry, but just one more thing… since my Tstat doesn’t have an ‘Auto’ mode, will that be problematic with this SmartApp, or is ‘Auto’ an optional feature here and it will work just fine with my wimpy Heat/Cool Tstat?
Just installed this and trying to figure it out…looking at the log I see:
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:38:09 PM: warn ventTemperatureHandler>vent temperature is not within range,but safeguards are not implemented as requested
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:38:09 PM: debug vent temperature: 73.51
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:38:02 PM: warn ventTemperatureHandler>vent temperature is not within range,but safeguards are not implemented as requested
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:38:02 PM: debug vent temperature: 74.64
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:38 PM: warn ventTemperatureHandler>vent temperature is not within range,but safeguards are not implemented as requested
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:38 PM: debug vent temperature: 71.8
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:20 PM: warn ventTemperatureHandler>vent temperature is not within range,but safeguards are not implemented as requested
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:20 PM: debug vent temperature: 73.62
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:20 PM: warn ventTemperatureHandler>vent temperature is not within range,but safeguards are not implemented as requested
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:20 PM: debug vent temperature: 74.7
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:15 PM: warn ventTemperatureHandler>vent temperature is not within range,but safeguards are not implemented as requested
0264567f-1a5a-4734-994b-164f61d9d2cf 4:37:15 PM: debug vent temperature: 70.74
I understand I have the option to close vents completely (which I guess is what turns of the safeguard means) — but how is that temp not within range? I don’t understand what that means.
Thanks, just saw that. I plan on using the safeguards, I guess it was just my natural inclination to play with every setting to see what each one does.
I added a dashboard to all my zoned cooling/heating smartapps today, so that
users can visualize more easily their active zone(s) and a summary of closed/open vents
in their zone(s).
The new version is available for download at my store:
However, if you look at the screenshot of the dashboard you’ll see a different story (next post).
This holds true for all schedules (four total, each with a zone assigned). The advice I received from Yves was to complete configuration of the schedule. Thing is, there is no clear indicator for what remains. If they are incomplete, I can’t get a clear sense of what might be missing - especially given that everything else seems to running satisfactorily.
First, did you check if your vent setting flag is set to ‘true’ in General Setup?
Did you press the 'Running Schedule(s) Config to refresh the latest values of the Schedules?
I sent an email yesterday to all contributors with the latest update to make sure
that for those who have vents, they need to set the above flag to true.
Also, please send me an email to services@maisonsecomatiq.com if you
have any issues, as I’m not always in the forum.
Yesterday, I added a new feature to my heating/cooling solutions based on any connected ST thermostat(s), temp & motion sensors and smart vents (econet, ecovent, Keen Home vents).
The solutions are designed to orchestrate all the above components in order to reach the ultimate comfort at your home. Their use cases have been described at the community wiki:
The new feature allows you to avoid false positive in motion detection by inputting the number of motion occurrences needed before the smartapps consider the room to be occupied.
By default, it’s set at 1 motion occurrence, but you may increase it if you want to avoid calling the HVAC for a one off motion in some specific rooms.
The configuration can be done room by room for more flexibility.
The new versions of my smartapps are available for download at my store:
P.S. For those who already purchased my solutions, the new versions will be sent to you today. And, for those who have also purchased my support packages, the upgrade has been done already, so you do not need to worry about it!
Not sure if this is the best place to ask this, but I think I may have a bug.
I have an ecobee3 thermostat and some Keen Smart Vents all hooked up to SmartThings. I’ve been running ScheduleTstatZones for a bit over a month, and it seems to be working very well overall.
I have run into a situation though where the app seems to be behaving strangely. I usually have the thermostat set on Auto, which means there’s a lower bound and upper bound set. If the temperature gets below the lower bound, the heat comes on. If it gets above the upper bound, the air conditioner comes on. Since it’s been winter, only heat has been needed most of the time, and the system is running well and balancing heat between the rooms better than before I had smart vents.
Now, it is starting to get warmer. The house was feeling warm so I lowered the upper bound of the Auto setting so that it was cooler than the current temperature. The air conditioner came on. Now, every minute, I get a notification from ScheduleTstatZones in SmartThings that says
ScheduleTstatZones > current HVAC mode is auto, found one of the vents’ value too cold (43.66), opening all vents to avoid any damage
Since the AC is on, I would expect cool air to be coming out and would not be worried about damage because the system is doing what it is designed to do.
Is this a bug? Since the ecobee3 mode is on Auto, I’m wondering if ScheduleTStatZones is not looking for cold air… What do you think?
Hi @jhuizingh, ScheduleTstatZones has been built with safeguards to avoid damaging your HVAC.
Damage can be done when the temperature inside the vents is either too cold or too hot. When the temperature
is too cold in the vents, you may end up with frozen evaporator coils which can damage your HVAC.
The normal range is usually between 45F and 130F (in general).
In your case, you may want to change the minimum temperature to be 40F instead of 45F (please check your HVAC manual). In order to do so, you can change the minimum safeguard temperature in General Setup at the bottom of the page (you need version 5.7.6 and higher).
Regards.
P.S. If you have further questions, please send me an email to services@maisonsecomatiq.com as it’s easier for me to get the context of each question through gmail conversations.
Today, I added some logic in ScheduleTstatZones for alternative cooling when the outdoor temperature & humidity allow it.
In order to be efficient, alternative cooling based on an evaporative cooler or a Big Fan Switch (connected to ST) must be within a calculated range of temperature & humidity values.
The smartapp is now able to determine the ideal conditions for alternative cooling based on a temperature/humidity table, and automatically switches to alternative cooling only when it’s efficient.
In order to enable alternative cooling, the alternative cooling switches have to be set in General Setup, and the alternative cooling flag needs to be set for a given schedule.
I released a new version of my Zoned Heating/Cooling Solutions today with the following changes:
Better handling of thermostat’s auto mode for vent settings:
When mode is ‘auto’, for the vent settings, the smartapp will calculate the target temperature to be the median between the heating and cooling setpoints.
If the current thermostat’s temperature is above the median, the smartapp will consider that the mode is ‘cooling’; otherwise, it will be considered in ‘heating’ mode and calculate the vent levels accordingly
All the current contributors should receive the new version soon.
The new version is available for download at my store:
, I may have to charge you a consulting fee if the use cases described at the ST community wiki are not enough and you have custom requirements.
