[RELEASE] Mode Based Thermostat - Control Multiple Thermostats Temperature / Remote Temperature Sensors when Changing Modes

We can definitely look into it, please send your feature requests to our support desk so we can prioritize them.

Ultimate Mode Change Thermostat Temperature - Version 02.07.02

  • Added support for shutting down thermostat if doors/windows are left open
  • Added advanced settings option to enable battery saver mode (reduces verification communications, only enable if you have a strong mesh with repeaters especially while using remote temperature sensors)

© RBoy Apps


Mode Change Thermostat Single Temperature - Version 01.01.00

  • < no change >
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Never noticed this smart app before. So i am just now starting with it and so far it looks great. Is there no presence override schedule ? My current thermostat has schedules but one of the flaws is it sets the “away” temps regardless if you are home or not and have been looking for a way to get around that.

Not sure why you would need a presence override if the modes are linked to presence.
Easily set via routines like:

  • If any of these folks arrive set mode to Home
  • If everyone leaves set mode to Away

The only reason I was asking about the presence override is I did not see a way to separate the modes into different schedules. As for example even though we are home I want the heat to decrease from 70 to 68 at 10 pm and then back to 70 at 6 am. But the way it looks I can only set it so that there is no temp control for a certain mode or have every mode run the same schedule

Have you looked at the 5-2 day thermostat?

You can set a schedule with this like you mentioned and it also has a mode restriction. So when you’re home, the mode is set to Home and it will adjust the temp as per the schedule, but when you’re away it won’t kick in and then you can use this app to set a temperature for mode away (but none for home).

thank you for pointing this out for me. I really appreciate all the help and the great automation apps and device handlers that you provide.

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Question on this, if I use Sensibo with my split heat pump and have it wired into ST, can I use this smart app? How does the app know to heat or to cool?

The app reads the operating state of the thermostat to decide which settings to send. If the DTH for your Sensibo device is reporting it correctly then it should work fine.

Thanks RBoy. Wahts DTH?

One more question, how does this app know if it should be heating or cooling? Thanks!

It checks the current state of the thermostat (Auto, Heat, Cooling etc). It’s best to leave it to Auto state and change your heating/cooling setpoints accordingly. E.g. if you don’t want heat to kick in, set the heat setpoint to 40.

Would I be able to simply have the thermostat turn off if the doors and/or windows are left open longer than a few minutes, then have it turn back on once closed? That’s really what I want to do most.

I couldn’t find any info on this on the thread. Would it be possible at some point to add a feature based on the temperature\forecast outside? I think nest\ecobee might do this. I use this primarily for an away thermostat at our vacation home and then use the 5\2 when we are there. The house is set at 50 degrees when away, but I would love for it to be deactivated if the forecast won’t get below freezing for days on end.

@RBoy , I have been using one of your thermostat apps for a few years now, no issue. But starting now, I’m one of the lucky bunches in a polar vortex and wish to place a PERMANENT temperature hold until I release it on my thermostat, but I can’t find a way to accomplish it. I have a CT-100 thermostat and I’m using (I think) your ultimate mode thermostat. Temp holds work (I can override the set temp, but after a time it reverts…but I haven’t caught how long the temp hold holds for).

I need to up my temp in the house in preparation for -50 outside temps and would like a permanent (24hr anyways) hold. Is there a way to do this?

If you’re on the latest version (02.05.07) you use the same instructions posted by @maddie on this topic:

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Ultimate Mode Change Thermostat Temperature - Version 02.08.00

  • Extended support for temporary hold to with/without remote temperature sensors
  • Fixed issue with open door/windows shutoff and remote temperature sensor when using a single mode

© RBoy Apps


Mode Change Thermostat Single Temperature - Version 01.01.00

  • < no change >

Been using this SmartApp for a couple of weeks now and it’s working well for me but I have a couple of thoughts on it for improvement.

  1. The extreme temperature setpoints to enable remote sensors are slightly problematic. Yesterday SmartThings had some US outages that caused some of my devices to go offline. The thermostat schedule wasn’t able to communicate with the thermostat during the night and because it was set to a cool setpoint of 60F, my AC ran ALL NIGHT LONG. When I woke in the morning, the local thermostat temp was 71F and even cooler in the bedrooms (high 60s F). While this is not directly a SmartApp problem, it represents a hazard of using such extreme temperature setpoints. If something goes wrong, the thermostat is set to achieve a setpoint most will never be able to and hence it will run indefinitely if left unchecked.
    Suggestion: Allow user defined max cooling and heating thermostat setpoints. In my scenario, I know I would NEVER want my AC to try to cool my house below say 75F local to the thermostat itself so if I set my bottom end to 75F for cooling, the remote temp strategy would still work throughout the house. Same for heat, I would never call for more than 73F as measured at the thermostat itself or any remote sensor so setting it to 73F in my case would be a fine top end for heat. I realize this could make the app slightly less user friendly so these should probably be set to the current app defaults with an option in the GUI setup to override. I know where to change them in the code itself but I don’t like to have to remember to edit each time there is a new release.

  2. Using the temp hold feature works fine but I can find no clean way to resume the mode schedule for remote temp sensors other than resave the app or change modes. It would be awesome if the RBoy Thermostat device handler (used in conjunction with the Ultimate Mode Based Thermostat Smartapp) had a “resume SmartApp schedule” button to allow the setpoints to again be controlled by the remote sensor strategy based on the mode setting or the Ultimate Mode Based Thermostat app could have the “touch” feature (the play icon to the right of the app in the app list) that could maybe resume the schedule? Essentially the temp hold feature negates the remote temp sensor strategy, changing it back to local thermostat setpoint and control and there’s no easy way to get back to remote based. If I have to, I’ll write a Webcore app that examines current Hub Mode, switches it to a special blank mode (not configured or tied to any other routines or apps) and then back to previously saved mode via a virtual switch which I imagine would re-initiate the thermostat mode setpoints.

Good feedback. We’ve been working on an enhancement for 1, a heartbeat system to check that things are in sync so that when ST or the mesh fails it will try to recover. Will also look into resetting the temp hold when the “touch” feature is used. The extreme values are tweaked specifically taking 100’s of thermostat models into account. I’ll PM you more details.

I’m running into an issue where the temp hold feature is no longer working. Wife is complaining that she’s continually setting the thermostat locally and it keeps changing to the extreme setpoint (based on the mode setpoint and remote sensor). First issue I attribute to changing the setpoint locally before the mode change but subsequent local changes do seem to be overwritten every couple minutes by an App_Command of setCoolingSetpoint.

Is it possible this is happening because I’m using the Mode Based Thermostat in conjunction with Schedule fan for Thermostats? When I added fan control is when I recall the problems starting. It seems that after the fan mode changes with the Schedule Fan (I’m using Fan mode On and a 10 minute circulate followed by a 50 minute rest), the Mode Based Thermostat begins sending setpoints every couple minutes thereafter and overriding the local setpoint changes.

Edit: Sending logs to support email on this.