*** No longer supported *** [RELEASE] Best Zoned Heating/Cooling smartapps

Hi, I just released new versions of all my zoned Heating/Cooling solution smartapps with the following features:

  • Made some changes in order to take into account contact sensors when adjusting the vents or when calculating the avg temp based on all temps collected at different temp sensors
  • If a contactSensor is open (ex. window), then the vent(s) in the related room will be closed (using the safeguards)
  • If a contactSensor is open, then the temp reading related to the room will not be taken into account for the avg temp calculation
  • The Vent & Temp adjustment can be controlled via the setAdjustmentVentContactFlag & setAdjustmentTempContactFlag parameters in GeneralSetup ( default value is false, so no adjustments with contact sensors are made by default)
  • You’d need to specify also the contactSensor to be used in each room (Room Setup page)

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule#Look_.26_Feel
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=ScheduleTstatZones#Look_.26_Feel
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=ScheduleRoomTempControl#Look_.26_Feel

The new versions are available at my store for download:

http://www.ecomatiqhomes.com/store

Regards .

Hi,

For the Holidays, I’m bundling My Ecobee device and the EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule smartapp for $30.

The combination of MyEcobee device and the Zoned Heating/Cooling Solution specially designed smartapp for ecobee is really a powerful bundle: SmartThings and ecobee working together for more comfort inside your home.

For more details about MyEcobee device and the ecobeeSetZoneWithSchedule smartapp refer to

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=My_Ecobee_Device
http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule

You can download MyEcobee Bundle at my store:

http://www.ecomatiqhomes.com/store

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hi @yvesracine - thanks so much for your continued great work with Keen and ecobee.

I’m looking to actually scale back the complexity of my setup in a smaller apartment, and have a fairly simple need: I’d like 2 of the 5 Keen vents in this unit to close during the "night’ ecobee3 mode and open back up when the ecobee exits the night mode/comfort setting. So, would your Keen-commissioned version or paid version of your smart apps (I’m assuming I would want ecobeeSetZoneWithSchedule?) allow me to set certain vents to a certain % open/closed based on the ecobee entering/exiting certain comfort modes, and only changes in ecobee modes (that is, ignore local room temp and just open/shut based on time/mode)?

Thanks.

Hi @jaypeecee, with any of my paid versions of my zoned heating/cooling solutions, you can set the vents to any specific level during a schedule run.

The schedule can be triggered by a ST hello mode.

Please refer to the 1st post to determine which app is the best for you. EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule could be a good fit according to your use case.

Regards

Thanks @yvesracine - does EcobeeSetZoneWithSchedule or the other paid apps to control the Keen units require your ecobee3 device type as well (which I already bought from you) or will it work with the basic/SmartThings ecobee3 device type?

It will work properly with Myecobee Device only as it uses some specific attributes to avoid creating temporary holds for no reason.

The ST Stock device does not know which ecobee program/comfort settings are running at a specific time. MyEcobee is the only one device that knows which scheduled ecobee program is supposed to be running and which substitute program/comfort settings you’re using at a given time (ex. Home vs. Away).

This allows to apply some logic in ecobeeSetZoneWithSchedule to avoid temporary holds when not required or to switch back to Home or Away depending on motion detection at your home for example.

Regards

I am new to this. I have recently start using the “ecobeeSetZoneWithSchedule” I like how the smartapp allow you to customize and control a lot of details when equipped with Ecobee thermostat and Keen home smart vents. I am still trying to figure out all the settings to find which one suitable to my needs. I like how “yvesracine” is really involved in developing his code, keeps update it and inform the people who purchased about the new updates. But I noticed that when selecting the smart vents as thermometer sensor it can effect the accuracy of the thermostat due the wrong temperature the vent read when it get hot while the heating unit running. Over all I like the smartapp and it’s really more advanced than the ST app. I definitely recommend this code. And will come back to post more in the future when getting more familiar with all the smartapp features. Keep the good work “yvesracine”

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Hi,

Today, I sent out a new major version of my Zoned Heating/Cooling solutions to all my active contributors.

The new versions enable dynamic temp adjustments (+/- degrees) based on the thermostat’s setpoints for warmer/cooler zones inside the home.

This feature is added to the long list of features of the smartapps, amongst others:

  • Ability to schedule the thermostat’s setpoints and to set some predefined vent levels in different rooms permanently or only for some schedules (ex. at Night) temporarily

  • Ability to control the vents based on all ST connected sensors: contact, motion, and presence sensors (using the ST hello modes and routines)

The new versions are available now at my store:

Regards.

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Hello,
Im having trouble setting up v7.0.1, this is the error im getting: 0390440d-1d05-4e9e-b3cf-3947c74a5c03 10:34:43 PM: error java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke method refresh() on null object @ line 52.

Hi, I sent out a new version that corrects this issue (v7.0.3). This exception occurs for new installations only.
Regards.

Thank you! I have it setup and working now.

Great app! You just need to take your time and read the instructions to get things to work :slight_smile:

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A little confused regarding the two threads, this one, and the other one here:

I assume this is the “current” thread for this discussion, so moving my comments/questions from there to here.

This looks pretty cool, wanted to confirm it could resolve a problem w/our home.

We have a ranch style house, aligned along North/South, and south end of the house (living room/office/family room) is always warmer than the north end (bedrooms). So we get:

Winter: Heat enough to warm south end, and then the north end is too cold.
Summer: Cool enough to cool south end, and then the north end is again too cold.
So it seems like I could use the smart vents and smartapps/DTHs, to set up a system where the temperature is balanced across the house, with the hotter south end getting less heat/more cooling, and the cooler north end geting more heat, less cooling.

Assuming above is true, the HW to do this would be:

  • 9 smart vents to replace the 9"dumb" vents we have in the house
  • Temp sensors in each room

Questions:

  1. My Nest thermostat is programmed w/several temperature ranges during the day - I have temperature range settings for early AM, mid-morning to afternoon, afternoon to evening, and then bedtime. Does this system support that level of control?

  2. Do the current vents on the Keen site include the pressure sensor? Can’t find a model number on them on the site.

  3. If we only replace a subset of vents (in the too cold and too warm rooms) does that really work well? Seems like the remaining dumb vents would siphon off hot/cold air and make it harder for the system to balance temperatures properly.

  4. How important to have motion and temp sensors, vs. just temp sensors?

Thanks!

Hi @Danabw

1.My Nest thermostat is programmed w/several temperature ranges during the day - I have temperature range settings for early AM, mid-morning to afternoon, afternoon to evening, and then bedtime. Does this system support that level of control?

Yes, you can use the smartapp to control your setpoints during the day. You can define up to 12 schedules in the smartapp: some for weekdays, others for weekends, etc…

2.Do the current vents on the Keen site include the pressure sensor? Can’t find a model number on them on the site.

There is pressure sensor that comes with the vent. However, the pressure sensor reports some absolute barometric pressure values which (alone) cannot be used in HA scenarios.

3.If we only replace a subset of vents (in the too cold and too warm rooms) does that really work well? Seems like the remaining dumb vents would siphon off hot/cold air and make it harder for the system to balance temperatures properly.

Well, it really depends on your HVAC’s performance as well. If your HVAC airflow is really unbalanced, adding smart vents will not correct everything. When there is a huge temperature variation between rooms on the same floor, it’s also recommended to balance your “airflow” by an HVAC technician.

Smart vents and my smartapp can help to a certain extent, but they will not correct a severely “unbalanced” HVAC system.

4.How important to have motion and temp sensors, vs. just temp sensors?

It’s important if you want to use some advanced features of the smartapp: to set your Nest thermostat to away & present or control your smart vents in order to open only the vents in occupied rooms (all these scenarios are based on motion detection).

Refer to the beginning of the thread for more details on each smartapp solution that I created and the ST community wiki.

If you’re planning to buy some Keen Home smart vents, there is a referral link down below that you can use to get each smart vent for $25 less (you need to enter the promo code several times if you are buying several vents; just buy them one at a time).

_Friend Landing Page

P.S. The ScheduleTstatZones thread was created more than a year ago. This thread has been created this year with the latest features described at the beginning of the thread.

EDIT: Some Motion sensors like the SmartSensor and the Iris 2nd gen sensors already come with Motion and Temp capabilities and they don’t cost much more…
Regards.

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Hi again,

Here are some explanations about smart vents:

Regards,

Just excellent - thanks very much for the extensive info and frank advice. Per your comments I think I’ll schedule an HVAC appointment to get someone to take a look at our system, and go from there.

I must say that I bought this and the support package (and wish I would have done so from the start). Best investment ever, so much that I bought additional vents (I have five total, two additional need to be exchanged for the right size thanks to Lowes screwing up an online order).

He took care of everything and set up an optimal layout for me all without touching it and explained where I went wrong during the setup.

Kudos!

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Great app and solid updates. Given adoption of smartvents (Keen), many of us have purchases a house full! Now I am seeing some vents fail (or go off line), ect. IDEA, can your solution provide a vent status? Maybe an alert if a vent is not replying to a command from your app…

THX!

Hi @aallesch,

To see your vents’ level at any given time, you’d need to go to the Running Schedule page from the Dashboard.

Moreover, you will get a warning notification if the setLevel command is not executed properly.

See the code excerpt below:

try {
	ventSwitch.setLevel(switchLevel)
	if (roomName) {       
		traceEvent(settings.logFilter,"set ${ventSwitch} at level ${switchLevel} in room ${roomName} to reach desired temperature",settings.detailedNotif, get_LOG_INFO())
	}            
} catch (e) {
	if (switchLevel >0) {
		ventSwitch.on()        
		traceEvent(settings.logFilter, "setVentSwitchLevel>not able to set ${ventSwitch} at ${switchLevel} (exception $e), trying to turn it on",
			true, get_LOG_WARN())            
	} else {
		ventSwitch.off()        
		traceEvent(settings.logFilter, "setVentSwitchLevel>not able to set ${ventSwitch} at ${switchLevel} (exception $e), trying to turn it off",
			true, get_LOG_WARN())           
	}
}

Regards.

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Hi, today I released a new version of my Zoned Heating/Cooling smartapps with additional checks to ensure that the setLevel command is processed by the Vent DTH and some clear obstruction attempts if not.

The new versions of the smartapps are available at my store:

www.ecomatiqhomes.com/store

Regards.

1 Like