Creating Thermostat events via Harmony interface

[Anonymous]

#40238

Just this evening, I got my EZServ updated to 2.06 (after it stopped responding, and had to recover to 1.6, then using the updater thingie to get it up to 2.06)… now I’m able to connect to it using the online and local Harmony interfaces.

Added my thermostats, and I can see their status, change their modes and set temperatures. W00T!

HOWEVER… I was then dismayed when I tried to create new actions to basically use my EZServ as a timer to schedule thermostat events. The thermostats I have are 1-day programmable, and I’m about to start working 4 days a week. Being able to program thermostat changes would give me the flexibility to optimize my thermostats to my schedule.

First, creating an action on the Harmony interface is not very intuitive, but I was able to figure out setting up a timer to turn on a light… but set one of my thermostats? I only get a slider with a numeric value below it from 34.00 to 255.00. HUH? How am I supposed to set a thermostat using THAT? Why not have the same interface on the device list to set it?

I’m sad, because while I can get to the Harmony interface over the web (meaning I can at least access it from the office), I can’t program my EZServ to manage my thermostat settings.

[Anonymous]

#43239

I was able to create an Action to set the HeatSetPoint using the HTML interface. I defined an Action with Absolute= to set the HeatSetPoint to 86 which is hex 86, decimal 134 x 0.5 which is 67 degrees. I know, that is really convoluted. The Insteon command to set the HeatSetPoint requires a hex value which is x2 the actual decimal value desired. I’m sure the reason for that convention is obvious to someone but not to me. Anyway, that is what the Insteon command requires. I traced the Insteon command issued by the Action and it was the correct 0x6D Insteon command with a hex value of 86 which according to the Insteon command set should have set the HeatSetPoint to 67. Of course the command actually failed in my system as I don’t have the Thermostat adaptor but the command issued was the correct one.

The Harmony client must still be evolving in this area as you have seen the Effect did not allow specifying whether it was Cool or Heat being set and the slider resulted in a hex value being stored that was too large.

Since the objective is to get you some working Actions at this point I would suggest using the HTML interface to define a test Action with an Effect Attribute of HeatSetPoint and a Value that is hex and is twice the decimal value you want. Value 86 is decimal 134 X 0.5 = 67. Pick the hex value that gets you the Heat Set Point you want and an Absolute= value a little in the future and see if the Action does in fact adjust the Heat Set Point. After defining the Action with the HTML and Saving on both the Condition screen and the Actions screen with both Enable/Active boxes checked, Restart (not reset) EZSrve. It has been found that it is sometimes necessary to Restart EZSrve after setting an Action through the HTML interface or the Action will not trigger when the time is close.

The Harmony client should make this an intuitive process of setting the Heat Set Point but until that work is complete this should get you an Action that adjusts the Heat Set Point. Once we know the technique works you can define as many Actions as you need based on days of the week to turn your 1-day a week into a 7-day a week thermostat.

The XML from my test Action follows …

[Anonymous]

#43240

Grif,

Thanks for the feedback. I know I had messed around with the HTML interface, and I did find someone mention something about the hex number. I tried to set up an event before, but I think the problem was that I did not restart the EZServ after setting up the event.

I just set up a test event to set the temperature to 67º using the hex value of 86, and it worked. I’ll set up a few events to test with both ‘stats that I have and see what I get.

I will really like it when the Harmony interface is fully up to speed with this stuff. It would be so much easier! Oh, and I’d like it if the local client would save the server address and optionally the password. It’s kinda a pain to have to punch it in all the time. 😉

[Anonymous]

#43241

I figured out that each temperature setting (in ºF) has two corresponding hex codes, and mapped them as such:

64º = 7F or 80
65º = 81 or 82
66º = 83 or 84
67º = 85 or 86
68º = 87 or 88
69º = 89 or 8A
70º = 8B or 8C
71º = 8D or 8E
72º = 8F or 90
73º = 91 or 92
74º = 93 or 94
75º = 95 or 96
76º = 97 or 98
77º = 99 or 9A
78º = 9B or 9C
79º = 9D or 9E
80º = 9F or A0
81º = A1 or A2
82º = A3 or A4
83º = A5 or A6
84º = A7 or A8
85º = A9 or AA
86º = AB or AC
87º = AD or AE
88º = AF or B0
89º = B1 or B2
90º = B3 or B4

Tested most of them to verify that they do in fact correlate to the above. Maybe this will come in handy for anyone else working with the thermostat adapters.

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