Away Mode Random Lights

[Wadenut]

When I sat down to actually create a meaningful schedule, I realized in order to produce anything that even closely matched our lifestyle, I'd be spending hours at it dreaming up dozens if not hundreds of schedules.
Rather than that, I thought, why not let the script do it for me based on real collected data. So, I spent those hours setting this up.

I'm still in the process of testing this, but the next version will be able to watch a list of lights you define, collecting time of day, on time, etc. It'll do this for one week. Once that's complete, the script will write your schedule for you complete with randomization based on the values you've provided.
Took about 10 minutes to enter the device list, then let 'er rip.
Neat eh?

Still putting a few finishing touches on this, but it is already working.

[TomTom]

Wow! That's great, a learning plugin of human habit. Very Nice. I still haven't had time to upgrade to your final version above but the one I have works great.
Thks!


Tom

[Conrad_Turbo]

When I sat down to actually create a meaningful schedule, I realized in order to produce anything that even closely matched our lifestyle, I'd be spending hours at it dreaming up dozens if not hundreds of schedules.
Rather than that, I thought, why not let the script do it for me based on real collected data. So, I spent those hours setting this up.

I'm still in the process of testing this, but the next version will be able to watch a list of lights you define, collecting time of day, on time, etc. It'll do this for one week. Once that's complete, the script will write your schedule for you complete with randomization based on the values you've provided.
Took about 10 minutes to enter the device list, then let 'er rip.
Neat eh?

Still putting a few finishing touches on this, but it is already working.

I am very new to HomeSeer and home automation in general but this sounds awesome!

[Wadenut]

I am very new to HomeSeer and home automation in general but this sounds awesome!

Thanks. I'm rather pleased with this one. I'm just running it through a second round of data collection on two separate machines right now (HS2/HS3). It does produce a schedule, although around here, all the lights run on motion sensors, so I ended up with 1200+ schedules. I've added a time of day range to reduce that a bit, but I think it may still be necessary to go through the schedule manually afterward and decide if all the schedules produced are necessary. Of course, you can still just produce a schedule set manually instead of using the automatic mode.
I'll package it up soon and upload the new version.

[Wadenut]

v1.6 with data tracking posted

v1.6
- Facilitates the automatic collection of actual Light device usage and generates a schedule automatically.

- There is a minor bug in some HS3 versions which renders the page header useless. This version makes the HS Page header optional on the included web page. If you find this to be the case, simply configure the option in the config file. The default is to display the page header.

- Optionally creates the two events required to run this package. Event creation is automatic the first time a new schedule is configured on the web page. To disable this function and create the events manually, edit the appropriate Option in the config file. Instructions are in the PDF documentation.

- Documentation has been extensively updated with new information.

[sparkman]

Thanks for posting Greg, looks like a great addition. Hopefully I'll get some time over the next few weeks to play with this.

Cheers
Al

[Wadenut]

Thanks. I've quite enjoyed doing this one.

[Wadenut]

And of course, I have noted a bug. With the auto generated schedules, MinOn and MaxOn each always turn out to be 1 minute. The problem is in the compilation routine, not in data collection. I ought to have this ironed out in a day or two so it'll only mean replacing the script file before the schedules are generated 1 week after anyone starts tracking data, so it ought not to affect the outcome. My own collection still has three days to run but I still have an old data file to work with.
Sorry.

Edit: Already have the fix figured out. I'll code it and post again, probably tomorrow.

[Wadenut]

1.7 fixed the aforementioned problem.
In addition, several other annoyances are also fixed now.
It would be best to reinstall all parts of the package as the ASP has also been modified, and previously "automatic" collected data will be invalid.
Over-writing the INI file will ensure that when Automatic collection is started, the data will be initialized properly.

I've started a new collection phase myself as I'd found a lot of garbage in the previous data. The result so far looks much better.

[Wadenut]

Got way too much time on my hands.
Was just thinking about this. In the northern climes, daylight varies a great deal from one season to another. In summer, it isn't dark until at least 9:30 PM and light by 5:00AM. In winter, daylight might be 8AM to 4:30 PM. So, schedules generated in one season really aren't entirely valid in another.
Sooooo...
I'll be adding a "Season" field. The season will be definable by date range, and added to the configuration.
Any previously generated schedules will be converted, so they'll be compatible. We'd only need to add a Season definition to them if desired.
The whole thing will be optional too. Any schedule without a Season definition will apply to all dates, so, those late night schedules can be left alone.

But not right away. I'm taking a break over the holiday's.

[TomTom]

I'll be adding a "Season" field. The season will be definable by date range, and added to the configuration.
Any previously generated schedules will be converted, so they'll be compatible. We'd only need to add a Season definition to them if desired.
The whole thing will be optional too. Any schedule without a Season definition will apply to all dates, so, those late night schedules can be left alone.

But not right away. I'm taking a break over the holiday's.

Nice, that's a really useful feature. I've always struggled with light events in the evenings especially when we have the time changes, Fall/back, it gets dark but outside lights are still off. So I added a light sensor, but on cloudy days it gets triggered. So this will be very helpful. I still haven;t upgraded to your "learning" package yet, but looking forward to both. Thanks Greg!

[Wadenut]

I hadn't thought of the time change, but I'll take that into account too.
Cloudy days are an issue. I installed a new weather station last summer with a sunlight/UV sensor. It helps in that respect. My goal is never to have to touch a light switch again. Close, but not there yet.

[Wadenut]

Finally finished a tracking phase and was able to do some testing with actual data.
Found a bit of a bug which causes schedules between 1:00AM and 9:59AM to be rescheduled to PM. Since most people won't be using schedules in that span of time I won't bother uploading the fixed version unless it does cause a problem for someone. I want to do some more testing, then work on the seasonal schedules upgrade first. I'll likely start work on this within the next week or so.

Again, if anyone is bothered by this bug, let me know and I will upload the fix.

[TomTom]

Greg,
Thanks for the update, looking forward to it. I'm still using your original version and it worked beautifully over the Xmas break. I wasn't home but I could view hs, from my laptop 3 states away, the lights changing for the lived in look. Very nice!

[Wadenut]

Good to hear.
Actually I did a little more in depth checking last night. The problem isn't as bad as I'd thought. It actually only seems to occur for schedules between 1:00 AM and 1:59 AM.