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Can I compare two device values to trigger an event?

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    #1

    Can I compare two device values to trigger an event?

    I have an RCS TZ16 thermostat and several 1 wire temperature sensors. I've discovered that when we're watching TV due to the heat generated by the equipment (and probably the body heat) the temperature in the TV room can rise much faster than the temperature in the room with the thermostat and become pretty uncomfortable. I've also discovered that turning the HVAC fan to 'on' rather than 'auto' usually takes care of the problem due to the extra air movement and the fact that it's bringing in (slightly) cooler air from other parts of the house.

    What I'd like to do is set up an event to turn the fan to 'on' that will trigger whenever the temperature in the TV room is higher than the setpoint on the thermostat. I'd also like to set up a corresponding event that will turn the fan back to 'auto' once the temp in the TV room is lower than the setpoint on the thermostat.

    Do I need to write a script to trigger the event (or just set the fan mode in the script) or am I missing something on the event trigger page?

    Thanks,
    Brett
    Tags: None
    #2
    I think that you will need to script this, because there is no way that I know of to compare two device values and use the result as a trigger in Homeseer.

    The only thing you can use as a trigger is a comparison between a device value and a fixed value.

    Comment

      #3
      How would I do this with a script? Would I need to set up an event that triggers every 5 or 10 minutes that just calls the script? That seems pretty ineffecient.

      Comment

        #4
        mcsTemperature plugin lets you do trigger based upon relationship of two sensors.

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by BrettS View Post
          How would I do this with a script? Would I need to set up an event that triggers every 5 or 10 minutes that just calls the script? That seems pretty ineffecient.
          I don't see why this is inefficient... That's exactly what Homeseer is designed to do and does, when it evaluates the triggers of most events every minute of every day...

          If you don't want to run this all the time, just add a condition to your trigger based on time of day or occupancy...

          You setup a very small script with a recurrent event trigger. All this script does is compare you room temperature with your thermostat setting to turn your fan ON or OFF.

          Here's the decision tree :

          Fan OFF and temperature below thermostat --> Do nothing
          Fan ON and temperature below thermostat --> Stop Fan
          Fan OFF and temperature above thermostat --> Start Fan
          Fan ON and temperature above thermostat --> Do nothing

          Joel

          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by Michael McSharry View Post
            mcsTemperature plugin lets you do trigger based upon relationship of two sensors.
            Michael, at this point I don't have a temperatue sensor in the room with the thermostat. What I was hoping to do was compare the temperature sensor in the TV room with the setpoint of the thermostat. Is that something that mcsTemperature can also do, or can it only compare two sensors? I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world to put a temperature sensor in there, but I was hoping to avoid that.

            Also, along completely different lines, will mcsTemperature also support the 1 wire counter devices? I'm working on another project to monitor my house's power consumption and right now it's looking like I'll wind up with some sort of a meter that sends pulses and a 1 wire counter to count them. I don't think my current 1 wire solution supports the counter.

            Thanks,
            Brett

            Comment

              #7
              I just wanted to follow up on this and say that I did write a quick script for this that seems to be working well.

              Thanks everyone

              Comment

                #8
                Something similar....

                I use scripting and my thermostat actual and setpoint temps and an outside temp sensor to control my whole house exhaust fan during the summer.
                I use a script to turn on my whole house exhaust fan in the evening by comparing the thermostat actual temp to the outside temp and then turning the fan on when it get cooler outside.
                Then I have another script (actually part of my thermostat script) that shuts off the exhaust fan when the thermostat actual temp gets down to the thermostat setpoint temp. That way I don't get it too cold in the house when it cools down into the 50's like it's supposed to tonight.
                Dick
                HS PRO 2.5.0.81, WinXP, IE8, Shuttle XS35V3, 2.13GHz, 4GB, 40GB SSD drive, AC-RF2, ADIOcelot, Message Server, TI103, SNEVL CID, pjcOutlook, MCSTemperature, Powertrigger, BLBackup, BLFloorplan, BLIcon, BLOccupied, BLRadar, BLRfid, BLLogMonitor, ACPUPSD, UltraECM, WeatherXML & Stipus' script connector. 500+ devices, 260+ events, 1-wire weather station + temp/humidity sensors & Oregon Scientific temp & humidity sensors & 2 Brultech ECM-1240s

                Comment

                  #9
                  Michael, at this point I don't have a temperatue sensor in the room with the thermostat. What I was hoping to do was compare the temperature sensor in the TV room with the setpoint of the thermostat. Is that something that mcsTemperature can also do, or can it only compare two sensors? I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world to put a temperature sensor in there, but I was hoping to avoid that.

                  Also, along completely different lines, will mcsTemperature also support the 1 wire counter devices? I'm working on another project to monitor my house's power consumption and right now it's looking like I'll wind up with some sort of a meter that sends pulses and a 1 wire counter to count them. I don't think my current 1 wire solution supports the counter.
                  Any HS devices can be used with "Temperature" events. It uses the numeric portion of whatever is in the DeviceString as the basis of decisions.

                  mcsTemperature does support the counters and supports the wattage and wattage rate data collection and charting.

                  Comment

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