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    No device type set?

    I have the plug-in installed and a Honeywell Redlink setup with four thermostats (along with two indoor remotes and 1 outdoor).

    When I look at the device listing for HS3 there's not 'type' set for most of the items associated with this plug-in.

    Is that deliberate?

    Is there a reason it's not set? As in, being a problem for anything searching for a "Thermostat" and finding quite a more more than just an actual thermostat device?

    And if I use the "Device Type" drop-down menu there's an option for "Type: Thermostat API". Selecting it, however, does not filter to any results. Should it? Other plug-ins show up on that list and selecting their options does filter the device list accordingly.

    I don't suppose it matters, but I'm curious... given how most other plug-ins set a type value.

    I also ask because "little things" like this sometimes means there's something in the software not doing it's job properly. Or the developer missed a function call somewhere.

    I'm asking this out of curiosity, not as a bug report.
    Attached Files

    #2
    Good catch, and I appreciate the comment. It boils down to the fact I don't use that column in my own setup I'll have a look at how other devices/plugins handle it and see about adding it in an upcoming release. I'm hoping to get a release out for all of my plugins between now and the end of the year while I have some bulk time off!

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      #3
      No worries. I've been using HS3 for quite a while but haven't had time to get into more of the details. The event system is, well, it's a learning experience. I've got a long background in IT, including work in software testing and development. So I both feel your pain (developing) and know how to make it worse (testing). heh.

      I ask also because if Type is important in HS3, or used in some "special way" then it might be important.

      My reason for noticing this is trying to figure out an effective framework for managing the heat/cool transitions on my thermostats. There are some weeks at the Fall/Winter and Winter/Spring transitions where it's necessary to switch back/forth between heat/cool. Anyway, that's better discussed on it's own thread, not here. But I'm trying to learn how to best approach that in HS3 and happened to notice the missing "Type" field.

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        #4
        The only thing the Type column really does is give you a third built-in filter (vs. Location 1 and Location 2), so I'm not worried about it being a functional deficiency, but if others don't use location 1 and location 2 as I do, it might be annoying to not be able to filter off that, so I should fix it.

        As far as switching between heat/cool, if your thermostat doesn't have an "Auto" mode (or even if it does and you want to be able to control it better), you can turn on "simulated auto" and the plugin will manage the change for you based on the temp exceeding the setpoint limits for cool and heat respectively.

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          #5
          Heh, the thermostats do have an Auto mode but it's never quite as smart as it seems like it should be. That and we have ground well geo-thermal based HVAC (with forced air delivery inside). For cooling it responds quite quickly, as groundwater temp is typically ~56F. But for heat the recovery time is a bit longer. Thus it seems like the Auto mode doesn't take that into account on days when it get hot enough to make the house uncomfortable during the day, but then drops enough to be a problem come bedtime. I'm sure there's a setting buried somewhere in the thermostats or zone controllers that's supposed to handle this but the assortment of HVAC techs that have been out to manage this have been less than inspired.

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            #6
            Ah, so you need some real intelligence - current temp, rate of change, forecasted hourly temp, etc. to PREDICT when to change to keep it comfortable. Perfect kind of problem for a system like HS, but it will require some effort I suppose!

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              #7
              Yeah, kinda. I know enough to be dangerous and have enough experience with technology that says I should research effective solutions before reinventing the wheel (badly).

              The real hassle is the days/weeks where this is an issue aren't predictable enough to decently model it based on collected data. Especially since I've got nothing configured to collect anything. I have to think somebody's already done the heavy lifting to figure this out. I just haven't had the time to dig through posts to find it. That and it's really annoying they've got the search box configured to use Google. It's much better to use the /search.php interface to at least narrow which forums get searched.

              Anyway, at the very least I suppose I should start collecting data. Any suggestions on what to use in HS3 for this?

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                #8
                If you want to build a history of values for devices (like your thermostat devices, weather devices, etc.), I just happen to have a plugin for that (Device History), and it's on sale this week

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by shill View Post
                  I just happen to have a plugin for that (Device History), and it's on sale this week
                  Which I just happened to buy. Nice. I'm going to have it chart the indoor temp and HVAC activity.

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