Thermostats have minds of their own :(

[bnold]

Ok I have been running Homeseer for going on three years now in my small business... The thermostat functions have been pretty reliable for me in the past, but after switching seasons a while back and making some changes to the events reliability has gone out the window...

Some info on the system:
HomeSeer Version 2.3.0.19
RCS thermostat plug in 2.4.02
hard wired serial type
4 TR16 RS485 thermostats

I have multiple events for 1 thermostat depending on the day (same for Mon-Fri, different on Sat and different on Sun) and the other 3 thermostats follow the same two events every day of the week. (different part of the building different requirements)

The issue is the thermostats seem to have minds of their own... This morning for example uses the following event and acording the the homeseer log ran just fine. However when I arrived at probably 9:30am the heat set point was at 59*!! So needless to say it was cold in here.

Name:
Therapy M-F 730AM to 630PM_____Sat 720AM to 1200PM

Trigger:
6:30 AM
Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fr,Sa

Action:
RCS Serial Thermostats: Therapy Thermostat:
Set Mode: Auto
RCS Serial Thermostats: Therapy Thermostat:
Set Fan Mode: On
RCS Serial Thermostats: Therapy Thermostat:
Set Heat Setpoint: 68
RCS Serial Thermostats: Therapy Thermostat:
Set Cool Setpoint: 74



What is my problem here? about to have to put a std programable back into place... But that wont fulfill my needs of remote accessability so that isn't a great option... Just want this thing to work as it used to.


I have asked this question in the past and just been too busy to follow up and things were kinda sorta working right.. No consistancy in the issues, once a week 3 times a week, different days, some events never skip a beat... Very frustrating. When I posted this question before I was told to update homeseer and the plugin which I did... I was also told to check the internal scheduling of the thermostats, but was then told that the TR16s dont have any capability of an internal scheduler... Sooo I'm lost please HELP!

Thanks for your help.. Hope to get this worked out ASAP, people getting impatient with me

[Rupp]

Are you running the latest version of the plugin? Have you tried starting with a simply event to ensure it works?

[snedecor]

Check your log for any error messages.

My only problem with my wired TR-80 thermostats has to do with Homeseer losing connection to the thermostats. I have a USB-serial dongle, and I don't know whether the dongle, XP, Homeseer's compatibility module (which sometimes freezes), etc. is to blame.

When it happens, the plugin repors timeout connecting to the thermostat in the log.

I then know it's time to shut down/restart Homeseer. That clears it up until the next time.

Good Luck.

[bnold]

Are you running the latest version of the plugin? Have you tried starting with a simply event to ensure it works?

Yes running the latest version of the plugin...

Yes events often work as they are supposed to... Sometimes 3 other thermostats will work perfectly and 1 will faulter...

This evening was a prime example...

at 630 PM Therapy Thermostat was supposed to go to:
Mode Auto
Fan Auto
Heat Setpoint 55
Cool Setpoint 80

at 630 PM FC thermostats 1, 2, and 3 were supposed to go to:
Mode Auto
Fan On
Heat Setpoint 64
Cool Setpoint 72


I checked it remotely at 9PM and the FC thermostats were correct and the Therapy Thermostat was
Mode Cool
Fan Auto
Heat Setpoint 63
Cool Setpoint 69

Obviously not working correctly and costing me $$

63 and 69 temps are no where in any event I have... Its like teh thermostat thought that was a good number to go with..

[bnold]

My only problem with my wired TR-80 thermostats has to do with Homeseer losing connection to the thermostats. I have a USB-serial dongle, and I don't know whether the dongle, XP, Homeseer's compatibility module (which sometimes freezes), etc. is to blame.

When it happens, the plugin repors timeout connecting to the thermostat in the log.

I then know it's time to shut down/restart Homeseer. That clears it up until the next time.

Good Luck.

I guess I need to turn the polling on again and dig through it tomorrow...
Every 360 seconds or something should do no?

[snedecor]

I look in the log...

I have the HAI RC thermostat plugin. I have polling within the plugin at 10 seconds. It doesn't seem to impact my HS performance.

I also have the external temperature device sent to the thermostat as outside temperature. When that stops displaying on the stat, I check the logs. Typically, after a programmed setback, the log will state "timeout sending to the thermostat" or something like that.

I then have to shut down homeseer and sometimes the computer.

I still think it's either the USB-serial dongle or XP itself, although I'm not sure. It only happens perhaps once/week.

[Rupp]

These USB to Serial devices are really hit and miss. The one that everyone seems to have good luck with is the Edgeport devices.

[bnold]

These USB to Serial devices are really hit and miss. The one that everyone seems to have good luck with is the Edgeport devices.

No USB to serial dongle here...
Simple PCI dual serial card

[nightwalker]

No USB to serial dongle here...
Simple PCI dual serial card

Maybe there is an updated driver for that card?

[jstaab]

There is a known issue with the current plug in, see the link posted below. However, your problem doesn't sound the same, rather your issue sounds more random. The bug mentioned in the thread would at least give you consistent cool setpoint values each time it occured, even though its incorrect. Keep in mind, if one setpoint value is set incorrectly, it will push the other setpoint as well if they get too close together. Besides the mentioned bug, I've had no other issues with the plug-in. I personally use an EdgePort.

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=134464

[bnold]

I ran a 10min log to try and find an error...
Here is a chunk of it:
4/23/2009 6:30:00 PM - Info - Event Trigger "Therapy M-F 630PM to 730AM"
4/23/2009 6:30:00 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 SPC=80
4/23/2009 6:30:00 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 M=A
4/23/2009 6:30:00 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 F=0
4/23/2009 6:30:01 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 SP=55
4/23/2009 6:30:01 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 SPH=55
4/23/2009 6:30:01 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - A=1 Z=1 O=00 SPC=80A=1 Z=1 O=00 M=AA=1 Z=1 O=00 F=0A=1 Z=1 O=00 SP=55A=1 Z=1 O=00 SPH=55
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Poll Thread Loop Starting
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Polling stat number: 1
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In Poll: Time: 4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Polling stat number: 2
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In Poll: Time: 4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Polling stat number: 3
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In Poll: Time: 4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 R=1
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 R=2
4/23/2009 6:38:28 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=1 Z=1 O=00 SC=?
4/23/2009 6:38:29 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=2 Z=1 O=00 R=1
4/23/2009 6:38:29 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=2 Z=1 O=00 R=2
4/23/2009 6:38:29 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=2 Z=1 O=00 SC=?
4/23/2009 6:38:29 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=3 Z=1 O=00 R=1
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=3 Z=1 O=00 R=2
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Writing Data: A=3 Z=1 O=00 SC=?
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - A=1 Z=1 O=00 R=1A=00 O=1 Z=1 T=75 SP=59 SPH=55 SPC=59 M=A FM=0 A=1 Z=1 O=00 R=2A=00 O=1 H1A=0 H2A=0 H3A=0 C1A=1 C2A=1 FA=1 SCP=02 A=1 Z=1 O=00 SC=?A=00 O=1 SC=1 A=2 Z=1 O=00 R=1A=00 O=2 Z=1 T=74 SP=71 SPH=65 SPC=71 M=C FM=1 A=2 Z=1 O=00 R=2A=00 O=2 H1A=0 H2A=0 H3A=0 C1A=1 C2A=1 FA=1 SCP=00 A=2 Z=1 O=00 SC=?A=00 O=2 SC=1 A=3 Z=1 O=00 R=1A=00 O=3 Z=1 T=72 SP=71 SPH=65 SPC=71 M=C FM=1 A=3 Z=1 O=00 R=2A=00 O=3 H1A=0 H2A=0 H3A=0 C1A=1 C2A=0 FA=1 SCP=00 A=3 Z=1 O=00 SC=?A=00 O=3 SC=1
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - Entering ProcessCMD, CMD=A=00 O=1 Z=1 T=75 SP=59 SPH=55 SPC=59 M=A FM=0
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= A
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= O
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= Z
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= T
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= SP
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= SPH
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= SPC
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= M
4/23/2009 6:38:30 PM - RCS Serial Thermos - In ProcessCMD, Property= FM



As you can see the event ran, and then when the next log entry came out the cool setpoint was 59* instead of 80??

Maybe this will help some??

[bnold]

There is a known issue with the current plug in, see the link posted below. However, your problem doesn't sound the same, rather your issue sounds more random. The bug mentioned in the thread would at least give you consistent cool setpoint values each time it occured, even though its incorrect. Keep in mind, if one setpoint value is set incorrectly, it will push the other setpoint as well if they get too close together. Besides the mentioned bug, I've had no other issues with the plug-in. I personally use an EdgePort.

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=134464

I think you are on to something here... My issue with this event is my 80 cool setpoint not staying.. instead it goes to 59* which is 4* above my 55* heat setpoint.. believe 4* is the spread? I see the SP, SPC and SPH in the log entries

So what is my fix for this?? I need to not have dual setpoints? Seems kinda weird... During the evening hours having it on Auto with a big spread seems to work out best for our weather...

Thanks jstaab

[jstaab]

This is the same bug indeed as I reported. Your setting your heat setpoint to 55, and the bug is in turn setting your cool setpoint to 55 also. Because they can't be the same temperature, it's probably pushing your cool setpoint up to 59. If your using scripts or events, the temporary workaround is to always make sure you set your cool setpoint AFTER you set your heat setpoint. However, if all your thermostats have dual setpoints, I can send you a temporary version of the plug in that comments out the offending coding (HST supplied me with this). Again, this is a temporary fix that is not appropriate if you have any thermostats with single setpoints.

[bnold]

This is the same bug indeed as I reported. Your setting your heat setpoint to 55, and the bug is in turn setting your cool setpoint to 55 also. Because they can't be the same temperature, it's probably pushing your cool setpoint up to 59. If your using scripts or events, the temporary workaround is to always make sure you set your cool setpoint AFTER you set your heat setpoint. However, if all your thermostats have dual setpoints, I can send you a temporary version of the plug in that comments out the offending coding (HST supplied me with this). Again, this is a temporary fix that is not appropriate if you have any thermostats with single setpoints.

All of my thermostats have dual setpoints.. I would like a copy of the plugin HST supplied you with...

For now I will delete the Heat setpoints... Is anybody working on this fix?

[jerny]

RCS Thermostat problem

I'm also having major problems with changing CmdSetHeat and CmdSetCool and with the web interface to the plug-in. When I change set points, they seem to 'stick' for anywhere from 0 to 50 seconds, and then when i refresh my web browser, the set points suddenly change to randomly. I haven't played with it long enough to figure out exactly what is happening, but the pattern seems consistent with what others on this thread have said. Has anyone gotten this to work consistently? I have version 2.4.0.2 of the RCS Serial plug-in and I have version 2.3.0.19 of HS2.