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    Hourly Forecast

    I am using NOAA services to show forecasts in HSTouch. I really like the concept of devices for the daily forecasts. However, the functionality to create devices for hourly forecasts is missing. I believe I read that this was an upcoming feature but couldn't find that thread anymore. Is that something we will get soon?

    #2
    It is on my to do list. I have started it several times but can't decide on a good interface. There is 240 hours available in the hourly forecast. And several data items. I would welcome ideas on how you would see the interface working.
    --
    Jeff Farmer
    HS 3, HSPhone
    My HS3 Plugins: CFHSExtras, Random, Restart, Tracker, WeatherXML, PanaBluRay
    Other Plugins In Use: APCUPSD, BLOnkyo, Device History, EasyTrigger, HSTouch Server, PHLocation2, Pushover, RFXCom, UltraGCIR3, UltraMon3, UltraPioneerAVR3, X10, Z-Wave

    Hardware: GoControl Irrigation Controler, Schlage Lever Lock, Schlage Deadbolt, Way2Call Hi-Phone, RFXCom RFXrec433 Receiver, WGL 800, TI-103, Z-Net, Pioneer 1120, Pioneer 1021, Pioneer LX302, Panasonic BDT-110, Panasonic BDT-210 x2

    Comment


      #3
      In my case I only want the 'hourly' forecast for the next 12h every 3 hours so only 4 data points. That keeps the number of devices low (WeatherXML is actually the plugin with the most devices short of my alarm system and lights).

      Having said that, are you concerned about the interface where you setup the devices, or the devices that are being create, or both?

      For the interface to setup the devices (the plugin configuration page) you could just have a table with 24 check boxes (no text, just the box) on each row and 10 rows. The first column would say 'day 1', 'day 2',.., 'day 10'. If that doesn't sound good, then maybe you could have a dropdown list with 'day 1', 'day 2', etc. and then check boxes for each hour of the selected day. In the drop down you could also have 'all' so it applies it to all 10 days. I personally prefer the first approach (keeps things simpler and straight forward). The second approach with the dropdown list could also lead to more requests to change/add things.

      You said you have multiple data points. For that you could have another section with check boxes to enable particular data points. That selection applies to ALL hours that were selected above. Don't give users the option to select some data points for one hour and another data point for another hour. It becomes way too complicated (and actually now the user also needs many more clicks, i.e. 3x more if they want 3 data points for each hour).

      As for the devices, I don't have a good idea on top of my head. I guess people like me who really only want a few data points don't mind to have a device for each data point and hour. People who want all the info probably want to display it graphically so maybe just one device can be created to show a graph. But that opens a Pandora box as everybody wants a graph in a bit a different way. So maybe one option would be to create a 'hourly temperature device' that has a string of coma separated temperatures. It's then up to the user to process that. Obviously, that is not overly user friendly. Another idea would be to create a simplified XML file so it's easier to work with those XML files. None of this is a great solution. Maybe to start with just create a device for each hour/datapoints selected.

      Comment


        #4
        The interface to setup the devices is what I was struggling with. I'll look over your ideas and see what I can come up with.
        --
        Jeff Farmer
        HS 3, HSPhone
        My HS3 Plugins: CFHSExtras, Random, Restart, Tracker, WeatherXML, PanaBluRay
        Other Plugins In Use: APCUPSD, BLOnkyo, Device History, EasyTrigger, HSTouch Server, PHLocation2, Pushover, RFXCom, UltraGCIR3, UltraMon3, UltraPioneerAVR3, X10, Z-Wave

        Hardware: GoControl Irrigation Controler, Schlage Lever Lock, Schlage Deadbolt, Way2Call Hi-Phone, RFXCom RFXrec433 Receiver, WGL 800, TI-103, Z-Net, Pioneer 1120, Pioneer 1021, Pioneer LX302, Panasonic BDT-110, Panasonic BDT-210 x2

        Comment


          #5
          Ideas related

          Picking up this thread since it is fairly recent...but I was going to put a feature set in, but decided this was still relevant.

          As for interface, not exactly sure what you are asking, but as for practicality and application, when I hear "forecast", it is good for general Situational Awareness, but it often doesn't help me in fine tune decision making.

          For example, when I go to sleep, I know I will be "out of pocket" for at least 6-8 hours. It would be nice if Homeseer told me that in the next "6-8 hours" that temps would be consistently below 32 degrees, it can remind me to drip the faucets. When a forecast says low of...that low could have already passed based on the forecast. Or... tell me at night that when I wake up, it will be 25 degrees at 8am (kids bus stop). Or tell me before I go to bed, that temps will be below 32 degrees for the next 6 hours. Or tell me that rain (i.e. > 50%) will most likely start at 2PM. Again, these are all the types of granular and logic-ready inferences you can get from hourly forecasts versus the generic paragraph style forecast.

          So while there a number of variables, maybe keep it simple to just temperature and condition, chance of precip. And no greater than 10-12 hours, since that takes folks through any periods of "out of pocketness" like work, sleep, etc.

          Without actual devices, I planned to use a clunky method and utilize Jon00's HTML scraper and try to derive current +1, +2, +3, etc., devices based on the 10 hour forecast .asp page.

          Comment


            #6
            I think the data points like temperature, precipitation, cloudy/sunny/rain, wind etc can be easily handled (from a GUI perspective) with a single checkbox for each. As for the number of hours, I would be perfectly fine with just the next 24h rather than 10 days. Having said that, I am sure somebody else will have a use for the full 10 days so it probably makes sense to plan for that. Just my 2 cents.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by bktabinga View Post
              Picking up this thread since it is fairly recent...but I was going to put a feature set in, but decided this was still relevant.

              As for interface, not exactly sure what you are asking, but as for practicality and application, when I hear "forecast", it is good for general Situational Awareness, but it often doesn't help me in fine tune decision making.

              For example, when I go to sleep, I know I will be "out of pocket" for at least 6-8 hours. It would be nice if Homeseer told me that in the next "6-8 hours" that temps would be consistently below 32 degrees, it can remind me to drip the faucets. When a forecast says low of...that low could have already passed based on the forecast. Or... tell me at night that when I wake up, it will be 25 degrees at 8am (kids bus stop). Or tell me before I go to bed, that temps will be below 32 degrees for the next 6 hours. Or tell me that rain (i.e. > 50%) will most likely start at 2PM. Again, these are all the types of granular and logic-ready inferences you can get from hourly forecasts versus the generic paragraph style forecast.

              So while there a number of variables, maybe keep it simple to just temperature and condition, chance of precip. And no greater than 10-12 hours, since that takes folks through any periods of "out of pocketness" like work, sleep, etc.

              Without actual devices, I planned to use a clunky method and utilize Jon00's HTML scraper and try to derive current +1, +2, +3, etc., devices based on the 10 hour forecast .asp page.

              You can have weatherxml download the 10 day forecast file. Rather than try to parse a web page, you can read the xml file and grab the data that you want.
              --
              Jeff Farmer
              HS 3, HSPhone
              My HS3 Plugins: CFHSExtras, Random, Restart, Tracker, WeatherXML, PanaBluRay
              Other Plugins In Use: APCUPSD, BLOnkyo, Device History, EasyTrigger, HSTouch Server, PHLocation2, Pushover, RFXCom, UltraGCIR3, UltraMon3, UltraPioneerAVR3, X10, Z-Wave

              Hardware: GoControl Irrigation Controler, Schlage Lever Lock, Schlage Deadbolt, Way2Call Hi-Phone, RFXCom RFXrec433 Receiver, WGL 800, TI-103, Z-Net, Pioneer 1120, Pioneer 1021, Pioneer LX302, Panasonic BDT-110, Panasonic BDT-210 x2

              Comment


                #8
                CFGuy, is there any scheduled release date for the hourly forecast? This would be really helpful. As for the design of they GUI, maybe the hourly forecast really doesn't have to cover 10 days. 24-48h is probably ok. I mean, the weather forecast often has problems forecasting 3 days so what are the chances that they can produce a meaningful hourly forecast for 10(!!) days. I think 48h is plenty enough. And if somebody lives in an area that is very consistent then you really don't need a detailed forecast.

                Regarding the GUI, the screenshot is what I had in mind in my above description. This configuration shows what I would do, i.e. get a forecast for every 3h over the next 12h. Maybe it can be rotated 90 degrees so it's not as long but wider.

                Note: the hours are relative to "now" and not the hour of the day. Maybe some people want 'hour of the day'. So there could be a checkbox to indicate if the is relative to now or absolute hours starting from the current day (so some hours actually might be in the past).
                Attached Files

                Comment


                  #9
                  There are 2 ways that I use the different data.
                  One is to create devices so that you can use the info in triggers and conditions.
                  The second is to make the data available for use in the speak devices.

                  I will need to do this feature in 2 phases so which of the 2 is of more use to you.
                  Create the devices or to have the data in the speak devices?
                  --
                  Jeff Farmer
                  HS 3, HSPhone
                  My HS3 Plugins: CFHSExtras, Random, Restart, Tracker, WeatherXML, PanaBluRay
                  Other Plugins In Use: APCUPSD, BLOnkyo, Device History, EasyTrigger, HSTouch Server, PHLocation2, Pushover, RFXCom, UltraGCIR3, UltraMon3, UltraPioneerAVR3, X10, Z-Wave

                  Hardware: GoControl Irrigation Controler, Schlage Lever Lock, Schlage Deadbolt, Way2Call Hi-Phone, RFXCom RFXrec433 Receiver, WGL 800, TI-103, Z-Net, Pioneer 1120, Pioneer 1021, Pioneer LX302, Panasonic BDT-110, Panasonic BDT-210 x2

                  Comment


                    #10
                    CFGuy, thanks for the response. Currently, I will use this twofold, one is HSTouch (so I don't need to parse the XML) and for triggers. So this will be for the first scenario.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Thanks, I have been pretty busy with changes at work but I have been slowly working on my to do list. I am almost ready to post a new version and can start on the hourly devices next.
                      --
                      Jeff Farmer
                      HS 3, HSPhone
                      My HS3 Plugins: CFHSExtras, Random, Restart, Tracker, WeatherXML, PanaBluRay
                      Other Plugins In Use: APCUPSD, BLOnkyo, Device History, EasyTrigger, HSTouch Server, PHLocation2, Pushover, RFXCom, UltraGCIR3, UltraMon3, UltraPioneerAVR3, X10, Z-Wave

                      Hardware: GoControl Irrigation Controler, Schlage Lever Lock, Schlage Deadbolt, Way2Call Hi-Phone, RFXCom RFXrec433 Receiver, WGL 800, TI-103, Z-Net, Pioneer 1120, Pioneer 1021, Pioneer LX302, Panasonic BDT-110, Panasonic BDT-210 x2

                      Comment


                        #12
                        CFGuy, thanks for the response. I see there was an update a month ago. I assume that's the one you were referring to. So will devices for hourly forecasts be included in the next release? I certainly would be quite excited about it.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by mulu View Post
                          CFGuy, thanks for the response. I see there was an update a month ago. I assume that's the one you were referring to. So will devices for hourly forecasts be included in the next release? I certainly would be quite excited about it.

                          A problem with our data source has taken top priority. Weather Underground has cut off allowing any new free API's. For now the existing API's will still work but I wouldn't count on that lasting.
                          I have found a new source of weather data so all work right now is for adding the new weather data source. They do provide an hourly forecast so that will be the source that I will eventually use for the hourly devices.
                          --
                          Jeff Farmer
                          HS 3, HSPhone
                          My HS3 Plugins: CFHSExtras, Random, Restart, Tracker, WeatherXML, PanaBluRay
                          Other Plugins In Use: APCUPSD, BLOnkyo, Device History, EasyTrigger, HSTouch Server, PHLocation2, Pushover, RFXCom, UltraGCIR3, UltraMon3, UltraPioneerAVR3, X10, Z-Wave

                          Hardware: GoControl Irrigation Controler, Schlage Lever Lock, Schlage Deadbolt, Way2Call Hi-Phone, RFXCom RFXrec433 Receiver, WGL 800, TI-103, Z-Net, Pioneer 1120, Pioneer 1021, Pioneer LX302, Panasonic BDT-110, Panasonic BDT-210 x2

                          Comment


                            #14
                            That's too bad that they stopped the free license. What will the new data source be?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              The times I wish I had an hourly forecast is to determine when its supposed to start raining. The HSTouch morning screen tells me there's a chance of rain today (that day), but it's nice and sunny all day until 4pm and it starts pouring. So the when its going to start raining would be good to know and maybe how much.

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