I am using rechargeable Li batteries in my lock. As a result the built in battery indicator does not work correctly. Is there a way using Hubitat that I can detect when the batteries have died? I checked the log to see if there might be an indication of communication failure but I was surprised to see there was nothing at all. It seems that lock communication is queued up somewhere else and only hits the log after the communication occurs, even with debug turned on for the lock.
I am interested to know if there is a solution to this as well.
What Lithium rechargeables are you using and what type of run-time do you get?
I'm using this battery, https://www.amazon.com/EBL-Rechargeable-Battery-Batteries-Capacity/dp/B08RZ5NDMM/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=ebl+1.5v+batteries&qid=1610985655&sr=8-9
It's rated at 2200 mAh. That's about 2/3 of what a regular Energizer LI battery can deliver. I get 2-3 months out of a charge. It depends a lot on how many lock cycles occur. I have 2 sets of batteries so its an easy change out when they die. I just wish I could detect when they're done.
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Did you ever find a solution? I see that HE records the last time a device talks to the hub ("Last Activity At" on the device page)
It would be very easy to write a rule that says something like "if lastActivityAt > 24 hours then speak: 'change battery'". That's what I want to do
That's a great idea. Is it possible to write a rule like that? I'm a novice with Rule Machine, the only options I see for triggers are locked, unlocked, changed.
I did solve the problem but not on the Hubitat platform I am using a different controller (ISY 994) which can communicate with the lock via the connect module, not z-wave. As a result I'm getting an accurate value for the battery condition. Right now the battery value is at 94% but the value reported through z-wave to Hubitat is 100. It's always 100. Maybe it's not the battery value but a flag indicating the battery is ok?
