It actually seems to be working after the update. I re-authenticated and did not get the 500 error, instead I got a page that said I was now connected to smartthings. When I put the hub in away mode, it changes the ecobees and doesn’t throw any errors.
question: I don’t see a way to have it change program mode just based on time or presence (other than to have it change when the hub mode changes) is this correct? or am I missing something?
Good News - thanks! I'm glad it's working for you now!
I added the Switches support to the Smart Mode/Switches/Program helper so that you could drive actions from just about anything. I would suggest using Rule Machine to turn on a Virtual Switch based on whatever criteria you would like, then configure a Smart Mode/Switches/Program helper that runs when the Virtual Switch is turned on.
I have 4 such Virtual Switches (Good Morning!, Goodbye!, I'm Back! and Good Night!)...for now, the switches are driven by my SmartThings Routines of the same names, but they turn on a Virtual Switch (via HubConnect) that lets my Hubitat handle the Activity...
I suppose time based changes and presence based changes would be nice to have in the app. those are basic things that the ecobee app can do, it would just be nice to have everything in one location for ease of use and simplicity.
The thermostat scheduler program that is built into hubitat does this as well, the problem with ecobee is that it uses this idea of program modes to set the schedule and hubitat does not support that.
don’t get me wrong - the suite is much better than the built in ecobee integration and it seems to be working well with lots of interesting features. just some food for thought.
I generally try to avoid re-inventing the wheel, and so I have avoided implementing things like presence- and time-based changes directly (as so for notification engines and weather stations). Using the Ecobee app/website to manage schedules, for example, are significantly easier for the user than trying to cobble together a decent UI on either Hubitat or SmartThings. And since both platforms offer a plethora of means to trigger things (even if only to turn on a virtual switch), I have focused instead on making it easy to drive actions on the thermostat, rather than attempting to directly implement presence or timers.
You can of course use the Hubitat thermostat scheduler, but it really dumbs-down the Ecobee, preventing use of many of its advanced features (Smart Recovery, follow-me, auto-away, etc.). For me, when I pay over $200 a thermostat (for 7 of them at this point), I really don't want to turn them into HA versions of the old Honeywell wall puck .
For me, ease of use in Home Automation is about connecting triggers into actions, so when I leave my house I want the doors to lock, lights & home entertainment to turn off, alarm monitoring turned on, and the temperature set back. The only thing I let my thermostat drive is Vacations: I schedule them on the Ecobee, and when it/they change to Vacation Mode (program), they also tell my house to go into Vacation mode. Other than that, my Ecobees are just another appliance to be automated...
I hope you enjoy the Ecobee Suite - lots of neat stuff that you can do with it, much of which has been driven by other users.
I think Mode helper is backwards. I have two thermostats that I set to different comfort modes when the mode switches to Night.
My upstairs thermostat is supposed to switch to sleep comfort mode when the house mode changes to night. Instead it behaves as the downstairs thermostat and switches in to away mode. The downstairs thermostat does the exact opposite of what it is supposed to do as well, that is to say instead of switching to away mode it switches to sleep mode.
I can't imagine how that could happen - an instance of the Mode/Switch/Program Helper can only send commands to the configured thermostat(s). I'm sure you've done this, but double-check that each of your Helpers is configured with the correct thermostat device and desired program.
You should also have the two Helpers scheduled to run perhaps 2-5 minutes apart, if only to help with the debugging.
If you run Live Logging to watch the thermostat while the Helpers are changing each thermostat's programs, you should see some messages about what is supposed to be happening, and any errors (the errors may also show up in the logs for Ecobee Suite Manager).
If you can see/find any Error or Warning messages in the logs, please PM them to me and I'll try to figure out what's wrong...
Universal Ecobee Suite updates posted 23 May 2019 at 9:40pm
I discovered an issue in Thermal Comfort that lead me to figure out that when programs/schedules/climates changed before the setpoints were updated, weird things happened. The result is a major improvement of Helper app reliability, as well as even better update performance on both SmartThings and Hubitat.
The fixes are in these updates:
Ecobee Suite Manager (ecobee-suite-manager.groovy) version 1.7.09
Ecobee Suite Thermostat (`ecobee-suite-thermostat.groovy) version 1.7.08
Ecobee Suite Thermal Comfort Helper (ecobee-suite-thermal-comfort.groovy) version 1.7.02
These updates are Highly Recommended for ALL users...
I'm fairly new to Hubitat having come from Wink. I currently use the Ecobee integration with the Thermostat Scheduler. I've done some searching but haven't found an answer. Is it recommended to remove the Ecobee Integration app and the associated devices? Also, would it be recommended to continue using the Thermostat Scheduler with the Ecobee Suite thermostat devices or is there a Ecobee Suite helper that serves a similar function?
Yes, I would ultimately recommend removing the standard devices provided by Hubitat - you won't need them anymore.
Generally, I advise against using Hubitat (or SmartThings)-based schedules. You will find that the Ecobee's built in scheduling is FAR more flexible and comprehensive. Plus, you can define additional programs (aka climatew or schedules) on the thermostat, and include them in your schedules as well.
Once you have the thermostat schedules the way you like them, you will likely want to automate changing the thermostats to Away when your location Mode changes to Away, and to Home when it goes into Home mode. This is what the Ecobee Suite Modes/Switches/Programs Helper is for - you can create separate instances to change your thermostat to Home when Location Mode is Home, and to Sleep when Location Mode is Night, etc.
Using the programs/schedules on the thermostat allows you to control various things based on the thermostats' program. For example, with Ecobee Suite Smart Circulation, you can change circulation times (fanMinOnTime) for each program. Thermal Comfort is also designed for different settings based upon the thermostat program.
Finally, if you choose to use Vacation schedules on the Ecobees, you can also have the Mode/Switches/Programs Help change your Location Mode to 'Vacation' when you are away for an extended period of time.
Bottom line - let the Ecobee manage schedules, then use Ecobee Suite to override/augment/enhance those. Much cleaner than simply changing setpoints using the Thermostat Scheduler...
Question: I have one room that gets warm throughout the day and although I would prefer not really run my upstairs A/C, this room forces me to.
I have a non-ecobee temperature sensor in the room, how can I enable ecobee to turn on and cool that room until the temperature in just that room reaches a certain point and then turn the A/C back to ‘Away’ mode during the day?