Help Migrating Piston to Rule Machine

[daniel.john.edge]

Hi All,

I'm trying to migrate a piston to rule machine. But every time I've tried I end up with something not entirely working, so have reverted back to webcore.

Would anyone be able to help me convert these?

Thanks in advance!

I can break it in to two separate parts

1. What happens in an evening

2. What happens at night

[daniel.john.edge]

So, I've had a stab again at moving these to Rule Machine.

Does this look 'optimal'?

Thanks in advance!

Night Mode Scene:

Evening Mode Scene: split in to two separate rules

[keithcroshaw]

I'm struggling with RM a bit, so I'm monitoring to see how you make out.
If I make some good progress I'll take another look.

[csteele]

Downstairs Evening Rule 1 has Conditions, but no Rule Defined. I'm thinking you caught that already.

Illuminance is the tricky one there because many devices report only on 5% change or 1 hour.

Your Night Rule is a direct one for one of WebCoRE - so I imagine you'll be happy with that.

Your Evening Pistons involve more devices, I can only guess you've simplified your automation intentionally. The result seems to be a good translation.

I'm going to guess that "Auto Reduce Lights' is a virtual switch - the antithesis of "Let's get this Party Started" switch... As such, you could move its functionality into a Restriction. In many Rules, restrictions are the "first barrier", since they get tested first and then allow the remaining tests to be skipped.

From this 8000 meter perch over here, it looks like a good job.

[dan-edge]

Thanks for the reply...

Spotted the missing rule !

Illuminence : yes, thinking this really Isn’t doing much, certainly the second evening rule.
What I’m trying to achieve is to have the lights dim/become warmer as evening
progresses and then ultimately the night scene kicks in where the main lights go off and the lamps etc come on.

Thanks for the suggestion with the virtual switch. I’ll add this as a restriction. I use it to stop the automation from overriding
any manual adjustments to lights being made.

The execution is noticeably quicker than it was on Webcore!

Thanks again

[bravenel]

@daniel.john.edge

Thanks for the suggestion with the virtual switch. I’ll add this as a restriction. I use it to stop the automation from overriding
any manual adjustments to lights being made.

Often you can use Private Boolean (built-in to every rule) instead of a virtual switch for an override. Any rule can set the Private Boolean of another rule -- for instance the rule that would turn on a virtual switch. Then, Private Boolean can be used as a restriction. You would manage setting Private Boolean to true (enabled) or false (disabled) the same way you'd manage a virtual switch.

[CAL.hub]

@bravenel

Often you can use Private Boolean (built-in to every rule) instead of a virtual switch for an override. Any rule can set the Private Boolean of another rule

I really like the idea of using PB's instead of virtual switches, if only for the sake of cleanliness. However, a lot of my virtual switches are set/cleared by Alexa Helper or Google Home (via IFTTT). Is it, or could it be, possible for IFTTT and Alexa to access the Private Boolean?

[bravenel]

@CAL.hub

However, a lot of my virtual switches are set/cleared by Alexa Helper or Google Home (via IFTTT). Is it, or could it be, possible for IFTTT and Alexa to access the Private Boolean?

Not directly, since it's an internal element of RM, and not a device that other apps can see/touch. That's where you get back into needing a virtual device go-between.