How to configure a Thermostat controller / scheduler

Can someone direct me to the step-by-step instructions to configure App and dashboard for a thermostat? (in Particular: KONOzw)

What are you actually looking to do? Your topic title mentions Thermostat Controller and Thermostat Scheduler, which are different apps with different use cases. You can find documentation for both here: Apps Documentation | Hubitat Documentation

Hubitat Dashboard is yet another app (also documented above), albeit one with a different purpose and another way into its primary interface (the LAN or cloud links, or the mobile app that makes either easier to get to but isn't specifically required). It can be used to control your thermostat, the Thermostat Controller device if that is actually the app you want, or--less directly but still possible with the right combination of things--some aspect of Thermostat Scheduler.

I simply want to replace the Google Nest thermostat by a KONOzw, without loosing functionality- at the contrary, I want to take advantage of full local control (no cloud) of home automation.

  1. remote control for target temp and schedule
  2. home / away automatic detection and setting
  3. better efficiency by adding multiple room temp sensors

a) I bought a KONO and a Hubitat and paired them, I can see the device connected
b) I installed the dashboard app, also on the iphone
c) I installed the "termostat controller" now what? I cannot assign the KONO, only virtual devices.
I cant even see the current temp on the dashboard, let alone change the target temp or the schedule.

I am missing the basic step "Hubitat talks to KONO and controls it".

Thermostat Controller can help you "weigh" multiple sensors around the house (rather than just using the built-in sensor on your thermostat) by controlling your real thermostat, creating a virtual thermostat you should use in its place. Your KONOzw should show up under "Select Thermostats to Control," and then you'd basically want to ignore the KONOzw after that point because you'll want to use the new thermostat device that this app creates. That thermostat should show up in your Devices list (in other apps), just like the KONOzw did. Note that this device is separate from the app, so you'll need to go to Devices, not Apps to see it--the app just creates it for you and manages your real thermostat by way of this device and your app settings.

You could use Thermostat Scheduler to get home/away scheduling, or you could create rules or use other apps to do something similar (Thermostat Scheduler is just pre-built and perhaps the easiest option, though it does have more features than you may need). Again, you'd want to use the new Thermostat Controller device here, not the KONOzw.

For remote control, I'd suggest Hubitat Dashboard (though, again, there are other options). You should be able to add a tile for your thermostat--and, again, you'd want to use the new Thermostat Controller device here, not the original KONOzw.

If you're getting stuck somewhere, I'd suggest tackling one thing at a time (you'll have to start with Thermostat Controller if that's what you want, though) and giving more information here about exactly where if so. Good luck!

I have been using both apps for a while and they work great!
However, I have a question about the "weight".

IF one sensor has a weight of 1.0 and second has a weight of 2.0, how does that affect the average?

Say if sensor 1 is reporting 72.0 deg F and sensor 2 is reporting 74.0 deg F, the average would be 73.
BUT with the different weights, how would the average be calculated?

I realize the weighted average would be higher than 73.0, but I would like to understand how the weighted average is calculated since I have 5 sensors and use different combinations of sensors and averages at different modes of the day.
Thanks!

I used to use Average Plus and scheduled several virtual switches that would enable/disable different combinations of sensors, that worked good, but this has more options and is easier to configure.

My understanding is that the value is multiplied by the weight before all being added up and divided by the total number to determine the average -- so the implicit default is 1.

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Thank you for pointing out the context of virtual device. I will report back!

Sorry for the long silence. for TLDR: the KONOzw works and the house is warm- wit.h some limitations and hiccups.

I stumbled upon several obstacles and one thing lead to the next... (to name a few: the auto-generated names are not really helpful, deleting a device or re-naming it leaves old log files in the UI, let alone messing up the dashboard etc). So I decided to take the radical "soft reset and start over" approach.
I updated the SW to 2.3.4.128. after the soft reset I realized that all devices were removed, ALSO for the z-wave. (the diagnostic tool said otherwise). z-wave pairing was for me always finicky (U-Bolt door locks and the Kono).

  1. the KONO device in the device selection menu lists a ZigBee version (which I am not aware of, the KONO is either WiFi or Z-wave). Hence, I paired it as "generic Z-Wave device after i needed to do a Factory reset of Kono)
  2. the now paired device ("generic Z-Wave") could not be selected as "controlled" in the Thermostat settings. I changed the Device type to "Generic Z-wave plus thermostat", then I was able to select the associated virtual device.
  3. the virtual device was now also available in the Dashboard. However: the physical KONO shows a set point for 73F whereas the Dashboard says 72F.
  4. If I set the temp to 71F on the Dashboard, the thermostatmode turns to "off" and stays there- until I manually up the set point over 72 (see the snippet from the log below)

dev:12023-01-06 06:19:28.755 AMinfoKONO_1: heatingSetpoint is set to 73.50°F

dev:12023-01-06 06:19:28.657 AMinfoKONO_1 thermostatMode is heat

dev:12023-01-06 06:19:20.119 AMinfoKONO_1 thermostatMode is off

dev:12023-01-06 05:15:11.252 AMinfoKONO_1: Temperature is 67.00°F

dev:12023-01-06 03:59:41.371 AMinfoKONO_1: Temperature is 68.00°F

dev:12023-01-06 03:59:41.340 AMinfoKONO_1 thermostatOperatingState is idle

dev:12023-01-06 03:42:41.161 AMinfoKONO_1: Temperature is 68.00°F

dev:12023-01-06 02:39:11.098 AMinfoKONO_1: Temperature is 69.00°F

dev:12023-01-06 01:44:11.002 AMinfoKONO_1: Temperature is 70.00°F

dev:12023-01-06 01:04:10.985 AMinfoKONO_1: Temperature is 71.00°F

dev:12023-01-06 12:41:29.292 AMinfoKONO_1 thermostatMode is off

dev:12023-01-06 12:41:28.296 AMinfoKONO_1 thermostatMode is off

dev:12023-01-06 12:41:27.201 AMinfoKONO_1 thermostatMode is off

dev:12023-01-06 12:41:26.979 AMinfoKONO_1: thermostatSetpoint is set to 72.50°F

Here are the other device settings:

Current States

  • battery : 94
  • coolingSetpoint : 72.00
  • heatingSetpoint : 72.50
  • supportedThermostatFanModes : ["on","auto"]
  • supportedThermostatModes : ["auto","off","heat","cool"]
  • temperature : 73.00
  • thermostatFanMode : auto
  • thermostatMode : heat
  • thermostatOperatingState : idle
  • thermostatSetpoint : 72.50

Do I need to set the cooling setpoint higher? (note that the device is in "heat only" mode)
Her are the controller settings:

Current States

  • control : free
  • controlOffset : 0.5
  • coolingSetpoint : 78.0
  • heatingSetpoint : 72
  • hysteresis : 0.5
  • supportedThermostatFanModes : ["on","auto"]
  • supportedThermostatModes : ["auto","off","heat","cool"]
  • switch : off
  • temperature : 72.0
  • thermostatFanMode : auto
  • thermostatMode : heat
  • thermostatOperatingState : heating
  • thermostatSetpoint : 72

Please help me for the 1st "milestone" for wife's acceptance certificate: :smiley:

  1. the physical device and the dashboard must show the same values (actual and setpoint)
  2. the dashboard shall allow the change of the setpoint at least plus/minus 3F (70..76F) without anything breaking or stopping to work

Thank you.

A soft reset doesn't reset the hub radios; however, that won't help after the reset unless you also restore a hub backup so the hub knows what those devices actually are (though for Z-Wave, you might be able to re-create devices from the Z-Wave Details table, as the radio also stores this information--though I've never tried that, and then you'd basically be precluded from restoring a hub backup). I'd consult the docs for more on this feature: Soft Reset | Hubitat Documentation.

I'm also not sure I would have done a soft (or any) reset just for this problem, though I do understand confusion with log entries; keep in mind that Past Logs will show the oldest device name still in use, which could be one the driver defaulted to before you even got to set the name after pairing if the device is still new. Timestamps should help, if nothing else, or Live Logs should have the name that was current as of the loading of the Live Logs page (plus, of course, only entries that came after the page was loaded).

KONOz is Zigbee; ZONOzw is Z-Wave. I believe the plain KONO is Wi-Fi, but I have no experience with that model.

I don't think Hubitat has tested this device, likely why it's not on the list. However, as you discovered, it's likely to work with the Generic Z-Wave Plus Thermostat driver. The driver tells apps, like Thermostat Controller, what capabilities (commands, attributes, etc.) the device supports, and so many will indeed use that information to filter the available device selections in their inputs; that is why it only worked as expected in apps when a thermostat driver was selected.

Are you looking at both the "real" KONOzw thermostat and the "virtual" Thermostat Controller device? If so, the virtual Thermostat Controller device is really the one you'll want to be looking at most of the time--especially if you're letting someone else change the setpoint, etc. Thermostat Controller will take over (control) your real thermostat/thermostats--making its actual setpoint possibly higher or lower in order to meet the criteria your virtual setpoint and whatever sensor data you're feeding into Thermostat Controller demands. The docs explain this more if you haven't seen them: Thermostat Controller | Hubitat Documentation.

This is likely the explanation for what you're seeing; if the Thermostat Controller criteria are met, your "real" KONOzw thermostat may indeed turn off--that's up to the Thermostat Controller app if you're letting it control that thermostat. If you don't need the unique features this app offers, like input from other sensors, I'd suggest not using this app. Keep in mind that it also precludes use of the on-wall thermostat, as the hub is now controlling it and may override manual changes (same as digital changes) -- but your use case of using Dashboard to change the virtual/controller thermostat should work!

Thanks for the detailed reply to all the above. My observation tells me, however, that the "real" KONOzw is in serial (electrical- the logic is a boolean AND) connection to the furnace. That said, if the real KONO is "off" then no solenoid will trigger the blower fan or the burner. Thus, even if the "virtual thermostat" decides to request "heat" the furnace will not turn on and the house will cool off further, just like I experienced it. IMHO the real KONO should never be in "themostatMode: off" as this disables the connection from Hubitat to the HVAC.
Currently I have not observed that the virtual thermostat sets the Real KONO to off again, which I think would be a bug. The correct behavior should be IF temperature is X AND IF heatingSetpoint is < than X THEN thermostatOperatingState is idle(and NOT * thermostatMode : off)
regardless if the temperature is raised by external influenece or the setpoint is changed, the real KONO should NOT go into OFF mode.

Comments?

So you're saying there's a moment when the virtual thermostat should be heating (because its reported temperature compared to your setpoint and wiggle room calls for it)? That seems like a problem, but I may have missed it above due to information overload. Looking above again, I see the thermostat is "free" at one point, as opposed to "controlled," meaning Thermostat Controller is effectively off and you need to deal with the real device if you want to make any changes. This is not normal if your intent is to nude Thermostat Controller at this moment. Could that be it?

I will scroll back in the logs to find that event. I remember to dial down the setPoint to below 72F via the Dashboard and saw the real KONO be set to OFF via the virtual controller.

I just repeated that test and could not reproduce the effect. Last time I saw "KONO_1 set to off".
I definitely did not change the ControlMode.

app:32023-01-14 01:51:23.384 PMinfoKONO_1 set to idle

app:32023-01-14 01:51:22.102 PMinfoController: updateSetPoints(70, null)

app:32023-01-14 01:51:22.089 PMinfoController: setHeatingSetpoint(70) was called

app:32023-01-14 01:51:21.279 PMinfoController: updateSetPoints(71, null)

app:32023-01-14 01:51:21.264 PMinfoController: setHeatingSetpoint(71) was called

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