I can easily do it with a variabe and RM.
Wondering if readily available in system.
Or real easy, i don't find it in hubinfo.
Never seen any indication that the hub has a built-in feature that keeps track of seasons.
Setting a variable in Rule Machine sounds like a simple way to do it.
You could probably use virtual switches in basic rules as an alternative.
Thank you.
If you aren't using hub modes for any other purpose, this is one thing you could use them for. Otherwise, I think your idea of variables or the other idea of virtual switches (or really anything that works for you) is a good idea.
FWIW, I'm using two virtual switches for "summer" and "winter" on my hub, since pretty much any app has the ability to work with switches and modify its behavior via restrictions or some other option (and I'm already using mode for time-of-day kind of things). A variable could certainly work fine for RM or other apps that support them.
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I'm using [RELEASE] Meteorological Seasons driver to keep track of seasons and it works really well. Just create a virtual device and it will track the seasons for you.
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The system always contains the sunrise and sunset times for your specific location. By determining the difference between these two times you can determine whether your are before or after the spring and fall solstices.
Of course, there will be specific days both spring and fall seasons when the length of day will be the same. Of course, if you live near the equator, then sunrise and sunset won't change , but then you probably do not care what season it is as summer and winter are similar.
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Definitely the way to go.
Depending on the use case, outdoor light sensors can also help in determining the best times to adjust things like lighting and other automations as the light conditions change, whether that be based on the season or cloud coverage late in the afternoon.
I needed a season variable myself - it was initially so I could enable/disable the automation for 2 A/C units I didn't want active in the winter. Writing the app forced me to learn a bit more than I already knew about 'Meteorological' vs 'Astronomical'.
Recently I had a burning desire to punish myself and decided to create a smarter driver that would allow me to choose either form. Sadly, HE stopped me since external libs aren't allowed and the math behind astronomical seasons is much more complex and you're re-inventing the wheel so I aborted. (add to it, the northern/southern hemisphere, naming fall/autumn etc) but I still have the first driver up on HPM. My driver includes seasonal icons, and basic font control on the tile as well. And you can override (fake) a season too. One really useful benefit was my inadvertent addition of seasonBegin and SeasonEnd. With this I can compare a date which came in really handy for some other work I did for my needs!
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Aside from the useful post, I would also recommend becoming involved in the Beta program and looking at some of the new features in RM to see if these may suit your use-case.
