Missing thermostatMode() attribute values in Rule Machine 4.0

I am trying to create a rule that only works when the thermostat is in “fan” mode. However, that value is not available in Rule Machine’s thermostatMode() attributes. The “dry” mode is also missing. Can these mode values be added?

Thanks.

Your thermostat has a fan only mode? Usually fan mode and thermostat mode are two separate parameters on your thermostat. You can have heat mode with the fan always on or cool mode with the fan always on or off mode with the fan always on. Can you show a screenshot of your thermostat edit device page, particularly the current states of the attributes?

Dry mode? What type of thermostat are you using? I'm not familiar of a "dry" mode. If it is custom, then you should use the custom attribute in Rule Machine. You can specify anything you want. But i would confirm that this is communicated to hubitat correctly. Dry is not a valid mode in the thermostat capability.

Yes, it is an really great custom driver that @cybrmage developed. It supports all the Fujitsu (and other brands) mini-split settings. It sends IR signals to the unit. I am using custom attributes in the RM code, and all I saw available for this parameter was using one of the drop-down options. Then again, I may have missed something... It has happened before! :slight_smile:

Topic: [BETA] NATIVE Broadlink RM/RM Pro/RM Mini/SP driver & RC HVAC Manager

Then it is non-standard and you will have to use the custom attribute condition/trigger and use a custom command for any actions that are non-standard.

looks like he is already using custom attribute.

@Sebastien if its not in custom attribute your issue is not with RM its with the device driver. Custom attribute only exposes what the driver already has as capabilities.

I suspect because this is not a custom attribute but only a custom value of a standard attribute that nothing is going to make this work. The only way would be if the attribute did not have a standard name, then it would allow you to free-text in whatever you wanted. But since this is a standard attribute with custom values, you're never going to be able to select the non-standard ones. The driver doesn't expose all the possible values for attributes.

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That makes sense. I wend back to see if maybe I had missed an option but as you describe, there wasn't an option where I could enter free text.

Yeah, the attribute name has to be custom in order for you to have the option to enter anything you want. I would leave a comment for the author of the driver on the thread where it was released.

Thanks @Ryan780, I discussed this with @cybrmage already. Other than this particular and small issue, the driver works quite well, so I would be hesitant to ask for changes. I am using a workaround that he has recommended and it is working.

That said, wouldn't it be preferable if Rule Machine worked in a way to allow this to work? I'm sure it won't be the last time someone tries to use it with a custom driver. :slight_smile:

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The issue is:

the attribute "thermostatMode" is a standard attribute.

When used with the dashboard "thermostat" tile, the (list) contents of the attribute "supportedThermostatModes" is used to tell the tile what modes are supported by the specific thermostat device.

In Rule Machine, the attribute "thermostatMode" is presented with the default modes and the "supportedThermostatModes" attribute is ignored.

Similarly, "thermostatFanMode" is a standard attribute. This attribute can also be customized in the dashboard with the "supportedThermostatFanModes" attribute.

AND both of these attributes, "supportedThermostatModes" and "supportedThermostatFanModes" are documented in the developer documentation for the thermostat capability.

So... Using standard attributes, the Dashboard tile operates properly, but Rule Machine does not... Seeing that the supported modes attributes work in the dashboard, it makes sense that they should work in Rule Machine.

I believe this to be a bug (or oversight) in Rule Machine. I will ping @bravenel and @mike.maxwell to get their opinion...

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Yep. Will put it on the list...

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So,you're saying it does not matter what the standard says, and it should actually use, supportedThermostatModes and supportedThermostatFanModes for those two listings? Because if that's the case, then the developer documentation should really be updated to specify that is a required attribute that can specify whatever it wants and then is the basis for the selection of it's corresponding mode attribute. It makes complete sense but that is totally not what the documentation leads one to believe at all.

I had a similar thing when developing a custom driver for my Mitsubishi ducted system, it also has a fan only and a dry mode. I added some code in either the refresh or initialize methods (or both.. ) to update the supported thermostat modes. That solved the issue of selecting the modes on the dashboard tile, but I think I noticed one of two spots where that didn't take effect.

If a driver doesn't publish the supported modes or fan modes, I assume the system uses the default set? The couple of drivers I looked at for reference never created an event for supported modes so I didn't even know this was a thing. Learn something new every day. :slight_smile:

@bravenel I would also love to have the dry mode added to rule machine the same as the dashboard tile, tis the season for dehumidify! :slight_smile:

Thanks!

With no update to RM, you can still use this with Custom Attribute and/or Custom Action. What is it that you are wanting to do?

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I am trying to send the "dry" thermostat mode in @cybrmage 's driver but doesnt seem to be available in rule machine.

Will this be fixed in a future release of RM?

Thanks

@Sebastien curious what you are using for a workaround to get DRY mode?

I just learned the IR command and am sending that using custom actions in rule machine but unfortunately the dashboard thermostat tile has no idea of the change in state doing it this way.

Well, I’ve never used Dry mode, so it hasn’t been a problem for me. If I did need, I would probably do the same as you. I would probably also create another tile that would say « Dry » when in dry mode, so that I can see the state on my dashboard(s).

I did have to have it learn the codes for moving the vanes up/down or sideways.

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Thanks, I see now when you started this thread that you were looking for "fan" mode and mentioned the missing "dry" mode in a later post.

Hopefully this will get fixed/added in the near future if its not too complicated.