Rule Machine Rule Only Triggers when I open and Save the Rule

[chris]

yes, it's a virtual thermostat, made up of a multisensor and plug.

the first one effectively turns on the heat when it's cold. The second one is there so that the statement evaluates to False when it's too hot, so the automation turns off the switch and sets the mode to idle.

It's not about turning the heat "more" on, it's about causing the whole statement to turn false when it's too hot.

[Ryan780]

Okay. I still don't see it. You have an OR between the two, not an AND. But if it's working for you, great.

[destructure00]

I had to rewrite his rule and add a sample scenario to make his rule make sense to me, but I'm not seeing any issues with the logic itself.

Assuming a heating setpoint of 72, I think the rule can be rephrased as follows:

Heat will turn on if:
Thermostat is not off
AND
(Heat is off and attic temp is 71 or less
OR
Heat is on and attic temp is 73 or less)

So as long as the thermostat is turned on, the heat will come on when the attic temp drops below 72 and it will stay on until the attic temp exceeds 73.

@chris do I have this right?

[Ryan780]

Ah...i think I see it now. I think it's all the Not's and the double Negative's that are really confusing me. "Not off" should just be "On", shouldn't it? It's just a lot more confusing than it needs to be i think because of the virtual Thermostat thing. I understand the reason for it...but if the rule isn't firing the way you want it to, you might try doing it without that.

[chris]

@Ryan780 -
The rule fires fine with the addition of "Attic Temperature greater than 0" so that the rule checks every time the temp changes.

The reason for all the negatives is 2 fold:

1. Rule machine allows comparing a setpoint to a temperature, but not a temperature to a setpoint in the case of a thermostat.
2. The thermostat has multiple "on" states (auto, heat, cool) but only 1 "off" state, so its simpler for me to say "not off", since I don't think you can do multi-select on conditions

[chris]

@destructure00 you have it right: the first one turns heat on, second one evaluates true as long as heat should stay on.

So it works if you change your opening line to : "Heat should be on if:"

[Ryan780]

but the thermostat isn't going to be set to cool because you're only controlling a heater. And it's a virtual thermostat. Like I said, the virtual Thermostat could be part of your problem if its not working the way you want it to.

[chris]

@Ryan780 I can use it to control an AC in the summer without changing anything. Just plug the AC into the smart plug and we're set. As it is, it allows for integrations that might turn the thermostat to heat instead of auto or vice versa to not break the experience.

In any case, it's working fine now thanks to the tip from @napalmcsr and @bravenel.