I have a room in the house that gets cold compared to the other rooms. I use an infrared heater to supplement the heat. When there is someone in the room (detected via mmwave sensor) I am looking at using a temperature sensor as a makes shift thermostat to turn the heater on and off via another activation device such as a button pusher, plug, or something. I understand they are not as accurate and don't update as quickly but the function will suffice.
My concern is the rule trying to trigger over and over while the heater is running until it reaches the upper temperature level.
I was considering adding a private boolean to flip from true to false when the rule starts running then back to true when the upper temperature is reached, heater turns off, and rule ends. Then using a required expression to only run the rule when the boolean is true. If my thinking is correct that should stop the rule from continuously triggering while the heater is running.
There is also the option in rule machine to ignore triggers while the rule is running.
Any suggestions on the best method to achieve the goal of stopping the constant trigger of the rule every time the temp updates while the heater is still running?
Space heaters are a primary cause of home fires. Having one controlled automatically increases that risk further.
Rather than using an infrared heater that gets quite hot, you might consider an electric, oil-filled radiator type of heater. Due to the enlarged surface area, these heaters do not need to get as hot as infrared heaters. The radiators get quite warm, but not hot enough to burn if you touch it and it cannot start a fire if a flammable material comes in contact. I use one of these heaters in my basement during winter to make sure the pipes going outside do not freeze. I have a cold corner that can be problematic when outdoor temps drop below zero F.
Back in the early days of Covid, when we were all forced quickly to work from home, I built a tiny, insulated office atop a 5' x 7' utility trailer, which allowed me to move it down near the lake on our property in Maine, where it once hit -14F during occupied hours. I heated it with only an oil fired radiator that was turned on and off by a z-wave plug device of proper amperage rating, controlled by a z-wave temperature sensor, both connected to Hubitat. It worked like a charm and I see no reason a presence sensor couldn't be included in that logic (turn on only if space is occupied). The only downside is that the oil filled radiator will be slower to respond, but that seems far better as a solution than the more dangerous infrared heater. FWIW, I worked out of that space for 2.5 years before I felt a bit cramped and built a larger office. I used one rule to turn the heater on and a different rule to turn it off, rather than more complicated logic to try to do both, and a virtual switch to set working and nonworking hours.
I have those exact oil heaters that you speak of that I use via generator when our electricity is out for some reason. They are great for heating the house over long periods of time like that and do a great job I agree with you. However they do take some time to warm up.
My intent for this heater is a quick boost of heat only when someone is in the room, only at certain times of the day, and only for a very short period of time. No way would I trust this heater to just turn on and off without constant monitoring. However this heater does not get hot to the touch anywhere on the outside. The only spot is tucked back inside and you have to purposely reach back in there.
I do appreciate the suggestion it is always nice to hear other ideas from people.
Thank you. I never thought about using two different rules for the operation. That is strange because I use that same method on several things.
That was good thinking about building your office and moving it near the lake. I have to say that is very cold though. During COVID I was one of the fortunate ones (12 out of nearly 700) that got to continue to report in to the plant every day for work.
I have the radiator heaters and I thought about using them but like you said they are very slow to respond. I need something that will give a quick boost of heat and will only need it for a short period of time. It will never operate without someone present in the room with it.
I have a corner like that as well where someone thought a poorly insulated wall would be a good place to put a sink drain.
For mine, a rule turns on a fan at -20C, circulating the warm air in the room, works fine and uses a lot less power ($).
