Can we get thermostat ON as an option added to Auto, off, Cool, heat. The thermostat and the mode already set those parameters. But I have a few rules that turn OFF the thermostat ( doors open, smoke alarms) and just want an ON option after those rules are complete to resume the set mode and temp.
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I'd love to see that feature as well, but I think the issue is that thermostats don't have an "on" state.
My workaround for that is that I save the thermostat mode to a global variable whenever the thermostat's mode changes to heat, cool or auto and then use that variable to set the thermostat's mode to turn it back on.
Exactly. So to add something like this would be very "custom" and not standard at all. The "ON" function would have to assume what you want, or have logic to restore last (if that is even the right behavior in all cases).
I understand the need, but I think that kind of logic is better handled outside of the driver.
Don't create an "On" function, but a "Restore". That way there wouldn't be any ambiguity.
Not sure I agree. It seems that this would be a useful function. For the driver to store its last state when it receives the "Off" command and then restore it with a "Restore" function should be fairly trivial. Having to create rules for that seems a bit "messy" (I have done that).
Virtual Thermostats already seem to have a "lastRunMode" State Variable, but I'm not sure how to access those in HE.
Fair enough. Might want to send the request to support to make sure it gets seen for consideration.
They have been very resistant to adding non-standard commands to drivers, but it doesn't hurt to ask I guess.
Which thermostat model has that function? I can't say if I have ever seen that before. Usually it is Off, Cool, Heat, (and maybe) Emergency Heat.
Wouldn't you be able to just select "Cool" or "Heat" in the rule, and the t-stat takes over from there? I have a rule where I switch from heat to cool, cool to heat, either to off, or off to either, (depending upon outside temps) and I don't ever need "On".
Not arguing that this feature isn't needed, but I guess I don't understand what the use case is exactly.
@JasonJoel is just being nice but I'll give it to you straight. You are welcome to add a custom command to a user driver if you want but Hubitat is not going to add commands to existing capabilities. If you take a step back and look at the scope of the change I think it is clear why it's not going to happen.
Adding a command to a capability would mean every built-in driver that uses that capability would have to be modified to use the new command. Then they would each have to be tested. Look at the number of thermostat drivers that exist in Hubitat. I count 13. Plus the Ecobee cloud integration.
To make that command useful, it would then have to be added to apps. So, Rule Machine would have to be modified. Probably thermostat scheduler. And then tested.
Implementing this functionality through Rule Machine takes only a few minutes.
That said...what might be more realistic is taking the existing functionality of Rule Machine around Capture/Restore and extending that to include Thermostats. That would mean no changes to drivers and would be limited to changes within Rule Machine. I would think something like that is much more likely to be implemented.
I have a doo sensor that when open, it turns the thermostat “off” ( the normal state is “on” ( heat / cool ). We don’t open the house very much, but that deck door would be the one door we would open in addition to windows. So I have it now that if that door is open 5 minutes ( which would mean we opened the door to let in a breeze ) vice just fed the birds. And then when colored to go back to “on” as the mode ( heat / cool ) and temp would already be set via the daily routines. As it is I have to click a button, but i want it to be working without my interaction.
Do you mean "Auto"?
Heat or cool. Not auto. On heat or on cool. Auto ends up with heat / ac running the same day if we used auto. But on 75+ days with 55 or lower nights, I don’t want the heat kicking on at night as it would only get down to 67 inside at night.
Then the thermostat is never "on". it's mode is either heat or cool. But the mode would not be on.
You could easily break your AC unit if you could actually force an on. It's auto for a reason. The thermostat regulates the cycle rate so it doesn't cycle too frequently.
