It would be nice if a metering option would be available in Rule Machine when selecting multiple devices to which to send a command.
My use case is:
I have multiple Inovelli Red dimmers/switches. I would like to send āSetIndicatorā commands to the group. The metering option would prevent the mesh from being overwhelmed by the command.
So you're talking about a Custom Action, right?
Yes, it would be for a custom action.
Like this:
I wouldn't mind adding it there, as Custom Action is already somewhat cluttered. Note that you could use this for any command that needs multi-device metering. Better here, than peppering it around everywhere. Custom Actions go device by device anyway, so this is a natural fit.
Done, will be in 2.3.1.
Yes, exactly like that! 
Maybe a pop-up tooltip could be there to describe what "Meter?" does?
I was wondering why (and when) metering at the Hubitat driver/app level is desirable or necessary.
One reason I am curious about this is that, for 500 series zwave and above, the chips have 3 channels, so my understanding is that multiple packets can be simultaneously transmitted on the mesh using different channels without causing interference -- if you use metering, doesn't it force everything to be sequential so you lose the 3 channel advantage, or is there some really sophisticated network management going on? Or do I not understand the use of the multiple channels in Z-wave?
I had also assumed that network flow control would be best handled at the SDK level with the SDK selecting unused channels as needed and controlling the pacing using CSMA/CD (or maybe the SDK is just a lot less sophisticated than I assumed)?
Or maybe this is targeted to networks with a lot of "old" 300 series chips which only have one channel?
When you command a lot of devices at one time, and some don't work some of the time. For some uses, experience has showed that metering can overcome this. It's experientially driven, not engineering driven.
So more of a "try it if you have problems and see if it does anything for you" kind of thing. I suppose another tool to try always helps. Thanks.
When these reports came out about Groups in particular not activating every device, we just started experimenting with it. It would appear that both Zigbee and Z-Wave meshes can be overwhelmed, and just drop things (so much for engineering!). So we put in metering, and saw greatly improved results almost immediately. Meanwhile, back in the engineering group, we continue to investigate why meshes can get overwhelmed, and how to mitigate it.
Definitely looking forward to this next update. I've had so many issues trying to get things to turn on and off properly. Sometimes when doing too many things at once the switches report that they are off but they really aren't. I understand I could do what I need to do by running a custom action... but why not have a metering option for other things as well... like to "Control Switches" or "Set Dimmers and Bulbs"?
I know there are other ways to do it, like using Groups and Scenes and soon by running a custom action, but it seems cleaner to have the option right under the "Control Switches" menu.
How about we walk before we run, and see if metering from a Custom Action solves the problem or not? Metering is not necessarily a cure-all approach. For example, it won't solve a weak mesh issue, if that's the source of the problem. Only strengthening the mesh will fix that.
That makes sense. The mesh is strong and metering through Groups and Scenes works well. I would just like the flexibility of doing it with RM - Will use a custom action for now.
How many devices at one time? Which protocol?
Presently Iām using Groups and Scenes to turn off all lights in the evening and when we leave the house. Iāve found that metering is the only way to ensure that all switches actually turn off (instead of just reporting off but actually being on). There are probably 50-60 switches (All z-wave; Leviton). I would use metering in RM for things like the kidsā bedtime routines. There are four kidsā¦ each with their own routineā¦ each with the potential to turn on or off 5-10 switches. It works pretty well already but occasionally one or two devices donāt do what theyāre supposed to and I think metering may be the solution.
I tried the App you showed me a little while back - All Off - It worked fine in the sense that all switches did in fact report being off, but in reality there were often a couple switches left on. So I went back to groups and scenes with metering.
Are you saying that you have lights that report being off but are still on?
Yes thatās right - if the metering time is too short thatās what happens. Whether I use All Off or Groups and Scenes, if the metering is too short there will be one or two lights left on but they report being off. If I refresh the switch it will report on.
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