bmercier

The echo app allows you to create groups of devices. This can be useful if you want to turn on or turn off multiple devices at once. However, the recommended way would be to handle groups at the ISY level, either through the use of scenes, programs, or even state variables (Yes, state variables are now supported). The problem with Alexa groups is that whenever you turn on/turn off a group, Alexa will send multiple command individually that end up being queued for the ISY. You will notice that if you have large groups, all devices will be turned on or turned off one after the other, but that takes some time to complete. Handling groups natively on the ISY will speed up the process. Also, it's worth noting that when you use large groups, timeout errors in ISY portal are generated which are monitored by UDI and Amazon. They are expected when groups are used, but still, it's better not to have them. Benoit.

I recommend the upgrade. Everything that is working in V1 works equally well in V2, so there are no drawbacks at all. Thermostat support is a big plus, and it's working well too. There are some concerns discussed here on the forum related to the auto mode. But if you just use off/heat/cool, it works well. Benoit.

The "ISY smart home skill", is a smart home skill, which means that it fits the Alexa built-in home automation framework. It has more limited capabilities compared to a custom skill, but the speech recognition is much better. It allows to: Turn on, Turn off, Turn on to x%, brighten, dim, set temperature to, increase temperature, decrease temperature. Devices can be an ISY device (most of them, locks for example are not supported), a scene or a program The way to invoke a smart home skill: Alexa, turn on <device> The "ISY skill" is a custom skill, in Amazon's terminology. A custom skill can basically do anything as you have the freedom to define all the possible ways of asking for something, and the corresponding action. The ISY custom skill was developed prior to the smart home skill, and since the latest release of the smart home skill, there is less and less interesting use cases. Examples of things the ISY skill allows to do which you can't with the smart home skill: - Get the current temp of a thermostat - Get the current setpoint(s) of a thermostat - Change the mode of a thermostat (smart home skills allow to turn it off) - Lock/unlock The way to invoke this skill: Alexa, tell izzy to turn on <device> Benoit.

Currently, with the ISY smart home skill, the only case when the mode can change is when you ask it to turn it off, and when you ask for a temperature AND the mode is off. If it is already in heat, cool or auto, changing the temp never changes the mode. The question here is if it is Off, and you request a temperature, should it change mode, or give an error? Benoit.

The warning related to the ISY custom skill is now removed. The only warning left is for the smart home skill. Benoit.

It's currently not possible to give explicit instructions with a smart home skill. In this situation, this is not really guessing. The user requests a specific temperature, this is what he will get. If we are in summer and somehow the mode is set to heat due to requesting a higher temp than ambien temp, the Alexa voice feedback will tell you that it is set to heat along with the new heat setpoint. If this is not what the user want, he can turn it off again. The only alternative would be to just do nothing, if the current mode is off. Benoit.

You can ignore this warning. Echo can be used through the ISY custom skill (formerly ISY skill), and/or ISY smart home skill (formerly Connected home). Both skills require account linking to use them. Now, what you are using is the smart home skill. This warning just tells you that the ISY skill (ISY custom skill) is not linked. If you don't use it, you can just ignore the warning. I guess that we could just remove this warning. I believe less and less people use the ISY custom skill. Benoit. When you go to this page,

Not exactly. It does not recall the previous mode. When you request a temperature, and the mode is currently off, it will set the mode needed to achieve the desired temperature, along with the corresponding setpoint. So if you are requesting a temperature higher than the current temp, it will be set to heat, and the heat setpoint will be set to the desired temp. Benoit.

I'm not sure, but if it can be controlled via the rest API, that should work. Try http://<ISY_IP>/rest/nodes See if your thermostat is in there. If you want to double check if that would work, PM me the output of: http://<ISY_IP>/rest/nodes/<thermostat device address> Benoit.

When in auto mode, changing both setpoints is a good idea. The only challenge is the voice feedback, which is: <device> is in Auto mode, aiming for <target temp>. The only thing we have control over is to specify which mode, and what target temp. Now, when in auto, what target temp should Alexa return? What I'm thinking is this: - If current temp <= old heat setpoint: return the new heat setpoint - If current temp >= old cool setpoint: return the new cool setpoint - if current temp is between both setpoints, compare current temp with both old setpoints, figure out which one is closer, and return the corresponding new setpoint. What do you think? Benoit.

Hi Larry, Are you noticing a significant delay between the time you speak, and the time the light turns on? Constantly, or is it variable delay? This looks like a timeout. The whole communication cycle for some reason could be too long, and by the time ISY portal returns status to Amazon, a timeout has expired, hence the error message that you hear. Benoit.

Hi Larry, Although at the API level it works in Celcius, it supports fractions. So if you request an increase of 1 degree Fahrenheit, the number passed to the API will be 0.56. So this works correctly under the hood. Now, if one wants to use Celcius, then it has to be by increments of 1 or more. Benoit.

Hello kingr, Thanks for the bug report. Can you try it again? I fixed a bug related to insteon thermostat, which is likely to have fixed that one as well. Benoit.

Hi Purdue, Thanks for the bug report, this is now fixed. Just an FYI, the Amazon API works all in Celcius. When you increase/decrease temperature, you can specify a delta. As an example: "Alexa, increase temperature for second floor by 2 degrees" So, the API has a delta parameter. However, when the delta is not specified in the spoken request, Amazon passes a value of 1 to the API by default. But 1 degree in celcius = 2 degrees F, which explains why you were seeing a variation of 2 degrees. So, I had to differentiate between a real request for a delta of 2 degrees which would be a request for a delta of 1.11 vs a default increase/decrease with no delta specified (1 passed to the API). Thanks, Benoit.

Hello Outlander, Thanks for the bug report. A fix has been deployed, can you try it again? I do not have an Insteon thermostat to test it, but I was able to pinpoint the issue and make a fix. Thanks, Benoit

Hi Michel, Xathros, That's a very good observation. I tried it myself, and Close was working, but open did not. My device was named "hallway". FYI, with smart home skills, we don't have control over the possible wording. I know "open" can be used to open a custom skill, so there is some competition over the possible use of this word, which may explain why it does not work. @Michel, I think we need to report this one to Amazon. Benoit.

For the purpose of clarification; "Smart home skill" is Amazon's new name for "Connected Home" "Custom skill" is Amazon's new name for what we called simply a "Skill", "ISY optimized for Smart Home" is the name of the original UDI Connected Home adapter. "ISY optimized for Smart Home V2" is the new Smart Home adapter using the new API that supports thermostat. It was planned that Amazon would make the original Smart home skill non-discoverable at the same time as the V2 became available, but they encountered a technical problem which is now resolved as of today. Benoit.

Hi Michael, Now that the V2 API supports thermostats, the older skill (those requiring "ask izzy") is more or less obsolete. It has a bit more functionality, but I doubt many people still use it due to the difficulty being understood. I mean, the skill supports locks, and in regards to thermostats, the control is more granular, you can get current temp, you can get the current setpoints, etc. But is there anyone using it? Benoit.

Hi Michael, This should be fixed now - Amazon told us today it is now removed. Benoit.

That would work in your current scenario. But what if it's 72 outside at the end of summer? You may never be able to reach the intended temperature of 75 if we change the cool setpoint instead of the heat setpoint. The way it is designed, when in Auto, it tries to reach the intended temperature ASAP. If you want to adjust only AC during summer, then it's probably best to just set the thermostat to A/C. Alexa will only change the cool setpoint. Benoit

Hi Michael, I traced your set temperature request in the logs. From what I see, the mode was indeed Auto, and it was left to Auto. Only the heat setpoint was changed to 75, which caused the thermostat to start heating. I believe you saw your thermostat indicating that it was now heating (as opposed to switching the mode to Heat, which is a different thing). Benoit.

FYI, here's the complete algorithm: A. Turn Off thermostat. That one is simple: I just set the mode to Off. B. Set temperature to X If mode is Heat: I set the heat setpoint to X If mode is Cool: I set the cool setpoint to X If mode is Auto - If current temp is above X, I set cool setpoint at X - else, I set heat setpoint to X If mode is Off - If current temp is above X, I set to cool at X - else, I set to heat at X C. Increase temperature by X If mode is Heat: Increase heat setpoint by X If mode is Cool: Increase cool setpoint by X If mode is Off: Set to heat at current temp plus X If mode is Auto - If current temp <= current heat setpoint: Increase heat setpoint by X - If current temp >= current cool setpoint: Increase cool setpoint by X - If current temp is between cool SP and heat SP: Increase heat setpoint by X D. Decrease temperature by X If mode is Heat: Decrease heat setpoint by X If mode is Cool: Decrease cool setpoint by X If mode is Off: I set to cool at current temp minus X If mode is Auto - If current temp <= current heat setpoint: Decrease heat setpoint by X - If current temp >= current cool setpoint: Decrease cool setpoint by X - If current temp is between cool SP and heat SP: Decrease cool setpoint by X Benoit.

Hello Michael, Are you sure the thermostat mode was initially set to Auto and was changed? It should not. When already in Auto mode, it should stay in Auto mode and only adjust one of the setpoint. The only situation where the mode is changed is when the thermostat mode is initially off and you request a temperature change; the mode will be set to heat or cool, depending on the target temp vs current temp. If in Auto, it should have set the heat setpoint to 75. If it was set to Off, then that would match what you saw. Benoit.

stu's, Not a problem, that will work. But once you have disabled the V1 skill on an echo, you can not re-enable it for that same echo. You can only enable V2 as V1 is now non-discoverable. Benoit.

Hi Smileyw, I saw the problem in the logs. Please PM me: - The brand/model of your thermostat - The output of: http://<your_isy_ip>/rest/nodes/2C%20B%2059%201 - What mode the thermostat was in when the request failed. For your information, the increment/decrement is based on information gathered from the thermostat. For example, if you want to "increase temperature", then the target temp will be the current mode's setpoint +1. On the other hand, if the mode was off, then the target temp will be based on the current temperature +1 (not current mode's setpoint +1). Please do not expect a quick resonse from me as I'm preparing to leave for vacations tonight. But when I return, the above information will help me find what's going on. This one looks like a bug. Thanks, Benoit.