EddieRock

Maybe I fully don't understand how the triggers work relating to an Insteon thermostat then. It sure seemed that what I had programmed worked and that's why I'm throwing this out for help. So, are you saying that the below statement DOES NOT ask the thermostat the mode it's in? Does it simply look at the ISY's last report received from the thermostat query. That's what the queries are for? I may be totally confused how this works...: If Status 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' is not Mode Heat ELI5 then? Ed

I'll try this! Thanks Stu Ed Sent from my Android device

So, I'll lay it out below. The "If Status" programs check for state changes. I have three types of programs and also a query program. I'll list them below and explain them best I can. I searched for a "Best Practice" for Insteon thermostats and ISY. I found this and followed it: http://homeautomationguru.com/programming-your-insteon-thermostat-with-the-isy-994i/ I have States, Events and Actions. If you read the page at the above link, he can explain it. My programs for ONE thermostat are below and my main Query program. Main Query Program (this queries the tstats every 15 minutes. It was recommended that I do this. If it's a bad idea, let me know why. Please don't just say it's bad...) If Time is 12:00AM Then Repeat Every 15 minutes Set 'Bedroom Thermostat' Query Set 'Apt Thermostat' Query Set 'Green Room Thermostat' Query Set 'Kitchen Thermostat' Query Else - No Action Action: Bedroom Thermostat Too Cold Program (This is a fail backup program. If something happens to the furnace or boiler and the tstat can still talk to the ISY, I will be notified every hour. If Status 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' < 45 (Temperature) Then Set 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' 50 (Heat Setpoint) Repeat Every 1 hour Send Notification to 'Ed' content 'Bedroom Temp Too Cold' Else -No Action Action: Test Thermostat Heat Mode Off Bedrooms If Status 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' is not Mode Heat Then Send Notification to 'Ed' content 'Heat Off Bedrooms' Set 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' Mode Heat Else -No Action Action: Test Thermostat Heat Mode On Bedrooms (this sends me a text when the tstat is changed to Heat. I get this text after the above "Heat Off" program fires. Basically, is a status check that the above program ran correctly. If Status 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' is Mode Heat Then Send Notification to 'Ed' content 'Heat On Bedrooms' Else -No Action Thermostat Daily Notify of Temps (Gets the temp twice a day and ensure they are all on heat mode also, send me a text with the temps) If Time is 8:00AM Or Time is 5:30 PM Then Set 'Bedroom Thermostat - Main' Mode Heat Set 'Apt Thermostat - Main' Mode Heat Set 'Kitchen Thermostat - Main' Mode Heat Set 'Green Room Thermostat - Main' Mode Heat Send Notification to 'Ed' Content 'All Thermostat Temp Status' Else -No Action There are also a handful of "Event", "State", and "Action" programs that shouldn't make a difference so I won't list them. They just adjust the temp twice a day. The odd "Off" messages I receive do not correlate to the times of these programs. So... With the above programs, I can keep an eye on my on my systems and have enough notification to get something fixed.

Thinking about integrating an echo but would like to know if this is possible... Is it possible to have the ISY send a speech command to the echo? For example, if someone opens a door, can I have the ISY tell the echo to say "Front Door Open"? Or, can I have a motion sensor detect motion @ a certain time of the day (between 6:30 and 7:30 am) and have her tell me the weather when I walk into the room? I've looked a bit on this subject and haven't found anything about this. thanks, Ed

I reread your post... My ISY program isn't looking for a state change. It's looking for them to be specifically on heat mode and if not heat, then set heat. Does that answer this scenario? Sent from my Android device

How long did you pull power? My last tstat I tested was off for about two hours and it came back in off mode. It was a new one. I'm wondering if there is a small rechargeable battery inside that needs to be charged up. I've done this test on each new unit hoping it would pass this test. Also, the default state for the Insteon tstats is to boot up out of the box in the "Off" state. IMO, these should at least boot up in "Auto" mode with a low heat mode (like 60F) and a high AC mode (like 85F). That way, when they lose power, they come up with a safety net. ...shoot, off topic again but it's a good worth wile fork I guess I also don't think it's a good idea to open and close the tstats while they are on. I'd remove power from the source like turning off the furnace for a few hours and see the state the tstat comes back in the same state it was in prior... Edit: Gave up typing on my phone... ~Department of Redundancy Department

Good point. Isy is on a UPS with at least 75 minutes of power. Ill put that on the list to test but unlikely to occur unless my isp fails as well (Internet modem and switches on ups). ~Department of redundancy department Sent from my Android device

One of the first things I did was to pull the tstat door open to disable power to see how it reset. After a few minutes, it would come back to the state it was at. But... after 30+ minutes, it would fire back up in "Off" mode. Why isn't there a backup setting to set to "Heat" and set to a low limit of 45 or 50 degrees F. And... why the hell didn't they put a simple backup battery option to have it sleep or to have it turn back on to heat mode so if you're away, it won't at least heat the house. then we won't have to turn to our old honeywell mechnacial mercury tstats in line with the "smart" tstats (if they are really smart...) anyway, if I lose power and my tstat fires up in off mode, my ISY will notice right away and set it at 50. If not, and time passes, and the temp falls below 45F, then it will text me every hour of the status unitl I get someone on it if I'm away. worse case, if on a cruise or hanging out on MARS for a while, I will have a human on earth (or Minnesota) help out ~Department of Redundancy Department

OP here... Sorry for the wall of text but it is what it is... First, this is a "Support Forum" << (emphasize support here). We're not on Reddit so if you feel like bashing, go somewhere else please. We can have fun here like posting a worst case pic of someone's frozen house is ok (like I did). I may also post in comic san-serif if I like @paulbates... you made me laugh! Please remember, The reason for my post was to get some ideas and/or support on what was going on to my thermostat/isy programs. I do not think I have faulty thermostats. They've been running fine for a few months. I may get some great ideas from you folks and tweak my ISY programs to fix it We can individually decide the level of "Trust" we have in our thermostats, heating system, IOT (Internet of things), power sources (line power), cars (one engine, 4 tires, 1 battery, 1 human driving...) and so on. that's not the point for the forum post. So, I'm in IT, I've managed datacenters on redundant power grids, with redundant semi sized UPS's, redundant internet connections, networks, virtual hosts and so on. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of redundancy to ensure uptime. Guess what, there is still something somewhere that gets you eventually if you're not careful. But, there is usually, enough time to fix or get someone on it to recover quickly. If you simply plug it in and walk away with trust, you may make a mistake somewhere. So, I chose the ISY because of it's stability, user base, support and my research showed it was the best device to use for my requirements and budget. I have two furnaces. They are for separate parts of the house and one is a bit flaky. The ISY and a simple thermostat (Insteon) could report back to me if there were problems. Yes, in the past, I've been out of town and my furnace has failed. It took over a day before it was down to the 30's F. I called a friend and it was fixed. I did monitor it another way but with the ISY and a smart tstat, I can get help quickly when the temp is not where it should be. Is this sufficient? For me, yes. I can respond and have someone there in enough time to address a furnace issue. Not really worried about the tstat failing. I have UPS's on the ISY, internet connection but not on the tstat or furnace. that's where the tests came in. So... with that said, my question on the forum has provided me some additional things I can try and test to get rid of the false alarms (if they are false) when querying the tstat if it's on heat or not. I've even put the following tests (one per tstat for diagnosis purposes): If temp is <= 45 degrees, then tell me and set to heat @ 50F If tstat is not on heat, then change it back to heat. This is nice because if someone hits the button to change it from heat to cool or off, it changes it back immediately and texts me. I really can't put redundancy into my line power or gas but if my neighborhood loses either of those, guess what, they will be out to fix it that day. That's what we pay for. If I lose my boiler or furnace, I want to know fairly soon so I can get it fixed before it's too late. ...and yes, I have insurance so if all else fails and I lose power, furnace, gas, tstat and I can't get there, I'll blow a pipe (or several), my house will flood and I'll call insurance. That's how it goes and why we have it. ...pushing soap box aside now Anyone have any other thoughts on the program I posted to see if I should tweak it any more? I've added 15 second waits on one of the tstat and still get false alarms (if that is what it is). Also, if we were worried about a single point of failure, it would be nice if the UDI could offer a master/slave option where we could buy two, and the master could copy it's config to the salve and in the event of a ISY failure, the system could gracefully fail over to the slave and run until the master was back or replaced. That's a common practice that I would be interested in. ~Department of Redundancy Department

A backup to the backup backup. ~Department of Redundancy Department

no, I'm getting them from 3 of 4 of the insteon tstats (going from memory). I'd like to verify that though... If that's the case, then it may be a hiccup on the 24vac transformer that runs all 3 tstats and valves. I do have a spare that I can swap out. but... let me verify that. Ed

That will be my next test. Sent from my Android device

Wanted to ensure that is one was turned off that it would go back to heat. This was initially for human use but they started alerting on their own.. Also don't want to end up like this: https://m.imgur.com/a/kTuNU Sent from my Android device

At least 3 out of 4 tstats. I'd have to confirm in logs if it's all 4 Sent from my Android device

Isy says 1.0. Paper sticker inside says 2.0 (going from memory...) Sent from my Android device

As i write this, there is a frozen house post in reddit/imgur: https://m.imgur.com/a/kTuNU Sent from my Android device

I query the tstats every 15 minutes all day. Yes, they are insteon v2 2441th Sent from my Android device

Is there any way to verify in the logs if the tests are going off or if I'm getting a bad reading from the ISY? I've added two waits in one of the tstats to avoid the "race condition" Below is from the logs as I just received a notice that one of my tstats turned "off" while I was writing this. Strange... See below. Ignore the one that is crossed out. that's another tstat on our Green Room. Bedroom Level / Bedroom Thermostat - Main Status Query░ Sun 2016/02/14 09:18:14 PM Program Log Bedroom Level / Bedroom Thermostat - Main Thermostat Mode Off Sun 2016/02/14 09:18:21 PM System Log Bedroom Level / Bedroom Thermostat - Main Unit 1 Sun 2016/02/14 09:18:21 PM System Log Green Room and Entryway / Green Room Thermostat- Main Status Query░ Sun 2016/02/14 09:18:22 PM Program Log Bedroom Level / Bedroom Thermostat - Main Thermostat Mode Heat Sun 2016/02/14 09:18:27 PM Program Log Bedroom Level / Bedroom Thermostat - Main Thermostat Mode Heat Sun 2016/02/14 09:18:29 PM System Log Maybe when I'm home and it's a bit warmer, I'll change the program to only alert me but not reset/change the tstat to heat. Then I can check if it's going off or if the system is getting a bad reading. Any other thoughts or ideas? EddieRock

Updated original image in original post. sometimes, after 25 years of being in IT and that happens, I feel like this Dad!!

You must have a boiler like I do. It takes at least 3 hours to raise my home 5 degrees. I typically keep all tstats at the same temp most of the day/night. I believe it's better on the pocketbook long term... Maybe I'm wrong but that's how I do it.

Dooh! It would help if I put the correct screenshot in the original post. I actually have 4 programs (one for each tstat with separate notifications... When my kids are off the computer I'll update the pic... Ed Sent from my Android device

Yah, i have separate programs for each tstat. So, each program watches its own tstat. I'm just trying to figure out if they are actually changing from heat. I decided to implement this because if the tstats lose power (with the house), they turn back on in "off" mode. It can get down to -20 or lower in Minnesota so i needed to setup a failsafe since these do not have batteries. Ed Sent from my Android device

I have Hikvision cameras around my house and also use Milestone Systems XProtect Professional: https://www.milestonesys.com/our-products/xprotect-software-suite/xprotect-professional/ I absolutely love the Milestone system. Their phone app is amazing! Rewind and ff on the phone from anywhere in the world. I've caught 3 attempted breakins and one successful. All intruders were identified from the footage. Their software is actually free for up to 5 cameras but I've paid for more and I think I pay around $400 for 8 cameras for 8 years. That gives me unlimited storage and can go back as far as I configure it. I'd love to have either the ONVIF protocol, hikvision cameras and/or the Milestone system integrate with the ISY... (Hint Hint) EddieRock Edit: spelling

I have a program to check if the thermostats are on heat mode. If they are not, the program sets them to heat and emails me. To save time (have to leave), I've attached an image of how the program is setup. I get random texts throughout the day saying they are not on heat mode and then the program sets them. Do you think these are false alarms or do you think they are actually going off of heat mode. I looked in the logs but have a hard time determining what's going on. the alerts are on different thermostats throughout the day. Also, if you ask me to post my logs, do I have to "cleanse" them of my device ID's because of security concerns? See attached. Ed Edit: Added the image of the program that tests and notifies on one of my tstats.

I'll bet that's it. I'll try later and follow up. No news is good news... thanks, for all your help here! you guys are awesome! Ed