House Fan - program to cycle on/off indefinitely while on

[MJsan]

Greetings! Recent convert from SmartHome to ISY994i here.

 

I'm looking for any help on how to program my whole house fan to cycle - as in 15 or 30 mins on/off, repeat indefinitely until stopped.

 

During the day when not using AC I'll leave it on constant (so just turn the KPL on), but at night we need it to cycle.

 

I am totally new to ISY programming, I've looked at the commands and syntax, but not sure if REPEAT is the right way to do it . 

 

What I'm hoping to accomplish is:

 

Activate KPL or Mobilinc command or voice command through Alexa "turn night fan on"

30 mins on

30 mins off

repeat until "turn night fan off" command

 

Any help or guidance is much appreciated. I searched for fan cycle and whole house fan and didn't find anything quite like what I am trying to do.

 

 

 

[paulbates]

Hi MJsan, welcom to the UDI forums!
 

I don't use a switch to turn this on, but the 'then' of the program will give you what you are looking for in terms of cycling until the program's If logic becomes false

HVAC Cycle US Fan - [ID 0030][Parent 0017][Not Enabled]

If
        'HVAC / Upstairs' Heat/Cool State is Idle                    This stops cycling if the system has been normally heating/cooling
    And 'Attic / Attic- Damper Control-Relay' Status is Off          If our attic damper / fan is on, don't cycle as outside air is moving through
     (you could put your switch command here instead and/or call the program from the portal/alexa)
Then
        Wait  22 minutes                                            When the AC has run, this give the condenser time to drain and not blow the moisture back into living space
        Repeat While $True is $True                                 True is variable that is set to 1, eg run forever (unless program If logic becomes false)
           Set 'HVAC / Upstairs' Fan Mode On                        How I turn my fan on
           $V_US_Fan_Cycle_Sequence += 1                            I keep track of how many cycles, for reporting, not necessary
           Wait  10 minutes                                         I turn on and off every 10 minutes
           Set 'HVAC / Upstairs' Fan Mode Auto                      How I turn my fan off
           Wait  10 minutes                                         Pause 10 minutes in "off mode", then the repeat starts again 
 
Else
        Set 'HVAC / Upstairs' Fan Mode Auto                        Make sure fan is shut off on the way out

 
This program cycles the fan when nothing has run to filter the air. The heat and cool commands are controlled by Nodelink 

[larryllix]

Fan cycling can get complicated!

 

I have a series of programs that synchronise with the HVAC fan as well as the humidifier (not central) and the HRV fresh air system. This is a energy saver so that the central air handler shares the time for them all.

 

I don't want to post it as it may confuse the heck out a newbie to ISY programming, using time clocks from v5 and dewpoint comparisons etc..

Then I have monitoring programs inside ISY that draw charts to show sequence of HVAC operations helping me immensely to develop this craziness!

 

IOW: Paul's program (above) looks good !

[apostolakisl]

You'll need to note that "repeat while" is only in 5.x firmware.  Plain repeat is what you'll need to use.

 

Your needs sound simple.

 

If

(KPL is switched on

and

KPL is not switched off)

or

other activation

 

Then

repeat every 30 minutes

Set fan on

wait 30 minutes

Set fan off

 

Please note: repeat every 30 minutes is used since, for some logic issue in ISY, the 30 minute wait within the repeat doesn't count toward the 30 minute repeat.

 

EDIT:

 

Not sure what you mean by "turn night fan on" command or "turn night fan off" command.

 

You might use

If

KPL button status is on

 

Then

 . . . 

 

Using Status of the KPL, then you can turn the button on or off via Alexa, or mobile linc, or direct press of the button and this program will run while it is on.

[larryllix]

When you use theNOT switched logic you will also need to put some code into the Else in order to not leave the fan running forever.

 

If

...(KPL is switched on

...and

...KPL is not switched off)

...or

...other activation

 

Then

...repeat every 30 minutes

......Set fan on

......wait 30 minutes

......Set fan off

 

Else

...Wait 30 minutes

...Set fan off

[apostolakisl]

When you use theNOT switched logic you will also need to put some code into the Else in order to not leave the fan running forever.

 

If

...(KPL is switched on

...and

...KPL is not switched off)

...or

...other activation

 

Then

...repeat every 30 minutes

......Set fan on

......wait 30 minutes

......Set fan off

 

Else

...Wait 30 minutes

...Set fan off

Yes, sorry, should have included that.  

 

In fact, no matter what you put in the "if" section, you need to terminate the fan using the else to have a shut off command.  Whenever the "if" section turns false, the "then" stops running, but that doesn't mean it turns the fan off.  It only means it stops turning the fan on and off every 30 minutes and if the fan happened to be "on" at that time, it will just stay on.

[larryllix]

Yes, sorry, should have included that.  

 

In fact, no matter what you put in the "if" section, you need to terminate the fan using the else to have a shut off command.  Whenever the "if" section turns false, the "then" stops running, but that doesn't mean it turns the fan off.  It only means it stops turning the fan on and off every 30 minutes and if the fan happened to be "on" at that time, it will just stay on.

Without the Not Switched it can never be false and cancel the timer but...

any further logic lines than just the one 'Switched On' line can change all that, so the Else = set Fan off would be required.

[apostolakisl]

Without the Not Switched it can never be false and cancel the timer but...

any further logic lines than just the one 'Switched On' line can change all that, so the Else = set Fan off would be required.

 

See the edit from my first post switching over to status.

[paulbates]

Larry,

 

Originally I had the the "Repeat every XX minutes" in the program above. You pointed out run-time problems with timing when using the Repeat statement this way. I experimented and switched to the the "Repeat While $True = $True". The problem was timing related, and I can't remember the specific behaviors now, but this way has worked more predictably.

 

Paul

[apostolakisl]

Larry,

 

Originally I had the the "Repeat every XX minutes" in the program above. You pointed out run-time problems with timing when using the Repeat statement this way. I experimented and switched to the the "Repeat While $True = $True". The problem was timing related, and I can't remember the specific behaviors now, but this way has worked more predictably.

 

Paul

But this requires 5.x firmware.

 

You can also do

 

If

 

$state variable = 1

 

Then

set fan on

wait 30 min

set $state variable =0

Else

set fan off

wait 30 min

set $state variable  = 1

 

You need to add other parameters to this program to control how it starts and stops.

[larryllix]

Larry,

 

Originally I had the the "Repeat every XX minutes" in the program above. You pointed out run-time problems with timing when using the Repeat statement this way. I experimented and switched to the the "Repeat While $True = $True". The problem was timing related, and I can't remember the specific behaviors now, but this way has worked more predictably.

 

Paul

Not sure I remember the conversation but....

 

Repeat every 30 minutes

....set Fan On

....Wait 20 minutes

....set Fan Off

 

 

repeats the loop every 50 minutes, with a 20 minute On time, and a 30 minute Off time.

 

The "Repeat every" is a syntax error and should be changed to "Repeat with Wait" to read.

 

Repeat with Wait 30 minutes.

  or

Loop with Wait 30 minutes

 

 

@Apostolakisl: Nice one! LOL.

We need a thread of the most twisted/cryptic programs. OTOH: some of us do that unintentionally.

I never thought of ISY programs as cryptic but they certainly can be. Folder conditions can certainly waste many hours troubleshooting programs that  won't run.

[MJsan]

You guys rock, thank you so much. I'm going to play with some of this now!

[apostolakisl]

 

The "Repeat every" is a syntax error and should be changed to "Repeat with Wait" to read.

 

 

I never thought of ISY programs as cryptic but they certainly can be. Folder conditions can certainly waste many hours troubleshooting programs that  won't run.

 

Or you could drop the repeat "every  . . . " and just have a "repeat" which just repeats forever.

 

Then you use one or more "waits" in the program.

 

As it stands now,

repeat every x minutes
stuff

is functionally the same as

Repeat (every 0 minutes)
stuff
wait x min

OR, probably the easiest and quickest correction would be to change the label to

 

"repeat after waiting x minutes"

 

I think that is more clear than "repeat with wait" and requires no code change, only changing the label.

[MJsan]

Resurrecting this again as it's getting colder at night - and I'm getting major push back to put the fan on a timer  

 

I need to leave the KPL alone so that it turns on and off purely - no timer activation.

 

What I need is a trigger, say a button on a RemoteLinc2 - that initiates "turn fan on" for 30 mins, off for 30, on for 30, off for 30 ... for a total of 8 hours... with the smarts to stop the program and leave the fan in an OFF state "IF KPL OFF" is seen. 

 

I'm totally a newbie at this and really appreciate any tips as I embark on this as my weekend project  

 

Thanks all!!!

[larryllix]

I got an ecobee3 and deleted many programs from my ISY as it has a very intelligent fan cycler built in.

 

Using ISY,  I synchronised my fan, separate humidifier,  and HRV air exchanger with my HVAC cycles to save energy. This took a master clock created using a variable, synchronised to my HVAC fan calls for heat. Then all other device cycler programs were synchronised to that central clock. All devices started together and only when the HVAC fan stopped was the cycle resumed on it's own cycles again.

[lilyoyo1]

I got an ecobee3 and deleted many programs from my ISY as it has a very intelligent fan cycler built in.

 

Using ISY,  I synchronised my fan, separate humidifier,  and HRV air exchanger with my HVAC cycles to save energy. This took a master clock created using a variable, synchronised to my HVAC fan calls for heat. Then all other device cycler programs were synchronised to that central clock. All devices started together and only when the HVAC fan stopped was the cycle resumed on it's own cycles again.

This is why I love the ecobee 3 so much. It allows you to do so much without having to have a controller tell it what to do. 

[larryllix]

This is why I love the ecobee 3 so much. It allows you to do so much without having to have a controller tell it what to do. 

ecobee3 took me a while to get familiar with it. Like all smart stats I find it has some quirks and support (as all manufacturers) has no clue what their own terminology means but.... I found the "follow me" feature very poor, unworkable idea and support gave me complete BS using figures from my own stat that are arithmetically wrong. LOL

 

Anyway, I find the ecobee3 the most advance and best performing stat  of Nest, Venstar Colourtouch, Insteon, and Honeywell.  As on all of them you can't go by the front temperature display but recording TAGs show the real performance.  ecobee3 is the best I have seen / used for stability and accuracy.

 

With the latest advance io_guy has put on the ecobees3 interface, if it works as I think it will, should eliminate about 30 programs in my ISY over the Colortouch. Fan cycling is awesome but takes some metal adjustment to realise how well it can work.