hart2hart Posted May 30, 2023 Posted May 30, 2023 Goose66, thanks for another needed node server that is working well in first couple of days. Two quick questions: 1) Is there a form of Set Query for each thermostat (I have 3) to ensure they have most recent values from keypads? I've found this beneficial as we can make changes at the keypad and IOx will see the results and adjust accordingly. Form history though, they sometimes got out of date so I periodically queried each thermostat to keep all in sync. Is this feature this already there and I missed it and if not can it be added (or do you use techniques to keep them closer in sync)? 2) An additional issue is that sometimes a thermostat will lose WiFi. Other devices I have will signal through their iOS app that connection has been lost but not the Venstar thermostats. Looks like you have this covered- Thank you. Is this the Thermostat Online function.
Goose66 Posted June 1, 2023 Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) 1. The Venstar node server does not maintain a connection* to the thermostat where it can get real-time status updates. Instead it relies on polling to retrieve the latest status every short poll interval. However, unlike the MyQ or iAquaLink node servers, the poling takes place on your LAN directly to the thermostat and doesn't utilize a cloud service as a go-between. Accordingly, the polling call is not very expensive network-wise, and can be done frequently (defaults to 15 seconds). Therefore, there is no need for a "Force Update" command. If the 15 seconds is not real-time enough, you can set the short poll interval to 10 seconds or less. Note that the node server also updates the remote sensor states, the system runtimes, and the alert states every long poll interval. * technically it does maintain an HTTP session so that subsequent calls to the thermostat after the initial call are more efficient. But there is no two-way connection allowing the thermostat to update the node server with current status values in real-time, like the EnvisaLink-DSC or Bond node server. Edited June 1, 2023 by Goose66
Goose66 Posted June 1, 2023 Posted June 1, 2023 2. The "Thermostat Online" state basically reports the success or failure of the last polling call (updated every short poll).
hart2hart Posted June 1, 2023 Author Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, Goose66 said: Again, Thanks for the insights, Goose66. Edited June 1, 2023 by hart2hart
mbking Posted June 2, 2023 Posted June 2, 2023 @Goose66, this is a great explanation. The default poll intervals, for the most part, work fine. Sometimes, though, I use UD Mobile to change the cool/heat set point and a more immediate feedback would be nice. Rather than shorten the short poll for this one use case, is it possible to request a one time status update after changing a thermostat setting via the node server?
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