Creating a program that is triggered by a zwave action

[Bill S]

I have a ISY994izw with 300 dongle running version 5.0.16C. Several zwave, INSTEON, and even a few X10 switches all working well together.

I have three switches in my basement. One is a single pole switch. The second is an old X10 switch. The third is a two-way with one switch at the top of the stairs and the other at the bottom.

I am able to control all three of these with Alexa voice commands, and have also included them in programs that execute at various times of day.

Here is my dilemma. With any combination of the lights associated with these switches on or off, I want to be able to toggle down on the switch at the top of the stairs, and have all three switches turn off all the lights associated with these three switches.

I have tried to create a scene with all three switches, but of course the X10 switch cannot be included in a scene. However, when I create the scene with just the zwave switches, I still do not get a desired result. The off combination works (it shuts off both zwave switches), but the on combination does not because it turns on both zwave switches, and I only want one on in this circumstance.

So, I believe I want a program that turns off all lights associated with three switches, and I want that program to run when a certain zwave switch is toggled off.

I then want another program that turns on all lights associated with two switches, and I want that program to run when a certain zwave switch is toggled on.

I have not figured out how to trigger a program to run when a zwave command has been issued.

Edited May 8 by Bill S
added version number on device

[oberkc]

One thing that I have noticed about z-wave switches on IoX is that most that I have tried do not trigger "control" (is switched on) conditions.  I have found them also not to work well for me as scene controllers.  (Because of this, I have tended not to use z-wave switches in locations where they would be conditions in my programs.)  They seem to trigger "status" conditions, however.  So, your program you might try something like:

if

'switch' status is on

then

do something

[Bill S]

@oberkc

Thanks for the help. The ISY Console interface is not intuitive. If I had known that "Control" meant that the switch is switched on or off (and the program executed when that happens), I would have tried that. It does show up on the interface after the condition is entered. It shows "is switched on," whereas when selecting it, it just says "is on."

Anyway, it did work. The lights work as programmed.

 

Michel and programmers, it might be helpful if that "is" drop down that I am pointing to is changed to "is switched."

 

 

[larryllix]

The difference is "status" vs "control" verbage. "Switched" is a bit of an assumption by users now.

[Bill S]

Thanks for responding. It's not intuitive, as all software could be. It does not seem hard to change "on" to "switched on," and "off" to "switched off," just like the if statement shows after it is entered.

I am just glad I got it to work.

[Bill S]

Everything working so far. I am trying to take this one step further. I want to control these basement lights with my Amazon Echo. Here are my ISY screens.

 

 

So toggling "Office 2-way" works perfectly. Toggling off switches off all three lights. Toggling on switches on two lights. It works from either end of the two-way.

Now, in the portal, I have defined "office lights" in the device list.

 

 

The amazon app on my iPhone dings me and says that a device has been added "office lights," and that I can issue spoken commands "office lights on" to turn on and "office lights off" to turn off.

When I do this however, only the office 2-way turns off. The plug-in and tool area switches do not turn off. Same for turning on.

Can I make it so the entire program runs when I issue the spoken command?

This is the very last thing I need done in my home automation. I am so looking forward to making this work.

 

 

 

[oberkc]

8 hours ago, Bill S said:

When I do this however, only the office 2-way turns off. The plug-in and tool area switches do not turn off. Same for turning on.

When you add the device to amazon Alexa, add the scene rather than adding the individual switch.  Add it as Alexa category "light" just as you did when you added the zw switch.  Also, remove the zw switch from Alexa so that she is not confused.

[Bill S]

Thanks. How do I define/create the scene in ISY Administrative Console? Here is a snapshot of the Main tab.

 

The Programs | Details tabs are shown in the previous post.

Also, I can see the device on my iPhone Alexa app. But I do not see scenes.

 

Edited May 22 by Bill S

[oberkc]

Perhaps I assumed too much or responded too quickly.  Upon further review, I see that you are using a couple of programs where I (and I suspect most) would use a scene.  Unless I continue to miss something, I would create a scene with your office "2-way" as a controller and the other switches as responders.  Once created, get rid of the two programs.   Scenes can be created from the admin console where the devices are all listed.  One benefit of the scene is that it would work even if the ISY fails or is removed.

If, for some reason, you would prefer to keep the programs, change the condition in the two programs from a "control" to a "status" type.   I understand that you have already played around with these types of conditions and that status may not work for you in this case.  Try a scene instead.  (unfortunately, I have had less than full success using z-wave devices as scene controllers but I am hoping it will work for you for the z-wave switch you are using.)

 

Edited May 22 by oberkc

[oberkc]

To create a scene, you can choose the little symbol that is three small circles within one larger circle.  I think it is also available under "link management".  Scenes are a pretty basic and powerful feature of Insteon and ISY.  If you are not familiar with them, I would check out the user manual or wiki.

 

[Geddy]

@Bill S First, for program help on the forums please use "Copy to Clipboard" by right clicking on the program then pasting it as TEXT in the forum message. That's the preferred method rather than screen shots. It makes it easier for people to read and assist to suggest alternate program suggestions to copy/paste what you provide rather than trying to assist with a screenshot. It also make that program searchable if it should be something others attempt in the future and try a forum search.

As @oberkc suggested above try the "status" rather than control. The way you have the program with control is considered a physical operation of the switch. If you are attempting to use Echo to turn off the light there's no "switched" (or "Control") happening. It's just a status update on the admin console side. 

Otherwise, you should be able to have Echo command the program by telling it to turn the program on or off. 

As the wiki explains the "on" will run the "Then" of the program and "off" will run the "else" of the program.

(found here:https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY_Portal_Amazon_Echo_Integration_V3)

 

 

[Bill S]

You people are wonderful. I swear that I had tried with "status" rather than "control," and it did not work. It works now. I decided to stick with programs because it works, and I do not want to mess with it.

I thought I tried it with scenes some time ago, and it also did not work. So I am happy it works now. I also kept it as two programs rather than one because it works, and again, I do not want to mess with it.

I will paste as text if I have a problem in the future, BUT, as I said, my ISY is now set up the way I want. with all seven z-wave, two X-10, one INSTEON, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home Mini devices all working nicely together. YEA!! It only took me four years, and as you can see, there are really not that many devices on it.

Time to head to the beach!

[oberkc]

3 hours ago, Bill S said:

I do not want to mess with it.

I thought messing with things is what we do here.  There is always one more thing to automate.

Have fun at the beach.