Is there a plug-in or code that lets me to check the inside thermostat against the Weather Underground temperature for my area and allow me to trigger a virtual switch or something and prevent a fan from running?
Example 1:
80F on inside thermostat
76F outside according to Weather Underground Plug-in
A whole house fan is allowed to run because the inside temp is higher than the reported outside temp and it is beneficial to run the fan to bring in the cooler air.
Example 2:
78F on inside thermostat
95F outside according to Weather Underground Plug-in
Do not allow the whole house fan to run because it is hotter outside than it is inside and there is no benefit of having the fan running as it would only bring in hot air.
You can use the Program Logic Event Generator
Two Input Device Properties: Inside Attached to the inside temperature variable Outside Attached to the outside temperature variable
Two Conditions: FanOn (OutSide < (Inside - 5)) and (Inside > 70) FanOff Not FanOn
Two Actions: FanOn Turn On Fan, Turn Thermostat to Off FanOff Turn Off Fan, Turn Thermostat to Auto
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You can enable/disable the PLEG to stop the actions … or you can add more logic
You can replace the 70 with the temperature of your house thermostat setpoint …
If I understand the commands properly, the condition “fan on” checks that the inside thermostat is above the set point and the outside temp is 5 degrees below the inside thermostat set point. If that is true it turns on the fan automatically? if not, it sets the inside thermostat to auto and doesn’t run the fan?
Is there a way to make it not turn on the fan automatically, but allow me to manually operate the fan?
And if conditions are not right, prevent me from running the fan manually?
I am trying to figure out this as part of a larger project I would like to complete.
I posted a while back and got no replies:
[i]I am looking for help on a new project. I just installed a new whole house fan and am looking to have a “safety” on it that only allows it to run if the weather outside is cooler than the inside temperature. I also only want it to run if 1 or more window/ door zones are opened and turn off the t-stat.
I have a trane t-stat, the google weather plugin and an nx-8 alarm connected to the system. I currently have a Thermostat override if a door is opened for more than 5 minutes.
Here is how I think it should go.
Vera recognizes the request to turn on the Whole house fan and checks the inside temp. And compares it to the google weather outside temp for my area.
If the outside temp is lower than the inside temp it goes to the next requirement or if it’s warmer outside the request to turn on the fan is denied.
If the luup for the entire scene is true ( cooler outside) then the event for the scene is run.
In the scene luup, if the alarm doesn’t show 2 or more zones open it Denys the event from running. If zones are open then the event runs and triggers the command to turn on the whose house fan and disable the thermostat(off).
Vera checks every minute to see if the requirements above are met. If they are not then the fan turns off to prevent pulling in warmer air from outside and trying to move air when the house is all closed up. It also prevents the t-stat from turning on the air if the fan is running.
Bonus points: all the commands can be set back to previous settings when the fan is turned off.
Is this something that can be done without a phd in computer programming and without giving Vera a heart attack?
I thought it would be a challenge. Any help is appreciated.
Drew[/i]
Can the PLEG do this?
is there any documentation on the setup of this plug-in?
Thank you for all of your time taken to create this plug-in and support the people that are not as well versed in programming.