Reflect manual adjustment in HA?

[koymoy]

Would it be possible to make changes made directly on the TRV be reflected as an action made in VT/HA?

Case: Guests who don’t know how or aren’t used to HA/smart home systems struggle to adjust the temperature in the guest room. The TRV shows the temperature as registered on the external temperature sensor, which is great and something it previously didn’t do. However, when the dial on the device is turned, e.g., from 17°C to 18°C, nothing happens. It only adjusts when set from within HA.

Would it be possible to make this a standard feature in VT, or is it only achievable (without breaking VT functionality/operation) via automations?

By the way, I absolutely love the work you’ve done—it beats what I’ve tried from Tado/Netatmo by miles! Thank you so much!

[jmcollin78]

Hello the good news is that is it possible and it is describe in the documentation : https://github.com/jmcollin78/versatile_thermostat/blob/main/documentation/en/over-climate.md#follow-underlying-temperature-changes

[koymoy]

Hi, that is so great! i'm gonna play with that! I did read the documentation, but had simply missed the meaning :) Again, great work and let a end-user noob, know if theres anything i can do to help :)

[maia]

@jmcollin78 I suggest to rename that setting to something like "Prioritise manual control over Home Assistant". I've been using vtherm for quite a while and still struggle with "underlying", to me this is an investment term.

[jmcollin78]

Yes agree. I have done the translation with Chatgpt now as your suggest it. Before it was done with google translate. I hope the documentation is now better and a feedback could be appreciated.

[jmcollin78]

The other point is that reading a documentation that is not in your natural language is always difficult and misleading. I'm the first one who have difficulties on this. Sometimes you got all the words but this just doesn't make sense.

[maia]

Yes agree. I have done the translation with Chatgpt now as your suggest it. Before it was done with google translate. I hope the documentation is now better and a feedback could be appreciated.

I missed that change, did you update the entire documentation? Are there specific parts you would like a feedback on?

[jmcollin78]

Yes I have change all the documentation. Split into chapters instead of one big page, make the translation with ChatGPT, translate the images, update chapter that was not updated for a long time, ...

It was a huge work on this. I would love to have a feedback on this of course. You always have good advices, and I need feedbacks.

[maia]

Thanks for the compliment. I've taken a quick look and find it much better, congratulations! I've noticed a few details on the first pages, then I stopped working through the details and have an additional suggestion below:

1. "Some results" on the top level page confuses new users more than it might help. Also it has "Consigne" in the screenshots, would be great to have english screens only.

2. Introduction > When to Use and Not Use It: The three types of equipment could be cleaned up a bit. First introduce the three options, then go into detail what they require each.

3. Introduction > Why a New Thermostat Implementation?: vtherm isn't new anymore, I'd not talk about "new", it's been around for years now.

4. Introduction: Mention that it is a integration and not a blueprint or similar. And that it requires HACS.

5. Introduction: When explaining the use cases, group them by use cases for all three over_ types first, then followed by subheadings that each explain the use cases specific for this type of over_ type

6. Remove references to when a feature was added, if it was added long ago (e.g. "This mode, introduced in version 4.3" or "To address this, a new optional feature has been added in version 5.4").

General suggestion: Some pages of the documentation could probably be optimised by finding a better structure. ChatGPT 4o could be useful for that too, not just for translations. You could use the french version that you're familiar with and see what it suggests to improve. For example for the over_climate page a few minutes of chat ended with the suggestion below for the structure – as you can see, it is grouped by feature and each feature has the same sub-structure (Note: I know the content isn't complete and correct, this is more a suggestion for structural improvements). I think changes like these could make it easier to navigate and understand, starting with the parts of the documentation that need most support.

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Documentation: over_climate Thermostat

The over_climate type in Versatile Thermostat enhances existing climate devices in Home Assistant by adding advanced features like self-regulation, auto-fan, temperature compensation, and more. It operates over an existing climate entity, using temperature data from an internal thermometer (required), an external thermometer (optional), and the device’s internal thermometer (if available). Based on this data, it calculates an optimal setpoint and sends it to the climate entity, which adjusts the equipment to maintain the desired room temperature.

Self-Regulation

Description: Automatically adjusts the setpoint sent to the underlying climate device to maintain the desired room temperature while avoiding excessive adjustments.

How it Works: Versatile Thermostat continuously monitors room temperature and compares it to the desired setpoint. If the temperature deviates beyond a specified threshold, it calculates a new setpoint and sends it to the underlying device.

Configuration: Enable self-regulation in the thermostat settings. Configure the Regulation Threshold (minimum temperature change required to trigger a new setpoint, e.g., 0.5°C) and the Minimum Adjustment Period (minimum time between updates, e.g., 10 minutes).

Notes/Warnings: Improperly configured thresholds can lead to over- or under-regulation. The effectiveness depends on the quality of the underlying device’s thermometer and regulation logic.

Auto-Fan

Description: Activates ventilation to quickly stabilize room temperature when significant differences occur.

How it Works: When the thermostat detects a large difference between the room temperature and the setpoint, it activates ventilation at the selected level (Low, Medium, High, Turbo). Once the temperature difference is small, ventilation reverts to the default mode supported by the device (e.g., Mute, Auto, Low).

Configuration: Enable auto-fan in the thermostat settings. Choose a ventilation level based on your device’s capabilities. If Turbo mode is unavailable, the system defaults to High.

Notes/Warnings: Ensure your equipment supports ventilation control. Turbo mode will automatically revert to High if unavailable.

Temperature Compensation

Description: Corrects inaccuracies in the device’s internal thermometer to ensure actual room conditions match the desired setpoint.

How it Works: If the device’s internal thermometer reports inaccurate temperatures due to poor placement (e.g., near heat sources), Versatile Thermostat compensates by adjusting the setpoint. For instance, if the room temperature is 18°C, but the internal thermometer reads 22°C, the thermostat compensates to maintain proper regulation.

Configuration: Enable temperature compensation in the settings and specify adjustment values as needed.

Notes/Warnings: This feature is particularly useful when the internal thermometer’s placement skews readings. Without compensation, the device may fail to regulate effectively.

Follow Underlying Temperature Changes

Description: Monitors manual temperature updates from the underlying climate device and adjusts setpoints accordingly.

How it Works: The thermostat continuously tracks target temperature changes reported by the underlying climate entity, caused by manual control of the device. Based on these updates, it aligns its control logic to ensure consistent regulation.

Configuration: Ensure the underlying entity reports accurate temperature data. Enable this feature in the settings to allow the thermostat to adapt to changes.

Notes/Warnings: Avoid conflicts by disabling direct manual control of the underlying device. Using both Versatile Thermostat and manual controls simultaneously can lead to unpredictable behavior (“double-control”).