Why does 'Thermostat mode' appear in Utillity?

[Domoberry]

Hi Forum,
(RPI, V4.10717, Hue, Zwave, SolarEdge, P1, Nefit Easy, Nest, some Lua)
The objective of this post is to understand Domoticz (a bit) better. I have searched the forum, but could not find a practical answer (or searched wrongly...).
I have recently setup a Eurotronics Spirit radiator valve controller (Zwave+). After installation, including a ZWave stick, this works as expected.
However, what I do not understand is why the 'Thermostat Mode' device (which deals with setting the controller in various modes like 'off', 'heat', 'heat eco', 'boost' and 'manufacturer') shows up as a widget in Utility. This widget does not show the current setting in the top bar (like many other widgets do) and to change the mode, you need to click edit, use a drop down etc. I would have expected a widget like 'Selector Switch' in the Switches tab.
What is the logic behind this?
And, for my further understanding, I do not think there is simple way to change the widget linked to a device - correct?
Suppose I wanted to change this, where is the code that controls this? (No, I'm not gonna change, I couldn't, just curious as I could not locate it).
Lastly, to make it work the way I would like, I think an alternative is to create a dummy selector switch and use JSON commands to Domoticz to set the mode accordingly, but I'm not sure how to make switch' widget also respond to mode changes intiated for example from the controller itself.

Just for the record: this is not a complaint of any kind, in fact I'm amazed by what Domoticz as system can do, so thanks for all who contributed to it!!

[HvdW]

Hi,
I also don't know too much about Domoticz and I agree that it is amazing software.
To collect icons in one screen I tap or click on the and those icons will be placed on the dashboard.
Maybe you can use scenes to place icons together as well.

I agree that the thermostat switch is not a peace of simpleness and beauty. It feels stupid to have to click on it and adapt the temperature by typing. A slider would feel more natural.
Solution:
Install Domoticz for Android, pay for the development and enjoy the app. In the app your icons are much more like you would like to have them.

[Domoberry]

Hi HvdW,
Thanks a lot for your reply and the screenshots. That indeed looks interesting!
I will have a look at 'scenes' as well as a way to get certain widgets in one screen.
I also noted also that from the 5 modes I can set the Eurotronics Spirit valve controller to (off, heat, eco heat, boost, manufacturer), only the first three get reported back. E.g. if I set the valve controller for example to 'Boost', the device actually goes into that mode (its display shows 'On'), yet the widget does not report it. Same for 'Manufacturer'. It is also not reported back in the OZW Control Panel, so guessing this has something to do with the ZWave definition of the device. If I look in the device xml file (eur_spiritz.xml), the Command Class Thermostat mode (64) describes the behavior. Yet, in the config file (zwcfg_0xxxxxxxxx.xml) these two modes are not described similarly and in fact have 'Unknown'. Not being an expert, reading multiple posts, I understood that the eur_spiritz.xml file is the source which should be copied over in the zwcfg_0xxxxxxxxx.xml config file. Why that is not the same is not clear to me at the moment. Neither how to correct it for now (reading more posts on this...)
In case someone is interested: the Command Class Thermostat Mode in eur_spiritz.xml:

Code: Select all

<CommandClass id="64">
<Instance index="1"/>
<Value label="Mode" index="0" genre="user" type="list" instance="1">
<Help> Off: No heating, only frost protection. Heat: Room temperature will be kept at the configured setpoint. Heat Eco: Energy save heating mode. Room temperature will be lowered to the configured eco setpoint in order to save energy. Full Power: Full power heating. This mode is left automatically after 5 minutes. Manufacturer Specific: Direct valve control mode. The valve opening percentage can be controlled using the switch multilevel command class. </Help>
<Item value="0" label="Off"/>
<Item value="1" label="Heat"/>
<Item value="11" label="Heat Eco"/>
<Item value="15" label="Full Power"/>
<Item value="31" label="Manufacturer Specific"/>
</Value>
<SupportedModes>
<Mode label="Off" index="0"/>
<Mode label="Heat" index="1"/>
<Mode label="Heat Eco" index="11"/>
<Mode label="Full Power" index="15"/>
<Mode label="Manufacturer Specific" index="31"/>
</SupportedModes>
</CommandClass>

and the same in zwcfg_0xxxxxxxxx.xml config file:

Code: Select all

<CommandClass id="64" version="1" name="COMMAND_CLASS_THERMOSTAT_MODE" request_flags="4" innif="true" issecured="true">
<Instance index="1"/>
<Value type="list" index="0" max="0" min="0" poll_intensity="0" verify_changes="false" write_only="false" read_only="false" units="" label="Mode" instance="1" genre="user" size="0" vindex="1">
<Help>Off: No heating, only frost protection. Heat: Room temperature will be kept at the configured setpoint. Heat Eco: Energy save heating mode. Room temperature will be lowered to the configured eco setpoint in order to save energy. Full Power: Full power heating. This mode is left automatically after 5 minutes. Manufacturer Specific: Direct valve control mode. The valve opening percentage can be controlled using the switch multilevel command class.</Help>
<Item value="0" label="Off"/>
<Item value="1" label="Heat"/>
<Item value="11" label="Heat Eco"/>
<Item value="15" label="Full Power"/>
<Item value="31" label="Manufacturer Specific"/>
</Value>
<SupportedModes>
<Mode index="0" label="Off"/>
<Mode index="1" label="Heat"/>
<Mode index="11" label="Heat Econ"/>
<Mode index="14" label="Unknown"/>
<Mode index="14" label="Unknown"/>
</SupportedModes>
</CommandClass>

Node the two lines at the end with the label 'Unknwn' being different from wat is found in the fie eur_spiritz.xm

As to why a certain widget shows up in a certain (less logical) tab (another question), I have not found any practical explanation yet.