Let script pause for few minutes

[JeroenG]

Trying to build a script which calculates electricity costs based on variable pricing (per hour).

I have a script running which updates a domoticz device with the current price (updates every first minute of the hour). Because the price is updated at minute 0 of the hour, and the electricity usage is only available short after the hour I have a timing challenge.

My thoughts: Create as script which retreives the current price at minute 58 of the hour, pause for 5 minutes and then collect the usage of the past hour and calculate the costs.

In concept this looks ok to me, but how to have a dz-script waiting for 5 minutes? I could build this in bash, but would like to try putting it in Domoticz itself.

Thanks,
Jeroen

[jvdz]

In concept this looks ok to me, but how to have a dz-script waiting for 5 minutes? I could build this in bash, but would like to try putting it in Domoticz itself.

You do not want any event script to pause/sleep as the event system is single threaded and any script running for longer than 10 seconds is killed.
So those steps need to be separate steps and the first one could set a persistent variable which is then used in the second script.
The whole think could also be put into one script with 2 triggers, and then do these steps base on the current time.

[JeroenG]

You do not want any event script to pause/sleep as the event system is single threaded and any script running for longer than 10 seconds is killed.

This makes sense, did not think of it . Splitting the script in 2 parts will then be the way to go.

Thanks!

[Sarcas]

Never tried this, but could you perhaps use a virtual switch and use light.switchOn().forMin(5) to turn it on for a few minutes and use that virtual switch as trigger device so you 'catch' it again after 5 minutes when it goes off, and then do the calculations you want...?