Evohome firmware 02.00.19.31 Beta Trial - Exclusive for Automated Home Members

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Originally Posted by ally153

Currently we're using Accuweather as our weather source.

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Thanks for that info. This should make it possible to figure out whether the long lag in the outdoor temperature reading I see (typically 4+ hours, at least on previous firmware versions) is the fault of Accuweather not updating their current weather report often enough or whether the Evotouch is slow at getting updated data from Accuweather.

Is the figure the Evotouch uses based on the "current" temperature reported by Accuweather or the forecast temperature for the current time ? (A subtle but important distinction)

@ally153 Can the team confirm if these new features - specifically the eco/boost offset - can be configured via the Web API. An example use-case (via a home automation platform using, e.g. https://github.com/watchforstock/evohome-client): the further I get from home (via geofencing / presence detection), the more the eco is dropped from 0.5 to 3.0.

Mine has updated to the new version and I have some feedback - the new Eco/Boost function (loving it) still uses the Euro symbol of the old Eco function. (both in the quick action button and zone squares)

This seems a little out of place if Eco/Boost is set to a positive value. :) Presumably the Euro symbol was originally meant to signify saving money when active due to dropping set points, however when the adjustment is positive it will actually cost more money...

So perhaps a fresh icon is in order for the new more versatile Eco/Boost feature ? Or maybe a different icon is automatically used depending on whether the offset is + or - with a new icon just for positive values ?

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Originally Posted by DerekWilliamsUK

Looks to me like my system has just updated with the latest BETA Firmware...

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What version number is that?

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Originally Posted by DBMandrake

Thanks for that info. This should make it possible to figure out whether the long lag in the outdoor temperature reading I see (typically 4+ hours, at least on previous firmware versions) is the fault of Accuweather not updating their current weather report often enough or whether the Evotouch is slow at getting updated data from Accuweather.

Is the figure the Evotouch uses based on the "current" temperature reported by Accuweather or the forecast temperature for the current time ? (A subtle but important distinction)

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Also does Evohome use the RealFeel for it's weather compensation or the actual temperature?

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Originally Posted by ally153

The weather feature uses internet data, for me the weather data is actually fairly spot on with the actual outside temperature, but I appreciate that other user's mileage may vary. Due to time constraints we weren't able to implement using the OT sensor value. From experience we've found that different manufacturers have interpreted the specs and implemented OT differently and we wanted a robust solution that didn't have compatibility issues. Although the actual amount of code needed would probably be trivial the ground work to architect a robust solution takes longer.

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Why not just make reading from an OT sensor versus Internet configurable?

It’s easy to see whether the displayed temperature is correct.

As it stands Accuweather is inaccurate for me and my OT sensor is very close to my weather station reading (shared with Wunderground).

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Originally Posted by zxdavb

@ally153 Can the team confirm if these new features - specifically the eco/boost offset - can be configured via the Web API. An example use-case (via a home automation platform using, e.g. https://github.com/watchforstock/evohome-client): the further I get from home (via geofencing / presence detection), the more the eco is dropped from 0.5 to 3.0.

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Due to resource and time constraints, all changes to the firmware are local changes only. To bring further integration to the cloud would have required resource and engagement in Wi-Fi, Cloud API and TCC app resource and time, which wasn't feasible at this time for the project.

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Originally Posted by DBMandrake

Mine has updated to the new version and I have some feedback - the new Eco/Boost function (loving it) still uses the Euro symbol of the old Eco function. (both in the quick action button and zone squares)

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We deliberated this with the UX team, but it was decided to keep the symbol the same. To change the symbol we would have needed to coordinate resource and releases with the app team. Believe it or not, but there are many people who treat 'Boost' as an economy feature - they prefer having a lower setpoint in general and only occasionally 'boost' their temperature when they are feeling particularly cold. We've had that feedback a lot from people who use DT92E as they re-assign their Eco button from a low setpoint to a higher setpoint.

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Originally Posted by bruce_miranda

Also does Evohome use the RealFeel for it's weather compensation or the actual temperature?

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The thermostat uses a Resideo specific veneer API for fetching weather data. This allows the company to switch weather providers transparently without impact to devices out in the field. RealFeel is a specific Accuweather feature which other services don't offer, so we use the universally available actual temperature.

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Originally Posted by kevinsmart

Why not just make reading from an OT sensor versus Internet configurable?

It’s easy to see whether the displayed temperature is correct.

As it stands Accuweather is inaccurate for me and my OT sensor is very close to my weather station reading (shared with Wunderground).

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If we implemented something which goes wrong in certain (sometimes obscure) conditions, we wouldn't be thanked for that. Unfortunately it wouldn't matter if we provided an option to using some other data source - we offered the feature, so it's expected to work 100%, switching back to an 'inferior' set of data would be disappointing.

Again it all comes down to time, we delivered all that we could with the time we had. Adding anything extra would have slippages in committed dates.

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Originally Posted by kevinsmart

Why not just make reading from an OT sensor versus Internet configurable?

It’s easy to see whether the displayed temperature is correct.

As it stands Accuweather is inaccurate for me and my OT sensor is very close to my weather station reading (shared with Wunderground).

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I'm still seeing lag and inaccuracy in the reported outside temperature, and it doesn't even agree with Accuweather.

The Evotouch is reporting 14C, Accuweather is reporting 16C for my location, my own weather station is reporting 18.6C. Hmm...

I am also seeing a noticeable time lag with the EVO displayed outside temperature for my location (Bracknell, UK).

At 08:30 this morning my own outside weather station was reporting 16C, as were BBC Weather, Foreca (used by the Microsoft Windows 10 weather app) and Accuweather. So thay ALL AGREED. However my EVO was reporting an outside temperature of only 14C.

How often does my EVO poll for a weather update?
Does it get this data direct from Accuweather (via the Honeywell API)?
How does the process actually work?
Where is this 'delay' coming from?

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Originally Posted by DerekWilliamsUK

I am also seeing a noticeable time lag with the EVO displayed outside temperature for my location (Bracknell, UK).

At 08:30 this morning my own outside weather station was reporting 16C, as were BBC Weather, Foreca (used by the Microsoft Windows 10 weather app) and Accuweather. So thay ALL AGREED. However my EVO was reporting an outside temperature of only 14C.

How often does my EVO poll for a weather update?
Does it get this data direct from Accuweather (via the Honeywell API)?
How does the process actually work?
Where is this 'delay' coming from?

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I am not on the beta version but I note that mostly the outside temperature shown in the Evohome app is about 0.5C above what it actually is. An understandable margin of error. Sometimes it goes the other way but usually about a 0.5C difference.